How to Care for Pokémon Cards

If you want to keep your Pokémon cards for a long time, whether for play or for an investment, you have to protect them from elements that can harm them. Pokémon cards can become scratched with use, the pictures can rub off, the corners can get bent or something can be spilled on them.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Storage Box
• Plastic Sleeves
• Top-loader Sleeves
• Dividers

1. Place your Pokémon cards in a trading card storage box not just in a shoe box or some other box lying around your house. In a regular box they can move around, scratching each other as they jerk around from movement.

2. Organize them by category. This would be common cards, cards that you like regardless of value, premium-priced cards, and sets. Sets normally come in a storage box for you to keep and reuse for protection.

3. Divide the cards within the storage box. Depending on the cards you have this can be by color, type of power card, or any way you want them divided.

4. Place any common or low value cards in basic plastic sleeves. They will do the job needed for cards that you can replace easily.

5. Place cards with higher values in top-loader sleeves. These are more rigid than plastic sleeves and offer more protection.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have a lot of cards or plan on buying a lot, storing the cards in cardboard boxes is more efficient and takes up less space than picture binders do.

Resources

• Protect Your Pokémon Cards
• Pokémon Site