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First class mail package/thick envelope works absolutely fine with 4x8 bubble mailers. It costs about $2.67 if you purchase the postage through eBay, and you get the added bonus of free tracking and delivery confirmation. When you're shipping more valuable cards, you might want to spring for insurance (pay out of your own pocket if the buyer didn't request it specifically). It's pretty cheap and is a good way to play it safe.

 
Here's the method I've used for shipping hundreds of cards on eBay, with absolutely no problems whatsoever. You'll need the following supplies:

 
#000 4x8 Bubble Mailer
Penny sleeve
Toploader
Team bag
Scotch tape
Packing tape

 

1. Place the card you want to ship upside down in the penny sleeve, then fold the excess bit of plastic back up from the open end of the sleeve. This will keep the card from sliding out of the penny sleeve.
    
   
   
2. Slide the penny-sleeved card into the toploader, starting with the folded end of the penny sleeve. Be sure to keep the penny sleeve folded while you do this. It might be a bit tricky to get the card into the toploader, but it won't fall out of the penny sleeve once you do.
    
   
   
3. Tap the bottom of the toploader against a hard surface a couple times if need be to make sure the card is all the way inside and level. Then, tape a piece of scotch tape and tape up the open end of the toploader. Make sure to use a bit longer piece of tape than you need, and fold on end over itself to make a tab on one side of the toploader. This will ensure that the card won't fall out of the toploader during shipping while making it easier for your buyer to get the card out.
    
   
   
4. Place top toploader inside a team bag and seal it. In the event that your bubble mailer gets wet, this should ensure the card remains undamaged.
    
   
   
5. Print out the order invoice, fold it up, and place it inside the bubble mailer along with the toploader. Seal the bubble mailer, then place a piece of packing tape over the flap of the bubble mailer to ensure it stays shut.
    
   
   
6. Print out your postage. You can use a regular piece of printer paper if need be, but I'd definitely recommend going with an adhesive address label. Better yet, if you'll be shipping in volume I'd recommend getting a thermal printer (I've got a Dymo LabelWriter 4XL that's awesome), because then you don't have to worry about smudging, even if the address label gets damp.
    
   
   
7. Apply the postage to the outside of the bubble mailer. If you're using regular printer paper, be sure to tape all edges with packing tape to ensure it stays in place. Then place a piece of packing tape over the addresses. Again, this step is unnecessary if you invest in a thermal printer.
    
   
   Hope this information helps anyone looking for a worry-free way to ship cards!

Trying to pay for MtG with speculation is near impossible. It requires a significant amount of market knowledge and a good bit of luck as well. I've had better luck grinding collections and trades.

Buying Craigslist and Facebook collections at buylist prices can be incredibly profitable. It can be a successful venture with very little MtG/business knowledge. That said, it's a hell of a grind.

Take my most recent purchase:

• Vague CL listing. "4k cards, more than 800 rares, asking $600".
  
• I gave my normal spiel: I pay buylist for rares, $0.10 per bulk rare, $3 per 1k common/uncommon."
  
• Seller catalogues some of the cards and comes up to $350 buylist for everything.
  
• It's 3 days before Christmas and I'm patient. I offer $300.
  
• Initial offer rejected. Seller comes back on Christmas Eve and takes $300.
  
  Then the hard part. I sorted everything, then alphabetized the rares. Here's the list after everything was sorted. There was another $120 or so in bulk or cards I kept for my collection.
  
  Then you need to figure out how to move this product. It's $370 in buylist, I used MTGprice to get that number. I could spend $30 in shipping to make $40 for 4-6 hours of work. Not for me.
  
  I broke the numbers down further considering eBay and TCGPlayer fees for cash. I knew I wanted to move some of it on PucaTrade because I want to build UR Twin and it's easy to pick up the $5-$20 uncommons on there. Rares and staples like Scalding Tarn and Snapcaster are near impossible to pick up on Puca without bounties but the uncommons from MM and MM15 move quickly. I decided to just move the entire collection on Puca and then sell the points (whoops).
  
  I used PucaPower to optimize this procedure. It went something like:
  
  
• Export CSV from MTGPrice
  
• Import to PucaTrade
  
• Setup PucaPower to alert on bundles over $5.
  
• Accept ALL THE TRADES.
  
  I ended up with a lot of trades. It ended up being ~52000 PP over 55 packages. That's $0.49 per stamp, $0.07 per envelope and $0.10 per top loader which comes out to $0.66 in shipping per order. That's $36 in shipping and handling.
  
