General Forum

Guys,

If my cards are not on display I keep them in either binders or boxes. My question is this:

What critera do you use to determine where you will store a card? I basically use the card's basic monetary value. If a card is valued at $5 or more, they are kept in a plastic holder inside a box. Less than $5 and they go into a binder.

The reason I'm asking is that I've acquired many cards lately that are valued at more than $5 and I feel that I don't look at them as much as I do those in binders. Would you ever put a $50 card in a binder?

I will put a $ 50.00 card in a binder if it fits. My problem is some of the 180pt cards do not fit so those go in a penny sleeve and top loader or a one touch. I like to look at my collection so I try to put in a binder. 

On a side note I have so much non PC cards and what to do with them? Do I store by set, player or year. Want to be able to trade or give cards to members but wouldn't be able to find the needed card. To many boxes UGH

I have $2 cards on display, and I have $500 cards in binders.

It's where I'm happy with them, and ultimately, that's what matters. (Also, as avsbruins65 mentioned, it depends on where it fits too.)

I have everything in 3200 count boxes.  No sleeves, no binders, no pages, no toploaders.  I was worried about the card condition this way at first, but everything seems to be just fine.  I am much happier having everything organized this way as it is the cheapest and takes the least amount of space.  The cards are organized by year and set.  It is also much easier to move the cards around in the rows to add more cards in their proper place than having to move pages out of tons of binders.  

I was given this advice by Billy here last year and I haven't looked back.  I do like the idea of having pages and binders to look through everything, but the cost and the space it would take has made that not feasible. (I'm sure my wife wouldn't be happy either)

I put my older (1955 to mid 1970s) sets (near complete and compete) in binders, with the best card of each in the binder. That way I can easily see which cards are missing, and when I pick up a duplicate I can compare with the one in the binder to see which one to keep. The duplicates go in boxes.

I also put my Twins cards in binders by year.

You're right, Commish, they are much more fun to look at and show to others when they're in a binder! (And isn't that why we have them, anyway?)  It's much easier to appreciate the psychedelic-koolaid glory of the 1972 Topps Baseball set when viewing it all together in pages.

I'm not sure I'd put a Mantle rookie in a binder (don't have one) but my Maris rookie is in with the 58s.

All of my cards are in binders or on display. I haven't used boxes in 30 years, but that's just a personal choice of course.

As to which go where, I'm with Vrooomed. I have .50 cards on display (in my collection of last Topps cards of Hall of Famers). I have $200 cards in binders. Alas, I do not have the problem of figuring out what to do with any cards more expensive than that. I believe them all to be safe, so the ones I have out are the ones I like to look at.

v3

I put all of my set building and minor league team sets in binders, I organize the team sets by years and leagues. That can get semi expensive so I don't have all of them this way. I have all of my big PC items in top loaders or magnetics and display a few of my favorites. 

I put cards that I'm going to move or just have to use as ttm in boxes, but I have found that they can get dinged up pretty bad if you aren't careful with them in the boxes or if they get tossed around. 

Lately most of my cards no matter the value are in boxes. Partly due to lazyness to put them into binders, partly due to limited amount of binders vs. total number of cards. Mostly due to a bad decision to re-organize baseball several years ago and sort of fizzled out on the re-org due to lack of motivation and the binder vs # of cards issue. Add to that a move about 9 years ago,moving a mostly unorganized hoard of cards into an apartment.

Got away from Collecting around turn of Century.  Had everything (Nascar) in binders on the shelf, last year picked up a huge fire sale collection on e-bay.  Sitting on the shelf, most everything on the top row of binders was coated in dust on their top edge. Went to Plano Plastic boxes (1100 count), still not as involved as last century, but cards are better protected while they sit around.

Binders for my personal collection.  It's just much easier to view your collection by flipping pages containing up to 9 cards at a time than by pulling out singles from a box.  I've got Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, and other $1000 cards in pages just like everyone else.  I have 38 Goudeys ('33-'41), 46 Play Balls ('39-'41), 507 Bowmans ('48-'55), 1317 Topps (1950's), and about 5000 different Topps (1960's) all in pages.  My completed Topps sets from 1968-Present are all in pages.  They are all doing just fine.      

Boxes are for my stuff to get rid of.