I need some input from the blog world, specifically those of you who are team collectors. How do you do it? How do you organize your team cards in binders? It would make my blogging life much easier if I had my Orioles collection arrayed in those nifty clear pockets to page through, rather than stacked in boxes. But as robust as my collection is, there are so many holes. You're talking about parallels (like the superfluous Jorge Julio card above...you're not fooling me, Topps. That border is g-r-a-y, GRAY), inserts, short prints...do you just leave blank spaces for those missing cards - any and all missing cards? Or do you just fill every pocket with a card, letting the chips fall where they will? Do you focus on base cards, and store your inserts and parallels and all of that other noise separately? I'm probably not asking my questions coherently. Basically, just tell me how you organize and store your team collection. Spare no detail, tedious though it may seem. You're performing a great service for a silly man.
6 comments:
I Organize my orioles card (that are not in a set i collect in binder but i have less than 200 cards
This is not silliness. This is very, very serious business:
All my Dodgers are in binders. They're in order by year, then by set, then by player. Inserts are not separate from the base set. If the insert came out in 2002 along with the rest of the Topps '02 Dodgers, then it goes with them. Inserts are not special, no matter how much they try.
I've heard about leaving spaces for the cards that you don't have. But as a team collector I don't know how I could do that. So many sets! So many inserts! And half the time, you aren't even aware of what the inserts are! Besides I can't possibly enjoy the binders if they are pock-marked with empty sleeves. And how could I afford all those pages!
Of course, this means I'm doomed to constant updating of the binders as I acquire more Dodgers. That's OK. I accumulate so many Dodgers, and then I figure "time to update!" It's actually an enjoyable process and I find it relaxing.
I'm not sure how many Dodger binders I have. Around 16 I think. And I need more.
I have a Redskins collection that starts in two binders for the 50's thru the early 80's, since they're manageable in sheets.
The rest I have in those old vinyl "locker" cases with 30 slots in two rows. I have two of the dark red ones from Topps, but they hold a couple 80's football sets (that were new the same time as the cases) but most of the other nine are the blue ones from a toy company whose name escapes me right now. I have found two in the last few years to add to them, so I have enough capacity for everything up to 2009. Each slot is a different company (Topps and UD are usually two or three with flagship, Total, Finest, etc.)and each case beyond the first two holds two years' worth. ('89 thru about '94 are three years each.)
The only drawback is finding more cases for future years unless I complete the early years well enough to sheet 'em up, and sometimes the slots get kinda tight if the team set is big and there isn't enough room to split/combine stacks....
Oriole Phan, do you need much from the 80's?
Agreed - This is serious business. I could write a whole post on the method to my organizational madness, but I'll try to sum it up here.
I have all my Philies cards in binders, by year, alphabetical by set, by number. I'll leave spaces at the end of each "set" for parallels, etc., that come my way via trades or opening packs, but I definitely don't leave room for every parallel.
For example, my 2011 Phillies binder starts out with the 2011 Bowman cards, in number order, followed by the Bowman inserts, followed by a few Bowman parallels that I've picked up. I have 3 (I believe) pages of 2011 Bowman Phillies cards at this point. So if I have 25 total Bowman cards, I leave 2 spots on the last page empty "just in case."
At the top of page number 4 comes the next set alphabetically, which will eventually be Finest. I could go on, but that's the gist of how I roll.
Kevin,
I do my Orioles binders similar to the others, but each binder is devoted to a Company. Then they go by year, set, and player.
For instance, my Topps binder will go by year, with the "true" base set being the first set and players filling the pages alphabetically by last name. The inserts for that set usually go at the end of the set (I say usually, because in the my pre-90 sets, I sometimes put the inserts alphabetically with the base set, since the inserts are very few).
Following the base set will be the alternate sets for each year (i.e. Topps Finest, Topps Total, etc.) with players again alphabetized.
The "Company" binders are just Topps (several), Fleer, Donruss, Score, and Upper Deck. I then have a binder of misc. companies (very predominant in the 90's as you know) and a binder of autographed cards.
My autographed cards are sorted just alphabetically by player, with no regards to company. If I have multiple of a player, I will place them in order of year.
Thanks guys! You're all a big help.
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