Sports card supplies are a necessary evil. We’d all prefer to spend our money on awesome cards rather than sports card supplies, but then again, we need those supplies to protect, improve and display our awesome sports cards! For most of these sports card supplies, I’ve personally used what I’m sharing with you, so I …
23 Best Sports Card Supplies Every Collector Needs
Sports card supplies are a necessary evil. We’d all prefer to spend our money on awesome cards rather than sports card supplies, but then again, we need those supplies to protect, improve and display our awesome sports cards!
For most of these sports card supplies, I’ve personally used what I’m sharing with you, so I have tested them and enjoyed them. It’s very possible there are better ones out there that I haven’t tried… but I doubt it.
The prices on these sports cards supplies might be different now than when I wrote this article, so I apologize for any discrepancies.
Also, I’ve tried to help you keep your costs down on shipping:
- Most eBay links are to sports cards supplies with free shipping.
- Most Amazon links are to card supplies eligible for Amazon Prime (free 2-day shipping).
We can’t be spending all our money on shipping! We have sports cards to buy!
23 Best Sports Card Supplies To Buy!
Most of the sports card supplies links on this page will take you to our partners: Amazon and eBay. That means I will get a commission on the sales from this page. If you end up buying from these links, I personally thank you for supporting my website! Even if you don’t buy anything, thank you for reading my article! Enjoy!
1. Card Centering Tool – $6.59 ea. – View on eBay!
This is helpful for when you plan to submit cards for grading. Your PSA 10s can quickly drop down to a PSA 9 if you submit a card that doesn’t have 55/45 centering or better, and this tool could help save you submission fees.
2. Microfiber Cloths – $12.50 for 5 – View on eBay!
If you plan to submit chromium cards (like Topps Chrome, Panini Prizm, Panini Select, Donruss Optic, etc.), then you’ll want to try to clean fingerprints off the cards to give them their best chance at a gem-mint grade. (One of my helpful tips for submitting cards for grading is to wipe your cards from the inside out, so you don’t catch a corner!)
3. Ultra Pro Penny Sleeves (500 count) – $12.89 ea. — View on eBay!
The penny sleeve is your card’s first protection against the damage that this world can do! These sleeves are thin, pliable and clean, but they’re not meant to be the only protection. They just save it from soft dings and surface assault from outside forces. For more protection, you want to put a card into them, then slip them into a top loader. (Snip the corner of your penny sleeve to make it easier/safer to slide a card in without catching a corner. More tips can be found here!)
4. Ultra Pro Top Loaders (100 count, with 100 penny sleeves) – $15.30 ea. — View on Amazon!
There are several different types of top loaders out there in the world of sports card supplies, but hands down, my favorite are the Ultra Pro ones. I’ve purchased cheaper ones before, but they chip (which could damage your card) and they’re too pliable, making it easier for your card to get bent. (Note: These aren’t the “Mediocre Sports Card Supplies.” This is list the “Best Sports Cards Supplies!” We don’t scrimp!
5. Ultra Pro Top Loaders For Thick Cards (100-pt thickness, 25-count) – $8.91 ea. – View on Amazon!
If you have thick cards, you’ll want thick top loaders (and thick penny sleeves). (Card-Grading Secret: You can submit thick cards in thick top loaders to grading services – don’t slide thick cards into Card Savers.) If you’re not sure what thickness your card is, then you’ll also want to buy the next item on this list –
6. BCW Card Thickness Tool – $1.89 ea. – View on eBay!
This is one of the cheapest sports card supplies you could buy, and not only is it cheap, but it’s also going to save you money! With this tool, you’ll know exactly what the thickness of your cards are, so you can buy the appropriate top-loaders or one-touch magnetic holders.
7. Rayvol Toploader Binders – $29.99 – View on Amazon!
I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a huge fan of putting raw cards into binders — but if raw cards inside toploaders, without a three-ring binder damaging one-third of your collection — that’s awesome. I bought three of these toploader binders (one for baseball, basketball and football cards) and I love them! I can sit on my couch and look through my cards, resort them however I wish, and not worry about damaging them or getting cards all over my house! (The wife’s not the fan of that, if you can imagine!) This notebook holds 252 top-loaded cards — and you’ll get free shipping with Amazon Prime!
8. Ultra Pro Team Set Bags (200 count) – $10.99 ea. – View on eBay!
If you want to ship some cards or give some cards to someone, you don’t want them flipping and flopping all over the place. You want them safe and secure – inside one of these team bag sleeves! They hold about 30 cards, and they have a resealable strip to keep them closed.
9. Cardboard Gold Card Saver I (50 count) – $9.22 ea. – View on eBay!
Card Savers are what you will slide your cards (inside penny sleeves) into when you go to submit card for grading. To be honest, I’ve used a few different Card Savers, including ones from other companies, and I think they’re all pretty much the same, and the grading companies agree. Card Saver II seem to be a little tighter, so I go with Card Saver I. Also, another tip from my grading tips – use a thick card to make room for the card you are submitting!
10. Cardboard Gold PSA Graded Card Sleeves (50 count) – $4.24 — View on eBay!
The last thing you want to happen to your beautiful graded cards is for their acrylic case to get scratched! If you aren’t displaying your graded card slabs, then make sure you sleeve them up for protection! The ones I linked to fit PSA slabs perfectly, and they seal up nicely.
