Mailing small bank notes, tips?

Hi All,

I'm thinking about selling some bank notes I've been holding for a little bit. I've never had to mail them, and I'm curious if anyone here has experience doing this.

I intend to sell singles (loose, not in a sleeve), and 100 consecutive BEP ones as well.

Any help advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks!!!

 

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I can tell you I'd be pretty ****ed if I bought a banknote and it arrived loose in an envelope, with no sleeve. A sleeve (IMO) is mandatory, and the minimum packaging would be to tape the sleeve to a piece of cardboard sized for the envelope.

Dave

 

Hi Dave,

I appreciate your suggestions. My friend and I typically sell coins. So we're pretty versed in the arts of shipping various metals through the mail. But banknotes are something we've only dabbled in through face-to-face sales.

Our first thought would be to place the single in an envelope like a bank envelope or something. Secure cardboard to both sides of the envelope and place it in a padded envelope. Seal it and ship.

 

I just mailed out several notes here in the last couple days. The best packaging for something like this are the photo mailers/cardboard envelopes. They're not like a bubble envelope, and they're reinforced that they will make it to the recipient generally with no issues.

 

Here's a link to some banknote holders: http://denlys.com/inventory/holders.asp

In about 20 years of collecting, I don't think I've ever received a note that was not in a mylar type holder.

I agree with kook, the cardboard mailer is a pretty good solution. I use them for periodic banknote mailings, though I have them around because I ship a ton of photos in them. See uline.com if you're looking to buy those.

Dave

 

Wow Currency holders are not cheap items... Thanks for the tips Dave and Kookoox.

Got other suggestions please don't hold back. We really just want to avoid any beginning errors if possible.

 

I use sleeves from the sellitstore, and love'em.

Tell Linda that Steve in Tampa sent you.

http://www.sellitstore.com/mylar.htm

 

Packing is SO important. I've recieved numerous notes over the years that were poorly packed and were damaged by folding and bending. The biggest one was 3 sequential CU $500 notes that were packed in nothing more than a non-rigid holder and a regular envelope. The shame in the whole thing was that the complete removal of those 3 bills from the CU club.

Always always always pack them in something very firm. I've found the best way is each bill seperately in their own RIGID holder then use cardboard, I never hesitate to put 2 or 3 thick pieces on each side, then place in a bubble mailer. Overkill? Perhaps, but it's better safe than sorry.

 

I would say the most important thing is rigid protection. You want to make sure that the mail carrier does not bend the package even if they wanted to. The note should be in a currency holder, preferably mylar. Sandwiched between two pieces of cardboard inside a bubble mailer.

And some collectors that are OCD like to use their own holders so feel free to use a used holder as long as its not nasty looking.

 

If you must send it without a sleeve or holder... do what I did. Grab a DVD case, preferably to a game so it comes with a booklet. Put the note inside the booklet. Tape the far edge of the booklet - as far as possible from the note down with a tiny piece of tape. Stick the booklet in the DVD case under the plastic holders. Close the DVD case and tape that well. Stick it an enveloped of some kind and mail it that way.

Before I knew anything about currency I sold a very special note I found in an ATM. Even at that point I realized that the buyer would be pretty upset if it came damaged. So I used the above method.

Please don't send it loose.

 

If you're in the price range where you can spend $5-7 for postage, put the bills (into Mylar), then between the pages of a junk hardbound book, tape its covers together tightly, and mail the book using the $5.35 small flat-rate Priority box. Absolutely foolproof. (Any garage sale will be glad to sell you junk books for a quarter.)

This is the way I send currency to Stack's auctions.

Bubble wrap is absolutely WORTHLESS for anything other than making mini-whoopee cushions. It offers ZERO protection against folding, punctures, and corner bends.

 

I've only sold a few banknotes; however, I've sold many photographs, magazines and old comic books on eBay... some quite valuable. I always place them in a mylar sleeve with white acid free cardboard backer, then sandwich that between two sheets of double wall cardboard which has been trimmed to approximately 1/2" larger than than the item. I tape the cardboard together securely and place in the correct size bubble mailer. For more expensive items (over $100) I place the bubble mailer in a priority box with additional packing and ship that way. I also purchased a "Do Not Bend" stamp and mark all envelopes, though it would take considerable effort to even bend them slightly. I have never, nor would I ever, ship a banknote (or a coin for that matter) in a plain envelope, even with the protection of a sleeve. Spending a little time and money on packaging is well worth it.

 

Something I do when mailing magazine-size paper items -- email the buyer and inquire the size of their mailbox, and whether it's protected from rain and theft. The answers greatly influence my packaging, and the buyers appreciate my efforts.

My own (apartment) mailbox is a scrawny 6 x 6 inches, and my mailman FOLDS faster than a jack-high hold-em , so I have to alert sellers to this situation; unfortunately, a Post Office box is not practicable for me.

