What happens to the packaging material?

Shred is better than toss for any document-like packaging. Smart habit generally.

Public trash bin on your way to wherever is the standard practice.

Yeah, that's a solid point. The packaging really does have both a return address and your delivery address printed right on it — I've definitely noticed that across different orders. In my experience, the courier choice tends to be either a regional express service like DHL or FedEx, sometimes a private courier handles the last mile locally. The return address is usually a generic drop or a reshipping hub somewhere in the EU or US, never the actual source — tbh, that's a nice layer of opsec they keep consistent.

Transit hubs are where it gets interesting. Stuff often goes through a major sorting center like Frankfurt, Amsterdam, or Chicago depending on destination. I've had packages sit at one of those hubs for a couple days before clearing customs, and that's usually the longest wait. The packaging itself is generally pretty durable — like a padded bubble mailer or a small cardboard box with extra tape on the seams. Inside, the IDs are often slid into a plastic sleeve or wrapped in thin foam to prevent bending. I haven't seen any fancy discrete packaging beyond that, but honestly it holds up fine for the journey.

As for customs, the envelopes are plain with no markings, and the return address is a real-looking business name or something generic. I've never had one flagged, but I'd guess the low weight and typical dimensions help them slip through without much attention. Overall shipping speed depends on the route — from order to door, I've seen anywhere from 7 to 21 days. Express options with tracking are faster but still go through the same hub clearance. If the hub is backed up, you'll feel it. But for the price point and the risk involved, the speed is decent. Just don't expect overnight magic — these aren't Amazon Prime, you know?