  I took the remainder of the collection to my LGS. He initially offered 35% TCGPlayer mid in cash or 50% in trade. I offered to throw in the binder that came with the collection and organize the binder into a new Commander product binder for him if he would give me 75% in trade. He offered 65% and I accepted. That got me a playset of NM Snapcaster Mages ($240 in retail).
  
  All that to say...
  
  Collection Cost: $300
  
  Shipping and Handling: $36
  
  Total Investment: $336, 10 hours of time
  
  to get
  
  $240 retail in Snapcasters
  
  $120 retail in random staples
  
  52,000 PP
  
  I can play the waiting game and hope the cards I need trickle in or I can sell the PP for $0.65-$0.68 per 100. That'd be ~$338, completely covering my investment. So for 10 hours of work I earned a free set of Snapcasters and grew my binder/collection by another $120 in retail. Of course I'm addicted to cardboard crack and I have 30000 PP worth of cards on my want list. I'll likely sell the remaining 20,000 PP to finance my next collection purchase.
  
  It's a long and slow grind. I basically made $30/hour doing this. I could have made ~$50/hour in overtime at work and just bought the cards but I enjoy sorting cards more than my job. I've built Atarka Red in Standard, Naya Burn in Modern (no tarns) and I'm starting on Twin using this method. I had to flip four collections to do this but I think it's worth it.
  

> 1. Would you guys recommend getting a good laser printer for shipping labels, and stuff? Do you handle shipping labels by yourself or is it more efficient to go to the post office?

Almost always cheaper to do stuff yourself. There are label specific printers, but it seemed expensive for the materials and a specific printer rather than just using a printer I had (https://www.amazon.com/Brother-HL-L2300D-Monochrome-Printer-Printing/dp/B00NQ1CLTI/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=brother+printer&qid=1566566649&s=gateway&sr=8-2 great price on it right now). You need a regular printer to print the receipt too.

I bought those labels that print two per sheet. I have to cut them for the size of bubble mailers I have. I only use the bubble for purchases > $20.

I've never had any issues with plain white envelopes, which with a stamp is < $1, bubble mailer shipped the lowest you can get is usually $3. One envelope pro-tip is that the left-window standard size envelopes you don't have to write an address on because the printed receipt can be folded for it to fit perfectly in the window.

> 2. What is the best price to hope for on bubble envelopes, team bags, toploaders?

I just got big packages of stuff on Azmazon. Look into team bags!

> 3. Any other tips are greatly appreciated.

Dial in your process. I print all current receipts, put them in a stack, then find all cards stuff them into loaders and fold the receipt up around it. Then I stuff the envelopes and ship everything at once per day. If more orders come in they wait until the next day. It actually takes a lot of focus to make sure you pack everything perfectly every time. Even so, I have still forgot a card, and had to send out a second package. You also want a kitchen scale, there is nothing more annoying as a buyer and unprofessional as a seller than not paying enough postage and your buyer having to pay for your mistake to get their cards.

I do most of my buying and selling on CardSphere so take this with a grain of salt.

​

I always use at least a penny sleeve and a top loader ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G1GRLSA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ). Make sure the penny sleeve is loaded into the top loader upside-down. This will help protect the card against moisture. I'll also add either a piece of tape or a post-it note folded over the top of the top loader so the card can't slide out. Then I put that in a plain white envelope (PWE is the abbreviation you'll see in forums). I'll also tape the top loader to the PWE so it doesn't move around as much and won't immediately fall out if the PWE tears.

​

The top loader will really only fit three cards before it's too tight. In that case I'll put all the cards in a penny sleeve, tape the penny sleeve to the top loader, and put that into a team bag ( https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Pro-Standard-Packs-Value/dp/B00JNZ4LB2/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=team+bag+ultra+pro&qid=1557312150&s=gateway&sr=8-2 ). I'll usually wrap this in a piece of paper or add a thin piece of cardboard to the slide that doesn't have the toploader. This can still fit in a PWE but the weight will start to be an issue. Forever stamps will ship up to 1 oz. Non-machineable stamps will ship up to 3.5 oz (I think) and will protect the cards from getting damage by sorting machines at the post office but cost more.

​

For larger numbers of cards or higher value cards, I'll use the penny sleeve, top loader, team bag combination inside of a bubble mailer ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072LV4QQ6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ). I've added tracking at the post office but it costs way more than adding tracking through PayPal. I'm also less familiar with creating the label through PayPal so feel free to chime in with tips if you use it normally. Due to the cost of tracking, I only add tracking to packages over $75 unless a buyer requests it.

