Creator Confessions: The Importance Of Mailers

As a creator, there’s a mountain of logistical problems one must overcome in order to see their project come to life. Between writing, getting the art together, running a campaign, and finally printing the book, there is one last step that might be overlooked: shipping. The pro of having a large campaign with a lot of backers is that it’s a great success. The con is that now all those books have to be processed, packaged, and delivered. It’s always easy to take the simple way out and have a fulfillment company do things, but that’s a huge expense. And for creators who want to do the fulfillment themselves, it’s vastly important to understand just how critical comic mailers are.

A mailer is essentially an envelope or box designed specifically for mailing comic books. This might seem like a niche market, and it is, but considering how easily comics can be damaged during shipping, mailers are extremely vital. Some creators will settle for bubble mailers, which collectors consistently state are unreliable. Some creators may reinforce their bubble mailers with cardboard. This certainly works, and it’s something that I have even done myself. But they are not always 100% foolproof and can be very time consuming.

I’ve come to learn that it is worthwhile just to fork over the cost for a bunch of comic book mailers and use them exclusively. Gemini is a popular brand, but it is not the only one. There is a learning curve to getting the logistics down, but once the process is figured out, it can streamline fulfillment while also ensuring the comic is protected. Of course, nothing is completely foolproof. Even Gemini mailers can be run over and destroy a book. Also, I have had to use Gemini mailers inside a bigger bubble mailer if there are other books and contents that need to be shipped. Still, the importance of mailers cannot be understated and newbie creators should definitely consider the investment.