Non-Sport Update's Card Talk NSU Home | NSU Store | In The Current Issue... | Contact Us |
Non-Sport Update    Non-Sport Update's Card Talk  Hop To Forum Categories  General Card Discussion    Shipping packages with cards...
Go
New
Find
Notify
Tools
Reply
  
Shipping packages with cards...
 Login/Join
 
Platinum Card Talk Member
Picture of Scifi Cards
posted
This probably would have been better in Chatter, but I feel many visitors just see the first screen and don't scroll down to the other forums.

Looking for opinions on packaging cards.

It's currently in vogue to have branded packaging. Amazon does it and eBay does it as well. I'm looking at packaging with my logo and website on it. But... Should I?

Does branded packaging make packages more of a theft target? Or are cards not really that big of a target anyway?

It's not as obvious as a customs form with items and values on them, and we are forced to do them. Does anyone care if a package comes from SciFi Cards?

Part of me says it's all vanity. But another part says people will see the package and think "I can't wait to open that!"

So do you think it makes packages a target for theft?
Does it increase the excitement of having a "mail day?"

Curious to know what people here think, as we all probably order a few packages every now and then.

Ed

____________________
www.nonsportcardshows.com Home of the Chicago Non-Sport Card Show

Trading Page Now Online: http://www.scifi.cards/trading.html

Collecting Sketches of the Character Crystal

 
Posts: 5079 | Location: Phoenix, AZ | Registered: March 09, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Diamond Card Talk Member
Picture of hammer
posted Hide Post
A little sticker with SciFi cards wuld be nice
 
Posts: 12154 | Location: England | Registered: September 16, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Gold Card Talk Member
Picture of mykdude
posted Hide Post
I get about 6 to 10 card deliveries a week straight to my mailbox and branding has not caused any sort of loss or theft issue in my case. Just like other branded packages, the value of a card shipment can range from a few dollars to a several hundred. Seems that knowing how much it is insured for would be more valuable information in the theft department.

Seems to me that branding is more for you as the business. Putting something out there that draws more customers to your product. Seeing a brand in my mailbox only helps me to know what is in that particular package. It doesn't really make any difference in my mail opening experience or create any sense of loyalty.

With that said, given some of the recent crazy prices in sports cards, should we have another card boom, removing the branding practice might be something to consider.

____________________
Just because it's rare doesn't mean it's valuable.
 
Posts: 4849 | Location: Tennessee | Registered: March 09, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Diamond Card Talk Member
Picture of Raven
posted Hide Post
Most branding is just vanity to me. I don't like to pay my money to wear someone else's name or logo and give them free publicity. When its discreet it's one thing and when its a walking billboard its another. Labels belong on the inside unless you need to show off.

As far as packaging goes, if you are sending by ordinary USPS shipping I really wouldn't want my orders to stand out. Not saying anyone would target cards or any other type of merchandise really, but why give them more opportunity to suspect what's inside. As the seller, if its going straight by UPS or Fedex and won't wind up at the PO on the back end, then I would feel the branding probably wouldn't present any greater risk.

As the buyer, I don't care as long as its securely packed. It wouldn't increase my excitement, I already know who sent it. Wink
 
Posts: 10383 | Location: New York | Registered: November 20, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Gold Card Talk Member
Picture of Raj
posted Hide Post
I've had instances of items sent to me without any indication who it's from - no branding/invoice/delivery note/return address.
 
Posts: 3249 | Location: Luton, UK | Registered: October 07, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Titanium Card Talk Member
Picture of wolfie
posted Hide Post
I think you should put nothing on the front that will give any indication of what is inside.

SciFi Cards on it is a dead giveaway.

____________________
Come, it is time for you to keep your appointment with The Wicker Man.
 
Posts: 28999 | Location: wolverhampton staffs uk | Registered: July 19, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Silver Card Talk Member
posted Hide Post
I definitely would not put any branding on the outside of a package. Most likely nothing bad will happen if you do, but still - to me it increases the chances.
 
Posts: 2147 | Location: Pennsylvania | Registered: September 14, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Gold Card Talk Member
posted Hide Post
Hi Ed,

If it costs more money to put your logo on the box, I wouldn't do it. Most of the time, I already know what's inside if it's a small packet (cards) or a medium-sized box (book).

Mykdude made a good point. If cards are seen as something more valuable now, a box that clearly says "Sci-Fi Cards" might be more at risk of theft than a nondescript box now. If a thief has to choose from a group of boxes at a glance, yours might be one he grabs.

Jess
 
Posts: 4378 | Location: San Jose, CA, USA | Registered: December 23, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Bronze Card Talk Member
posted Hide Post
for International shipping I do not think it matters as there is enough information already on the labels etc,
I have never had a parcel go missing late but it eventually turns up .
Domestic shipping I am not sure according to blowout forums it seems that nearly every second parcel goes missing or is late .
But these are sports cards wich most people think are worth a lot of money regardless of what is in the parcel
If you want to go down that road try it out on your International customers first and see how it goes
But personally it dose not matter to me as with other members I know who it is from and what its contents are.
Are you thinking of a sticker type of label like your promo cards.
 
Posts: 760 | Location: New Zealand | Registered: November 22, 2016Reply With QuoteReport This Post
NSU Writer
Picture of Don Norton
posted Hide Post
Frankly Ed, I think you should just keep on doing what you are doing. Of all the dealers, you go above and beyond with unique promos, the Sci Fi Cards tote bags and you've had pens with your brand on it too. The cards will be collected, and the bags and pens are used, making them great promotional items.
A special Sci Fi Cards box would only add more cost to you. When we get a package in the mail, we can see your return address and know what it is. The mail carrier doesn't care if there's a neat logo on the box, which will only be recycled.
As to theft, someone I know who worked in the postal business used to scold me for using the smallest white cardboard boxes for mailing cards, because they could easily be slipped in a pocket.
 
Posts: 2911 | Location: Crystal Lake, IL | Registered: December 04, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Platinum Card Talk Member
posted Hide Post
It seems unlikely that branding would make a package much more targeted for theft, after all your return address is on the package anyway, so someone could be checking for return addresses if they were really looking to steal cards.

Personally I don't need branded packaging. I know everything that I'm shipping to myself.
 
Posts: 5409 | Location: Parts Unknown. | Registered: January 25, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post



  Powered by Social Strata  
 

Non-Sport Update    Non-Sport Update's Card Talk  Hop To Forum Categories  General Card Discussion    Shipping packages with cards...

© Non-Sport Update 2013