Trading
How to mail your Pilot Trading Cards
Most trades are a card or two in an envelope. Pack each card so it arrives flat, weigh the envelope, and put the right postage on it. Choose where you're sending from and to, and the ways to send it appear below.
These are recommendations
Post offices change their prices and rules, sometimes more than once a year. Use this guide as a starting point, and check with your local post office for current rates and rules before you mail. Last checked November 2026.
Pack the card
- Sleeve it, then put it in a toploader.A penny sleeve first, then a rigid toploader. It's what every collector expects, and it's what keeps a card flat in the mail.
- Keep it from sliding out.A small piece of painter's tape over the toploader's opening keeps the card in. Use tape that peels off cleanly, and never tape the card itself.
- Pick the envelope or the box.For one card or a few, a plain envelope or a stiffer one. For many cards, or a card that matters, a small box or a rigid mailer, with padding so nothing moves.
- Write “DO NOT BEND” on it.By hand or with a label, on the front, so everyone who handles it knows.
- Weigh it, and measure how thick it is.A kitchen scale works. Weigh the envelope ready to mail, cards and all. The weight and the thickness decide the postage.
Postage, by where it's going
Tracking is always better
A letter costs less, but it can't be tracked. With tracking, you both know where your cards are and where theirs are, and the trade goes more smoothly. When you can, choose a tracked option and send the tracking number to the person you're trading with.
From the United States, within the United States
In an envelope, with stamps
For one card or a few, in a letter-size envelope: up to 11½ by 6⅛ inches, no thicker than ¼ inch, and up to 3.5 oz.
A Forever stamp covers 1 oz of an ordinary letter. A toploader makes your envelope stiff, and USPS charges a stiff letter more (it calls it “nonmachinable”), so one Forever stamp on its own isn't enough.
| The envelope weighs | Stamps |
|---|---|
| Up to 1 oz | 1 Non-Machineable stamp, or 2 Forever stamps |
| Over 1 oz, up to 2 oz | 2 Forever stamps |
| Over 2 oz, up to 3.5 oz | 3 Forever stamps |
One card in a toploader in a plain envelope usually weighs under 1 oz, so it takes one Non-Machineable stamp. USPS sells them as “Non-Machineable Surcharge” stamps, and like a Forever stamp, one keeps covering 1 oz of stiff mail when prices change.
A letter has no tracking. Over 3.5 oz, thicker than ¼ inch, or bigger than letter size, it's a package.
In a box or a rigid mailer, with a label
For several cards, or when you want tracking: USPS Ground Advantage, which includes tracking and insurance. Three ways to get the label:
- At the Post Office counter. Bring it packed; they weigh it and print the label.
- USPS Click-N-Ship, at usps.com, with a free USPS.com account. Enter both addresses and the weight, pay, and print the label. No printer? Choose “Print Labels Later at the Post Office” and show the QR code at the counter.
- Pirate Ship (pirateship.com), with a free account. It costs less than the counter. No printer? Turn on QR code labels in its settings and show the code at a Post Office.
Rates and rules change. Check with USPS (usps.com or your Post Office) before you mail.
From the United States, to Canada or another country
Cards count as goods, and USPS doesn't allow goods in an international letter. So even one card goes as a small package with a customs form: First-Class Package International Service.
Getting the label
- At the Post Office counter, where they fill in the customs form with you.
- USPS Click-N-Ship or Pirate Ship, which fill in the customs form with the label. A label with a customs form needs a printer: the QR code options above work only within the US.
Faster or safer: a courier
A courier like DHL, FedEx or UPS handles customs for you, and costs more. Ask them what duties will be due and who pays them, so there are no surprises. If you can pay them when you send it, that's a courtesy to the person you're trading with.
On the customs form
- Describe it plainly, for example “trading card”.
- Give an honest value, never zero.
- Don't mark it as a gift. A trade isn't a gift, and several post offices say so.
The person receiving it may have to pay their country's taxes or fees.