=====edit

One further tip, if you're planning to use (cheaper) Media Mail because it's a book -- don't, because your postal insurance is no good -- only the "book" is insured.

 

One thing to keep in mind when it comes to stiff mailers - if the item DOES get bent, the cardboard will retain that bend and keep your note in that position until you open it.

 

True, but once the note is bent, even if only for 5 seconds, it's BENT; the damage is done.

 

Quickly I just want to say thanks for all the amazing responses you have all given us a lot of info to consider before selling our notes.

I really appreciate the input you all just gave!!!!

 

CWS: Welcome to CT

A few of things to add per your inquiry, coming from my experiences receiving notes through the post.

Heritage Auctions does a stellar job of shipping notes. A raw note is put in a mylar holder and that is secured (taped) to a thick board. A TPG holdered note is similarly placed in an oversized mylar holder and taped to a thick board. Then another board is placed over the note and a sanwich is essentially made. The two taped together to prevent any shifting. This then is placed inside a rigid board envelope and sealed, and for items I have received this package is inside of a another rigid mailer, the one which is handled in the post and has addresses and postage on it. If the order is bigger, sometimes the package is within a thin cardboard shipping container.

Teletrade handles notes similarly, but usually tends to ship in a USPS or FedEx standard mailer (box), with the securely packed contents taped to the inside of the box and packing paper filling much of the interior empty space.

A couple of independent dealers I work with have sent me notes in smaller but equally secure business envelope packaged parcels. For example, one sandwiches notes in mylar holders, between thick boards like mentioned above. Those then are placed in standard business sized envelopes and sent by any method which tracks, registers or confirms delivery.

In all the above scenarios, I have never had an issue with damage. If you are familiar with the kind of boards Heritage and some others use, I suggest using that sort of material to create these sandwiches but always separate the notes with some sort of archival material mylar sleeve so there is no contact with the boards (they are not pH neutral) and to prevent a raw note from any exposure to tapes or other packing. The boards I suggest are quite dense compressed paper board, about 4 mm thick. They provide a lot of protection for each side of the note. These don't bend easily and further resist bending by being placed inside equally rigid mailers or mailing boxes.

Marking the exterior of a parcel ready for the post with clear warnings like, "Do Not Bend" is something that works to thwart a parcel being crushed into a mailbox or destroyed in a mail sack while en route. Mail bags are often tossed on and off trucks and put through any number of roughly handled scenarios when begin unloaded, sorted and sent back out for delivery. Standard or custom labels or stamps are available or can be sought for marking the exterior of parcels.

A word about carriers/services: your choice of shipping options may also work to improve safe delivery, though errors can happen. I have found that parcels requiring a signature for delivery remain secured within a post office branch or carrier until placed in the hands of a customer, so they tend to fair VERY well against damage in transit.

Packing skills and choice of materials are not cheap, but satisfied customers can learn to see the importance of never begin disappointed when you go the extra mile to protect their purchase. It also saves you time and money from losses and leg work to fix a problem if one were to occur for lack of protection or damages that could have been prevented. Convincing a dissatisfied customer to trust you again after a problem is a lot of work to be burdened with.

One last thing, in your earlier response you mentioned "cardboard". That may have been a generalised term you used, but IF you meant corrugated cardboard, the kind with a wavy center with channels running through it, then consider the following. While it's cheap and easily obtained for free it's not always the strongest for such purpose AND the material is saturated with acidic materials which are bad for notes to spend time near. There is also a lot of foreign materials like bits of staples and anything else ground up in corrugated board. However, if you DO elect to use that material, do the following, alternate the channels of the board when you make the sandwich. This crosshatching of the channels significantly increases the rigidity of corrugated board, so much so that it becomes a superior deterrent to bending (though with enough intentional force, it can be destructive), but you get the idea. Treat it like plywood where the plys have alternating grain patters to optimize strength.

Hope some of this helps what you were looking for. Again, Welcome to CT.

 

Hi Krispy,

I did mean either corrugated card board or the kind without the wavy center. I've been too lazy to post on Ebay and update my blog page. I'll probably start this weekend, after checking out the USPS costs etc.

Thanks for the advice!
~CWS

 

Keep in mind you can buy discount postage on eBay for about 70 cents on the dollar.

 

I've found the best way to send currency is using the machine in the post office, send as a package with delivery confirmation, a padded mailer with a nice stiff sheet of hard pressed cardboard (I keep the extras I get from Heritage as they make nice mailing inserts when trimmed) for less than $3 shipped. That's pretty good.

Remember, over $250 value requires signature confirmation if you are using theBay... some folks have had issues lately with this, even with delivery confirmation, eBay sides with the buyer on items over $250 without signature confirmation.