General Forum

I've asked this other places before. I decided to ask here because I imagine the people that frequent this site do a lot of card sorting. As I have been adding my collection and stuff for trade one here recently I have had to sort a lot myself. I use this Card Sorter I bought off Ebay several years ago and find it pretty helpful. I'd like to get another one or two but I can no longer find them for sale. I may have to get some of the ones made by BCW I think and give them a try. Anyhow, any tips? Tricks, Ways to make it faster? 

https://i.imgur.com/I0PJ3s2.jpg

to me, the method depends on what you are sorting by and sorting for (and the amount of space used)

sortiing 1000 cards into 30 team piles is surely different than putting 1000 cards of same set into numerical order

I have not wanted to use the sorting trays

mark 

I like this one as it helps me keep stuff from sliding around. Also if I need to stop for a while and move what I'm working on I can as well. For team sorting this tray did OK but it seems better suited for making sets or if you wanted to alphabetize by names. I mainly use it when making sets or sorting doubles to have them in order. 

When I used to bust boxes, I would do something like what that tray probably makes easier. As I opened the packs, I'd put the cards into piles by  card number: 1-99, 101-199, etc, and a pile for inserts. Then I'd sort each pile into number order.

I stumbled upon this one when sorting cards last year and I love it.

https://www.blowoutforums.com/showpost.php?p=9415243&postcount=4

It's maybe only marginally faster than grouping into piles of hundreds, then tens, then ones, but it always feels like magic when I get done so I like it.

I am glad you shared that. Seems like I read that quite a while back but never gave it a try. I will have to give that way a chance. Sorting can be pretty time consuming for me. 

I've never seen one of those sorting trays before. I sort pretty much the way olerud363 sorts. I sort by hundreds and stack them (double digit cards, then 100's, then 200's, etc.). Then I sort the stacks. If a stack is more than 25-30 cards but less than 50-60 cards, I split them by 1-50 and 51-99. Then I put the stack in the right order. If there are more cards in the original stack, I break them down by quarters (1-25, 26-50, etc.) and then organize each stack numerically. More recently, when busting packs of cards, I organize the pack after I go through it and put the cards back in the pack. Then when I've opened all of the packs, I just blend in one pack at a time into one stack. When the packs are empty, the whole set and all inserts have been organized.

I do it kinda the same way when sorting lots of random cards. I stack them by decades first, then break those down by single years. Then I stack each year by brand and then sort by card number.

This is my sorting system. Stacks on the desk, binders on boxes on top of containers.

I basically sort by the tens when doing sets. My issue is when that I collect players and when I've accummulated any number of them I have to sort them out then transfer them into binders. Today I just sorted almost 175 Lance Berkman cards and placed them in binders and that took most of the morning.

I sort mine in binders. like book one is 1980's - 1999

book 2 2000-2004

book 3 2005

and from there they are in sets in alphabetical order, Bowman, Bowman Best, Finest, Fleer ect. So when making trades I know what book to pull and about where they are located if I have more than 5 9 pocket pages then they are in the set and in order by the last name. Just makes it easier for me. I know that is a lot of books almost 30 binders full for trading cards. (that is also my football that I have not entered yet

I was trying to find this when I saw this thread start.  I've never tried it but always wondered how well it worked.