mailing optical discs w/out breakage

[jimtron]

I bought a bunch of CD/DVD mailers that are great because with a disc, they weigh in just under 1 ounce. Unfortunately many of the discs I've mailed with these envelopes have cracked in the mail. I've used paperboard envelopes in the past, but they're relatively expensive and cost more to mail. I wonder how Netflix does it?

Anyone have suggestions on how to prevent discs being cracked without resorting to heavy duty mailers? Write "fragile" on the front? Pray?

[WildCat]

Bubble envelopes always worked for me. I never had any break.

[jimtron]

Bubble envelopes always worked for me. I never had any break.

Yeah, I'm sure that would work, but I have to mail discs frequently and was hoping to use the inexpensive paper mailers I bought 100 of. Something just occurred to me--maybe Netflix discs don't get broken because they use bulk mail and the envelopes don't have to go through the stamp-canceling thing...

[BenBurch]

If you are really worried, get two bits of thick cardboard and sandwich the disk in between and tape it up. If you get the really thick stuff, the sandwich will be basically unbendable.

[jimtron]

If you are really worried, get two bits of thick cardboard and sandwich the disk in between and tape it up. If you get the really thick stuff, the sandwich will be basically unbendable.

I have paperboard envelopes that do a great job of preventing the discs from breaking. I was wondering if there's a way to ship discs in lightweight envelopes like the type Netflix uses--and avoid breakage.

[theprestige]

I wonder how Netflix does it?

I was wondering if there's a way to ship discs in lightweight envelopes like the type Netflix uses--and avoid breakage.

Obviously Netflix's envelopes are magical. Either that, or--anecdotes notwithstanding--breakage in mailing isn't a significant factor in their business model, and probably shouldn't be in yours. Ship lots of disks, as cheaply as possible, and reap the rewards. Is anything you're shipping so valuable and so time critical that another cheap disk in another cheap envelope can't make up for any breakage? And if it is that valuable, harden your shipping system according to the real value you place on the payload.

In other words, I think Netflix does it by not trying to get all the benefits of expensive shipping without the costs, and without paying more for their shipping than the payload is actually worth to them.

[WildCat]

Yeah, I'm sure that would work, but I have to mail discs frequently and was hoping to use the inexpensive paper mailers I bought 100 of.
Now don't you wish you'd saved the 1000s of AOL mailers you must have received in the 90s? You could have used those! :D

[jimtron]

Obviously Netflix's envelopes are magical. Either that, or--anecdotes notwithstanding--breakage in mailing isn't a significant factor in their business model, and probably shouldn't be in yours. Ship lots of disks, as cheaply as possible, and reap the rewards. Is anything you're shipping so valuable and so time critical that another cheap disk in another cheap envelope can't make up for any breakage? And if it is that valuable, harden your shipping system according to the real value you place on the payload.

In other words, I think Netflix does it by not trying to get all the benefits of expensive shipping without the costs, and without paying more for their shipping than the payload is actually worth to them.


I'm a photographer, and I ship image files on discs. The discs aren't valuable, but there are often tight deadlines, so frequent broken discs won't work in my business model.

I don't believe in magic envelopes, but was wondering if there's something about Netflix shipping that prevents the discs from frequently breaking (like I mentioned before, maybe something like the postage doesn't need to be canceled?).

[Policenaut]

Did you ever try sandwiching your disc between two blank discs? If three can fit in a pack of course. I don't know how tight the fit is.

[jimtron]

Did you ever try sandwiching your disc between two blank discs? If three can fit in a pack of course. I don't know how tight the fit is.


I don't think 3 discs would fit in the envelopes I have, and it seems kind of wasteful, and would definitely go over an ounce. I'm wondering if I can send discs the way Netflix does, without frequent broken discs. I'll try calling the post office tomorrow.

[rjh01]

I receive several DVDs every month. They come in stiff cardboard. I do not have a problem with them arriving broken.

Try to break a DVD. You should find it very difficult to do so by hand. Had to use a hammer once to do so. If it is a problem for you then something is going very wrong.

[BigAl]

Did you ever try sandwiching your disc between two blank discs? If three can fit in a pack of course. I don't know how tight the fit is.

They don't have to be blank and I don't think your data would care if it was an unwanted music CD.

Put a piece of paper between each disk to prevent scratching.

