Coin Shipping: Cheap, Easy, And Effective

As a long time ebay buyer of darkside stuff I'll let you know my thoughts. I am NOT picky. I tend to buy coins that are less than wonderful and really don't care how they get shipped. Put it in a 2 X 2 and tape it to a sheet and put it in an envelope. Save me the shipping costs. I have never received shipping that was so bad I complained. If a coin is worth less than $5, why would I or anyone care about that much packaging. I collect circulated coins and the shipment to me is part of the circulation of the coin. If I was buying expensive stuff, I'd really appreciate your packaging Kurt, but with cheap coins I find it annoying that it is so hard to get my coin out of the package.

Of course, the shipping costs usually involve S&H, you only addressed the S part, what is fair for the H part?

I'm pretty new to the forum, but darkside seems to be the CCF lingo for foreign coins. I'd bet it is used by people that primarily collect US coins, thought I'd slip it in and look like a cool CCF expert!

nice write up, thanks

G'day,
I've received plenty of coins that are poorly packed.
And plenty that take 15 minutes to liberate.
There's got to be a happy medium between those ...
I commend Kurt for putting the flip in a ziplock. That adds very little weight. It means that adhesive tape can be used to secure the coin to the backing card, without risking damage to the 2x2 when unpacking. Such damage MAY result in a dropped coin. Also, the ziplock permits the unpacker to see what's where.
The use of a backing card has sveral advantages: mostly, I think, it stops all the coins ending up at one end of the envelope. When that happens, they may escape. I think there is added security in making it less obvious what's inside. The cards can be cut from any packaging, to fit the envelope in question.
Effectively, Kurt uses two layers of bubble wrap. If it were I, I'd use just one layer, unless a high-value coin is involved.
Coins are, after all, pretty tough, and are designed to circulate for years.
Notes: now there's a challenge - how best to package them ?
Peter in Oz

Oh...sorry to have not responded sooner! I got the gel packs on ebay.
(They're not really needed unless I send high-grade coins)

Thanks for confirming how easy and effective this can be.

Thanks man, it works fine unless Newman steals the package en route!