Card Savers with or witout Penny Sleeve...and Binders v Card Savers....HELP!

Dty

I see a lot of folks put your nice cards into penny sleeves and then in to Card Savers. In the past, I tended to just put my nice cards directly into the card savers (and bi-pass the penny sleeve). The card stays fine without the penny sleeve.

As I continue to put together super nice RAW sets (by cracking packs, etc...) should I be first be using a penny sleeve then the card saver? (Issues sometimes with "self dinging" -that sounds funny- the corners of the card when putting into penny sleeve?)

In the past, when folks were using the "top loaders" it certainly made sense to use penny sleeves first to keep the card from moving around. HOWEVER, with the Card Savers, do folks see a long term storage problem with using just the card saver v penny sleeve inside the card saver?

I do find that cards go in better without the penny sleeve into the card saver.

While on topic, if one was putting together killer RAW sets, do you prefer pages and binders or card savers kept in vault like boxes? I know it is nicer to look at binders, but my main concern is keeping the cards in top shape.

What is the thought on long term storage? Number one priority being safety of card condition.....

Looking forward to everyone's thoughts.

hyperchipper09

I use Card Saver 1's. For cards like stadium club and those with a glossy finish I also use a penny sleeve. For cards like, as an example, 82 Topps or non glossy then I skip the penny sleeve. I still use top loaders/penny sleeves on occasion but I much prefer the way cards look in CS 1's.

Bravesguy44

I still believe penny sleeve and toploader provides the best long-term protection for raw cards/sets. For higher-end cards I use penny sleeve/toploader AND a team bag. May be overkill, but I definitely feel my cards are safe. I don't like the pressure that Card Savers put on the edges of cards for long-term storage. Just my 2 cents.

lawnmowerman

<< <i>I still believe penny sleeve and toploader provides the best long-term protection for raw cards/sets. For higher-end cards I use penny sleeve/toploader AND a team bag. May be overkill, but I definitely feel my cards are safe. I don't like the pressure that Card Savers put on the edges of cards for long-term storage. Just my 2 cents. >>



Welcome and congrats on your first post!

Bravesguy44

<< <i>

<< <i>I still believe penny sleeve and toploader provides the best long-term protection for raw cards/sets. For higher-end cards I use penny sleeve/toploader AND a team bag. May be overkill, but I definitely feel my cards are safe. I don't like the pressure that Card Savers put on the edges of cards for long-term storage. Just my 2 cents. >>



Welcome and congrats on your first post! >>



Thanks. I am really enjoying reading posts and learning from the other members.

Lefthander

I put my cards in a penny sleeve which I then slip inside a rigid top loader. I always loosen the penny sleeve so that it is not too tight and is easy to slip a card into. Pushing a card straight into a Card Saver may damage the card, especially ultra-sensitive baseball issues with no white borders such as 1955 Bowman and Topps 1962, 1963, 1970, 1971, 1975, etc. There's a likelihood of dinging too, no matter how careful you are when putting a card straight into a Card Saver. I wouldn't even put a card in a penny sleeve and then a Card Saver. Also, never store cards in those full-page notebook sleeves (9 spaces a sleeve) unless you don't care about their condition. When I make grading submittals to PSA, which unfortunately doesn't accept rigid top loaders but only Card Savers, I cut off the right edge of the Card Saver so that I can easily place the card into it, and then put a couple of pieces of tape to "enclose" it. I've been very successful using this method with PSA submittals for many years.

76collector

I am on the fence with the penny sleeve question. I think for long term storage I would include the penny sleeve. I have seen some residual residue on card savers after having a card in them for years, so it might be affecting the gloss a little. For short term storage, or sending them in for grading, I skip the penny sleeve. Like you said, I have dinged corners before trying to get them into the penny sleeves. For sets though I still prefer binders. I use the Ultra Pro platinum series 9 pocket sheets which seem pretty sturdy, and the opening on the top goes all the way across the sheet, instead of just being wide enough to slide each card in individually. It makes it easier to get them in the sheets. I have high grade 75-80 sets stored in these, but I do take out any cards that look like possible 10's or high dollar HOF rookies and put them in card savers. Just to risky IMO to have them not more protected.

ps - good question, and welcome to the boards.

