General Forum

I dont know what to do, pretty stuck and need some help.

I dont collect teams just georgia bulldogs and a few individual players. So theres no real filing system i could implement to the rest of my collection other than sets i guess or players.

So heres what i have.

When i started listing part of my collection on here, i jumped in blindly. I just put the cards back in the same boxes they came out of without putting too much thought into it. Over 25k cards later i now have boxes of jumbled up cards and no way of knowing whats in each box. Luckily the cards on my trade list i put in small 400 count trade boxes. So now i have a massive mess and what i have listed on here is a mess.

I stopped listing cards but everything i went through after, i put them in sets or players/teams but im reluctant to list them yet.

Should i delete my collection and list it again to help store them correctly?

Whats the best way to store cards in toploaders, cards in penny sleeves, graded cards?

Would you put cards in folders?

How would you store 5x7 jumbo cards and pin up size football cards?

What would you put your most valuable cards in?

If im going to start over i want to be prepared in how to store/label/file them as i start relisting my collection..

Keeping the collection straight is tough to do, especially if you have a large collection. What I have been doing is writing a very small S on the end cap of the boxes I've scanned to indicate that I've scanned them. Listing on here for me was easy because I have it all on paper- I just had to go through my paper listings and add them in. It took more than a month but it was easy...just time consuming.

My entire collection is stored in white boxes. I prefer the 900 count but I will use pretty much anything I can get my hands on, from 5000  counters to 135 count.

I've revised my storage method (again) to cards in penny sleeves, in 3000-ct mega shoeboxes (or whatever they're called).  I used to use 5000 count but they dont agree with the shape of my closet as well.

I deleted my collection a couple years ago, and just started re-entering it last month.  I think it's going a lot better this time, because I only input so many, then sort them into the boxes, then add some more, and so forth.  First time around, I was basically doing what you described, and after several thousand, I was in the same boat as you.  I had a mess and couldn't stand it.  But trial-and-error is the only way I could settle on anything.

I think what you have done, many of us have gone before you. I too had my entire baseball card collection deleted so as to start over. What I discovered was that organization in the collection BEFORE entering it in the database was key especially with a large collection.  If not organized, half way through and you won't know what is entered.

I have a set collection and a player collection.  The sets are easy - by set.  The players are in 3 different categories - HOF before 1980, modern day HOF, and star players I liked so collect. The 2 collections are kept separate. My sets are in binders (presently in the process of doing so). My players are all moving into penny sleeves in top loaders. The players are stored alphabetically, by year and company that produced them. Any traders are in 3200 to 5000 count boxes, commons in one spot and the player collection traders in another.

There are large top loaders for larger cards, up to 8x11.

Most valuable cards are in hard plastic holders in a display case.

Put some thought into how you would like to organize your collection.  It is well worth the time.  If you get it right the first time, only minor refinements will be required. You will soon see where you need to make changes.

Talk to me mate. lol. ~Bob~

I recently deleted my collection on here and have come up with a method that suits me.  My Main Collection on here is my personal collection.  It is pretty much scattershot but heavy on Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Penguins and Arsenal cards.  I have purchased some rather large boxes from my LCS and have divided the collection into three main parts.

Boxes labelled BI are for base and insert cards.

Boxes labelled REL are for relic or jersey cards.

Boxes labelled AU are for autographed cards, both authenticated and non-authenticated.

I just add a note when I add a card to my collection, i.e. Box BI-1, that lets me know that the card is in that box.

All of these cards are stored in penny sleeves and top loaders.

I agree with everyone here i to have that problem or NOT being organized but for me im a set collector and put sets together so i use the white boxes for them 200-800 count boxes

When I got back into the hobby last Fall, I bought twenty 5000 count boxes. I'm a set collector so I moved all the sets that I am keeping into multiple 5000 count boxes and did likewise for my for sale/trade cards (still sorted by set)..I also bought a heavy duty Gladiator metal shelf and have shelves for my collection boxes and then spearate shelves for for sale/trade boxes. For my boxes, I also bought the BCW card dividers and write what set the cards are to further organize them. No card goes into any box unless it has been entered into the database..

Tedious, time consuming and expensive? Yes but it's the only way that I can keep track of what is what..

Again, just depends on how organized you want to be and what your space/budget limits are..I enjoy being able to pull trade cards fairly quickly..

I have my cards sorted exactly how the TCDB sorts them by year and set.  This makes it easy for me to keep everything organized and I can easily find any card I want.  All I have to do is go to my collection page, click on sets, and all my cards are physically in that exact same order listed.  

I don't know how much work it would be for you, but if you are truly that mixed up, I would personally get all my card organized and then start entering them from scratch.  But that's just my OCD talking.  I know that may take a lot of time and energy.

I personally do not use any form of "protection" for my cards other than having them stored neatly in white boxes.  I don't have a huge collection by most standards, so all of my card I own are currently in three 3200 count full lid BCW boxes.  I have 2 for basketball cards and 1 for baseball.  However, I am probably going to need to buy a new baseball box soon as I am running out of room.  I use BCW Monster Pads to hold the cards upright in box rows that are not complete.  

I came to the relaization that the cards in my collection are for me.  I don't plan on selling them for profit so I find spending money on protection supplies to be a bit of a waste.  I treat and handle my cards nicely and they don't seem to be getting any damage by being naked in a box made for cards.  I mean, they come in packs and boxes new without toploaders or penny sleeves.  If i ever pull anything that is truly valuable to the point I could sell it and make some serious money then I would probably sell it immediately  But I don't see any Honus Wagner cards or Lebron James 1/1 auto patch rookie cards coming my way anytime soon.  I do have toplaoders and supplies strictly for transporting cards safely either by mail, or for giving a card to my brother.  

When I get new cards, I move all the cards down a row until I get to where the card needs to go.  Then I move them all back.  It can seem daunting having to move so many cards to make sure a new card goes in the right place and that all the rows are nice and neat again, but honestly it only takes me about 15-20 minutes anytime I add new cards.  Of course if it is a new set, it is much easier as it will go near the end.  

That being said, if you want to use toploaders, the best storage option for those are BCW shoeboxes.  They come in either the standard 2 row design or a Super Shoe Box with three rows.  The shoeboxes are designed specifically for toploaders.    Penny Sleeved cards can fit in just the normal BCW boxes.  BCW also has special boxes for graded cards.  (I don't really care for graded cards as I can't put them in my boxes.  I have only bought one, it was an Amare Stoudemire Topps Chrome rookie for 99 cents.  I had no problem busting it out of the case.)

Jumbo cards and offsize cards?  They go in my son's room as decoration or sent out in a trade if they have any type of special value.  ( I traded a 1/1 mini card last year).  If they aren't standard sized cards, they don't fit in my boxes, so they don't get listed in my collection.  

Finally, where do I put my most valuable cards?  They are just plain cardboard in the 3200 count boxes like all the others.  Again, most of my cards are worth all that much, and the ones that are, I am not selling anyways so it doesn't matter if I have it in a bomb proof case or not.  

on some of my boxes that I do not have a lot of each set, I try to group by brand, so at least I can go to a specific row or two to narrow it down when looking for a specific card

mark