Balancing cost, space, efficiency, and ease in storing cards

[SacKingsCards]

There’s been a topic that I’ve been discussing (via HHH) and listening to being discussed (Shallow end) that I thought would be worth some more discussion. I’ll include those two conversations for reference if you’re interested to listen.

First, about a month ago on HHH, we discussed card storage and organization options and preferences. To summarize, it was I believe relatively unanimous that we all love one touches but they’re bulky and expensive. Not to mention binders are so much easier and fun to flip through than a bunch of mags in a cardboard box. No doubt that one touches present much better and elevate a card. Here’s that conversation on
Spotify (a relevant part about how one touches are superior but have drawbacks is around 46:30):

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/q6ET31JSu6 ... ylvdLV7wYh

Then yesterday @IowaDaveSportsCards who hosts the Shallow end podcast, which is one of my favorite podcast for high quality conversation about cards and collecting, talked about what he deems “The Grading Dilemma” - his dilemma between keeping his card in mags vs. the more expensive grading option. To summarize, he concluded it was way too expensive for him to grade every card in his collection he felt was worthy of grading, but some cards due to their importance historically or in the hobby simply deserve to be graded. Not to mention it makes it easier to move and protect if needed, etc. I’ll leave it at that because I don’t wanna steal the thunder of the great monologue. If you wanna check it out on Spotify:

So I thought this was worth a detailed conversation.

-What are your preferences for card storage/organization?
-Are their pros and cons of the various storage media that haven’t been mentioned?
-I know grading is more important in vintage than modern cards, but what do you think about this idea that certain cards deserve grading?
-How do you balance the cost of storing things with the appearance or ease of looking at cards and such?
-other thoughts and insights?

Thanks if you made it this far haha

[AbraCalabro]

I love this topic, I'm going to give this Grading Dilemma podcast episode a listen and then chime in with my thoughts. It's good timing too because of the BGS acquisition by Rat Turdner and his people.

There are a lot of pros and cons to other methods of storage, but I think it's all about balance. I'll check back in.

[SacKingsCards]

I love this topic, I'm going to give this Grading Dilemma podcast episode a listen and then chime in with my thoughts. It's good timing too because of the BGS acquisition by Rat Turdner and his people.

There are a lot of pros and cons to other methods of storage, but I think it's all about balance. I'll check back in.

Yeah, interested to see what you think. I definitely think that the episode is more applicable to vintage and maybe just baseball because Shohei is so historic, but brings up some great points.

1. One touches look better, but can you keep some of those crazy rare vintage issued cards from the 40's or before (pre war) in a one touch? That's crazy. How about really historic basketball cards, like the 90s parallels/inserts or whatever. 2012 Prizm golds? ETc. Do some cards deserve to be graded for their history?

2. PSA is of course the way to go for resale value, ease of handling/moving if your family inherits and doesn't want your cards...but who wants to support PSA? But that's the whole dilemma right, are there some times when it's about more than you?

Just an interesting convo.

[FrankAZHP]

I did a detailed video on how I store my cards, and judging by the 211 likes to 2 dislikes I think it's pretty well produced and clear and concise.



To summarize. I use card savers for everything that isn't graded, and graded card boxes, with IKEA Kallax shelving units that I customized to hide what's inside, while still giving easy access.

If anyone watches and has any further questions for me feel free to ask and I'll reply.

I have made some updates and changes to it, but nothing dramatically different. I ended up getting a 25 pack of "16 x 5 x 5 Corrugated Cardboard Boxes" on Amazon that perfectly slip into the cubes on the sides next to the graded card shoeboxes, and I label them with thermal printer stickers just like I did with my the graded card shoeboxes themselves.

I do plan on doing an update on this video someday in the future, since my collection has grown since then. I'll keep y'all in mind when I'm done and post it here but it may be 3 months from now or may be 18 months from now.
Who knows.

[AbraCalabro]

Just quickly typing up some thoughts. Wall of text incoming.

There’s been a topic that I’ve been discussing (via HHH) and listening to being discussed (Shallow end) that I thought would be worth some more discussion. I’ll include those two conversations for reference if you’re interested to listen.

First, about a month ago on HHH, we discussed card storage and organization options and preferences. To summarize, it was I believe relatively unanimous that we all love one touches but they’re bulky and expensive. Not to mention binders are so much easier and fun to flip through than a bunch of mags in a cardboard box. No doubt that one touches present much better and elevate a card. Here’s that conversation on
Spotify (a relevant part about how one touches are superior but have drawbacks is around 46:30):

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/q6ET31JSu6 ... ylvdLV7wYh

Then yesterday @IowaDaveSportsCards who hosts the Shallow end podcast, which is one of my favorite podcast for high quality conversation about cards and collecting, talked about what he deems “The Grading Dilemma” - his dilemma between keeping his card in mags vs. the more expensive grading option. To summarize, he concluded it was way too expensive for him to grade every card in his collection he felt was worthy of grading, but some cards due to their importance historically or in the hobby simply deserve to be graded. Not to mention it makes it easier to move and protect if needed, etc. I’ll leave it at that because I don’t wanna steal the thunder of the great monologue. If you wanna check it out on Spotify:

So I thought this was worth a detailed conversation.

