Storing booster packs ?

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goAMinD
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Post by goAMinD » Mon May 05, 2014 11:10 pm

So guys, I finally recieved my orders for testing a storage solution similar to the one GlobalBoosterHunter has done.

I ordered some special bank note sleeves from china with the exact pocket size og 70x135mm. With seal closed and the white label the measures are 70x160 which makes them taller than the 6-pocket page. I find it fine, since I can then easily if needed pull out a sleeved booster. The sleeves are of the thin type which is perfect. Any booster can slide into these sleeves, yes it is a tight fit but not too tight. It takes some careful handling with early boosters which has a more loose wrapper.

The most antisipated test for me is if boosters in these sleeves can go into the 6-pocket page with pocket measures of 72x148mm. Well, it fits like a glove :-D The Legends booster packs did require some patience (quite spacey wrappers. Seems to be a really nice fit for all other boosters.

The sleeves I use are these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271421672057?ss ... 1497.l2649

Check out this video:

http://youtu.be/ONTNmP2DZaA
Sealed Magic the Gathering collector currently looking for these boosters:
Unlimted Edition (Need 3)
Arabian Nights (Need 1)

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l0qii
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Post by l0qii » Mon May 05, 2014 11:30 pm

Nice soundtrack :D

GlobalBoosterHunter
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Post by GlobalBoosterHunter » Tue May 06, 2014 1:43 am

Nice video.

The Fourth Edition were quite loose wrappers as well.

These look like they would fit the Japanese Boosters as well.

Very nice, I was going to stick my country flags onto the pages but that becomes a real hassle when you find a new booster and everything has to shuffle along one spot. If I re-sleeve them I can apply the flag stickers to the hanging tab instead.

Will you be folding over the top row of hangers? I know the Light house albums come with a slipcase but I am not sure how much clearance they have.

I will pick up some of the sleeves and have a go myself.
Cheers

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goAMinD
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Post by goAMinD » Tue May 06, 2014 7:24 am

Yeah, the Lighthouse album clearance could be a problem, but if so I guess I'll just cut the white label to make it fit. Anyway, I really love this sleeve.
Sealed Magic the Gathering collector currently looking for these boosters:
Unlimted Edition (Need 3)
Arabian Nights (Need 1)

GlobalBoosterHunter
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Post by GlobalBoosterHunter » Tue May 06, 2014 2:05 pm

The white tag should fold over and fit behind the booster in the pocket.

My sleeves are on the way so I should get to play with some soon.

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CHaPuZaS
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Post by CHaPuZaS » Tue May 06, 2014 5:15 pm

I should get some time to show you updates on how I store my packs, as I didn't really like how you pushed some of those boosters into the sleeves. One thing I appreciate is, from time to time, being able to "feel" those boosters, and my way protects them also providing you the chance to unsleeve them without damaging the booster.

PS: Thank you for the music of the video! I really felt like I was on holiday!

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goAMinD
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Post by goAMinD » Tue May 06, 2014 10:44 pm

Folding the tag behind is doable.

Yes, the Boosters that have loose or spacious wrapper are not excatly the funniest to cram in. I had to work a lot. Still I will pursue this solution. I have ordered 4 Lighthouse Grande extra large albums too. 3 black ones for all my Limited expansion boosters and 1 blue for Core set boosters and specials
Sealed Magic the Gathering collector currently looking for these boosters:
Unlimted Edition (Need 3)
Arabian Nights (Need 1)

GlobalBoosterHunter
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Post by GlobalBoosterHunter » Wed May 07, 2014 12:01 am

I sometime slip a ruler down into the sleeves to help the booster down but the tight ones are a bit problematic.

I think as long as the boosters don't get damaged then there is no foul!

The sleeves and the pockets do stretch and over time they do form around the booster.

By having them in sleeves I don't mind pulling them in and out of the pockets because there is a sacrificial layer protecting the booster from wear or accidental damage. So far I have not damaged any boosters by putting them in the pockets, even the thicker boosters. I have noticed that some pockets are tighter than others though.

I would still prefer a solid 'slab' to put the boosters in but I haven't seen any decent ones on the market and it was going to cost me $1000s to produce a cheap clamshell, let alone a decent slab.

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goAMinD
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Post by goAMinD » Wed May 07, 2014 10:17 pm

!! UPDATE - After learning that Belgium wrapped booster packs do not fit the bank note sleeves I have started hunting down USA wrapped boosters. The below italic section is my earlier experience before realizing the differences.

I collect 3 booster from each edition and expansion, and I can tell that I just now sleeved Mirage. Two of them went straight in but the third is just a little larger and has slightly more air, which made it impossible to sleeve. One Visions booster also seems very hard. I'll still try to make them go in. The sleeves do not seem to vary in size, but the boosters do. The Width of the seal on the ends of the boosters can vary up to 1 mm.

