II. Baseball Card Supplies
The next thing you want to put together after your starting kit is a collection of basic supplies you will need to store your cards safely. I've pictured what I use, but your mileage may vary. The company making the items you buy may differ, but the basic items themselves are pretty much a constant.
In the lower-left corner of the above picture, I've got two items I use on the majority of my cards: Ultra Pro "penny sleeves", and "top loaders". The two brands I see most often used are Ultra Pro and BCW. "Penny sleeves" are sheets of polypropylene that fit perfectly around the card. There are several different sizes, so make sure that the size you purchase will fit the cards you are collecting. These are acid-free, archival quality that will not interact with the paper or inks used in cards. They are typically considered inert. The "top loaders" are rigid plastic sleeves that the card + "penny sleeve" can slide down into. Together, these two items provide a good amount of protection to cards. They protect the surface from scratching, and any damage that might otherwise occur when handling a card. Corner and edge damage of any kind will lower a card's value. And the rigid top loaders help protect the card from bending. I take it a step further, and use Ultra Pro team bags (upper right). The top loaders slide nicely into these, and then the top can be bent over, and sealed shut with the included adhesive seal. I have boxes of cards stored in this fashion. My more expensive modern cards will usually go into hard cases, like Ultra Pro "one touches" (not pictured). These are hard cases that have a recessed area for one card to fit into, as well as recessed corners to prevent contact damage. They are held together at the top by a magnet. These I then place into Ultra Pro one touch bags (center). These have the same function as the team bags, and when sealed, they protect the one touches from being scratched, and prevent them from opening. It's an added level of protection. The one touches with gold magnets have UV protection, so cards and autographs are less likely to fade if exposed to sunlight. I never leave my cards out, though, so that's not an issue. If you are ever going to display cards, they should be protected by UV glass, and kept out of sunlight as much as possible. Finally, I have two different "card savers", sizes I and II. These are flexible sleeves that many prefer for card storage. By squeezing on the side, the saver opens at the top, allowing the card insertion. When released, the saver closes snugly on top of the card. These are preferred for shipping cards to grading companies, as they prevent the cards from sliding around inside the saver. They literally will not move at all. But the material used does not cause any scratching to the card surface. I prefer Cardboard Gold savers, but it's merely a preference developed from using them first. The Card Saver "I" are the larger of the two, and I use these to store a good portion of my vintage cards. The Card Saver "I" product I use to store my ungraded tobacco cards (ie T206) and gum cards (ie 1934 Goudeys). They have the same archival qualities.
Additionally, you will need some sort of box(es) to store your cards in. There are the standard cardboard boxes that will hold 930 standard-sized cards, all the way up to 5,000 count boxes. While there are, again, various companies that produce these, I go with BCW. These are great for storing sets of modern cards, or large amounts of commons.
For more valuable cards, I prefer to use chipboard boxes (see above). They provide more protection, and are really nice looking, certainly much more appealing than a cheap cardboard box. When looking through older threads, you may see a company called MJ Roop mentioned. They were, to my knowledge, one of the first companies to make these kinds of boxes, in either chipboard or wood. They went out of business a few years back, but since then, a few companies have started producing the same high-quality boxes. The ones I use are from
A Box Factory. The chipboard boxes cost about $50 each, and I believe they will offer discounts if more than a few are purchased. They also offer the same boxes with wood construction. These would, obviously, be even more durable, and offer greater protection, but they cost more. If you are going to take cards to shows, that would be the way to go. If you are just looking for boxes to store your cards at home in an attractive manner, the chipboard should be sufficient. Another company that I've recently discovered is
Liongoods. I have not used them, so I cannot comment as to the quality of their product, but they offer a wide variety of storage options. I am quite happy with my A Box Factory purchases, so I can recommend them. Perhaps other forum members that have used Liongoods could comment on their quality. Just as an aside, I have no connection to any of the companies I am referencing, nor am I receiving any compensation. I wanted to make that clear. I am just providing helpful information.
One other topic, one that has been discussed at length in different threads on Net 54, is the storage of high value cards. There are two basic schools of thought here. Keep those cards at home, and insure them, or put them in a bank vault for safekeeping. There are numerous kinds of safes, from the $100 varieties made by a company like SentrySafe or FirstAlert, all the way up to custom Jeweler's Safes that can cost several thousand dollars. These safes can offer a variety of features, like protection against fire and/or water damage, and any decision made to keep cards at home must be considered carefully. Many members of Net 54 combine a safe, and collector's insurance, allowing them to view their cards whenever they want. The other option is to keep these cards at a bank, in a safe deposit box. While this might be less costly, there are downsides, potentially. Obviously, one such consideration is how readily available the bank is. A bank is only open certain hours of the day, and it might not be close to home. If you work a 9 to 5 job, that bank might close before you can get there. Some collectors store their high value cards in the bank, and take high quality scans of said cards. These can be viewed any time. The scans can also be used for insurance purposes. Then, there is the size factor. My bank has different sizes of safe deposit boxes, but I could never store a large collection there. Use the forum search function, and you'll find extensive discussions about this topic.