Binders and Albums

Trading card Binders and Albums

Binders and Albums for me make the set. Being a collector who starts late on some collections getting the binder can prove to be difficult. 

A binder for me adds that finishing touch to a set. It allows a set to be identified quickly. I am currently in the hunt for the Scottish Premier League Panini Super Strikes 09/10 binder. If anyone has it please head over to www.footballcardsforum.com and drop me a message, my id is ofb1988.

Heres just a few binders ive got spare and a few binders i have to show, the champions league 10/11 i still require a few to get this one full. 

Completed binders and those near complete

spare binders - sorry its sideways

What makes a set for you?

What makes a set for you? Is it all the cards on the checklist? is it all that plus the limited? Is it having all cards and tins etc? Do you need to have everything that was released for the collection?

For me its having the cards, in the binder and all the limiteds that came with that set. Now with the likes of panini this is a very costly excercise.

Lets take Adrenalyn euro 2012 for example. There was the set. Then there were 53 limiteds. yes 53!

Now not all were released in the uk so this added a new dimension to this collection for me. I traded some of these with online collectors and i bought some. To futher enhance things there was a "nordic edition" that included some extra cards like denmark and swedish fan cards and danish dyamite/swedish steel inserts.

Im proud to say this is the only set ive fully nailed. Ive got all limiteds, the uk set, the nordic set and the international set. Outwith the uk the english team were full body shot cards.

Heres a few pics -

Whats your most treasured set?

How long did it take you to complete?

Always use protection

As the title states and most good collectors will know, ALWAYS use protection.

Keeping cards in tip top, sharp edge condition is paramount to any collection. There are many ranges and types of protection out there for card collectors. There is nothing worse that doing a trade with someone and receiving a dog eared card or one thats received damage in the post due to poor protection.

Protection ranges from sleeves, top loaders and many more.

I store all my cards in binders where possible. Especially the inserts.

Lets have a look at some protection -

9 card pocket pages

Trading card Binder

Deck Protectors

Top Loaders

9 Pocket pages are a relatively cheap way to store 18 cards per page and these can be placed in ring binders. Trading card binders with pages already in can also be a good option. Card sleeves will form a sleeve over the card and will protect from things like UV damage. Top loaders are rigid card holders that will ensure the cards are protected from being bent etc. 

Always shop around when buying card protection. Ebay & Amazon are a good place to start. 

Remember no one likes a damaged card.

70 Packets bust. 1 main set made

Little update on before.

70 packets bust open. 1 full set made. Of the fither subsets ive got 5 hot shot foils, 4 vortex foils and 3 sets of cutting edge cards!

Not great but hey it could have been worse!

What i like most about the sets is the 9 card player montage with a stadium montage on the other side. Check the pics.

Hopefully tomorrow ill open some other cards. This week ive managed to get complete sets of the following -

Newcastle 1999 futera main set.
chelsea 1998 main set
leeds 2000 50 card all foil set
aston villa 1998 set.

Anyone else collect these sets?

The weekend is when I do cards.......when not working of course.

I find myself as a weekend sorter with my cards and collections.

How do you collect and sort yours?

Currently, after finishing work for today (7am-3pm) then coming home and building a dressing table for the wife ive decided to open some cards i got this weekend. So lets make a start, today im going to bust open about 70 packets of futera newcastle 1999.

Newcastle Futera packets

Futeras earlier sets imo are nice cards but they suffered, again in my opinion, from a lack of card interest in the late 90's when they were released.

Off the top of my head from futeras early sets ive got -

leeds 1999
liverpool 1999
aston villa 1999
arsenal 1999
celtic 1999
leeds 2000
liverpool 2000
arsenal 1998
aston villa 99 hardback album with foil set
liverpool hardback album and set 

This is just a small selection of the futera cards ive got. Eventually ill have a full list of all i have and will get some pics up.

The newcastle consists of a 99 card main set which i should achieve with past experience of futera packs. Fuerther cards include "cutting edge" "hot shots" "vortex", you could say these cards are the equivalents of inserts in packets like star players, man of the match and hundred clubs.




More than happy to trade with others. drop me a message on www.footballcardsforum.com, my username is ofb1988 there.

Check back for the update on the newcastle set folks!

The Beginning

Welcome all!

Lets hope this is the beginning of something useful and something that people enjoy reading.

I am a collector of trading cards, mostly football (soccer for our US friends).

Im not sure why ive set this blog up but lets see where it takes me.

I used to collect stickers as a boy, thats all there was back then in the uk market and growing up in Glasgow choices were even more limited!

Most of my early stuff is stickers from Panini and featuring the Scottish leagues. I now collect only cards, im old enough to have seen a huge shift from stickers to cards. Cards are the way forward.

Lets get the older readers thinking. Who remembers taking a bundle of stickers to school in hope of finding that one badge you needed, that one player.......got..............got...............got.............NEED! ill give you 10 of this and 4 of that for it..............its how it worked back then.

Sadly though, and this is maybe something younger readers can answer, it appears trading ground trades are dead. I dont even see empty packets of stickers strewn all over the pavement outside the corner shop like it used to be.

Is the trading sticker/card game becoming specialist? those collecting are taking to the internet to get the cards they want with www.footballcardsforum.com being one of a few places to trade. Trades are not just limited to the uk market tho and im sure you could pick up many a different card on the trade boards.

So, going forward. Does anyone have suggestions for this blog? how should i do it? what do you guys want to see? I have a vast range stickers and cards so maybe that could keep this going a while.

Feel free to add comments folks.