Card collecting: the Do's and Don'ts

[ComedyMagic]

Hello, I am new to Theory11 and to playing card collecting. I have a lot of different decks of cards from over many years, many have not been opened. I now have an interest in putting in a greater effort in "collecting" decks of cards.
My QUESTIONS are:
1) Is it better for the value to not open the deck
2) Do people collect and display certain cards from the deck ie. the joker, Ace of Spades
Thank you in advance for any of your thoughts.

 

[Bryant_Tsu]

1) Is it better for the value to not open the deck

It depends on how you define value. If you may sell your collection down the road, always keep your decks unopened. Nobody cares if you've only handled the deck once, if the cellophane and/or seal is broken the resale value is much less. However, if you define experience as value then why not open your cards and use them? This way you can get a feel for different decks and choose favorites.

2) Do people collect and display certain cards from the deck ie. the joker, Ace of Spades
Thank you in advance for any of your thoughts.

Do people collect them? Yes. Are they worth anything? No. I've seen my fair share of eBay auctions where people try to sell single cards (usually the ace of spades). Even if the seller groups several aces in one auction (which may include an ace from a rare deck like the vintage Walgreens Studs) these lots rarely go for beyond $1 to $2. The practice of saving individual cards isn't worth it as the back design is different (and therefore can't be used as a replacement in other decks), and it's no where near comparable to buying a full deck of cards.

In short (in my opinion) New Decks > Opened Decks > Singles.

 

[ComedyMagic]

Hello, I am new to Theory11 and to playing card collecting. I have a lot of different decks of cards from over many years, many have not been opened. I now have an interest in putting in a greater effort in "collecting" decks of cards.
My QUESTIONS are:
1) Is it better for the value to not open the deck
2) Do people collect and display certain cards from the deck ie. the joker, Ace of Spades
Thank you in advance for any of your thoughts.

Thank you Byrant, looking to hear from others as well. Thanks again

 

[Alex Hancock]

I've been thinking about how to display my decks when I finally get more space. Do people worry about light damage and stuff like that? Does anyone keep decks locked away in some hermetically sealed vault somewhere (I keep mine in a bag in my wardrobe)?

 

[Khaleel Olaiky]

I've been thinking about how to display my decks when I finally get more space. Do people worry about light damage and stuff like that? Does anyone keep decks locked away in some hermetically sealed vault somewhere (I keep mine in a bag in my wardrobe)?

I keep my collection in a box in a closet, not for safety but because I don't have much space for cool displays ... I don't know much about "light damage" but putting cards in the sunlight just doesn't feel good for me ... it is CARDS at the end.

 

[ComedyMagic]

Thank you Byrant, looking to hear from others as well. Thanks again

Thank you Bryant, but it's surprising that only one person In this wonderful community Is willing to offer their thoughts about collecting laying cards to someone new to collecting.

 

[Metermind]

As someone who has been collecting cards for nearly two decades, let me share some of what I have learned along the way:

I almost always buy two of every deck. This is not always an option (see the new Gold Monarchs), but I feel better about opening a deck if I know I have a backup for later. There are some decks that I want to own, but do not want to necessarily use and in cases like this I will only buy one deck. As you start to collect more and more you will find you will begin to be more selective about the decks you own. Cost is one reason. Storage is another.

I used to display my decks on some picture ledges I got from Ikea. You can find them for sale at other stores, but Ikea was the first place I noticed them so I just got more and more shelves as my collection grew. Here's a picture of what it used to look like from my Instagram.

Having just moved to a new city, we are renting and need permission to mount any kind of shelving for display. At the moment I keep my decks in boxes. You can find great fitting boxes at comic book & gaming stores for a buck or two. These are plain white cardboard boxes built for cards like Magic the Gathering and trading cards. They come in all kinds of sizes, from single rows to quad-rows, but I have found two rows (about shoebox size) is the best route to go. Too big and it will be cumbersome and heavy to move and store. Too small and it defeats the purpose of storage. I got the idea by watching this video:

Finally, be happy. Don't beat yourself up about the cards that got away. Collecting cards shouldn't be a stressful hobby. There are always going to be cards you feel like you can't live without and then another design comes along that makes you happy again. Enjoy it.

 

[Alex Hancock]

That's a lot of decks you've got there - looks amazing!

 

[ComedyMagic]

As someone who has been collecting cards for nearly two decades, let me share some of what I have learned along the way:

I almost always buy two of every deck. This is not always an option (see the new Gold Monarchs), but I feel better about opening a deck if I know I have a backup for later. There are some decks that I want to own, but do not want to necessarily use and in cases like this I will only buy one deck. As you start to collect more and more you will find you will begin to be more selective about the decks you own. Cost is one reason. Storage is another.

I used to display my decks on some picture ledges I got from Ikea. You can find them for sale at other stores, but Ikea was the first place I noticed them so I just got more and more shelves as my collection grew. Here's a picture of what it used to look like from my Instagram.

Having just moved to a new city, we are renting and need permission to mount any kind of shelving for display. At the moment I keep my decks in boxes. You can find great fitting boxes at comic book & gaming stores for a buck or two. These are plain white cardboard boxes built for cards like Magic the Gathering and trading cards. They come in all kinds of sizes, from single rows to quad-rows, but I have found two rows (about shoebox size) is the best route to go. Too big and it will be cumbersome and heavy to move and store. Too small and it defeats the purpose of storage. I got the idea by watching this video:

Finally, be happy. Don't beat yourself up about the cards that got away. Collecting cards shouldn't be a stressful hobby. There are always going to be cards you feel like you can't live without and then another design comes along that makes you happy again. Enjoy it.

Thanks Alex. It was helpful! Take care