Just getting into vintage and looking for storage ideas

[wdwfan]

Edit: I think I might've put this in the wrong section. I think it needs to go in "Postwar Cards & Watercooler Talk" in the Post-War (1980 and older) folder. If so, Mods, please move it. If not, no worries and thanks.


Sorry for the long rant, but I'm very CDO (notice it's in alphabetical order), and I'm looking for some ideas.


I've now gotten enough into vintage (just started in August) to where I need to find ideas for storage for cards. I've got all of my 50s-60s, even commons, sleeved, top loaded, priced and stored by years. I've been trying to figure out how to store my early 1970s commons (not semi highs, highs, etc.). I'm talking about the cards that book anywhere from 50 cents to $3 of guys that aren't HOFers/stars.

Right now, I'm trying to decide if I want to sleeve everything or just leave them in a box. They're all sorted numerically. I want to do that because I plan to start setting up at shows. So my question is two-fold, really.

How do you store your 1970s commons? And how do you prefer to look through them at shows? Do you prefer they just be in a box in numerical order? Or do you prefer them all sleeved in said box and in numerical order? As of now, here's how I'm storing stuff...

All notable HOFers (Mays, Mantle, Aaron, Killebrew, Brooks R., Koufax type players) are sorted by name alphabetically. They're in a box labeled Notable HOFers.

All other HOFers/star players (guys like Aparicio, Billy Williams, etc., even down to like Steve Gary and manager cards of HOFers that were voted in for playing days) are sorted by year. For example, I have all the "other" 1974 HOFers and stars (Garvey, Aparicio, Williams, Schoendinst, etc.) numerical by year - they are all behind a tab labeled 1974 in a box that's labeled Other HOFers/Stars.

All commons, teams, semis (anything that books $3 and under) is sorted by year into other boxes and then sorted numerically. That way when someone comes to look through the box at a show (or if someone is looking for a particular number), I pull the box that corresponds with the year, find the year, find the card. Simple enough right. But do you prefer those cards to be sleeved or no?

[Leon]

This thread could be for pre-war too, sort of, so is fine here, imo. When I set up at local shows I have my Topps cards stored by years.....and if I am feeling giddy and enthusiastic I might even put them in numerical order. All of them are in toploaders and/or at least penny sleeves. IF there is a bigger ticket one I will have it in one of my cases to show. In my opinion ALL cards should be at least sleeved. I hate it when they are purely raw as it hurts their condition, like going from poor to poor-minus.

[wdwfan]

Thanks for the insight. The biggest compliant I hear from people when looking through dime and quarter type boxes at shows (some of my boxes like that would include 1960s-1970s commons) is they have to take the time to take the card out of the penny when they're sleeved. They always says I wish you wouldn't have sleeved, I can't check condition when it's sleeved without taking the time to take it out of the sleeve.

So that's why I was curious. Again, thanks for your advice. I think I will just continue to sleeve all my vintage.

Originally Posted by Leon

This thread could be for pre-war too, sort of, so is fine here, imo. When I set up at local shows I have my Topps cards stored by years.....and if I am feeling giddy and enthusiastic I might even put them in numerical order. All of them are in toploaders and/or at least penny sleeves. IF there is a bigger ticket one I will have it in one of my cases to show. In my opinion ALL cards should be at least sleeved. I hate it when they are purely raw as it hurts their condition, like going from poor to poor-minus.

[steve B]

If someone is checking condition that closely on a ten cent card they've got problems that aren't solvable with sleeves or without.


I'm not picky about how cards are presented in bulk boxes, as long as the pricing is clear. Like don't put a 50 cent box right next to an unlabeled box of stuff that's not 50 cents.
Other than that the only thing I'd like but seldom get is organization. If you've got cards from signature rookies, for me it's nice to find them all together. Not a major thing, since with the typical bargain box customer, any organization will be wrecked in the first few minutes.
I do find nice new sleeves or toploaders to be a plus. Used ones maybe less so, although I have bought cheap cards to get what I thought was an unusual holder. (Yes, I'm sort of crazy)

In my collection, I sort of wish I'd simply sleeved everything as I got it. That would mean a lot less work now. But even now a lot of the cards I have are so bad they really don't need sleeves.

[wdwfan]

I think they're just looking for stuff to grade. Not sure though.

I don't reuse toploaders and sleeves. If I get cards in the mail, they go into new toploaders and sleeves. No questions.

Finally, anything that's "bad" goes in the trash. I just tossed out a bunch that had creases of some sort (corner crease/major crease, etc.). Now, all of my cards are crease/bend free.

Originally Posted by steve B

If someone is checking condition that closely on a ten cent card they've got problems that aren't solvable with sleeves or without.


I'm not picky about how cards are presented in bulk boxes, as long as the pricing is clear. Like don't put a 50 cent box right next to an unlabeled box of stuff that's not 50 cents.
Other than that the only thing I'd like but seldom get is organization. If you've got cards from signature rookies, for me it's nice to find them all together. Not a major thing, since with the typical bargain box customer, any organization will be wrecked in the first few minutes.
I do find nice new sleeves or toploaders to be a plus. Used ones maybe less so, although I have bought cheap cards to get what I thought was an unusual holder. (Yes, I'm sort of crazy)

In my collection, I sort of wish I'd simply sleeved everything as I got it. That would mean a lot less work now. But even now a lot of the cards I have are so bad they really don't need sleeves.

[steve B]

For me, bad stuff goes in its own box unless I need it.

Once it builds up I figure out what to do with it. Yard sale, Ebay, giving it away.

A lot of my collection back in the day came from small lots of "bad" stuff. Those obsessed with having stuff all the same shouldn't look. There might be a card with a hole and loads of creases next to one that's really nice.

I upgrade by chance. When I get some "new" cards I check off the spreadsheet, then compare the extras to what I have if the new ones are nicer, They get swapped in.

Reusing supplies depends on what I have on hand. If I'm out of toploaders, I might just reuse a pretty bad one. (Or if I've misplaced them) If the seller used what looks like a brand new one and there's no tape or anything I reuse those for sure.