A Wide Range of Pokémon Card Storage Options

by Martin Dale

Pokémon TCG has cemented itself as a staple in the realm of collectible card games. Every year, new collectors and players discover this fun game and its myriad of rarities and printings. Regardless of your motivation for collecting Pokémon cards, eventually you’ve got to figure out how you’re going to store them all.

Sorting through a large collection of cards can be difficult, but a sorting tray can simplify the process. BCW has two choices of trays: our black, vacuum-formed Sorting Tray, and the gray Modular Sorting Tray pictured above. The Modular Sorting Tray comes in packs with six card cells, but additional cells can be added to create the desired size.

Pokémon TCG is a game and as such, players use 60-card decks with the intention of battling against other Pokémon trainers and their decks. It is recommended to use sleeves on your deck, not only in competitive play, but casual as well. This helps prevent damage to the card and helps identify your deck in case cards are somehow jumbled on the table, not to mention protecting against the dreaded Cheeto-fingers. BCW offers standard Matte Deck Guards in many colors. For thicker, premium sleeves, try Elite2 Sleeves.

Inner sleeves are a snug, extra layer of protection made of thin flexible plastic. Typically, you place the card ‘upside-down’ in the inner sleeve then invert it and place it into a standard sleeve. This essentially laminates the card and offers maximum protection. However, many collectors also use inner sleeves when organizing their cards into binders and folios. This helps protect the foil surface from accidental scratches. If you double sleeve your cards (inner sleeves and then normal sleeves), the Elite2s are available in Inner Sleeve and Elite2 Combo Packs.

If you want card protection beyond sleeves, BCW offers numerous card holders. Common card holders are Toploaders (left), Mini Snaps (center), and Magnetic Card Holders, as seen above on Display Stands.

Interlocking Card Frames work in conjunction with BCW Toploaders or BCW Magnetic Card Holders to display cards. Each Interlocking Card Frame has a black border and looks great individually, but it’s the interlocking system that makes these frames special. With the turn of two screws, each frame can connect with a neighboring frame. This allows you to form a grid for any number of framed cards you want to display.

If you need to store graded Pokémon cards, you can start with Resealable Graded Card Sleeves to keep the slabs free of scratches. BCW has three cardboard boxes for graded cards: the Graded Trading Card Box holds about 30 slabbed cards, the Super Vault Box holds about 75 graded cards, and the 2 Row Graded Shoe Box holds about 100 graded cards. The Slotted Graded Card Box, pictured above, holds 26 graded cards.

Deck boxes range in price and utility from simple plastic boxes to deluxe boxes. Pokémon decks benefit from a little extra storage. In addition to the 60-card deck, each player is responsible for providing their own damage counters, special condition markers, GX/VStar marker, and flipping coin. Larger deck boxes, such as the BCW Deck Vault 100 or Deck Vault 200, have extra space and features to help contain your extra game pieces.

If you plan to travel with four Pokémon decks, the Prime X4 Gaming Box is ideal. Four card cells will hold your cards safely. Likewise, a removable tray, along with a longer cell, make it easy to carry all of your dice and tokens.

The most popular method of storing cards with the goal of browsing or trading them is using binders and folios. Card folios are collecting books with pages already sewn into the binding and often feature 4, 9, and 12 cards per page. In addition, folios are easy to use and often feature zippered closure to help with security of your collectible cards.

Binders trade the convenience and ease of folios for customized content and presentation.  For example, binders can be loaded with a variety of different pages that hold one pocket up to 20 pockets ranging from whole sheets of paper to mini-cards and coins. While clear 9 pocket pages are the most common card page, a rainbow of colors are also available. Using binders and your own pages you literally make a card book that is unique to you and your collection.

For the oversized jumbo cards, there are a few options. 6×9 Sleeves and Toploaders are your the most appropriate holders. While there isn’t a box that’s perfectly sized for them, the closest is the Short Comic Box, or if you have only a few, a Stor-Folio.

Most Pokémon collections start by opening packs of cards. Consequently, this can create unneeded extras and surplus bulk. Card storage boxes work great for all your extras. Depending on how much extra you have or how you prefer to organize, different sizes and capacities are available. Above are 800 ct. Boxes in a Card House, and a 2 Row Shoe Box is atop the Card House.

Learn how Reddit user HighwayForward inventories his cards in the Card House.

If you want more sophisticated storage boxes, try our plastic 1,600 ct. Card Bins or 3,200 ct. Card Bins. These come with movable Card Bin Partitions for each row, which act like a bookend to keep your cards upright.

To organize cards within a storage box or bin, BCW offers card dividers in three formats, horizontal, standard vertical, or tall vertical. Pictured above in the 1,600 ct. Card Bin, Tall Card Dividers have extra height for labeling a category.

For storing and transporting playmats, BCW Playmat Tubes hold a standard 24″ x 14″ playmat. These tubes have a cap on one end of the tube, and another, larger cap is actually a dice cup that holds dice.

If you decide to store your playmat collection flat, or to display them in a store, try Playmat Toploaders. These also display great when placed in a luggage rack.