Not all cards can be played with. Whether you’re already into collectibles or just starting out with your trading card collection, you’ll likely have a collection large enough to require special care or bulk storage. Some cards can have significant value or continue to increase in value, depending on what you collect and how you store them. As an investment, many serious collectors go to great lengths to protect their cards, including sleeving or double-sleeping them. But even if your card doesn’t have much monetary value, it’s still nostalgic and special. Whether it’s Pokémon TCG, Yu-Gi-Oh, sports cards, MTG cards, X-Men cards, whatever. This means you should consider dedicated storage options that fit your collection type and budget.
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Fortunately, these days there are all kinds of carefully crafted containers you can use to protect your trading cards. If you’re just starting to collect, are starting to collect more, or are simply looking to upgrade your storage options from the old ring binder you’ve had since the 1990s, this (unranked) list is for you.
While some focus on security above all else, many others are stylish and portable, making carrying their cards easy and fun. For all card collectors, below are the best trading card storage options for every situation, collection size, and budget. Happy collecting!
1. Quiver Time Quiver Card Case
Best all-around pick
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Quiver Card example
Carry your cards in style! Comes with 100 Apollo clear card sleeves.
Quiver cases are almost universally loved in the card gaming community, and it’s easy to see why. Whatever your storage needs, a single quiver case will likely fit the bill. It’s large enough to hold over 1000 cards without sleeves, but is sturdy and portable with wrist and shoulder straps, a sturdy shell with a water-resistant leatherette finish, and a secure zipper closure. Therefore, it is useful both when keeping the card at home and when going out to play.
But perhaps the best thing about Quiver Time is its stylish design and attention to detail. It comes in a variety of colors to suit your taste and has all kinds of thoughtful little extras. Features a flap with zipper tab closure, fully adjustable straps, select card sleeves, removable acrylic dividers and corner cushions to help organize your cards. And perhaps most thoughtfully, 1% of the asking price is donated to charity.
2. Gamegenic Dungeon 1100
Best for bulk collections
Gamegenic
dungeon deck box 1100+
Dungeons are ideal for storing complete card collections and are also perfect for accessories.
If you have a larger card collection and want a sturdy, well-designed stackable box to store your cards, look no further. Each GameGenic Dungeon holds 1000 double-sleeved cards, and you can box them up “naked” to keep a few more if you want. There’s a middle divider to keep things better organized and make it easier to retrieve your collection when you need it.
The lid opens via a convenient magnetic mechanism and can be easily turned on and off, yet stays strong and secure when not in use. It can also be completely removed, giving you easy access to all your cards. It’s a stylish solution with space above the cards to store game boards, rules or accessories, with a sleek look and a soft microfiber lining to cushion the cards.
3. QuiverTime Vault Card Case
Best practices for portability
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bolt card example
Featuring ample interior space, convenient dividers, and two carrying straps, the Bolt Card Case provides an easy way to organize and transport your cards. It also comes with 100 clear Apollo sleeves sized to fit all standard gaming and sports cards.
The Quivers are a fantastic all-rounder case, but they get a bit bulky if you’re carrying a lot of cards. If you’re participating in a club or tournament, we create a smaller option, the Bolt, for that very purpose. It holds a little more than half the capacity of its larger sibling, but it also means it’s half the weight and size.
In all other respects it offers the same high-quality build and styling as the Quiver. This means your cards are better packaged and protected on a smaller scale. You’ll also receive a free pack of card sleeves and 1% of the price towards children’s orphan charities.
4. VaultX Exo-Tech Zipper Binder
best binder
EXOTEC®
EXOTEC® binder
This Exo-Tec® binder is designed to fit a wide variety of cards and is compatible with all standard card protection sleeves, including Vault X card sleeves.
Boxes aren’t always the best choice for storing cards. Especially because it can be difficult to go through your collection and find the card you need. Binders are a great alternative. Although they can hold fewer cards, they fit well on a shelf or cupboard, and most options include clear pages with pockets for cards.
Not only does this binder from VaultX contain 20 pages that can hold 9 cards each, it also boasts a protective padded cover and sturdy zippers to keep the cards safe. The standard version is standard black, but they come in a variety of colors, sizes and closures so you’re sure to find one to suit your needs.