-What are your preferences for card storage/organization?
-Are their pros and cons of the various storage media that haven’t been mentioned?
-I know grading is more important in vintage than modern cards, but what do you think about this idea that certain cards deserve grading?
-How do you balance the cost of storing things with the appearance or ease of looking at cards and such?
-other thoughts and insights?

Thanks if you made it this far haha

- Preferences for card storage / organization and pros and cons. This one is made more complicated by the unnatural rise of perceived value in sports cards. There needs to be a balance between protection and viable storage / organization. Mags will of course protect the cards, but if you have a lot of high dollar cards, then you're in a bit of a conundrum, because the weight on those things really adds up and whatever you're storing the mags in gets quite heavy, but if they're high dollar or won't be easy to replace then you're stuck having to use a mag.

On the other hand, I find the Card Saver 2 / BCW Semi Rigid 2 (SR2) or the Beckett Shield semi rigids to be fantastic for storage and organization as well as cataloguing.

The Beckett Shield semi rigids also have a place where you can write on them, or use a label maker to print details of the card's year, variant, manufacturer, etc. However, they won't protect the cards like a mag will. BUT...they do fit nicely into cardboard storage boxes made especially for SR2 size holders, which can then go into a reinforced case, or cabinet or choice.

Therefore, I think it all comes down to the individual and what type of cards are being stored. I'm not a big fan of top loaders in general, they're a sort of middle ground between the two aforementioned holder options and they don't do the job as well as each respective option - jack of all trades, master of none.

- There are no cards that deserve grading, but that's also subjective. Because it's subjective I don't think some card that a group of big spenders have deemed important is any nicer, or better than a lower end card. What happens when all the people who care about a long dead player are also passed away? I've had cards graded / slabbed because they have a history with me and they're not particularly high dollar cards, or gem condition. I've also graded other cards that I thought were in really sharp condition and the 10-15 PC cards I've graded, I've been burned on nearly all of them when it comes to the final grade. I've also graded when preparing to sell, but never used PSAIDS.

- I think that the cost of storing things has to always be included in a budget. You buy an appliance, you're also going to have to factor in maintenance. Hand made leather dress shoes? Include 'x' amount for maintenance, or be prepared to buy new shoes. An automatic watch? Factor in maintenance cost. Car? Maintenance cost. If you can't afford to maintain or protect it, you can't afford it.
Binders are great, but they have their own problems. Laying out a binder for a particular set, or project? Did you forget to leave a couple spaces for cards you're still missing in the set / project? Oops, now you're going to have to shift every single card and if you mess that up you have to do it all over again. Building sets that have 10 cards in them? Got 9 pocket pages? Enjoy OCD madness that the ONE card is going to be all by its lonesome on the other side of the page. I've mentioned other storage options and their ups and downs, but this next point applies to anything that isn't a mag: Showing your cards to friends or relatives? These people don't know how to carefully turn pages, or hold cards, even if they're semi rigids or top loaders.

Yeah, interested to see what you think. I definitely think that the episode is more applicable to vintage and maybe just baseball because Shohei is so historic, but brings up some great points.

1. One touches look better, but can you keep some of those crazy rare vintage issued cards from the 40's or before (pre war) in a one touch? That's crazy. How about really historic basketball cards, like the 90s parallels/inserts or whatever. 2012 Prizm golds? ETc. Do some cards deserve to be graded for their history?

2. PSA is of course the way to go for resale value, ease of handling/moving if your family inherits and doesn't want your cards...but who wants to support PSA? But that's the whole dilemma right, are there some times when it's about more than you?

Just an interesting convo.

1 -

You can absolutely keep them in one touch mags, in fact if you get a one touch that can also hold an inner sleeve, it's better protected in there than it is in a PSAIDS slab.


2 -

I think that for any one that is concerned, or thinking about what their family could do with their cards for money post-mortem, they should sell the cards sooner than later and use those funds to buy gold and silver, which is legitimately good for trading to currency and can ALWAYS be sold, it's never dependant on who hits how many home runs, or who had a highlight dunk during last night's game. Gold / Silver > sports picture cards in every single scenario regarding emergency funds.

As for supporting PSAIDS and times when it's about more than just you, well, I think that question is also relevant to giving PSAIDS business. PSAIDS has anti-consumer practices and openly takes money from its customers, while also acquiring other grading companies so that they profit even when people who are unwilling to support their garbage company want to grade elsewhere. I think that giving any money to them from any point of sale / service is detrimental to a hobby that would be more enjoyable to more people without the egregious levels of corruption, but that's another conversation altogether.

[SacKingsCards]

I did a detailed video on how I store my cards, and judging by the 211 likes to 2 dislikes I think it's pretty well produced and clear and concise.



To summarize. I use card savers for everything that isn't graded, and graded card boxes, with IKEA Kallax shelving units that I customized to hide what's inside, while still giving easy access.

