Anything Worth Collecting Is Worth Protecting!

You have invested valuable time and money into building that perfect collection; whether it be a complete team set or of a particular player.

Once you've got a good-sized collection, you need to have a way to keep it organized and accessible.

It does you no good to have all of, say, Alex Rodriguez' cards from the 2001 base sets if they are just thrown into a box with 1,000 other cards and you have no way of finding them short of browsing through the cards one-by-one.

There are many tools you can use to protect, organize and and increase your enjoyment of your collection.

The first order of business is to protect your investment.

Years ago, most cards were purchased by kids who took no particular effort to keep the cards from being damaged. This is why it is often so hard to find cards from the 50s and 60s in good condition.

These days, most collectors (including young ones) recognize that their collection will be more enjoyable and stay more valuable if they take good care of it.

The most basic protector for a card is a sleeve, a thin plastic pouch into which the card can be dropped and which protects the card from scratching and having the gloss rubbed off.  Sleeves are quite inexpensive, so its OK to use them liberally.

I generally put any card worth over $1.00 into a sleeve. Some collectors will put any card that's not a common into a sleeve.


A top-loader is a somewhat more rigid plastic cover that provides some protection against bending and creasing. They are more expensive than sleeves, but still economical enough to use liberally.


A screw-down or snap-case is a hard plastic casing that protects a card from most types of damage, but are still clear and suitable for display. As the name implies, small screws are used to hold the two pieces together in screw-downs. These are relatively expensive, so are reserved for only more valuable cards.


Acrylic holders offer the ultimate in protection.  Your cards are totally enclosed by up to an inch of hard acrylic, so nothing can get to them.


Next, you need a way to store and organize your cards.


A shoe box will do, if you're on a budget, but there are nice boxes designed specifically for sports cards that can be obtained for very reasonable prices.


These are your best option for storing the bulk of your collection. You can get boxes that are just the right size for graded cards, or for unprotected and sleeve-enclosed cards.


Some other handy items to have are sorting trays and box filler pads.  


We've all had piles of cards all over the living room floor.  Sorting trays have individual openings where you can keep cards of the same type together while you are sorting them.  It makes it much easier to have 10 or 15 sorting trays available as you are organizing that collection.


Box filler pads are perfectly shaped foam pads that go into your partially full boxes to keep the cards upright and from sliding around.


And you may even want to consider using a card house box.  These are storage boxes which will hold up to 12 specially shaped individual boxes.  It makes it much easier to keep all of those individual boxes together and they are stackable to conserve on space.

Now you need a way to display those perfect cards and sets.


You can put cards into special protector sheets (which can hold anywhere from four to nine cards per page) and place them into three-ring binders. This is a more expensive option than using boxes, but makes the cards more accessible and is a great option for enjoying and showing off those "special" parts of your collection like a player collection, or that complete set you worked so hard to build.


There are also special stand-up albums which will really allow you to display that very special collection.  


Finally... Enjoy!

Trading card collecting is a great hobby for sports fans. Collections can be a source of pride for people who have lots of resources to buy rare and valuable cards, but people on a tight budget can also afford to enjoy it by focusing on less-expensive sets and cards. It can be a great pastime for retirees, great fun for kids, and a really good shared activity for families or groups of friends.

In short, trading card collecting can be fun for anyone, so don't wait to get started!


We hope you have enjoyed this short guide.   We carry a full and complete line of trading card supplies in our Store  Please drop by and browse our very complete selection or drop us a line to discuss your needs.   May all of your collecting activities be fun and profitable!