Guide To Safe Amiibo Card Trades

[matt]

Guide to safe trading of Amiibo Cards on Belltree Forums

I have no idea if a thread of this purpose already exists, but this is just a guide to safe trading of amiibo cards, and efficient and effective methods of trading across countries or wherever.

Preparing for an amiibo card trade

1. Firstly, you should ensure that the person you are trading with has good reputation. Have a read of their wifi feedback ratings and see if they seem reliable. Similarly to in ACNL, if a trade goes well; or goes problematic, leave feedback go help other TBTers.
2. Identify which of the oppositions cards you want, and deciede on a trade. Once it is posted, you cant get it back! Make sure that you and the trader are solidly agreed on what cards you want to exchange...
3. Using the private message feature, exchange postal addresses. This is the most important part so ensure the person you are sending it to knows your address too. I recommend you delete the address soon after you recieve the cards from the trade.

Postage

Postage is where the important stuff begins.
Different countries will have different postage methods etc so if anyone has information outside of UK that would help me to update this.
If you are trading in UK, its probably cheaper to send with Royal Mail. I recommend using a brown envelope with a thin layer of bubble wrap inside. This will keep the cards secure. If you can manage it, place the cards in an opened Amiibo Card packet so they dont get thrown around as much.

Another cheaper way of sending is by sandwiching the amiibo cards in a birthday card or something. A nice thankyou card to your trader. The card will help protect the amiibo cards too.

Spoiler: A nice picture of a packet you can use

Obviously it will cost money to purchase envelopes and stuff, but either way itll be cheaper than buying packets and packets of amiibo cards to find the cards you want...

Or find a nice cheap card from Walmart, ASDA or your local superstore equivalent

When posting, it is up to you whether you use First or Second class stamps. Please check with your local post office for advice. You may need to pay extra for overseas shipping if posting to another country.
In UK:
> First Class Stamps cost around ?4 for 4 stamps, some places charge more or less, for a large letter.
> Second Class Stamps cost around ?3 for a book of 4 large letter stamps
If you are in UK, you can buy from your local WHSmith: Click For Postage and Packaging

Place the stamp in the upper right corner. Some places may do this differently im not sure.
Write the address on the plain side, same side as stamp, in block capitals like this example below:

123 AMERICA STREET
YOURCITY HERE
TEXAS
ZIP CODE/POST CODE
AMERICA/ENGLAND etc.

Then post it, ensuring the envelope is sealed.

How long until my amiibo cards come, Matt?
Sending via first class in UK with Royal Mail usually takes around 1-2 working days.
With RM, you can also recieve your amiibo cards on saturdays
With Royal Mail, second class postage comes 3rd working day usually.

The United States Postal Services reports that as of January 2011, it takes an average of one to three days for First-Class Mail to arrive at its destination. Priority Mail takes an average of one to two days to arrive, according to the USPS.


If you have a good trade with someone, leave them feedback on the forum, it'll help others to know you are a great trader
As stated in the TBT rules, TBT isnt responsible for any real world trading problems. Please be aware and trade at your own risk
Thread will be updated soon

 

[M O L K O]

I've heard a few good tips on the facebook groups, these are cheaper options

• Send it in a card, a thank you card or w/e. It's then protected by two peices of cardboard (the thicker the card is the better)
• Use index cards or pieces of cardboard to protect the card

 

[matt]

I've heard a few good tips on the facebook groups, these are cheaper options

• Send it in a card, a thank you card or w/e. It's then protected by two peices of cardboard (the thicker the card is the better)
• Use index cards or pieces of cardboard to protect the card

Ah good idea! A nice cheap card from Cardfactory or ASDA, thanks

 

[milkday]

I sent mine airmail to Portugal from the UK and it arrived pretty sharpish

 

[matt]

I sent mine airmail to Portugal from the UK and it arrived pretty sharpish

Yeah its a good idea to send in between to cards so it stays flat, if you send in just an envelope it can get bent easily, and when postman fold them in half to stick through letterbox :O

 

[miyari]

I was actually going to make a thread like this, but I haven't had much time today. I'll piggyback onto yours (if you don't mind) with my suggestions, as well! I used to trade a ton on the GameFAQs forums back in the eReader days, and I've never had any card come damaged. My suggestions for safely and securely shipping cards are pretty similar to yours, but I wanted to add some specifics! We've got four series of this stuff to go through, so it's best to figure out now what works best for you! I'm located in the US, so unfortunately I don't have any sources for where these products can be found internationally, but Amazon/eBay are always great places to start!

I ship all of my cards inside inner sleeves in a toploader. This provides a double-layer of protection; the inner sleeve prevents any scratching of the card by the harder plastic of the toploader (though that's unlikely) and also helps the card stay in place once it's inside. You can just use toploaders and you'll be perfectly fine.

