General Forum

Hi all, I have been keeping my cards in a binder, and am looking for a better way to store my collection. If anyone has any suggestions Thank you

For the cards I deal with the most I use penny sleeves and toploaders in two row cardboard boxes on a shelf in my bedroom.  For less looked at cards and sets I use 500-800 count boxes in military ammo cans on a 4ft shelf in the basement.  The .50 cal and higher boxes hold alot.

Inside. ???? LOL just kidding. Mine are in binders, boxes, sleeves, stacks, piles ................ the list goes on, hence the inside comment. LOL

That's how I store my teams and players collections. Makes it easy to look at them and enjoy them. For me binders is the only way to store a collection.

I'd say it partly depends on the size of your collection and the space you have inside your home.  Binders are good if you have room for them all.  It is the quickest and easiest way to view your collection.  As USMC_2831 mentioned, the two row shoeboxes that fit toploaders are good too.  Gives you more capacity but also making it easier to view your collection.

I do a mix of everything.  For my PC cards and full sets, I try to put them in binders.  For everything else, I put in the two row shoe boxes.  I'm starting to run out of room in my house (mostly because the kids are now needing the space where my cards current reside) so I'm going to be putting more cards into the long 800 ct boxes.

Here is how my collection is stored:

Gunny's Main Throng Not Thong: My main collection all stored in penny sleeves and toploaders or graded placed in nice boxes.

Gunny's Small Boxes of Stuff: Cards stored in small boxes either raw or in penny sleeves

Gunny's Binder Books: These cards are in binders

Everything else is stored raw in very large boxes.

Ditto to C2C! I'm a binder guy too. I DO have some cards stored in boxes but they are mostly sets that I have thousands of cards from and it's just easier to move the duplicates that way. Early 1990's cards mostly fill those boxes. I'd prefer to ONLY use binders, but I'm running out of room to do that.

This is the continous bane for me in card collecting.  I go back and forth between what I want to do.  I currently have my entire collection neatly in 3200 count BCW boxes on a wire shelf at home.  I don't use any sleeves or toploaders or anything.  They are just placed in order in the boxes and I use the BCW Monster Pads to keep everything secure.

I used to have cards in toploaders for more valuable cards, but I didn't like that they were seperate from the rest of the set.  I also couldn't come up with a good system as to what went into a toploader because inevitably something would come along and mess it up.  Basically I had rookies of All Stars and Inserts/Parallels of All Stars in toploaders.  But I found it silly that a SSP base card wasn't in the toploader box even though it is more valuable than the vast majority of inserts I have.  Also, I saw flaws in the system like having a BJ Armstrong rookie in the toplaoder box over a Marcus Camby rookie.  Sure, Armstrong was a 1x All Star but a guy like Camby had a better career even though he never made the All Star Game.

I have also been told plenty of times by a very experienced member that plastic can eventually attack your cards.

Another thing to consider is that supplies are expensive and take up a lot of room.  Using the method of storing all my cards in 3200 count boxes keeps costs down and saves a ton of space.

I am currently considering putting all of my complete sets in their own binders, but I haven't really committed yet.  Just another day of trying to figure out the best way to store these things.  

I was originally a binder guy.  Its definately easier to go through and view but takes up room.  I no longer have the room.  I keep my pre 1980 sets in binders and I'm moving every set after that into penny sleeves and hard snap holders (rookies etc) and placing them in BCW boxes.  Its been a heck of a project, that probably wont be finished till next year.