How do you sort/organize your cards?

[Savard18]

How do you sort your cards?

Is it better to sort by set or player?

My goal is to sort by player, but the problem is some cards are higher end than others - some cards belong in a sleeve while others belong in top loader while others belong in a one touch, so it kinda gets disorganized when you have a binder(s) of one player, then a box of that player in top loaders then another box of one touches - it kind of defeats the point of "organized" - and it also takes up way too much space (especially when you add on pretty much on a daily basis)...

I really wish card supply manufacturers made "adjustable boxes" - where you can adjust the box based on the holders you use and the quantity you have.. Because it sucks when you have a box that's 75% full and you have nothing that makes sense to fill the other 25% with because you have too much of something else to fill that 25% with or nothing that makes sense to put there, so then you're basically just wasting valuable space... And if you do use that 25% left in the box for random cards you always forget what you put there, so when you go looking for those cards you're stuck looking in every box you have until you find them....

I suppose my point is that I'm really looking for the most efficient way to sort and keep cards organized, anyone have any tips or tricks to manage this problem? I know those collectors that have 40,000+ cards have the same problem - especially when their collections can grow or shrink at any point.

This is also part of the reason why I'm trying to focus on making sets and basically binder everything that isn't a key card, then just keep my key cards sorted by player..

Anyone else have the same problem?.... I would like to know how you keep your cards sorted.... I've tried many different ways but there is always a problem with every method I have tried.

Thanks,

- Nick

[creasecollector]

I organize every single one of my cards like a twelve year old. Everything is in binders! Which also includes all of my rare pieces and 1/1 cards (gasp). They aren't going anywhere and I love displaying cards in binders so I can neatly sort through everything and have my binders "displayed" on my card section of my cabinet. It sure beats a cardboard box any day of the week as far as I'm concerned. Plus I don't have the cabinet space for displaying all the cards I want to in toploaders.

However, I do have a few large/slabbed cards in a specific box near my binders (the slabs make these cards too darn big!). So it's always in reach and I can pull them out when I like to. Admittedly, these cards in the box card harder to sort because I'm so used to binders. So I do see your problem with having to sort the same PC in different spots, which can be odd.

I sort my entire collection into a few binders. My "main" binder holds every Enroth PC card I own, and the second binder for my other goalie PC's.

There is a binder that specifically holds my traders, and another binder for my set completions and current set that I am working on. I also have a final binder for some random cards leftover from ripping packs as a kid.

It's a really simple set up, but it works for me. I've been organizing and sorting my cards like this forever. Everything has its place.

Speaking of toploaders, I have a box or two of them filled to the brim. I've only stored, like, maybe 5 cards in toploaders. Those few cards just sit near my binders and are just base cards I like the looks of. Nothing earth shattering.

I will keep these toploaders/magnet holders for safe keeping, just in case my display habits change one of these days. But for now, and for the time being, random binders coupled with 9-pocket binder pages from Ultra Pro are my best friend.

[Thick McRunfast]

What makes this question fun is that you're bound to receive many different answers. And that's because there are many different types of collectors!

But you make a good point -- it can be a conundrum no matter what, because as collectors we're often adding to (or subtracting from) our collections. So, for a time you might have the perfect system and the perfect size box or binder, but then your collection changes. What then?

I guess you can't sweat it if your method isn't perfectly efficient all the time.

I'm a set collector more than a player collector, so here's my rundown:

Binders for complete sets that I really enjoy and want to flip through every so often
Boxes for complete sets that aren't as notable to me (e.g., not great design, duplicate sets, etc.)
Boxes for sets I haven't yet completed
Top loaders and a shoebox for rookie cards and other card singles that have nostalgic value to me (I organize these by set year and brand, not by player)
Boxes for my traders (organized by set year, card number, and brand)

That's basically the whole of my collection.

If I did collect a specific player, I might try to purchase a second copy of some of his cards. That way, if I had the complete set I could keep it together, and then have another copy of the card that I could put into a dedicated player collection binder. However, some cards these days are really thick (or rare and expensive!), so maybe I'd have to put those in top loaders and store them separately. That's another conundrum.

[WillyC]

sorry, please delete this post

[breitling]

I store mine differently than anyone I've met, but it works for me. Most people say the toploaders fly out when turning pages but I use big team bags for most cards so they stay pretty good. You do have to be careful but I find I look at my cards WAY more when they're in binders than when they're in boxes.

[5ForFighting]

Being as I’ve only been back in the hobby for a little bit now mine are currently in top loaders or one touches in cardboard boxes. But I would love this to turn into a display thread. I have so many ideas for when I get back from this next rotation to a new house, but always enjoy seeing others displays and storage for ideas.


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[creasecollector]

I store mine differently than anyone I've met, but it works for me. Most people say the toploaders fly out when turning pages but I use big team bags for most cards so they stay pretty good. You do have to be careful but I find I look at my cards WAY more when they're in binders than when they're in boxes.

Now this is cool. Awesome way to store those heavy duty cards! Nice touch on the binders with the cards on the side of the binder. That would look great to flip through AND store on a shelf. Well done!


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[Leafsman]

I'm a singles collector. Everything goes into a toploader. I don't like magnetic/one-touch/screwdown holders at all.

[Savard18]

I appreciate all the input from you guys.. Seems like we all have our own methods.

I'm just accumulating cards so quick.... I've only been back to collecting for a year now and I'm on my way to 50,000 cards shortly.... I stopped collecting from about 1997-98 until last summer 2017, so I missed nearly 2 decades of collecting...

Yea, last summer I was at the store, saw a fat pack of 2016-17 Upper Deck, somehow got the urge to buy it for nostalgic reasons, pulled a William Nylander Young Guns, looked it up on ebay and was pleasantly surprised with what it was selling for ($20-25), so I decided to buy a blaster box, ended up pulling the Auston Matthews "jumbo" card, and a whole bunch of other cards I thought were awesome - and I was getting bang for my buck, and of course a few boxes later I pulled my first Auston Matthews Young Gun (pulled three more since then, the last one about 2 weeks ago) and then I caught the collecting bug and the love of the hobby I had when I was younger.... And I was a pretty big collector between the ages of 12-18, did card shows every weekend - I worked at a card shop throughout high school and locally I was well known on the card scene - I would have certainly considered myself a "card dealer" at 15 years old - by that point I was buying wholesale (my dad had a tax # so I could buy direct) - not only that but I would buy, sell & trade unopened material with other dealers so... I was really into vintage back then tho (pre-1980).... Ah, it's a long story - perhaps when I have more time and energy I will write the whole story up and post it - because it's pretty amazing how a kid (me) was the "go to guy" in the hobby locally for any and all cards..

At any rate, I like a lot of your guys methods.... And IMO, indeed the price of "shoe boxes" is totally insane like one poster pointed out.. They used to be a couple of bucks for a 5,000 ct, now they're like $7 on ebay, cant imagine what they cost at the card shops (if there are any anymore, there is one like 20 miles from me, lol) rather use ebay tho (it's the biggest card show on the planet, and I can buy whatever cards I want in my underwear at 3am eating a pizza, lol)... So yea, I think I'm going to start making my own boxes... I just need a paper cutter, and perhaps a perforater (or something to make nice even bends, and can probably buy both for less than the cost of a shoe box, lol).....

[breitling]

Now this is cool. Awesome way to store those heavy duty cards! Nice touch on the binders with the cards on the side of the binder. That would look great to flip through AND store on a shelf. Well done!

Thank you sir!