Rates and rules change. Check with USPS (usps.com or your Post Office) before you mail.
From Canada, within Canada
In an envelope, with stamps
A standard letter is up to 245 by 156 mm and no thicker than 5 mm. Bigger or thicker, up to 380 by 270 mm and 20 mm, is a non-standard letter, which takes more stamps. Use Permanent stamps:
| The envelope | Stamps |
|---|---|
| Standard, up to 30 g | 1 Permanent stamp |
| Standard, over 30 g, up to 50 g | 2 Permanent stamps |
| Non-standard, up to 100 g | 3 Permanent stamps |
| Non-standard, over 100 g, up to 200 g | 4 Permanent stamps |
One card in a toploader in a plain envelope usually takes one Permanent stamp. Measure it, though: a few toploaders together can pass 5 mm.
A letter has no tracking.
In a box or a rigid mailer, with a label
Every Canada Post parcel service includes tracking. Two ways to get the label:
- At the post office, where they weigh it and print the label.
- Ship Online, at canadapost.ca, with a Canada Post account. Buy the label and print it. No printer? Show the emailed receipt at a post office and they print the label for you.
Rates and rules change. Check with Canada Post (canadapost.ca or your post office) before you mail.
From Canada, to the United States
Cards count as goods, and Canada Post doesn't take goods in letter mail. So even one card goes as a small packet: Tracked Packet USA, which includes tracking, or Small Packet USA.
Before you go to the post office
- Pay any US duty first, in the free Zonos Prepay app. It gives you a Declaration ID. Zonos charges a fee. Without a Declaration ID, Canada Post can't accept the package.
- Fill in Canada Post's online customs form.
Faster or safer: a courier
A courier like DHL, FedEx or UPS handles customs for you, and costs more. Ask them what duties will be due and who pays them, so there are no surprises. If you can pay them when you send it, that's a courtesy to the person you're trading with.
On the customs form
- Describe it plainly, for example “trading card”.
- Give an honest value, never zero.
- Don't mark it as a gift. A trade isn't a gift, and several post offices say so.
Rates and rules change, and the rules for sending to the US have changed often since 2025. Check with Canada Post (canadapost.ca or your post office) before you mail.
From Canada, to another country
Canada Post doesn't take goods in international letter mail, so a card goes as a small packet with the online customs form: Tracked Packet International, which includes tracking and reaches 38 countries, or Small Packet International. The person receiving it pays their country's duties and taxes on delivery.
Faster or safer: a courier
A courier like DHL, FedEx or UPS handles customs for you, and costs more. Ask them what duties will be due and who pays them, so there are no surprises. If you can pay them when you send it, that's a courtesy to the person you're trading with.
On the customs form
- Describe it plainly, for example “trading card”.
- Give an honest value, never zero.
- Don't mark it as a gift. A trade isn't a gift, and several post offices say so.
Rates and rules change. Check with Canada Post (canadapost.ca or your post office) before you mail.
From the United Kingdom, within the United Kingdom
In an envelope, with stamps
Royal Mail stamps have no price printed on them: 1st and 2nd Class, and 1st and 2nd Class Large. The size and the weight of the envelope decide which:
| The envelope | Stamps |
|---|---|
| Letter: up to 24 by 16.5 cm, 5 mm thick, 100 g | 1 stamp, 1st or 2nd Class |
| Large Letter: up to 35.3 by 25 cm, 2.5 cm thick, 100 g | 1 Large stamp, or 2 stamps of the same class |
One card in a toploader in a plain envelope usually takes one stamp. Measure it, though: a few toploaders together can pass 5 mm, which makes it a Large Letter. A Large Letter over 100 g needs more postage: ask at the Post Office.
A letter has no tracking.
Tracked, as a Large Letter or a parcel
Royal Mail Tracked 48, or Tracked 24 for the next day, also takes a Large Letter, so a few cards in a stiff envelope can go tracked without a box. Ways to get the label:
- At a Post Office counter, where they print it.
