Over the many years of buying cards and trading, I have noticed that we have a general problem in the industry/hobby with the way penny sleeves and toploaders are sold and used:
Problem 1 - People put cards in toploaders that are too thick, e.g. 120pt cards in 130pt toploaders which are too loose (for neither storage nor shipping)
Why this is happening? This is mainly because our sellers simply just don't stock the entire range of toploaders from UltraPro and BCW for some reason. Collectors do not have easy access to say a 120pt toploader (UltraPro) and generally the entire range from BCW who does in between sizes e.g. 79/108/138pt. A lot of collectors may not even be aware that there are such a range of thicknesses available. So people do workarounds by adding fillers or taping the top to secure the card inside which is fine but not how things are supposed to be, especially as a storage solution for your PC.
Solution: We need to measure up our cards (Points = thickness in mm x 39.37) and be clear what our storage requirements are, then we need to drive our sellers to stock products that will meet our requirements. While we do have the option to get these suppliers directly from the states but I just wonder why we cannot go through the established supply lines so we do not have to cop ridiculous postage costs.
Problem 2 - People put cards in penny sleeves that are too big
Since we are mostly using Ultra Pro sleeves here, they are at fault here by not clearly stating the dimensions on the package, here are the products available:
Solution: After some investigation and first hand experience, here's a guide to how I would sleeve my cards:
Overall, I think Ultra Pro can simply provide more information on the package, like Mayday Games that has actual sleeve dimensions. This will allow consumers to know exactly what they are buying.
I would like to hear what everyone's experience is like with regards to penny sleeves and toploaders? do we have any sellers here who may be able to comment on product availability?
Problem 1 - People put cards in toploaders that are too thick, e.g. 120pt cards in 130pt toploaders which are too loose (for neither storage nor shipping)
Why this is happening? This is mainly because our sellers simply just don't stock the entire range of toploaders from UltraPro and BCW for some reason. Collectors do not have easy access to say a 120pt toploader (UltraPro) and generally the entire range from BCW who does in between sizes e.g. 79/108/138pt. A lot of collectors may not even be aware that there are such a range of thicknesses available. So people do workarounds by adding fillers or taping the top to secure the card inside which is fine but not how things are supposed to be, especially as a storage solution for your PC.
Solution: We need to measure up our cards (Points = thickness in mm x 39.37) and be clear what our storage requirements are, then we need to drive our sellers to stock products that will meet our requirements. While we do have the option to get these suppliers directly from the states but I just wonder why we cannot go through the established supply lines so we do not have to cop ridiculous postage costs.
Problem 2 - People put cards in penny sleeves that are too big
Since we are mostly using Ultra Pro sleeves here, they are at fault here by not clearly stating the dimensions on the package, here are the products available:
| Label on package | For cards... | In practice |
| Premium Card Sleeves | Standard cards 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 | Good for cards with thickness of 35/55/75/100 pt, get really tight around 120pt |
| Thick Card Sleeves | 130pt | Too big for 130pt, does not fit gracefully into 130pt toploader |
Solution: After some investigation and first hand experience, here's a guide to how I would sleeve my cards:
| Product Image | Measurements (Width) | Suitable for... | Product feedback |
| 66 mm (measured) | 35/55 pt cards, fits in 9-pocket page | If you want sleeves that fits perfect in your albums, this is the one. The Platinum Series one below used to be the same dimension but has now increased in size. | |
| 67 mm (measured) | 35/55/75/100 pt cards, tight around 120 pt cards, wrinkles in 9-pocket page | This no longer fits nicely in album pages, but is now big enough to cover cards of thickness up to 120 pt | |
| 66.675 mm (based on info on package) | 35/55/75 pt cards, should fit in 9-pocket page | I have never had this product in hand, so I am only imagining here. | |
| 69.85 mm (based on info on package) | 120/130 pt cards and up... | I have never had this product in hand, but this would be my preferred choice of sleeve for cards 130 pt thick based on what's available out there. | |
| 71 mm (measured) | Suitable for sending someone a whole stack of cards if you are too cheap to put individual sleeves on the cards | Despite being sold as the sleeve for 130 pt cards, the sleeve is so loose that I can fit 5.5 mm thick stack of cards inside, that's around 220 pt |
Overall, I think Ultra Pro can simply provide more information on the package, like Mayday Games that has actual sleeve dimensions. This will allow consumers to know exactly what they are buying.
I would like to hear what everyone's experience is like with regards to penny sleeves and toploaders? do we have any sellers here who may be able to comment on product availability?