In response to John Zoesch's post below titled "The USPS is so screwed up...", I am offering the following long post which I recently composed for consideration in the next Club Mag. Note, this is an un-edited first pass at this article, but the timing seemed right to offer it now. I am sure some of you have already considered this, or are already using similar techniques. Note also that the "naughty word" list apparently includes "f-o-a-m") took me a bit to figure that one out. If you have any questions/comments, feel free to e-mail or post as you see fit...

When the new USPS postage rates became effective May 14th resulting in more than double the cost of mailing a single chip in a standard bubble mailer, it got the attention of many of us collectors. I think we have all witnessed a few NIS’s change their shipping rates and many, many e-Bay sellers increase their shipping charges. Who can blame them? When the rate changes first hit, the new $1.13 charge (up from 52 cents) varied greatly from post office to post office – but they are all starting to figure it out by now and more hobbyists are recognizing the reality. Like several chippers, I participate in many small transactions (1-4 chips or so). Many of these consist of a single low-cost chip. As a result of the rate hikes, I was contemplating reducing the frequency of single chip (and 2-3 chip) purchases & trades. Based on discussions with Pam Holmgren, I know she had the exact same outlook. We knew we were not alone with that sentiment and we did not like the trend.

Pam and I set out to find an alternative mailing solution that would ease the pain a bit. Our objective was simply to find an alternative more cost-effective method of mailing small quantities of chips without sacrificing the safe delivery of the chip(s). I think most chippers have found that simply taping a single chip to the inside of an envelope does not provide for a desirable successful mailing rate. We considered surrounding the chip by rigid cardboard in a standard envelope and a few other options.

We then began to entertain techniques we have seen used by a few other chippers. We immediately began with an e-mail inquiry to Greg Susong (Cro-Nel fo am) and John Kallman (cohesive corrugated cardboard wrap). If you have received a package with a small quantity of chips from either of these chippers, you know exactly what I am speaking of first-hand. I am sure there are other chippers out there who use the same or similar techniques, but we started with Greg & John because we have been the recipient of their mailings.

The Cro-Nel used by Greg Susong is an interesting alternative. As described by Greg:

“It is a thin paper-backed fo am that adheres to itself. It comes in a roll that is 12” x 250”. I usually lay a long strip of it on the bar, and with a paper cutter at one end, I slice off 3 3/8" strips until I get a stack tall enough to last me for a while. These 12" strips fold over perfectly to fit into a regular 6 1/2" envelope. I can easily put 3 chips in one of these. I can always mail a single chip for regular first class postage. Most of the time, I can mail two chips for that, depending on what they are made of.”

The cohesive corrugated cardboard wrap used by John Kallman is also an interesting alternative. As described by John:

“The product that I use is #10 Safe-T-Mailer. I buy them from a local jobber at around 200 at a time for 25c each. They can hold about 2 silver strikes, 4 chips, or 2 $1.00 casino tokens.”

With this knowledge, Pam and I began our research into the 2 products. OK, I say “Pam and I” rather loosely as Pam did the majority of this research (thanks much Pam). We found it difficult to find a supplier of the Cro-Nel that was willing to sell to an individual (as opposed to a business) and further could not even find a retail source to acquire this product from. At the same time, we did find sources for the cohesive corrugated cardboard wrap. In fact we found an interesting alternative option.

Here is the detailed scoop on the cohesive corrugated cardboard:

• It can be found at this site: uline.com (or this number: 1-800-295-5510)
  
• It is called cohesive corrugated wrap (uline part number S-11453)
  
• It comes in a large light-weight 12” x 250’ roll (see picture) at a cost of $50 (3+ rolls at $47 each, 6+ rolls at $44 each) plus about $7 shipping for a single roll
  
• To mail 1-4 chips, you need a piece that is about 3” long, by the standard roll width of 12” (you can get away with a slightly smaller piece)
  
• You get about 1000 mailings (of 1-4 chips) per roll at a cohesive cardboard cost of just under 6 cents per mailing
  
• It is also available without the adhesive material for around $14 per roll (but you must purchase a minimum of 3 rolls). I have not tried this. The adhesive material is ingeniously applied to the grooves of the cardboard. You can not feel it as you touch the cardboard and it does not get on the chips. When you fold the cardboard over onto itself (to surround the chip), the grooves stick to each other and the chip remains free of damage

To mail 1-2 chips, you need the following (with approximate cost in parens)

• a standard sized envelope (2 cents)
  
• a 3” x 12” piece of the cardboard - you will fold this over the chip making a 3” x 6” protective shell (6 cents)
  
• a first class stamp (41 cents)
  
• additional manual handling postage to cover a non-machinable surcharge due to the rigidity of the envelope (17 cents)

It works out to a total of about 66 cents per mailing. With proper postage (58 cents), the envelopes can be simply dropped in the postal boxes so you can enjoy the conveniences of avoiding a now unnecessary ride to the Post Office and avoiding the lines at the window. You can fit a 3rd & 4th chip in the same envelope – depending on the Post Office (they all seem to interpret the rates a bit different), you will likely get hit with a little extra cost for the additional ounce. Compare this to the cost of the bubble mailer, plus the prior 52 cents it used to cost us to mail them – this is attractive cost wise. Granted, the bubble mailers were re-useable (for the cost of a mailing label and some tape), but now that they cost $1.13 to mail a single chip they do not compare well at all.

At this point, the corrugated cardboard method has proven to be as safe/reliable as the bubble mailer alternative. I see no reason why that will change. It has worked very well for John, Pam and I (and likely many others – one of which I am aware of is Archie). If/when I ever run out, I will ante-up and do it again. Until Pam & I settled on this technique, we were looking at significantly reducing our trading/purchasing in small quantities. Now we are regularly transacting away as I have in the past. (NCR alert) It has also come in handy when mailing other non-chip items as well.

For larger quantity chip mailings, we do not have an alternative solution, however the per chip shipping charges in larger quantities is not as significant as when mailing a single chip or 2. In some cases, it will be more cost effective to mail 2 separate packages to the same address using the corrugated cardboard versus using a single bubble mailer.

Thanks so much to Greg & John for sharing their innovative mailing techniques and to Pam for adding in her research time and helping come up with a great alternative option. By the time this article reaches print, I hope many of you have discovered this shipping option (or an equal or better solution). For those of you that have not, I hope some of you find benefit in using it. If you have other interesting alternative mailing methods, I would be very interested in hearing what you do. If you have any questions/comments regarding these options, feel free to contact me at jag_man_57@comcast.net.

Jim Gagnon (LM-5882-188)