SGC slabs are a little bigger than PSA, so these take care of that! They will protect slabs from PSA, Beckett, SGC and more.
12. Graded Card Binders! – $49.95 – View on Amazon!
I bought one of these for my graded cards that didn’t make it into my graded card display cases on my wall. They’re still great cards, but they just didn’t make it onto the wall! This graded card binder makes it easy for me to still appreciate these cards easily from my couch!
13. Ultra Pro Magnetic One-Touch Protectors (5 count) – $16.50 — View on eBay!
Some people don’t want to submit cards for grading, but they still want to protect their cards and proudly display them. These secure nicely, and they even give a similar look as a graded slab.
14. Ultra Pro Magnetic 130-pt One-Touch Protectors (5 count) – $13.95 — View on eBay!
You might have some great jersey cards or a cool thick autographed card that you want to display. Well, you can get several different thicknesses for one-touch protectors, so use that Card Thickness tool we mentioned earlier to know which size one-touch protector you need!
15. BCW Card Storage Box for Raw Cards (5,000 count) – $17.50 — View on eBay!
This is the box you’ll want to use for all your commons, basically. While you can jam some top-loaded cards in here, it’s not ideal. These are more meant for just raw cards.
16. BCW Card Storage Box for 100 Graded Cards or 300 Cards in Top-Loaders – $12.85 — View on eBay!
You don’t want your graded cards sliding around loose or they’ll get scratched up, and you don’t want your top-loaded cards sliding around loose or they might let their cards slip out!
17. Graded Card Storage Case (for 70 slabs) – $129.99 — View on eBay!
If you plan to go to a card show and you want to bring some slabs with you for possible sales or trades, this graded card briefcase is something to consider. While I don’t own this case, it does promise to be waterproof and dustproof, and it has a nice dual padlock for security.
18. 36-Slab Graded Card Display Case – $66.95 — View on Amazon!
By far, this was one of my greatest sports card supplies investments! First, I bought one – loved it. I loaded up my top-36 slabs and wondered how I ever lived without it! Then I came up with an awesome idea! I collect all sorts of cards, but I mostly collect baseball, basketball and football cards. I ended up buying two more of these displays, giving me THREE total. Now, I have a display case full of my best baseball cards, and another display case full of my best basketball cards, and a third display case full of my best football cards! (I have a few slabs that aren’t from those sports that I sprinkled in, but these displays are 95% full of a single sport.
These are super great quality, with locks, and free shipping with Amazon Prime!
While these fit all slabs, you can only fit five SGC slabs (they’re a little wider), with four other companies’ slabs on one row. If you put all SGC on one row, then you’ll only get eight on one shelf. Also, SGC slabs are a tad taller, so while they fit each row, they are a little snug.
With that said, in my displays right now, I have dozens of SGC slabs in my displays and they look great!
19. BCW Interlocking Graded Card Frame (4-pack, black) – $30.88 — View on eBay!
Disclaimer: I have never purchased these – but they look pretty awesome! If you aren’t ready for a big display, or you don’t want to take up that much room, then just buy these! The reviews on them are pretty great!
20. BCW Card Stands for Top-Loaders and Slabs (20 count) – $13.87 — View on eBay!
I also have a curio cabinet I bought from IKEA, so I have signed baseballs, books, mini-helmets, Starting Lineups and figurines on there. But I also have a bunch of cards on there in magnetic one-touch holders, sitting on easels and card stands like these! It makes those cards look special… because they are special!
21. Magnifying Glass with Heavy Base and Light – $27.99 ea. — View on Amazon
When submitting cards for grading, you want to look them over good – and this tool definitely helps with that. It has a bendable arm that allows you to move it in and out and up and down, and the light is super bright and helps you pick out any imperfections. I bought this exact magnifying glass setup and I love it. I linked it to Amazon so you can get free shipping – the base is pretty heavy.
22. Black Breaking Mats (2-pack) – $18.75 — View on eBay!
Some people open packs up in their car or on their dining room table or wherever, but I can’t do it. I like to ritualize the whole experience. So I get my packs lined up (usually saving the best packs for last), and I open them up on my black breaking mat. (Wondering why this is a two-pack? Because if you have a buddy you collect with, you want to make sure he/she has a breaking may for his packs, too!) Seriously, buying a breaking mat makes it easier to do everything with cards, including putting them in penny sleeve and top loaders. Improve your experience!
23. Bubble Mailers For Shipping Cards
If you’re buying cards for your collection, you’re likely also selling some, or at least trading some away, which means you need to ship cards to someone else once in a while. Add these bubble mailers (I like black!) to your sports card supplies list, with either some extra bubble wrap around a graded slab, or some cardboard around cards in toploaders or Card Savers, and your customer/buddy will be happy!
Once again, I appreciate you supporting my website by buying your sports card supplies from these links to Amazon and eBay!
David Gonos
David Gonos spent 5 years as a CBSSports.com Senior Fantasy Writer and three more years writing with SI.com. Over the past 17 years, his work has been published on NFL.com, MLB.com, FanDuel, FoxSports.com and USA Today. Since 2001, he has been tracking down the Top 50-plus Free Fantasy Football Draft Tools online. You can contact David Gonos here.
