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Modern Bubble Mailers

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mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
6,169
4,058
I was in a mood to do some minor venting and I had been thinking about this from time to time, but had never taken any time to actually put thought to keyboard until now.

Without any other basis besides my own opinion, I believe I am pretty accurate in the reasoning for this change, but maybe I am assuming the worst and that is not the case at all. This topic is probably old news too, but I don't recall seeing it mentioned, so here it goes one way our another:

I can't help but notice that nearly all of the new bubble mailers I get now from the mail are impossible to open without destroying them. The glue is ultra sticky to the point of ridiculousness! The flap tears off if you try. I suppose you could cut the top 1/8" or so off and just tape it shut, but the flap gives you a sense of privacy and security. What happened to "be kind to the environment"? I remember recycling mailers back in the day when they cleanly and easily opened. You'd slap a new label on, tape the flap shut and move on to the next trade or sale. This could feasibly continue until the mailer was transformed into a near solid ball of packing tape. There are even some new mailers that advertise a 2nd use out of them, but I have on more than one occasion received one of these where the sender didn't seal it right and used the 2nd seal as the first. My theory is simply that bubble mailer manufacturers DO NOT WANT YOU TO RE-USE THEIR MAILERS now and do their best to make it inconvenient, if not down right difficult, to do so. They want them destroyed once used so that a new one has to be purchased. Seems reasonable to think this is why, but if you believe otherwise, please feel free to share your thoughts and/or any back-up to argue otherwise.

I don't mail out a lot of stuff anyway, so this is not a major concern of mine, but it is just one of life's minor inconveniences that makes you want to complain when all else is great. This is by no means an endorsement to minimize real issues either. Our complaints are typically relative to our financial position in society and as trading card collectors (especially these days when it is no longer a kids hobby), most of us are probably doing well enough that we are lucky not have to complain about more real issues.
 

AnthonyCorona

Well-known member
Oct 6, 2014
9,600
68
Modesto, CA
I loath waste so I just use scissors to cut a very small strip of the top of a mailer off, get the card out and re use it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

djmilhaus

Member
Sep 8, 2014
142
0
Seattle
I agree that's probably part of it, but more as a by-product of better security. If you can open the mailer and reseal it without looking like it's been destroyed, a mail thief can probably open it, take something, and reseal it and you would assume whoever sent you something messed up. I doubt they are looking for your baseball cards, but small electronics that get shipped in bubble mailers have some value (SD cards, movies, etc). I still try to reuse as many of the darn things as I can as well but you're on point, it is getting really hard to do without looking like you're mailing someone garbage for an envelope.
 

mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
6,169
4,058
Rare, but it can open an entirely new debate. I ripped open one mailer once. Keep in mind that I was tearing a mailer that was larger than 8x10 and maybe got the top 1/4" of it. The ******* who sent the item didn't protect it inside, it was loose and was pushed up to the very edge of the top side of the mailer and I ripped off a piece of it!

I loath waste so I just use scissors to cut a very small strip of the top of a mailer off, get the card out and re use it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

linuxabuser

Well-known member
Jan 16, 2011
2,364
50
I keep 90% of mine for re-use. You’re right though, some are glued to the point of no return.
 

rsmath

Active member
Nov 8, 2008
6,086
1
I plan to use a heat gun on my next one I get to test something - i.e. if a little bit of heat can soften the adhesive enough to open the mailer without ripping the flap that happens when you try to open a mailer by hand.
 

Letch77

Well-known member
Jan 28, 2018
1,608
353
Midwest
I plan to use a heat gun on my next one I get to test something - i.e. if a little bit of heat can soften the adhesive enough to open the mailer without ripping the flap that happens when you try to open a mailer by hand.

...as you melt the gloss on the card within. Could be a new kind of refractor! Patent pending. :lol:
 

rsmath

Active member
Nov 8, 2008
6,086
1
...as you melt the gloss on the card within. Could be a new kind of refractor! Patent pending. :lol:

I'll have to tamp the bubble mailer to get the toploader to the opposite end of the mailer, away from the flap area. I figured i'd concentrate the heat on the flap area just long enough to warm it, not make it as hot as el diablo.
 

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