5. Casematix Graded Card Holder
best protection
Casematics
CASEMATIX CLASS CARD STORAGE Box
This sturdy card carrying case has a hard plastic exterior to protect your precious trading cards from shattering.
Depending on the value of your card and where you take it, you may feel like you need a very secure option to keep your card safe. It’s much safer than this Casematix case, with a durable hard shell exterior and custom foam inserts that rip apart and fit your most precious cards.
The case closes with a secure mechanism that ensures watertightness and airtightness for maximum protection. If that’s not enough, it’s designed to hold your cards in its own protective plastic plate and even has a padlock loop to keep your cards locked even tighter for added security.
6. VaultX Exo-Tech Side Loading Deck Box
best deck box
EXOTEC®
Exo-Tec® side loading deck Box
Available in a variety of color options! It can hold 100 double-sided cards, 120 single sleeve cards, and 210 non-sleeve cards.
It is often a good idea to store your cards in any container or case that you can take out of the house. But what you really want is a small, sturdy, premium-quality box you can use to retrieve your precious deck of cards. I’m going to play. Many brands offer starter packs that come with a suitable deck box for free, but this is often flimsy cardboard so you may want to invest in something a little more durable.
Enter this great option from VaultX. Made from water-resistant microfiber and available in a variety of stylish solid color finishes. The lid is not opened or closed by inserting or pushing in the usual way, but is held in place by a strong magnet, making it very convenient to open and close. The lid also flips over and attaches a magnet to the bottom of the box to keep things organized and provide a stable platform for accessing cards. You can also mix and match different colored lids and boxes if you wish.
7. Fageverld Trading Card Stash
Best budget option
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Fageverld cardboard storage bins Box
Each box contains approximately 620 standard 20-point trading cards and includes two packs of 10 dividers each to help you sort your trading or sports cards.
With all the fancy protective cases you can buy for your trading cards, basically all you really need is a box of some kind. And the box can be as basic as the packaging pieces that come with other orders. Like a golden box with four sides and a lid, it will keep your cards in order. There’s no need to spend a lot of money if you don’t want the style and features that premium brands offer.
But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can gain by spending at least a little on storage options. You can also get these specialized options instead of discarded cardboard boxes. It’s the perfect size to protect your trading cards, has compartments to keep things organized, and a lid on top to make perusing your cards easy. You can also keep your cards together by stacking them neatly on a shelf.
How to Choose the Storage Option That’s Right for You
Anyone who has been a collector for many years knows that binders may be the easiest and most convenient way to store cards, but they can also harm them over time. So, if you have expensive or potentially expensive cards, it may be a good idea to keep them in sleeves or penny sleeves and place them in a top loader or box instead of a binder.
Depending on your budget, collection size, and card value, you can start with a convenient option like a D-ring binder and work your way up from there. Based on the categories listed in the product options above, we’re sure you’ll find an affordable product to get you started. Which one you choose will depend on many factors. For example, you might collect or play with Pokémon TCG cards, and you might want to turn your pile of cards into an organized storage solution, like using a cute and simple Pokémon card binder.
Tip: While shopping, look for ‘Acid-Free’ and ‘Soft-Backed’ in the description. Also consider your preference for matte versus glossy pocket pages. A recent Reddit poll on the topic found that the majority voted for glossy sleeves, based on the pros and cons of visibility, shuffling, quality, and texture.
What is the rarest trading card of all time?
According to Guinness World Records, the title of ‘world’s rarest trading card’ is tied between the 1996 World Champion and MTG’s Shichifukujin Dragon cards, of which only one specimen exists.
If you’re currently a collector or gamer of Crew Mode (which you probably are!), you might want to look into our other save and display guides. We recommend checking out the top video game storage ideastop Board game save optionsbest Case displaying LEGOand the best action figure display case. Stay tuned to IGN for even more collectibles and trading card news and guides, including new MTG pre-orders like AC cards or LOTR cards, from the geekiest corners of IGN.
Matt Thrower is a freelance board game and video game writer for IGN. (Boards, videos, games of all kinds!)