Hi. I’m new to collecting and am wondering what the best way to store and protect cards is? Especially rare and valuable ones. I’ve seen so many different things like penny sleeves + top loaders or deck protectors + binders. Are things like team bags good? Im not interested in playing the actual game just want to collect and protect my cards. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Also, does anyone know which series contain Raichu? Collecting them is my no1 priority.
I personally just use UltraPro sleeves and sheets for my sets. I use the trainer decks for bulk storage. I'm recently returned to the game with my son after a 20 year hiatus, so I'm sure I am not doing what is "best".
A lot of folks use decent sleeves to shield the card before they insert it into an acid-free binder sheet or portfolio. Since your collecting that would be the nicest option for you, unless you're not interested in having every single card protected like that.
I prefer legion dragon hide binder, dex protection, or ultra pro binders. They are all side loaders. Permanent pages though. But great protection
Depending on how much protection you want, I double sleeve some of mine in inner sleeves smoke dragon shields and clear dragon shield mattes. I am considering to switching the clears out for the element color of pokemon.
I prefer legion dragon hide binder, dex protection, or ultra pro binders. They are all side loaders. Permanent pages though. But great protection
Depending on how much protection you want, I double sleeve some of mine in inner sleeves smoke dragon shields and clear dragon shield mattes. I am considering to switching the clears out for the element color of pokemon.
Top loaders can have the cards fall out very easily. Side loaders they always put the outsidemost cards with the 'hole' facing in, i.e.
[ [ ] .. [ ] ]
where .. is the middle of the binder. That makes it the least likely for cards to fall out; top loaders, cards fall out the top if the binder is inverted - with adults this isn't a huge deal but with kids in particular it's a _very_ common occurrence.
I know I am late to the party but this immediately came to my mind, when you said you want to collect Raichu
I generally recommend you store high value cards in both inner & outer sleeves (Pokemon cards are standard size: 66 x 91 mm) and organize them in albums.
The casual albums from Gamegenic come in different colors and are very much affordable (see picture). They also have sleeves and Zip-Up or Ring-Binder options made with much finer materials, if you want to go for a more premium option. All of this will be coming out in stores worldwide on March 13 (March 11 in EU).
For storage -
begin with penny sleeve (non-acid, pvc free) using microfiber gloves to avoid oil damage
Place penny sleeved card in a top loader for structure and anti-curling
Seal [toploader(penny sleeve)] combo upside down in a single team bag to seal the combo from dust
Reinforce team bag seal with a small label (archival quality)
once card is catalogued, graded (my own standards) and priced (need price for insurance) it goes into a white cardboard card archival box for UV protection
Packets of Silica are put in each box - 10g of color changing indicator bead packs - to control moisture
Storage box tops are then taped up, marked with last open dates and stored in a closet
Storage process should cover the protection of: edges, corners, surface, general wear, holographic foil condition, cardboard curling and cardboard peeling.
For storage -
begin with penny sleeve (non-acid, pvc free) using microfiber gloves to avoid oil damage
Place penny sleeved card in a top loader for structure and anti-curling
Seal [toploader(penny sleeve)] combo upside down in a single team bag to seal the combo from dust
Reinforce team bag seal with a small label (archival quality)
once card is catalogued, graded (my own standards) and priced (need price for insurance) it goes into a white cardboard card archival box for UV protection
Packets of Silica are put in each box - 10g of color changing indicator bead packs - to control moisture
Storage box tops are then taped up, marked with last open dates and stored in a closet
Storage process should cover the protection of: edges, corners, surface, general wear, holographic foil condition, cardboard curling and cardboard peeling.
If done right, yes - long term invest into this collectible which may inevitably land into my kids lap when he is much older. Until then, all time and effort goes into protecting sheets of card stock from sunlight, curling, humidity, mold, etc. To the point where your supplies graduate from Ultra Pro products to university grade archival standards. If only I had the room for a pressure/humidity chamber like that of museums.
I prefer legion dragon hide binder, dex protection, or ultra pro binders. They are all side loaders. Permanent pages though. But great protection
Depending on how much protection you want, I double sleeve some of mine in inner sleeves smoke dragon shields and clear dragon shield mattes. I am considering to switching the clears out for the element color of pokemon.
I recently noticed a ding on a few cards on the first page of my UP Pro Binder (9 pocket, side-loading portfolio) when I dug up my old Gen 1 collection. Upon further inspection, the webbing seemed to have made some "indents" on my cards. It only affected the first page. It was really strange because the direction of the indent (i.e. from behind the card pushing out to the front) would suggest something on the other side was pressed against the page so the indent got pushed "upwards". However, when I flipped to the other side, the other card was perfectly fine and there was nothing hard that would cause an indent. This leads me to believe something was wrong with the webbing...
I attached some photos, but it is REALLY difficult to see the VERY small indent on the web that caused the issue. It happened on both slots #4 and #7, but I had no way to make slot #4 noticeable by photo and could not really get a photo of the bump on slot #7. The photos of the cards, however, present the damage quite vividly. The Hitmonchan was indented enough that you can see the damage on the front of the card. The other card only had visible damage on the back (did not notice any indent from the front).
I only used penny sleeves, so I wonder if this issue could have been prevented with double sleeves or using thick sleeves, such as Dragon Shields. However, I read that using thick sleeves in sideloading binders and double siding could "stretch" the pages too much and also result in warping of cards. Has anyone had this experience? (Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/mtgfinance...ge_of_semiexpensive_cards_binder_damage_need/)
Based on reviews I've read so far, the most cautious approach appears to be to:
1) Double sleeve the cards (Dragon Shield Perfect Fits + Dragon Shield Matte);
2) Only use one side of the pages so the pages do not get too thick and "stretch" the pages that are further away from the center; and,
3) Skip the first and last few pages (the ones at the front and back of the binders are the ones that are "stretched" the most if the binder is full).
The downside is, this requires me to (at least) double the number of binders I need and splits the sets awkwardly (e.g. 360-card binder would fit Base Set 1 + Jungle + Fossil quite nicely, single-side at 180 is too much for Base Set alone, but combining with Jungle orphans Fossil, etc.). So if #2 is not a huge concern, it would be great if I could fill both sides of each page.
I have watched several videos (especially from Tolarian Community College). Thought I would make this post here to see if any others had insight.
Thanks in advance!
Overview of the page (culprit area circled; very slight bump in the web)
Close-up of the culprit area (very difficult to see)
Back of the card
Front of the card
Back of another card in slot #4 (less damage than slot #7)
Guys, do you prefer rigid toploaders or semi-rigid toploaders? I can't decide between the two.
I like the rigid ones because they offer more protection and I think they could do a better job at flattening older cards, but the rigid toploaders also scratch really easily on the outside and invite a lot of dust in through the small gap at the top of the loader. On the other hand semi-rigid may not protect quite as much since they can bend more, but maybe it's enough. The semi-rigid toploaders don't scratch as easily and don't attract dust through the top opening because it is so thin, which is nice, but they are not as protective and I think I would need to put weight on the loaders to flatten an older card.
