Sunday Afternoon Soapbox: Plain White Envelopes

Card collectors who have traded or purchased cards online are probably familiar with the plain white envelope.  For some... they're known as the dreaded PWE's.  While others have no issue with them at all.  Personally... I'm somewhere in the middle.

I have always felt that there's a time and place for PWE's in our hobby and today I figured I'd share some of those thoughts.

#1:  If you've completed a trade online and have agreed to use PWE's, then obviously it's okay to use a PWE.

#2:  However if you're trading with someone online and PWE's haven't been discussed... I'd rather be safe than sorry and ship in a padded envelope.

#3:  If you're an eBay seller charging $5 for shipping, then you should NOT use a PWE.

#4:  If you're an eBay seller offering free shipping, then you should let prospective buyers know whether or not you're using PWE's, so they can bid accordingly.

#5:  And last... but not least... if you're a fellow blogger and you're sending random cards out of the kindness of your heart, then PWE's are 100% fine.  I mean c'mon... it's a gift.  The recipient should be grateful they received cards in the first place.

And "appreciation" is exactly what I felt after receiving PWE's from KevAlan (CCW), Brian at Highly Subjective and Completely Arbitrary, and vintage cardboard connoisseur Mark Hoyle.

I received Brian's PWE a two or three weeks ago and he included an assortment of Oakland Athletics ranging from newer rookies to 70's and 80's O-Pee-Chee.

The two cards that stood out the most were the juggling Spiezio and a 1988 Donruss The Rookies card of Doug Jennings.  Both of these guys stood out when they were in the A's farm system... and believe it or not... there was a time when I was actually hoarding rookie cards of the latter.

Next up is an autographed card of Sachiya Yamasaki:

KevAlan asked me if I had heard of Mr. Yamasaki, but I hadn't.  So after a little digging... I discovered he's a 23 year old pitcher for the Orix Buffaloes.  He's off to a great start this season... winning his first game and allowing zero earned runs.  Even more impressive is his beautiful signature.

Rounding out the stack of PWE's is my second one from Mr. Hoyle in the past two months.  He sent me a variety of A's and Frank Thomas cards:

Like Mr. Yamasaki, Mr. Gray is off to a fine start this season and is probably the best candidate to represent the Athletics in this year's Mid-Summer Classic.  

And last, but not least is this awesome oddball issue of The Big Hurt.  Hoyle sent The Five Tool Collector a Billy Pierce from this same deck and secretly wished I had the Thomas.  And now I do.  These playing cards are truly awesome... and I'm excited to add this one to my Frank Thomas binder.

Thank you Brian, KevAlan, and Mr. Hoyle for these thoughtful PWE's.  Normally... I'd say you'd probably need to wait awhile for me to pay you back.  But since we're all officially PWE Pals... I'll try to ship you out something this week.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!