- Click & Drop, at royalmail.com. Print the label at home, or have your postie bring it. A QR code printed at a Post Office works for tracked parcels, not for Large Letters.
Rates and rules change. Check with Royal Mail (royalmail.com or a Post Office) before you mail.
From the United Kingdom, to the United States
Cards count as goods, and goods sent abroad need a customs declaration sent electronically, so stamps alone won't do. Buy the postage through Click & Drop or at a Post Office counter, which fill in the declaration with you: International Tracked, which includes tracking, or International Standard.
Royal Mail works out any US duty, and you pay it with the postage, plus a small fee.
Faster or safer: a courier
A courier like DHL, FedEx or UPS handles customs for you, and costs more. Ask them what duties will be due and who pays them, so there are no surprises. If you can pay them when you send it, that's a courtesy to the person you're trading with.
On the customs form
- Describe it plainly, for example “trading card”.
- Give an honest value, never zero.
- Don't mark it as a gift. A trade isn't a gift, and several post offices say so.
Rates and rules change, and the rules for sending to the US have changed often since 2025. Check with Royal Mail (royalmail.com or a Post Office) before you mail.
From the United Kingdom, to another country
Cards count as goods, and goods sent abroad, the EU included, need a customs declaration sent electronically, so stamps alone won't do. Buy the postage through Click & Drop or at a Post Office counter, which fill it in with you: International Tracked, which includes tracking, or International Standard. The person receiving it may have to pay their country's taxes or fees.
Faster or safer: a courier
A courier like DHL, FedEx or UPS handles customs for you, and costs more. Ask them what duties will be due and who pays them, so there are no surprises. If you can pay them when you send it, that's a courtesy to the person you're trading with.
On the customs form
- Describe it plainly, for example “trading card”.
- Give an honest value, never zero.
- Don't mark it as a gift. A trade isn't a gift, and several post offices say so.
Rates and rules change. Check with Royal Mail (royalmail.com or a Post Office) before you mail.
From the Netherlands, within the Netherlands
In an envelope, with stamps
PostNL stamps show a number instead of a price. Anything that fits through a mailbox, up to 38 by 26.5 cm, 3.2 cm thick and 2 kg, can go with stamps:
| The envelope | Stamps |
|---|---|
| An A4 envelope or smaller, up to 20 g | 1 stamp “1” |
| An A4 envelope or smaller, over 20 g, up to 50 g | 1 stamp “2”, or 2 stamps “1” |
| Over 50 g, or bigger than an A4 envelope | 1 XL stamp |
One card in a toploader in a plain envelope usually weighs under 20 g, so it takes one stamp “1”.
A letter has no tracking.
Tracked, as a letterbox parcel
A Brievenbuspakje+ fits through the mailbox, so nobody has to be home, and it includes track & trace within the Netherlands. Make and pay for the label online at postnl.nl, and print it. No printer? A PostNL-punt prints it for you. Hand it in at a PostNL-punt.
Rates and rules change. Check with PostNL (postnl.nl or a PostNL-punt) before you mail.
From the Netherlands, to another EU country
Inside the EU there's no customs. PostNL advises sending anything other than paper as a parcel rather than a letter, so the card goes as an international letterbox parcel (Brievenbuspakje), with or without track & trace. Make and pay for the label online at postnl.nl. No printer? A PostNL-punt prints it for you.
Faster or safer: a courier
A courier like DHL, FedEx or UPS is faster, and costs more. Inside the EU there are no duties to ask about.
Rates and rules change. Check with PostNL (postnl.nl or a PostNL-punt) before you mail.
From the Netherlands, to the United States
Send it as a letterbox parcel (Brievenbuspakje) or a small parcel, both with track & trace. Make the label online at postnl.nl with the customs details, and pay any US duty online there too. No printer? A PostNL-punt prints the label and the customs form. PostNL says the US checks get stricter from 20 January 2027.
Faster or safer: a courier
A courier like DHL, FedEx or UPS handles customs for you, and costs more. Ask them what duties will be due and who pays them, so there are no surprises. If you can pay them when you send it, that's a courtesy to the person you're trading with.
