Baseball Card Binders

[Jayworld]

My complete collection is in binders/Ultra Pro sheets. That includes 9 BCW binders and Ultra Pro sheets for complete Topps sets 1975-80, Fleer 1981, Donruss 1982, Fleer 1983, 2 binders full of football cards, 2 binders of non-sports, and 5 Ultra-Pro binders/sheets for my Japanese baseball card collection....

I prefer the BCW binders, as they seem to last longer that Ultra Pro. In fact, some of my BCW binders are 25 years old and in perfect shape.

[darkhorse9]

Binder guy all the way. Ultra Pro pages all the way.

[tschock]

Originally Posted by darkhorse9

Binder guy all the way. Ultra Pro pages all the way.

Mark,

I've always loved your setup. Works well for us OCD types. One thing I did that I would recommend is to put 'supports' in the center of the shelves as even the good wood will sag over time. Basically I worked from the bottom up, cutting a 1/2 inch thick by 2 inch wide board to the length of space between the shelves. So the bottom shelf will help support the 2nd shelf, and so on up. The thickness still fits between the binders just fine but provides additional support for the shelves in the center.

[david_l]

Yeah, really cool

Those are Ultra Pro 3" correct?

[JRDill]

I recently started collecting again, and I definitely use binders and ultra pro pages. I'm kind of obsessive about organization of my collection.

[Tripredacus]

Binders and pages here too. Don't care about the style of binders. I have some that were made for cards, the vast majority I get from thrift and they are just old corporate binders. Pages, also don't care what brand or anything, as long as they are top-loading style. Side loaders I hate.

Everything goes into binders except for completed sets.

[Neal]

Any answer to how binder pagers can break down corners of a card?

I am considering putting a few sets into binders and the comments made were both interesting and concerning.

Also, any good recommendations for a binder/album? Ideally I would like to have one of those binders that fits into another box .... like a cover. Does that make sense?

[Tripredacus]

It makes sense to me. Having binders stand up properly is an issue, they tend to move one way or the other. I don't know of a way to stop them from doing that, except to lay them down instead. Being inside of a box, I'm not sure it will make a real difference. Smaller binders seem to work better than larger ones.

[tiger8mush]

I use Archival Methods binders with slipcase for dust protection. Not cheap (over $50 ea), but they hold up well. I also use their page lifters (a handful per binder) to add some stability.

http://www.archivalmethods.com/produ...-slip-case-set


I store a good portion (50%?) of my collection raw in binders (rest is maybe 40% in raw stacks or top loaders and 10% graded). OJs, tobacco, candy, 1920s, 30s, tickets, postcards, supplements, post-war, everything.

Good luck!

[CTDean]

Originally Posted by Neal

Any answer to how binder pagers can break down corners of a card?

I am considering putting a few sets into binders and the comments made were both interesting and concerning.

Also, any good recommendations for a binder/album? Ideally I would like to have one of those binders that fits into another box .... like a cover. Does that make sense?

I would say page flipping. I bought some 1950's sets in albums a few years ago and the 54 Bowman set had really suffered from flipping thru over the years. The cards slide up and the corners get damaged. The owner of these cards was a strong handed flipper. Many of the cards in the top corners of the pages had surface creases from grabbing the page to flip it. That included a 1954 Bowman Ted Williams that ended up a PSA 2 instead of a 5 or better. No albums for me.

[garymc]

I have all my cards in binders.....when I get a card thats been slabbed , I crack it !!!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/151843924@N04/albums

[Tripredacus]

I need to get some of those 3 pocket pages. It would work out well for ticket stubs.

[scottbdoug]

When I decide to collect a set, I research the number of cards involved. The base set, inserts, sp's, errors, advert cards etc. etc. I then go buy 9-pocket sheets to cover the number of cards involved. I put the sheets into binder/s.

The base set I leave blank and fill in the cards in their designated pockets as I get them. The inserts etc. I identify either individually or as a group with either a card-size piece of paper with the ID on it, which I slide into the pocket, or a label i stick on the surface of the pocket.

Then I collect the set through trades and purchases. I know the complete set because of the binder/s. I don't need to go and research the set again because everything is labelled/ID'd. When I receive cards I open the binder, find the appropriate pockets and slide the cards in after they are put in penny-sleeves. I can then, if I wish, flip through the pages and see which cards I'm still missing.

It gives me a sense of accomplishment seeing binders fill up which I don't get if I just put them in order in monster boxes.

As for parallels of the sets, I wait until I have collected a large number of them before I go buy pocket pages and another binder for them, usually once I get around 50% of the cards involved.

This I find the most enjoyable way to collect. As you move forward in time, sets start to expand in size, where you will need multiple binders to cover all the cards. My 1985 Topps set I can fit into one large binder, or two average-sized binders. My 2007 Topps set, which I am still collecting, Has 5 or 6 binders involved so far.

All doubles, triples of cards go into monster boxes for trade.

I think if you have the money, pocket sheets aren't cheap, although putting every card in a top-loader instead would be expensive as well, is the best way to collect. You get to see the cards as you want, you see how the set becomes completed as you put cards in their pockets, and Putting binders on shelves rather than having stacks of monster boxes is much easier in terms of adding cards or finding where cards go.

[garymc]

I still use binders for all my cards. I only collect Highlanders and Yankees and I have them set by decades. The best binders to buy are these.....
https://www.archivalmethods.com/blog...-ring-binders/

Share your vintage Yankee’s
https://www.facebook.com/groups/554519474738304/
Sharing my vintage Yankee’s
https://www.flickr.com/photos/151843924@N04/albums

[yankeesjetsfan]

Gary, I am a Yankees collector also and those Highlander cards are beautiful. I looked at your flicker photos and drooled on my keyboard.

Mike