A Bad Experience

I bought this card off of a kid on Instagram several weeks ago and it arrived looking like this.  See the creases in the card at the top and bottom?  Yeah, the card came in one of those "We Care" packages from the USPS.  The PWE the kid sent the card in was a wreck, and the toploader was broken and cracked.

Note that I said "PWE".  PWE = Plain White Envelope for those of you keeping score at home.  When I mail something someone bought or traded for, I always send in a bubble or padded mailer.  I send 99% of all the cards I mail in bubble mailers, honestly.  What I do is, I recycle the ones sent to me.  I cut them open, remove the cards, then I put what I'm mailing in there, tape it shut with packing tape, then tape scratch paper from work over top of the previous address and write a new address on there.  I haven't had to but bubble mailers in years.

My point is, some folks need to learn that you can't ship things like baseball cards in a plain, white envelope, especially if they are thicker cards like the one above, or several cards in toploaders.  If that's the case, and you must use a PWE, write "Non Machinable" on the envelope and that might help.  When in doubt, and your reputation is on the line, always err on the side of caution and over protect what you're shipping.

That being said, the best part of it all is that I told the kid that the card was damaged and he offered to send another card to make up for it.  He told me he mailed two weeks ago.  No replacement card has arrived in my mailbox.  Needless to say, I will no longer be following this person nor will I be buying any cards off of their account.  I'm only out $5, and I do have the card.  I am going to keep it, because, creases and all, it is a nice card.  Maybe one day worthy of the POBC blog...

Thanks for reading my rant.