Protecting and Storing Sealed Packs of Trading Cards

Unopened packs of trading cards have been an important part of the collectible card market, both for sports and non-sport cards, with sought-after sets increasing in value. Some collectors like to keep a variety of unopened packs. No matter the reasons for keeping unopened packs, keeping them protected and safely stored is important.

Many traditional sports cards were wrapped in wax paper, hence the term “wax packs.” Today, card packs usually are sealed in cellophane, plastic, or foil. Packs of card games such as Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon are typically called “booster packs.” There are several options to keep card packs in mint condition. Below are some of the affordable storage options BCW Supplies offers.

While the pack itself offers protection to the cards, it is still possible to damage the wrap or get it dirty. A basic solution is to put a pack in a Toploader. Most modern packs have sealed flaps at the top and bottom, and those flaps must be carefully tucked inside the Toploader. For thin packs, such as the Pokémon booster pack pictured above, a 197 Point Thick Toploader is the appropriate size (5mm thick). For thicker packs, such as the 2021 Topps Baseball shown above, use a 240 Point Thick Toploader (7mm thick). 360 Point Thick Toploaders are also available (9mm thick). BCW offers several boxes and bins to store toploaders.

While Toploaders protect the packs, many collectors prefer not to fold down the sealed seams. Thin packs like the Magic, YuGiOh, and Flesh and Blood packs above will fit almost exactly into a Tarot Card Sleeve, as would anything smaller. The Tarot Board Game Card Sleeves use thicker plastic than standard penny sleeves, so the Tarot Sleeves provide some rigidity to the inserted pack of cards. We enclosed the cards above in Team Set Bags, which close the bags with a resealable strip.

For taller or thicker packs of cards, such as the Magic Strixhaven, 2021 Panini Mosaic, or 2021 Topps Heritage Baseball pictured above, we placed the packs in a larger 89mm x 127mm Board Game Card Sleeve. To further protect those packs, we sealed them in a bag, in this case, the Graded Card Sleeves.

When storing sealed packs using the Tarot Card Sleeve and Resealable Team Set Bag method described above, a 400-count Box works well if the cards are placed flat. For the larger packs in 89mm x 127mm Board Game Card Sleeves and Graded Card Sleeves, a Graded Card Box is a good size if you have two stacks of cards. See all of BCW’s card boxes for more options.

While the market usually focuses on single cards, sealed products can hold a lot of value. Old packs are fun to open, whether for powerful cards or sheer nostalgia. In either case, keeping the packs safe is essential for long-term preservation.