Shipping Your Coins The Most Cost Effective Way Possible

You can get a cheaper USPS commercial rate if you create and pay for a shipping label on ebay or Paypal. Also Amazon, and I would guess Etsy, too. A flat rate Priority small box or padded envelope is about $7.50 that way. The cheapest Flat Rate envelope is cardboard and costs even less, maybe $7 or $7.25.

If your item is light enough, you can use First Class. The cost to ship 4 oz or less is under $3. If you go over 4 oz, you pay the 8 oz rate. The next jump is 12 oz if you go over 8 oz.

They changed the rates in January, charging more for more distant locations.

I'm seeing more than one ebay seller asking less than face value for mint stamps - even whole sheets of older ones. But you could end up covering your box with combinations of odd values, and you don't get discounted rates with stamps.

There are now Forever stamps with different values. I've seen post card rate, 1 oz, 2 oz, and second ounce. But the second ounce and 2 oz stamps actually went down in value with last January's changes. Those rates only apply to flat, machinable envelopes and cards, but the dollar value can be used for any package.

Another idea is to find a coin show in your area. IF you can find one, go there and ask dealers if they want to buy your coins. At such shows people do this all the time saving shipping charges and looking for other items they may want or need at the same time.

Technically the max weight for any flat rate package is 70 lbs, but I doubt you could stuff that much in a padded envelope. With 10 lbs of rolls, I would definitely use lots of extra packing tape!

I have shipped 40 rolls of nickels in the flat rate padded envelope numerous times with no problems. Of course you have to use some "smarts" and pack it securely. The $1 shipping tape from Dollar Tree is your friend! Fashion a box from cardboard that will fit into the envelope, insert rolled coin, tape the heck out of it, insert into envelope, seal, and tape the heck out of the envelope. Done properly,nothing moves around in the envelope.

im going to ship T-BOP here 14 rolls of copper Lincoln cents.

whats the cheapest way to do that?

small flate rate? $8?

padded envelope? $$$?

Best of my knowledge there is only 1 size padded flat rate envelope. It's been a couple of years since I shipped using them, but the price difference between small flat rate box & padded mailer was like 15 cents (back when they were around $5 to ship) As previously mentioned, you can ship up to 70 pounds in the flat rate, so selling & shipping larger lots is more profitable. (I think I could only get 26 rolls of paper wrapped nickels into a small flat rate box if I remember correctly)

ok,

how much would it be to ship a single coin in a carboard 2x2?
standard forever stamp envelope? 55c?

I have shipped nickels and quarter sized coin in flip or paper 2 x 2 with no problem, packaging it as you describe, and normal 50 cent stamp.

You can also ship international for $1.15 I think.

Next step up for me is to attach the coin (in a flip or 2 x 2) between two pieces of thin cardboard (half dollars, but I have also shipped some "Blue Ikes" this way with another small amount of postage, as these go over 1 ounce). If under 1 oz., you buy a 72 cent stamp and get it hand cancelled by the clerk, or write "NON-MACHINABLE" in red ink (same as their red hand-stamp), and put it through the slot..

If your postal clerk is "by the book" they will measure the thickness, but they can't if you just drop it in the slot.

But remember if the customer files an INR, you are screwed and have no recourse. I don;t know my exact loss rate, but it is on the order of 1 out of 100. Maybe I'm lucky.




I don't do it for pennies, nickels or dimes I always take the coin out and re-package into something thinner. The size and thickness of the 2 x 2 can only cause problems if you are going to mail at basic first class rate. I have sold a few lower value quarters the same way, and shipped some better ones in their 2 x 2 between cardboard as I described above.