​

Here's a link to a CardSphere blog post about packaging cards: https://blog.cardsphere.com/how-to-package-cards/ . I found it useful, but again I'm not shipping via eBay. In general, the packages I receive from CardSphere are better packaged than the packages I receive from eBay.

​

Lastly, I keep a spreadsheet to track the cost of not only my cards but also my shipping materials. I don't want to think I'm making money selling a card for a $2 profit when really I'm adding $3 of shipping materials.

I carry something like this: https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Large-DSLR-Camera-Gadget/dp/B00CDS9HTM

The back slot in the picture where they have the tablet, I put in a 2x2 zip folio. I really do not like carrying more than that for trades. Plus, as an LGS regular, you will see the same people so you will know what people are generally looking for so you shouldnt have to carry your whole stash. Plus, I do not like carrying that much value on me.

The main section where you see the lenses and the flashes, I put my Satin Tower that has my extra sleeves and my Maybe-board for my decks along with dice + I pack about 3 Boulders for decks: main deck, change of pace deck in case I want to spice things up, and whatever random Commander deck I have. Lots of space for lots of configurations.

Front compartment is where I put my pens, top loaders, and $5 ebay boogie board knockoff.

Where you see the tripod being held, I put my Ultimate Guard matpod. The matpod has a place to attach a carbineer to so it wont slide out and has a nice pop top lid so things can slide out.

The random pros I notice about this over a backpack.

• Fits between your legs/under your seat easily so you do not have to worry about it getting bumped into, rummaged through, things spilled on it.
  
• The handle is nice to carry it around like a lunch box which is helpful if you have to navigate through lots of people instead of having a turtle shell on your back make it hard to weave through traffic. Also, if you want to give your back a rest.
  
• Fairly unique so people know it is yours and there are no mixups.
  
• Those camera bags are usually cheaper than backpacks.

Edit: guess this is more of a backpack, but check it out anyways.

What size trade binder? I just put a 2x2 in this thing, and there is probably room for 4 of them stacked up in it, or 1 and a bunch of decks, etc. It super comfortable, cheap, lots of colors, and you can change the strap from left to right shoulder extremely easily to mix up the pressure points.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D6PVHDZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My normal MTG carry in it is:

1. Playmat I'm willing to wrinkle a bit
   
2. large boogie board
   
3. 3x ultra pro 80 card cheapo deck boxes
   
4. 2x ultimate guard sidewinder 100 deck box
   
5. Small dice box
   
6. various other crap, booster pack fodder, meds, etc.
   
   The first one I have has survived 3-4 disney world trips and numerous other travel and magic.

For better cards, I use this: https://www.amazon.ca/Ultra-Pro-Pocket-Protector-Sleeves/dp/B004T2CBD4/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia?keywords=ultra+pro+binder&pd_rd_i=B004T2CBD4&pd_rd_r=bcb63363-d500-4d56-a6db-ede91821418a&pd_rd_w=8anbj&pd_rd_wg=0FOre&pf_rd_p=1831f6b9-0c20-4ab2-a931-987c40cd17c0&pf_rd_r=FNRSCEF7KJ3MQKAM80A7&qid=1554567204&s=gateway


I get some from time to time buying people's collections. Weee.


For higher-end NM cards, I'd just leave them sleeved in a toploader inside a closed box. You really don't want any damage on those, whereas a beat-up revised Tundra won't get more beat-up by you putting in it the above binders.


For low-end display cards (like a set of Tempest or whatever), I use normal binders with ultra pro sleeves. I stand them upright on a shelf so no card gets any binder dings.


If I had any very high-end cards in decent quantity ( 1k+ ) I'd probably rent a storage box at the bank and leave them in there.


Rudy ( alpha investments ) made a video on keeping your cards safe and basically once you get to a certain point ( like 100k+ ) you just have to install a vault in your house lol.

Custom dice bag, some lgs have them. There are also life counters from archenemy I think, (and maybe a metal version?). That are super cool and he’d use all the time.

Maybe a binder if he doesn’t have one,

https://www.amazon.com/Dex-Binder-Protection-White/dp/B019JOJRXS/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=dex+protection+binder+9&qid=1575127395&sprefix=dex+prot&sr=8-4

I bought this one used almost a year ago and still nothing has broken on it. I really like it and it fits easily in a backpack.

DREAME 30X 60X LED Lighted Illuminated Jewelers Eye Loupe Jewelry Magnifier for Gems Jewelry Rocks Stamps Coins Watches Hobbies Antiques Models Photos https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DWG89KQ?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

That’s the one I use. Works perfectly, is super affordable, and has saved me twice already.