On the customs form
- Describe it plainly, for example “trading card”.
- Give an honest value, never zero.
- Don't mark it as a gift. A trade isn't a gift, and several post offices say so.
Rates and rules change, and the rules for sending to the US have changed often since 2025. Check with PostNL (postnl.nl or a PostNL-punt) before you mail.
From the Netherlands, to a country outside the EU
Outside the EU a customs form is required. Send it as a letterbox parcel (Brievenbuspakje) or a small parcel, with or without track & trace. Make the label online at postnl.nl with the customs details. No printer? A PostNL-punt prints the label and the customs form. The person receiving it may have to pay their country's taxes or fees.
Faster or safer: a courier
A courier like DHL, FedEx or UPS handles customs for you, and costs more. Ask them what duties will be due and who pays them, so there are no surprises. If you can pay them when you send it, that's a courtesy to the person you're trading with.
On the customs form
- Describe it plainly, for example “trading card”.
- Give an honest value, never zero.
- Don't mark it as a gift. A trade isn't a gift, and several post offices say so.
Rates and rules change. Check with PostNL (postnl.nl or a PostNL-punt) before you mail.
From Mexico, within Mexico
In an envelope, at the counter
Mexican stamps show a price, so there's no stamp count to give. Take it to a Correos de México counter and ask for a carta nacional by weight: the steps go up to 20 g, 20 to 40 g, 40 to 60 g, and on up to 1 kg.
One card in a toploader in a plain envelope usually weighs under 20 g. Correos de México doesn't say whether a card can go in a letter, so ask at the counter. If it can't, send it by Paquetería Tradicional.
A letter has no tracking.
Tracked, as a package
Paquetería Tradicional includes registration (Registrado), so the package gets a number you can track. You buy it at the counter, with no label to print. The front of the package must be at least 9 by 14 cm, so a rigid mailer works. Mexpost is faster, and costs more.
Rates and rules change. Check with Correos de México (correosdemexico.gob.mx or a post office) before you mail.
From Mexico, to the United States
Cards count as goods, so they go as a package, sent from a Correos de México counter. Correos de México asks for:
- Your official ID, email and mobile number.
- The email and mobile number of the person receiving it.
- A declared value of at least 150 pesos.
Correos de México also charges a tax on the declared value of goods sent to the US. Ask at the counter what it comes to.
Faster or safer: a courier
A courier like DHL, FedEx or UPS handles customs for you, and costs more. Ask them what duties will be due and who pays them, so there are no surprises. If you can pay them when you send it, that's a courtesy to the person you're trading with.
On the customs form
- Describe it plainly, for example “trading card”.
- Give an honest value, never zero.
- Don't mark it as a gift. A trade isn't a gift, and several post offices say so.
Rates and rules change, and the rules for sending to the US have changed often since 2025. Check with Correos de México (correosdemexico.gob.mx or a post office) before you mail.
From Mexico, to another country
Cards count as goods, so they go as a small packet (pequeño paquete) with a customs form, sent registered from a Correos de México counter. The person receiving it may have to pay their country's taxes or fees.
Faster or safer: a courier
A courier like DHL, FedEx or UPS handles customs for you, and costs more. Ask them what duties will be due and who pays them, so there are no surprises. If you can pay them when you send it, that's a courtesy to the person you're trading with.
On the customs form
- Describe it plainly, for example “trading card”.
- Give an honest value, never zero.
- Don't mark it as a gift. A trade isn't a gift, and several post offices say so.
Rates and rules change. Check with Correos de México (correosdemexico.gob.mx or a post office) before you mail.
From Australia, within Australia
Australia Post takes only flexible items in a letter. A letter with anything rigid in it counts as a parcel, and a toploader is rigid. So a card in a toploader goes as a parcel, and every Parcel Post parcel includes tracking.