If anyone watches and has any further questions for me feel free to ask and I'll reply.

I have made some updates and changes to it, but nothing dramatically different. I ended up getting a 25 pack of "16 x 5 x 5 Corrugated Cardboard Boxes" on Amazon that perfectly slip into the cubes on the sides next to the graded card shoeboxes, and I label them with thermal printer stickers just like I did with my the graded card shoeboxes themselves.

I do plan on doing an update on this video someday in the future, since my collection has grown since then. I'll keep y'all in mind when I'm done and post it here but it may be 3 months from now or may be 18 months from now.
Who knows.

Dude thanks for sharing your video. I would agree with you, your video is incredibly well done. Very clear and concise with great production. Your storage solutions are really streamlined and efficient. I love your setup for anyone who doesn't use binders.

Just quickly typing up some thoughts. Wall of text incoming.

1 -

You can absolutely keep them in one touch mags, in fact if you get a one touch that can also hold an inner sleeve, it's better protected in there than it is in a PSAIDS slab.


2 -

I think that for any one that is concerned, or thinking about what their family could do with their cards for money post-mortem, they should sell the cards sooner than later and use those funds to buy gold and silver, which is legitimately good for trading to currency and can ALWAYS be sold, it's never dependant on who hits how many home runs, or who had a highlight dunk during last night's game. Gold / Silver > sports picture cards in every single scenario regarding emergency funds.

As for supporting PSAIDS and times when it's about more than just you, well, I think that question is also relevant to giving PSAIDS business. PSAIDS has anti-consumer practices and openly takes money from its customers, while also acquiring other grading companies so that they profit even when people who are unwilling to support their garbage company want to grade elsewhere. I think that giving any money to them from any point of sale / service is detrimental to a hobby that would be more enjoyable to more people without the egregious levels of corruption, but that's another conversation altogether.

1-Yeah it's funny, there's a narrative that grading cards protects them, but honestly from one touches to toploaders to binders, it seems like most storage solutions are pretty darn safe.

2-I don't see the utility of grading for my collection, but I'm on board with ya Abra. If I was grading, PSA would not get my money. Unless I'm reselling I guess, but considering that I don't really sell much I would be grading for my own collection and would investigate CGC or TAG. Not interested in supporting the massive corporation that is Collectors.

[AbraCalabro]

1-Yeah it's funny, there's a narrative that grading cards protects them, but honestly from one touches to toploaders to binders, it seems like most storage solutions are pretty darn safe.

2-I don't see the utility of grading for my collection, but I'm on board with ya Abra. If I was grading, PSA would not get my money. Unless I'm reselling I guess, but considering that I don't really sell much I would be grading for my own collection and would investigate CGC or TAG. Not interested in supporting the massive corporation that is Collectors.

Definitely. There are a handful of cards that I got graded / slabbed via BGS (before they were acquired) because they're cards that I pulled as a kid and I wanted them protected long term / max protection, inner sleeve, TANK of a slab.

The others were graded because of sales and also I thought they were so sharp I wanted to see if I could really spot a gem >>> I had this idea of slabbing everything that I was going to keep long term at some point for maximum protection and ***uniformity*** - I'm huge on OCD as I'm sure you've noticed in the discord lol.

That will not happen now because A, BGS has the best slab and I'm not giving them business any more, B, I don't like CGC and TAG doesn't have as tough of a slab as BGS does and also no inner sleeve.

Don't see myself grading in the near future unless I'm selling and want top dollar (would probably go CGC), or I'm bored so I'll send sharp low end cards I like to TAG as a fun project. I personally like TAG the most now, so that's who I'd go with.

[mindcycle]

I refuse to give any money to Collectors period. Their greed has been fully exposed these last few years, from not only buying up the competition but enabling scam cards like the Logan Paul Pokemon illustrator to get into a 10 holder, where it was graded a 9 several times prior. Then doubling down on that grade once Ken Goldin reached out to re-holder it.

If you're not familiar with all that you can watch this video from Rattle Pokemon to catch up.



Bottom line, they clearly give preferential treatment to those doing the most damage to the collectibles market and I don't feel like I can support that in good conscious.

[mindcycle]

So to answer the question instead of just rant, apologies.. .. I will still buy graded cards, but only if they are the only card available. Otherwise I still prefer raw and then either store it in a binder or one touch for the most part. Or two row for cards in top loaders.

[AbraCalabro]

I refuse to give any money to Collectors period. Their greed has been fully exposed these last few years, from not only buying up the competition but enabling scam cards like the Logan Paul Pokemon illustrator to get into a 10 holder, where it was graded a 9 several times prior. Then doubling down on that grade once Ken Goldin reached out to re-holder it.

If you're not familiar with all that you can watch this video from Rattle Pokemon to catch up.



Bottom line, they clearly give preferential treatment to those doing the most damage to the collectibles market and I don't feel like I can support that in good conscious.

I saw that video. 100% fraud in my opinion. These people disgust me. Also that face is super punchable.