Hey as I’m starting out collecting again I’ve decided the best way to get the most enjoyment for the least cost would be to get binder sets of raw nm cards. Right now all I have for protection is some matte black dragon shield sleeves, and while good I don’t know if I need more protection for the more high end cards. I feel kind of uneasy putting a 600+ card into a single deck sleeve and was wondering how do you protect your higher end raw cards, do you double sleeve them or does it not really matter or does it make it worse? I know I could use top loaders but I’m looking for the best way to protect it while having it in a standard premium foe leather binder. Also is it a bad idea to put your most valuable cards in the front page? Thanks!
I use KMC Perfect Fit inside KMC Super Black inside Ultra Pro Premium side loading binders. I’ve never had an issue with the front page. Issue has been dust particles and humidity so I’m transitioning to all zippered binders in a better climate control storage system. Always helpful to remember plenty of the expensive PSA 10s out there were originally sitting in binders for years. If you search e4 there are good threads on this topic.
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It really comes down to what you’re comfortable with. I put high value cards in toploaders and team bags just for piece of mind. Its less pleasing to look at them that way as I’m a binder guy myself but as chansey said there are safe binder options and plenty of threads here if you search. I personally use cheap binders with standard pages and have never had issues with damage. I do however handle them VERY carefully…
www.elitefourum.com/t/answered-what-are-the-best-sleeves-to-use-for-pokemon-cards/14994/1
This guide might or might not be helpful^
I think I ultimately decided on just the ultra pro deck protectors and ultra pro premium binders. No double sleeving, and I store extras inside UP premium sleeves & card savers, then inside PSA graded card boxes.
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I’m concerned about humidity as well. Do you have any recommended articles or other resources about climate control storage systems?
@mykel, I’m moving them to a not very glamorous air-tight plastic box with one of those silica dehumidfiers and a humidity thermometer (hydrometer?). Was considering a bolt down safe but it would be a huge pain in the ass.
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No perfect fits. Deck sleeve into sideloading pages.
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Keep below 70% humidity (and above maybe 25-30%) and your cards should be good. I have dehumidifiers in every room for this reason.
Penny sleeve then put in a side loading binder. Double sleeving makes the card not as appealing imo.
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I double sleeve with KMC Perfecti Fit and then sleeve into Ultra Pro sleeves. Been doing it that way for years and never had an issue.
That being said, I find penny sleeves warp or ripple over time and so even if I didn’t double sleeve, I always had cards I cared about in an Ultra Pro sleeve and then a binder.
To put it this way, I had a card worth a couple thousand dollars sitting in the same binder for over 15 years and the only protection it had was an Ultra Pro sleeve and the binder itself. Got it graded and it came back a PSA 10.
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As others have said, don’t perfect fit expensive cards if they’re for collecting purposes (if you’re going to play with them, like expensive MTG cards yes perfect fit them then deck sleeve them). There’s a chance you’ll damage the edges using perfect fits, either due to the tightness of the sleeve (some are so tight the card bends slightly) or from trying to get them in/out of the sleeve. I penny sleeve expensive ungraded cards and put into side loading binder pages.
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Double sleeving makes the binders too thick in my experience, I don’t know that it’ll damage cards but it makes it bulkier than I prefer so I don’t do it anymore. I also use Dragon Shield sleeves + Dragon Shield binder and I’ve found that the sleeves fit perfectly into the pocket, so I feel like there’s a decent seal already. I honestly don’t think perfect fits are necessary unless humidity is a concern, but that’s just my opinion.
I leave all my non-binder high value cards in penny sleeve + top loader but I also leave some $50+ cards in a binder (not sure what high value is but $50 is a fair amount to me). Honestly, haven’t had an issue with them, I’d put the top loader cards in a binder if I wanted to keep them raw but I’ll eventually grade them so I’ve just left them in the top loaders for now.
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Wondering if you’ve seen this happen with Pokémon a lot or is it mainly MTG edgeware? I’ve had no issues grading cards over the years from my binders the way they are currently stored, but I’m putting together a new set and want to be as cautious as possible.
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I second this. I’ve had no issues with my cards bending or having any noticeable damage from storing them in perfect fit. I suspect it’s more likely due to humidity than anything else.
The KMC Perfect fits I’ve purchased in the past fit incredibly snug on WOTC cards. To the point that I couldn’t get them off safely without using tweezers to grab one end and pull. At that point it’s best to just get something else.
After all, KMC sleeves are not made for English cards —they’re made for Japanese cards which are shorter&narrower than English cards.
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I can understand the difficulty of removing them, they do fit in snug. People thought I made a joke when I made a video on how to remove cards from Perfect fit sleeves, but I was being completely serious. Like I said, I don’t have the same issues as others have had with Perfect Fit, I just inspected a few WOTC English cards to make sure I didn’t make myself a liar and was able to remove them easily (just takes the right now-how). If people do have difficulty with them though, I do think there are perfectly acceptable options. It’s like me and Cardsavers. I admit the utility and protective use but for the life of me I cannot stand them. XD
But yeah, if you’re looking for protection, single sleeves are fine. I just like double sleeving to ensure that no dust gets in and it makes the card more durable when I’m removing it from the binder.
Edit: @qwachansey 's comment below is basically how I remove my cards from Perfect Fit.
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Tweezers?! That’s terrifying, I’d cut open at that rate. Maybe I’ve just developed a method for removing from their sleeve that works for me but I’ve never had an issue removing WOTC cards from KMC, I hold the open end up with one hand and apply slight pressure to the card with the bottom surface of my finger then slide it out.
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Bingo that’s exactly what I do with ultra pro premium binder and ultra pro deck mat sleeves. Sometimes I switch the color. Usually black sometimes white or blue, red etc. I was cheap at first but I love these $30-$40 binders. The zipper is also a added benefit. I happened to pick suede which looks amazing in my opinion and feels so nice! 
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I used to use KMC perfect fits and Ultimate Guard Katana deck sleeves for my Japanese cards but they’re harder to take out than put in and I realise they add more pressure on the card edges which is not ideal for preservation. I resorted to standard penny sleeves in a Zipfolio binder and it worked great.
I use one sleeve, the ultra pro deck protector. It’s semi rigid on the sides and bottom so the card is well protected. Once the card is in there, I feel confident it’s not going to get further wear from handling or from being in the binder. Importantly, the card can breathe at the top. My favorite binders are the ultra pro premium binders which come with various pokemon themes. I keep my cards in a well ventilated area where the temperature is always room temperature. I also keep the binders vertical (like books on a bookshelf) so they’re not stacked on top of each other. Hope that helps!
I used perfect fit sleeves inside dragon shield sleeves for MtG which I found ideal for playing. So if you were building pokemon TCG decks I would recommend that. But like others, I also find the perfect fit sleeves too tight around the cards for me to feel comfortable storing valuable cards that way.
One more thing… about the sleeves that don’t have clear backs, like the kind leonhart uses in his videos. The ones with designs on the back, or they can be a solid color. In any case they aren’t clear. I suspect those may cause damage to the backs of cards. When I have purchased individual cards or sets that were sleeved that way, the cards really stick inside the sleeves and it also seems that the sleeve had removed the gloss and shine from the surface of the card. Curious if others have had that experience or suspicion like I have.