In my opinion, toploaders should be considered absolutely essential when mailing cards. They're rather cheap and provide sturdy, hard plastic protection for cards. I buy toploaders locally for $2.50/50. I use UltraPro brand toploaders (I don't know who else even makes them); there's a few different kinds but all that's different is exactly how transparent they are. You can find these locally at every card store, some toy stores (like Toys'R'Us) and even Wal-Mart. This helps prevent the cards from getting bent in the mail, while also protecting the cards from any damage or scratching. If you're using inner sleeves, too, you can fit 2 cards into each toploader. This adds necessary stiffness and protection when included in nearly any envelope.

Inner sleeves are extremely cheap, and can be found at any local card store or on Amazon/eBay. Personally, I use BCW Inner Sleeves; you can find a very detailed review of them with tons of positive benefits in this article. I buy these sleeves locally at a cost of $1 for 100 sleeves.

Personally, I send all of my cards in bubble envelopes. This is totally unnecessary, just a personal preference and I happened to already have the mailers because I ordered them by mistake. In the past, I mailed all of my cards in either normal (small size) envelopes or in cards and never had any issues. These are the exact cheapest and best-sized mailers I've found for mailing cards: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GHTBJ8. The toploaders fit snugly inside so it's impossible for the cards to come out, and they fit nice and tight when mailing multiple cards. I've fit up to 8 cards in these without any issue. I take a stack of cards in toploaders and I tape them together across each edge with a small piece of tape. I then seal the envelope up and then put an extra piece of tape across the seal. Voila!

Anyway, just wanted to add to this already great topic with my own strategies! Here's the goods:

 

[Shimmer]

I sent mine in a regular envelope that you send birthday cards in. The Amiibo card(s) were in between two cue cards for protection and the shipping was $1 to ship inside my country (Canada).

Hopefully I've given helpful advice. Xp

 

[miyari]

That works perfectly! I used to send all of my cards in a sleeve in-between two pieces of cut scrap cardboard, taped up. Never had a problem! I just wanted to share more "hardcore" suggestions, I guess (who knows when you'll run out of cards or cardboard)! I'm interested in seeing all the different ways people send cards; I have about 10 trades coming to check out!

 

[fink]

That works perfectly! I used to send all of my cards in a sleeve in-between two pieces of cut scrap cardboard, taped up. Never had a problem! I just wanted to share more "hardcore" suggestions, I guess (who knows when you'll run out of cards or cardboard)! I'm interested in seeing all the different ways people send cards; I have about 10 trades coming to check out!

I mailed my cards the same exact way. Just two pieces of cardboard taped around the cards so they don't move or bend while in a bubble'd envelope. Also, about having 10 trades come in.. it will look something like this xD

but hey now i have lots of supplies to trade when series 2 releases!

 

[Llunavale]

Bubble envelopes for me, with the card wrapped inside a couple of sleeves and 1st class from post office so I can get and send a pic of proof of postage...
Proof of postage doesn't seem to be a common thing really, seems picture of the envelope/card is good for a lot of people, but hey at least you can rest assured I've sent it - and that I can do something about it if it doesn't turn up for whatever reason...(been good so far though!)

I'm lucky really...I posted my trade thread as my second thread, the first one since 2013. I'm really grateful to have been trusted with my first couple of trades! I guess I felt obligated to send proof of postage come to think of it, because of that reason!

Trading has been great fun, it will be great to carry it on over the next three series

 

[fink]

Proof of postage doesn't seem to be a common thing really, seems picture of the envelope/card is good for a lot of people, but hey at least you can rest assured I've sent it

I had the same experience. I kept all my reciepts from the post office just incase, was also handy to keep track for my own records. But out of the many trades I've done recently, none had any problems and no one requested proof. Just expect a longer delivery for anything that has to go through customs.

 

[fink]

double post. wonky internet lately

 

[Aria Nook Violet]

I use cardboard around my cards to keep them protected. They stay like inside a little box. Last delivery I had to the UK went pretty safe and the person was happy.

 

[Stevey Queen]

I'm confused about point number 3.

How can you delete the address after giving it out through PM? You can't delete someone else's PM's and I don't think you can edit them either.

 

[matt]

Bubble envelopes for me, with the card wrapped inside a couple of sleeves and 1st class from post office so I can get and send a pic of proof of postage...
Proof of postage doesn't seem to be a common thing really, seems picture of the envelope/card is good for a lot of people, but hey at least you can rest assured I've sent it - and that I can do something about it if it doesn't turn up for whatever reason...(been good so far though!)

I'm lucky really...I posted my trade thread as my second thread, the first one since 2013. I'm really grateful to have been trusted with my first couple of trades! I guess I felt obligated to send proof of postage come to think of it, because of that reason!

Trading has been great fun, it will be great to carry it on over the next three series

Yep same here, GAME posted my packet of amiibo cards through royal mail and weren't damages in an bubble layered envelope ;-)