May 18

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Best Trading Card Sleeves to Protect Your Cards


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In the trading card world, it is essential to protect the quality and integrity of your cards and things like card sleeves (aka penny sleeves) and top loaders are typically your first line of defense.

Trading card sleeves are available in a variety of sizes and they even have different plastic thicknesses and this article will break down all of the different types that are available to collectors.

Card sleeves are relatively inexpensive depending on which manufacturer you purchase them from and you can rest assured that your prized possessions are safely stored.


Who Are The Primary Trading Card Sleeve Manufacturers?

Photo of Cardboard Gold Logo

1. Cardboard Gold

"For over 37 years, Cardboard Gold has been one of the leading manufacturers of sports/trading card holders. We are a two time, Inc. 500 company having been honored in both 1991 (#208) and 1992 (#74) as one of America's Fastest Growing Private Companies." Learn more about them here.

Photo of Ultra Pro Logo

2. Ultra Pro

Ultra PRO International LLC ("Ultra PRO") is the leading manufacturer and supplier of sports and gaming collectibles accessories, photo and scrapbooking albums and pages and Ultra Sleeves™, our line of disposable, protective sleeves for computer tablets. We have been designing and manufacturing top quality products since 1952, and our brands are recognized for its high quality standards and design innovations. Learn more about them here.

Photo of BCW Supplies Logo

3. BCW Supplies

"BCW was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Middletown, Indiana USA. For over 35 years BCW has been manufacturing high quality, cost effective products designed to protect, store, and display collectibles. Within our 78,000 square foot facility we maintain over $3 million in inventory to ensure the hobby supplies you order are available when you need them." Learn more about them here.


What Makes for a Good Card Sleeve?

There is really only one MAJOR thing to look out for when buying trading card sleeves or top loaders which is that they should be ACID-FREE.

If you're storing trading cards for years and years, it is extremely important that the material used to house those cards doesn't contain any chemicals that could stain/discolor/ruin them. Hence why ACID-FREE is vital.


What Are The Best Standard Card Sleeves?

Standard card sleeves can safely fit most modern trading cards up to 120 point thickness. These card sleeves typically measure 2 5/8" x 3 5/8" and are available in a variety of quantities depending on your needs.

Cardboard Gold

Photo of Cardboard Gold Standard Card Sleeves

BCW Supplies


What Are The Best Premium Card Sleeves?

Premium trading card sleeves share the same characteristics as the standard trading card sleeves above, however, they are mad of a much thicker polypropylene plastic which adds extra protection for your collectibles.

Cardboard Gold

Photo of Cardboard Gold Super Premium Card Sleeves

What Are The Best Card Sleeves for Thick Cards?

Some trading card sets such as Panini's National Treasures, Noir, Spectra, etc are printed on thicker material and will not fit into standard card sleeves.

Some cards also contain material from player jerseys or uniforms which make them thicker as well.

These types of cards will require a thicker card sleeve.

Cardboard Gold

Photo of Cardboard Gold Thick Card Sleeves

BCW Supplies


What Are The Best Card Sleeves to Prevent Corner Damage/Wear?

If you've been card collecting for awhile then you know that there is nothing more frustrating than catching a corner on the edge of a penny sleeve.

The folks over at Ultra Pro have created a product called Easy Grade Card Sleeves that prevents you from having to clip the corners of the card sleeves yourself.

Ultra Pro Easy Grade Card Sleeves


What Are The Best Graded Card Sleeves?

If you own any graded cards then you should know that keeping your slabs pristine is incredibly important and that's exactly where graded card sleeves come in.

These oversized sleeves should fit standard Beckett (BGS) and PSA card slabs as well as 1/4" screw down holders and will prevent the graded card from being scratched.

Cardboard Gold

Photo of Cardboard Gold Graded Card Sleeves

BCW Supplies


What Are The Best Card Sleeves for Vintage Cards?

Vintage trading cards often require a different card sleeve because their size is different.

Vintage card sleeves measure 2 3/4" x 3 5/16" and can protect trading cards from the early 1950's, long before the standard card size was adopted across the board.

Ultra Pro Vintage Card Sleeves


What Are The Best Card Sleeves for Tall Cards?

In the early 1970's there was a massive craze across multiple sports for what are known in the industry as "Tall Boys."

For a long time, these tall cards presented a major problem for collectors because there were not card sleeves specifically designed for them so they would simply put a standard card sleeve on each end of the Tall Boy.

Luckily, Ultra Pro and BCW came to the rescue and started producing tall sleeves.


Affiliate Disclaimer: The links in the article contain affiliate links and we receive a small commission for any purchase made on eBay or Amazon. We appreciate your support!

Financial Disclaimer: If you are investing in sports cards as an alternative investment, please do your own research and do so at your own risk. We are not financial advisors and this is not financial advice.



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