Hey Guys,
I've been working on a playing card deck now for nearly 5 months and its coming together nicely. I cannot wait to show you guys what its about!
So, its time for me to figure out pricing costs for shipping and dimensions for packaging. I wondered if anyone has released any document or guide when it comes to this topic. I know there have been alot of Kickstarter projects for playing cards, so I wondered if anyone has shared their postage / dimensions experience with us. If there hasn't been anything released, I will put some time aside to give everyone a guide to the postage costing, as I intend to try the Kickstarter way to help fund the cards.
What I think would be great for everyone to know is a guide to:
- Know the average price of a 2,5000 deck printed by the USPCC (usually around $6-8000)
- Know the best + easiest currier to go with for individuals
- Know the weight of a single playing card deck
- Know the weight and dimensions of a brick
- Know the best packets to use to protect the decks.
I also intend to do a list of price breakdown for each deck shipping. Be it 1/2/5 or 10 Decks in a single parcel etc. for Canada USA and some Europe prices. That way others may not get screwed over when it comes to costing shipping charges 
Has anything like been done before or shared?
Cheers for reading!
- There's no average price for a 2,500-deck print run. It depending on features and the pricing in effect at the time, both of which will vary from project to project.
- The cheapest courier in the US is the Postal Service. You can try for a volume deal with one of the other carriers, but it's unlikely you'll get one unless you're shipping a LOT of decks over an extended period.
- The weight of a deck varies, but it averages 94mg (3.3 oz.).
- You've never bought a brick before? A poker deck is 63x88mm (2.5x3.5") and the thickness will vary with the stock. In a brick box, they're laid three-in-a-row, side-by-side, and four rows high. Again, thickness varies, but four decks stacked flat is a bit taller than a single deck is wide (63mm/2.5"). It should weight nearly forty ounces (2.5 lbs.) on average, adding a small amount for the brick box itself.
- "Best packets": most people use either a Priority Mail Flat Rate Small Box or Padded Envelope (the envelopes are cheaper, but require a little extra padding for protection) on a small order or a PMFR Medium Box for larger orders. It will vary based on the protection you add, but the envelope or small box can hold as much as a dozen decks - less with padding - and a medium box can hold a half-gross (six bricks) - again, less with padding. A half-gross of decks is still within the PMFR limit of 75 lbs. regardless of size (but it does have to fit in the PMFR boxes/envelopes).
Pricing, both domestic and international, can be worked out at usps.com. If you sign up for an account, you can even pay for and print pre-paid postage labels and Customs forms, plus they offer a slight discount for services that you purchase online. However, certain services such as Registered Mail, etc., can't be bought online and have to be purchased at the PO. You'll save time using a cheap B&W laser printer and adhesive sheets, but it might cost a little more since clear packing tape and plain paper will probably be cheaper than adhesive sheets.
FYI: factor in every single penny you'll need to spend to the best of your abilities - and maybe add another ten percent to factor in for errors - for all of your packaging materials. The Post Office will ship you free Priority Mail packaging, but the tape, paper, labels, padding, etc. is all on you.
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