[BenBurch]

Now don't you wish you'd saved the 1000s of AOL mailers you must have received in the 90s? You could have used those! :D

Some of those were bulletproof. I kept several for mailing out disks to people, and re-used them that way. One series was a metal can, and another was half-inch-thick fiberboard hinged box with a well for the disk.

[BenBurch]

I don't think 3 discs would fit in the envelopes I have, and it seems kind of wasteful, and would definitely go over an ounce. I'm wondering if I can send discs the way Netflix does, without frequent broken discs. I'll try calling the post office tomorrow.

If you use pre-canceled stamps, there is no running through a stamper; http://pe.usps.com/businessmail101/postage/precanceled.htm

[BlackCat]

I don't think 3 discs would fit in the envelopes I have, and it seems kind of wasteful, and would definitely go over an ounce. I'm wondering if I can send discs the way Netflix does, without frequent broken discs. I'll try calling the post office tomorrow.
You're assuming that Netflix doesn't have broken discs. They do. A lot. They just have such a large stock, it doesn't matter much. I know because I used to rent from a smaller rental service, and they said they constantly dealt with broken discs, and for a while, they used cardboard to help alleviate the problem, which worked well, but as you've discovered: it's much more expensive.

There is no way of shipping cheaply like you want without breakage. It's either cheap, or no breakage, your choice.

[Fishstick]

Can you not sandwich the DVD/CD's between two cardboard plates and then put them in a regular envelope, or does that exceed the weight/size limit? That seems to be the safest and cheapest solution.


ETA: Invest in an upload account to a trusted service and let your clients download the photos instead? Or is that not an option.

[jimtron]

You're assuming that Netflix doesn't have broken discs. They do. A lot.

Do you know roughly what percentage break? I've had a subscription for a few years and have never received a broken disc. For those of you with Netflix accounts--how often do you get broken discs?

[jimtron]

They don't have to be blank and I don't think your data would care if it was an unwanted music CD.

Put a piece of paper between each disk to prevent scratching.

As I mentioned earlier, I have 1 oz. mailers. More than one disc puts it over an ounce.

ETA: Invest in an upload account to a trusted service and let your clients download the photos instead? Or is that not an option.

That's how I usually send images to clients. But sometimes I need to send hundreds of raw files, which can be 5-10GB of data, and that takes too long to transfer. Plus some clients request discs.

I do know how to pack discs so they won't break, and I'm happy to pay the add'l postage if there's no other way to reliably send the discs, but IF there's a way to use the 1 oz. mailers without frequent breakage, that would be swell. BenBurch, I'm going to look into pre-canceled stamps, thanks.

[jimtron]

There is no way of shipping cheaply like you want without breakage. It's either cheap, or no breakage, your choice.

I beg to differ; I just met with a mail piece design consultant at the USPS and found the answer to my question. It turns out that the envelopes I was using aren't too thin, the problem is that my envelopes are too small. She showed me a custom envelope someone had brought in (a mailer for art movie rental source Facets). It looked very similar to the Netflix envelopes, and the paper was thinner than the paper used in my 1 oz. mailers. The person I met with explained that envelopes have to travel on belts around curves, and it the envelope is too small then the disc itself gets bent--with a bigger envelope the extra paper that doesn't house the disc gets bent to bring the envelope around the curve (another issue is that the disc must be prevented from shifting around in the envelope).

Here are the standards for mailing discs (http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/201.htm#wp1042622) in the USPS:

3.4.3 Dimensions and Shape Standards for Automation-Compatible Enveloped Letters Containing Discs

Each enveloped letter must meet the basic standards for machinable letters in 1.0 (http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/201.htm#wp1042477) and have the following characteristics:
a. Height, not more than 6 inches or less than 5.5 inches high.
b. Length, not more than 9.75 inches or less than 7.25 inches long.
c. Thickness, not more than 0.25 inch or less than 0.009 inch thick.
d. Weight, not more than 3 ounces.
e. A piece up to 8 inches long must be made of paper with a minimum 70-pound basis weight or equivalent.
f. A piece over 8 inches long (up to 9.75 inches long) must be made of paper with a minimum 80-pound basis weight or equivalent.
g. Discs in mailpieces made of the minimum basis weight paper must be inserted into a protective sleeve.


My envelopes are just under 5" x 6.5"--too small. But it's good to know that I can use cheaper, lighter envelopes as long as they're big enough.