Sleeving Cards

 I'm a sleever.  There I said it.  When the time presents itself, I don't mind sitting for an hour or so sleeving cards.  I only wish these things were around way back when.  Maybe they were and I just never bothered to notice.  Back in the late 70's and into the 80's, for some reason I don't remember ever seeing cards displayed in sleeves.  It certainly would have helped preserve a few cards in my collection, but then I didn't really ever think about these as an investment (which seems all too prevalent nowadays).  

I remember going to card shows in my youth, looking at all those awesome cards that I couldn't afford.  Every dealer had cases and cases of cards displayed.  You want to check out that card?  Sure!  Here you go!  And the dealer would hand it to you (with a watchful eye), but the cards weren't sleeved.  Heck, I barely remember cards getting stored in hard plastic, and the few I saw as a kid were not recessed screw downs. 

My cards always went from packs into a box, and the current year would be neatly stored in an old plastic and vinyl red storage locker, separated by teams.  When I look back at the cards I collected as a kid, boy do I wish I could have sleeved them back then.

Fast forward to today and I try to go back through a few sets and start sleeving.  I've purchased many cards that have come sleeved, and bought different brands of sleeves. Pictured are two of my favorites. I like the brand on the right though because I've found they're typically a bit cheaper.  However, availability at my LCS is sporadic at best.  Every place seems to carry the brand on the left.  Of course this presents a couple of unique issues.  First, sleeving a set will add bulk which may require a larger box.

Secondly, I have discovered a bit of a difference, where as the brand on the left is roughly 1/16th of an inch longer then the brand on the right (even though the packages list the same dimensions). Since my preferred storage method is keeping cards in a box, I've found that the brand on the right fits nicely in said box.

I'm not sure the photo was clear enough so I highlighted the variance between the two.  Cards fit nicely in both, but I get a bit annoyed by the extra length as the top tends to fold over in a box.  Oddly, I've found the extra length also lends itself to fitting larger cards, such as 56 Topps.  I don't have many cards from 1956, but I like to keep a few of the longer sleeves around just in case.