YouTuber shows how you’re storing your valuable Pokemon cards wrong

A Pokemon Trading Card Game collector shocked fans when he revealed the devastating damage binders can cause Pokemon cards. The YouTuber explained the best way to store your TCG items.

When the Pokemon TCG launched in the 90s, no one could have guessed that the pieces of cardboard could someday be worth thousands of dollars. With the hobby’s explosion in value and popularity in 2020, players are flocking to collect both retro and new sets.

According to one expert, however, many fans are storing their coveted Nintendo collectibles the wrong way. The YouTuber showed the extensive damage that can happen to Pokemon cards, even with common storage protection such as binders and sleeves. 

How binders are damaging Pokemon cards

TCG YouTuber Deep Pocket Monster addressed the topic in his ‘Correct Way To Store Pokemon Cards in a Binder’ video on YouTube. In the upload, the content creator explained how the commonly-used three-ring binders are bad for Pokemon cards.

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“If you are using a binder with O-rings, that is bad,” he said. “O-rings are actually the number one culprit for your dented, creased, or concaved Pokemon cards. Once you add too many pages and close your binder, cards on the top page will move back towards the spine. Instead, use a D-Ring binder as it is rounded on one end and slanted on the other.”

The Pokemon fan then showed how collectors using both sides of a binder page sleeve can actually cause severe scratches to your Pokemon cards. “If you use both sides of the sleeves, you can cause some pretty serious damage as the two cards are slowly rubbing against each other. Slotting two cards against each other is also BAD.” Here are the tips the YouTuber recommends for TCG storage:

• Use D-Ring binders.
• Only have one card per sleeve – do not have two collectibles back to back.
• Look for side-loading binder pages. The ones with the opening on the top are more likely to fray the edges of your card.
• Penny sleeve every single card before putting it into a binder page.
• Do not stack your binders on top of each other as the weight can cause cards to press into the ring spines. Instead, store your binders upright like books on a shelf.
• Keep your cards away from humid locations and store them at room temperature if possible.

Deep Pocket Monster also warned fans from buying the fancy binders with a hard shell and zipper case as they can often have cheap O-ring spines.

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With how much some Pokemon cards from the past are now selling for, it’s more important than ever to protect the collectibles that you have now. Especially since most of the value is tied to the quality and grading of the items.