As a parcel, with tracking
Three ways to send it by Parcel Post:
- In a prepaid satchel, from a Post Office. The postage is included, so there's no label to buy, and the extra small one, 28 by 21.5 cm, fits a few cards in toploaders.
- At the Post Office counter. Bring it packed; they weigh it and print the label.
- MyPost, at auspost.com.au, with a free MyPost account. Pay for the label, print it at home, and drop the parcel at a Post Office or in a street posting box.
Express Post is faster, and costs more.
Rates and rules change. Check with Australia Post (auspost.com.au or a Post Office) before you mail.
From Australia, to the United States
Cards count as goods, and Australia Post's international letters can hold only printed material with no commercial value. So even one card goes as a parcel with a customs form: International Standard, which includes tracking.
The customs form
- Online, before you go, with the online customs form at auspost.com.au. For the US you don't need a printer: show the confirmation email or text at the Post Office counter, and they print the label.
- At the Post Office, when you hand the parcel in.
US duty has to be paid before the parcel reaches the US, by you rather than the person receiving it. Ask at the Post Office how. From 20 January 2027, the online customs form also sends you to Zonos for a Declaration ID before you go, and the free Zonos app can make one too.
Faster or safer: a courier
A courier like DHL, FedEx or UPS handles customs for you, and costs more. Ask them what duties will be due and who pays them, so there are no surprises. If you can pay them when you send it, that's a courtesy to the person you're trading with.
On the customs form
- Describe it plainly, for example “trading card”.
- Give an honest value, never zero.
- Don't mark it as a gift. A trade isn't a gift, and several post offices say so.
Rates and rules change, and the rules for sending to the US have changed often since 2025. Check with Australia Post (auspost.com.au or a Post Office) before you mail.
From Australia, to another country
Cards count as goods, and Australia Post's international letters can hold only printed material with no commercial value. So a card goes as a parcel with a customs form: International Standard, which includes tracking, or International Economy, which doesn't and is handed in at the counter. The person receiving it may have to pay their country's taxes or fees.
The customs form
- MyPost, at auspost.com.au, with a free MyPost account, for International Standard. Pay for the label with the customs form, print it, and drop the parcel at a Post Office or in a street posting box.
- The online customs form at auspost.com.au, then show the confirmation at the Post Office.
- At the Post Office, when you hand the parcel in.
Faster or safer: a courier
A courier like DHL, FedEx or UPS handles customs for you, and costs more. Ask them what duties will be due and who pays them, so there are no surprises. If you can pay them when you send it, that's a courtesy to the person you're trading with.
On the customs form
- Describe it plainly, for example “trading card”.
- Give an honest value, never zero.
- Don't mark it as a gift. A trade isn't a gift, and several post offices say so.
Rates and rules change. Check with Australia Post (auspost.com.au or a Post Office) before you mail.
From any other country
We haven't written up your country's post office yet. This is what held almost everywhere we looked.
Within your country
An envelope with stamps usually works for a card or two. Weigh it and ask at the counter: some post offices charge more for a stiff envelope, and a few take only paper in a letter. For tracking, ask for the cheapest tracked option for a small item.
To another country
Cards count as goods, and most post offices don't allow goods in an international letter. So even one card usually goes as a small packet with a customs form. If your post office won't take goods to the US, a courier usually still does.
Faster or safer: a courier
A courier like DHL, FedEx or UPS handles customs for you, and costs more. Ask them what duties will be due and who pays them, so there are no surprises. If you can pay them when you send it, that's a courtesy to the person you're trading with.
On the customs form
- Describe it plainly, for example “trading card”.
- Give an honest value, never zero.
- Don't mark it as a gift. A trade isn't a gift, and several post offices say so.
Want your country on this page? Tell us, and we'll add it.
Rates and rules change. Check with your local post office before you mail.
How to store and protect your cards
Know what to trade before you mail
PTC Binder keeps your wishlist and the cards you're willing to trade, so you know what to send and what to ask for. Log where each card came from, and photograph the front and back.
Free to download. No account required.