Trading Card Storage Boxes: How to Store Bulk Cards Safely

Store bulk trading cards in cardboard count boxes, kept somewhere cool, dry and away from sunlight. The count on the box is based on thicker 20-point cards: BCW’s 800 count box holds about 1,140 gaming cards, and its 3,200 count Monster box holds 4,560. Keep toploaded and graded cards in boxes made for them.

Count boxes are the cheapest way to keep hundreds of commons sorted. Binders are for the cards you want to see; boxes are for the rest.

What the count on the box means

BCW gives two capacities for each box: one for standard 20-point trading cards, and a higher one for collectible gaming cards, which take up less room:

The Monster box measures 13 1/4 x 4 1/16 x 16 inches on the outside, according to BCW.

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How to sort a box

A count box works best with a simple system. Sort by set, then by card number, and use cardboard dividers or index cards between sets. Write the contents on the end of the box, so you can find a set without opening every box.

Where to keep the boxes

The Library of Congress publishes storage advice for photographs, which are paper-based like cards:

• Humidity: relatively dry, 30 to 50 percent relative humidity. It calls relative humidity the single most important factor for photographic prints, and says swings should ideally stay under 5 percent in 24 hours.
• Temperature: cool, 70°F or below, and stable.
• Places to avoid: attics, basements, and spots near vents, fireplaces, radiators or exterior walls.
• Light: damage from light is cumulative, and ultraviolet light is especially damaging.

How many boxes do you need?

Using BCW’s gaming-card figures, a rough count for common purchases (our arithmetic from the published box capacities and pack counts):

Leave room for dividers and for the box to close without pressing on the cards. A box packed to its last card is hard to sort through.

Cardboard or plastic?

BCW’s count boxes are cardboard. Plastic storage boxes and cases are also sold for trading cards; if you choose plastic, look for the same things as with binder pages. The Library of Congress names polypropylene, polyethylene and uncoated polyester as suitable plastics for storing photographs, and says never to use PVC.

What does not belong in a count box

Valuable singles belong in a penny sleeve and toploader, and cards you want to browse belong in a 9-pocket trading card binder. The deck you play goes in a deck box.

If you are about to fill a box from booster packs, a Pokemon booster box produces 360 game cards and 36 Energy, and a Lorcana booster box 288 cards: either fits comfortably in an 800 count box. Back to how to protect trading cards.