Logistics

by Matt | Mar 15, 2013 | Baseball, Personal

So, first of all, a big thank-you to all you guys for your response to my spring cleaning. I’ve got a considerable amount packed up and ready to go. Somewhere along the way I realized that I’ve never really sent this many cards out before. I had to rethink the logistics of it a little bit. I had a couple 8×10 padded envelopes that went out already, and they worked well, but I ended up taping up little bricks of cards, and then finding a backing for them, and it ended up looking like I was mailing a text book to people. It was also heavy. The lightest package was 1lb, 2oz. That ended up being just north of $5 to ship, a price I’m more than willing to eat. I’m considering it the “cost of doing business” as well as a great way to make new friends and trading partners. If $5 gets me a permanent trading partner for a team I didn’t have before, that’s shipping money well spent in my book. We’re in this for the long haul people!

Anyway, my point is that at $5 an envelope, I wasn’t really saving any money over a USPS flat-rate box, which A) are free from a “supplies” perspective, and B) ship for $5.70 anyway. 8×10 bubble mailers aren’t cheap, and free boxes trump that any way you slice it. So, off to the post office I went. I got a whole pallet of them. 25 boxes, all free.

Then I started putting cards in them…

Hmm…. That doesn’t look like the safest way to ship cards. Hey, free cards are free, but I’d still like them to show up in one piece. I may not be personally interested in the players and teams on them, but the people I’m sending them too might. So, I got a little creative.

I had some old double thick foam-core sitting around from a photo shoot and decided to chop it up. I made 4 sides, all the same height, and it filled in the gaps perfectly. Now the cards are protected on all sides, the foam-core is ultra thick, they should be completely safe… hmmm…. but what about the “good” cards, we don’t want them just floating around in there, right?

There, that’s better. I wrapped the slightly above average cards in a team bag, topped it with a blocker, and set them on top. This way they’re also a little bit of a surprise too. Notice how the side flaps fit perfectly over the foam-core, holding everything together. Padding all around, especially for the good stuff.

Even the front is protected.

Overkill? Probably. Worth it? I think so. It took me 15 minutes to chop up some foam-core with an Exacto, and it’s the perfect packing material.

So, now I’ve got a big stack of these ready to go out. Of course, I also realized that this week isn’t my paycheck week, so… yeah. Not going out today. Sorry kids, the electric bill comes first. But, rest assured that these are ready to roll, and will go out at the first opportunity. The only exception being the Yankees, who, by rough estimate, have nearly 400 cards. I’m going to have to find a bigger box for that.

Have a good weekend everybody.