Penny Sleeves
The first line of defense in protecting your card should be a penny sleeve—aptly named because they are dirt cheap and you’re likely buying them in bulk.
Any card that goes in a toploader or Card Saver…and some of the cards you put into storage boxes, should be in penny sleeves.
That’s why I only buy Ultra PRO (even though it’s easy to get seduced into cheaper on other brands)!
- Regular Ultra PRO penny sleeves on Amazon
- Ultra PRO penny sleeves for thicker cards on Amazon (these are for really thick cards, like 100 point or more. These are typically your memorabilia cards. Chrome cards will fit just in a regular penny sleeve
Top Loaders
I can’t stress strongly enough the importance of buying high quality top loaders! I’ve thrown more of these away than I care to admit because I bought a cheap brand and they were literally unusable!
Like penny sleeves, I’m going Ultra PRO here as well. I know there are other quality brands (BCW, Titan Shield), but most consider Ultra PRO the standard and I’ve had the best luck.
Also, I’ve been scammed by trying to save money on Ultra PRO top loaders on eBay. When they came in the mail, they clearly weren’t high quality, and on closer inspection, the box was clearly designed as a cheap knock-off and the plastic wrapping was closed with a piece of Scotch tape. Stick to Amazon.
I keep four different sizes at home. I carry the most of the first one listed, and the least of the last one listed, and in order between those. They have a million other sizes, but between these 4, I’ve never had a problem.
- Regular Ultra PRO Toploaders on Amazon. These hold your regular 35 point cards, which are typically your paper cards.
- Thick Ultra Pro Toploaders on Amazon. These hold your slightly thicker cards (up to 55 point), such as Topps Chrome, Panini Prizm, or Panini Select.
- Super Thick 100 Point Toploaders on Amazon. These will hold the thinner memorabilia cards just fine (you’ll need the thick penny sleeves for cards of this wide or more)
- Super Thick 180 Point Toploaders on Amazon. There are cards thicker than these, but I’ve never owned one. The thickest cards I’ve ever pulled fit into these suckers.
Magnetic Card Holders
This is one of the coolest ways to display your high-end, ungraded cards!
Back in the day, screw down cases were all the rage, but they were annoying to open and close. Some of the old-school ones literally smashed your card between two pieces of plastic and destroyed many an expensive card! We’ve got better options today.
So, once again, I’m going to go with Ultra PRO here!