Wow that is really nice. I guess you could get some strips of felt or paper to do your own matting if you wanted to.

Edit: Looks like there's a 5% off coupon now, too. I'm going to try the one with a larger profile/wider border.

Here's what I'm rocking:

First Alert 2583DF Executive Safe with Digital Lock, 6.7 Cubic Foot, Gunmetal Fine Texture https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001UHO4Z4/

I've been very happy with it. I can easily fit binders inside standing upright, as well as my laptop and important documents.

Be careful when getting fireproof safes. They often have a water logged clay in the walls to withstand a fire, but what you may not realize is that they can ruin items inside them by getting the damp if the safe isn't opened often enough. You hear about this problem often when people buy fireproof safes and store printed documents in them, but I'd imagine Magic cards are even more sensitive.

The one I have is fire resistant up to a certain temp which I feel is just fine.

Number 1: What is a "Crafle"?
Number 2: Make sure it is a real Crafle. There are a lot of fake Crafle's running around. It is one of the more commonly made fakes and there are numberous versions. Take the Crafle out of the sleeve and ensure that it feels like a normal card (compare it to another rare from the same set, preferably a known real Crafle, or another land). Also, use the light test, it is the easiest one to do. A jeweler's loupe or a small microscope would be good too.
Number 3: Seriously? I would trade in some goyfs for a Crafle any day of the week. Crafles are on the reserved list and will likely only go up. Goyf is practically on the "print 'til you can't cash in anymore" list.

Amazon has been my best source for these and generally are half the price of my LGS (Canadian Amazon)

https://www.amazon.ca/KMC-Barrier-PERFECT-packs-Total/dp/B00T3Z72Q8/ref=sr_1_2?crid=26UWNOY3F32Y8&keywords=perfect+fit+sleeves&qid=1568310008&sprefix=perfect+%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-2

I have this one (or one exactly like it, they've got several brand names, but clearly the same product): https://www.amazon.com/Magnifier-AFUNTA-Magnifying-Diamonds-Antiques/dp/B0736XSM56 . I need the 60x to properly do the green dot test (https://www.detecting-the-fakes.com/checking-details/green-dot-check/) and this one also comes with a "UV" led that will let you check florescence (black light test).

Amazon has 100 Ultra Pro toploaders and 100 penny sleeves for $11 plus shipping. I ship a few dozen cards every month, and one order of these will last me a few months. Otherwise, if you're just using them to store cards, it's probably more than you'd ever realistically need. A great deal, IMO.

Don't use deck boxes - send them in one of these ( https://www.bcwsupplies.com/100-card-storage-box ) or one of these ( https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Pro-2-Piece-Count-Storage/dp/B0002TT3L6/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=sports+cards+plastic+case&qid=1565637902&s=gateway&sr=8-3 ).

Both do a good job of preventing the cards from jostling around. If you can't fill them, then stuff some folded paper towels to prevent the cards from moving around during transit. Do use Priority Mail and pay for extra insurance if what you're sending in is worth more than $50, as the extra insurance is cheap. Heck - I sent a $4000 buylist to ABU and insurance was only $25 extra.

I used a pocket microscope to take this image of a counterfeit wurmcoil engine if it is of any help. This card failed the light test as it was black core paper though. Also if you look at the holostamp with something that powerful you can see letters in the logo spelling wizards.

Your cards sound like variance in printings though

Use this Carson Microbrite Pocket Microscope.

You just take it and look at the green mana symbol on the back of any magic card. If there are 4 dots in the shape of an L then it is real (this is called the green dot test). Fakes will have a scattered pattern. This is what I use to verify my high dollar amount purchases. It is pretty good.

Here is what it looks like.

(This is an actual pic I took w my phone.)

I use this one. I haven't experimented with different magnifications, but 30x seemed fine. As another use pointed out above, you might want a cheap USB microscope instead

I see 60x loupes with LED light mentioned in this thread as well as a few others very recently. Awhile back someone linked to a Belomo on Amazon, which I bought. The Belomo is a 10x

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EXPWU8S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Was this purchase made in error and I should make it a point to get the higher magnification loupe with LED? Or can I make things work with this loupe and my own separate LED?

Got this loupe and it works really well https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00LAX52IQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

30x is the min. with a light.
I use this one that has up to 60x to 120x: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LAX52IQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It helps you see some of the finer details and its under 15.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LAX52IQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Carson microBrite Pocket Microscope...thing is legit and only 13 dollars. you can even put your cellphone camera to the viewing aperture to take pictures of the image, no flash needed. My goto fake card checker.