- Jeff

DanBessette

<< <i>I still believe penny sleeve and toploader provides the best long-term protection for raw cards/sets. For higher-end cards I use penny sleeve/toploader AND a team bag. May be overkill, but I definitely feel my cards are safe. I don't like the pressure that Card Savers put on the edges of cards for long-term storage. Just my 2 cents. >>



I agree with every word of this. I don't understand the fascination with card savers. I use sleeve and top loader and then, if its an extremely old or valuable card, I seal it in a bag. It is nice sometimes to look at sets in binders, and I've been known to do that, but you're right that you sacrifice protection when you do that.

miwlvrn

<< <i>I skip the penny sleeve. Like you said, I have dinged corners before trying to get them into the penny sleeves.

- Jeff >>



Just take a second and slit the side of the penny sleeve a little with a pair of scissors before you put the card in and you'll never ding a corner when putting them in again. I think it's worth the effort unless you have small cards like tobacco issue or some other dimension that isn't close to the size of the sleeve.

Dty

In the past, I was a big proponent of penny sleeve and then top loader. However, I found that there was considerable movement of the card inside the top loader. Do folks who use top loaders with penny sleeves run into this problem, too?

I am looking to possibly over haul my collection of sets and nicer singles, so I appreciate hearing different thoughts.

I guess long term, using a penny sleeve first, then into a Card Saver or Top loader (with team bag) seems to be the running thought.

Any other thoughts out there?

jswieton

I use the 130pt thick penny sleeve with CS1’s. The 130pt sleeves are a little wider than standard penny sleeves which helps from dinging the corners of the card when you insert the card.

3BoyzTrading

For long term storage, I get them graded by PSA or BGS.

For grading,it comes down to gloss vs non gloss cards. For an Topps issue that came with gum, I used the CS2 only. For glossy cards, I tend to use a penny sleeve and CS2. Lately, I've attempted to eliminate the penny sleeve and put glossy cards directly in CS2's. I'll let you know how that goes in a few months. I know in CS1's, the corners of any glossy cards will stay attached to the card saver and tear off.

CollectorAtWork

I'm a big proponent of the penny sleeve and CS1. There is some "stickiness" with the CS1, so I wouldn't want some of the gloss or even slight bits of the print to come off when the card is removed from the CS1. That's why I think using the penny sleeve is best. I agree that cutting the corner of the penny sleeve helps a lot in making sure that the card does not "self-ding" when putting it in the penny sleeve. However, that can be really time consuming if you are moving hundreds of cards into penny sleeves like I have been doing recently. I very, very rarely ding cards when putting regular size cards into penny sleeves. Maybe 1 card out of 300 or so at the most. However, maybe even that ratio is too high for some folks who have ultra high grade cards. I'm just looking for a nice set, but not really gradeable cards. I will say that when I was trying to put 1969 Topps Basketball into the Tall Boy penny sleeves, I dinged a whole bunch of cards, so I had to go to the cut corner method and even then I ding a few every now and then. So if your cards are wider than normal where it's going to be a close fit for the penny sleeve, then there is a much higher chance for the self ding. Maybe if that is the main worry, you should purchase the thick card penny sleeves which are wider than the normal ones which would reduce the chance for self dings even more.

I really do not believe that card savers would "pinch" the corners of most cards where it might reduce the grades in the future. They are not that tight. However, if you have cards that are thicker than normal cards such as memorabilia cards, then I agree, those corners can definitely become pinched when put into card savers. I think that if you use top loaders and put them in pouches, they are probably safer than card savers. If you had a few boxes of cards in card savers and a few boxes of cards in top loaders, and they fell off a shelf on top of one another, the cards is top loaders will definitely be better protected and there is much less chance the card will crease if something else falls on top of it. This would be true in general if you have a card in a top loader and something falls on top of it, there is a much less chance for crease than a card in a card saver. However, even if a card is in a penny sleeve and put into a top loader, I have found there is movement of the card, where the card can fall out of the top loader, unless it is put in a secure pouch which prevents this. Also, and I probably don't know the correct technique, when I try to remove cards from top loaders (such as when you move them to card savers to send for grading or just want to scan to sell), I think it's much easier to damage them then removing the cards from card savers, which is pretty easy.

BLUEJAYWAY

<< <i>

<< <i>I skip the penny sleeve. Like you said, I have dinged corners before trying to get them into the penny sleeves.

- Jeff >>



Just take a second and slit the side of the penny sleeve a little with a pair of scissors before you put the card in and you'll never ding a corner when putting them in again. I think it's worth the effort unless you have small cards like tobacco issue or some other dimension that isn't close to the size of the sleeve. >>

Excellent tip.