Before everyone runs out and buy these sleeves, I can give my experience after I have gone through my entire collection.

Status So far:

Green = Easy Fit
orange= Tight Fit
Red = Near Impossible, damage risk

Expansions / Limited
Arabian Nights
Antiquities

Legends
The Dark
Fallen Empires
Homelands
Ice-age
Alliances
Coldsnap

Mirage
Visions
Weatherlight

Tempest
Stronghold

Exodus
Urza's Saga
Urza's Legacy

Urza's Destiny
Mercadian Masques
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Invasion
Planeshift

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Rise of the Eldrazi
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Mirrodin Besieged
New Phyrexia
Innistrad

Dark Ascension
Avancyn Restored

Return to Ravnica
Gatecrash
Dragons Maze
Theros
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Journey into Nyx

Core Sets / Unlimited Editions
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4th Edition
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Starters, Special Sets and Reprints
Portal
Portal Second Age
Portal Three Kingdoms


Unglued
Unhinged

Chronicles
Shards of Alara Block Premium Foil Booster

Modern Masters
Last edited by goAMinD on Fri Jun 20, 2014 9:48 pm, edited 15 times in total.
Sealed Magic the Gathering collector currently looking for these boosters:
Unlimted Edition (Need 3)
Arabian Nights (Need 1)

GlobalBoosterHunter
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Post by GlobalBoosterHunter » Thu May 08, 2014 12:14 am

I have got a packet of 100 to try so it is not a huge investment :)

Are the sleeves likely to stretch or will they split at the seams?

There is plenty that could be tried.

Firstly I would cut out some cardboard the size of the boosters, two pieces should do. Slide them into the sleeve and then once they are in place you can insert more pieces of cardboard between them which will slowly stretch out the sleeves without using the boosters as formers.

If the sleeves are prone to splitting along the seams I might even give them a bit of a warm with a hair dryer to make them a bit more flexible when I insert the packers.

I would be interested to see some pics of the collection, so three of each booster, is that three of one booster from each set, or three different boosters from each expansion and set. What do you do for the sets which have 5 different pictures?

I have only got one of each in the set but it is one of each different artwork for each different set and expansion, plus as many foreign editions as I have been able to find. Plus samples, demos, prereleases and other things which look like boosters but don't have random contents, the main focus though is on Random contents so I have a few starters as well so I can include Alternate 4th Edition.

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goAMinD
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Post by goAMinD » Thu May 08, 2014 10:02 am

The sleeves seem not to be able to stretch. I tried with 3 fingers and tested the strength. I could with some pressure bust the seem. Still quite strong sleeve though.

The hair dryer trick I have to test :)

I will do some pictures soon. I have decided to collect english boosters only and only 3 of each edition and expansion. I do not care for different artwork. I have some duplicate artwork boosters. It is only important for me to have 3 boosters from every edition and expansion.
Also I have 1 starter deck (Tournament deck in the old days) from each expansion and edition (except Alpha/beta and Unlimited). I do NOT collect Theme decks, Intro packs, Event packs or fat packs.
Sealed Magic the Gathering collector currently looking for these boosters:
Unlimted Edition (Need 3)
Arabian Nights (Need 1)

GlobalBoosterHunter
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Post by GlobalBoosterHunter » Fri May 09, 2014 11:10 am

I have most of the Tournament and Starters except Alpha or Beta, I picked up a couple of theme decks with the intention of playing with them but never did, I got the first box set of the Championship decks for the same reason but have avoided the battle packs.

No idea how to store or display them though, would be nice to get a rigid plastic box to hold the individual starters.

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goAMinD
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Post by goAMinD » Fri May 09, 2014 11:27 am

Concerning starters/tournament decks I use a small aluminum suitcase normally used by DJ's to store sleeved CD's. It has perfect squared inside and key locks.
Sealed Magic the Gathering collector currently looking for these boosters:
Unlimted Edition (Need 3)
Arabian Nights (Need 1)

GlobalBoosterHunter
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Post by GlobalBoosterHunter » Fri May 09, 2014 12:22 pm

I just have mine in ziplock bags stored in a plastic box, not very imaginative.

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goAMinD
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Post by goAMinD » Fri May 09, 2014 4:20 pm

My brand new Lighthouse / Leuchtturm albums
Using 6-pocket pages 72x148mm
Using thin sleeves with hanger label and seal 70x135mm

Image

Image

Image

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Image
Sealed Magic the Gathering collector currently looking for these boosters:
Unlimted Edition (Need 3)
Arabian Nights (Need 1)

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