RE: Merchandise
I personally don't sleeve my cards before I put them in a binder, but then my binders sit nice and pretty in my room; I don't carry them around anywhere and they're pretty well protected. If I recall correctly, the main purposes for the sleeves around a card in a binder is A) the double layer of protection with no spots where the card is open to the elements and potential damage (put card in sleeve with the bottom at the edge and then put face up in binder), and B) to help the card stay in place in the binder page and not fall out. If you carry your binders around even semi-frequently, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea, but if they're just sitting on a shelf in your room, it's probably not worth the hassle.
I personally don't sleeve my cards before I put them in a binder, but then my binders sit nice and pretty in my room; I don't carry them around anywhere and they're pretty well protected. If I recall correctly, the main purposes for the sleeves around a card in a binder is A) the double layer of protection with no spots where the card is open to the elements and potential damage (put card in sleeve with the bottom at the edge and then put face up in binder), and B) to help the card stay in place in the binder page and not fall out. If you carry your binders around even semi-frequently, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea, but if they're just sitting on a shelf in your room, it's probably not worth the hassle.