Toploader, semi-rigid or magnetic: which shell for which card

The one-line answer

Toploaders store and ship. Semi-rigids go to the grader. Magnetic holders go on the shelf. Everything else is detail, and the details are below.

Toploaders: the default

A 3" x 4" hard shell is where most good cards end up. It is rigid enough to survive a mailer, cheap enough to use on any card you care about, and it stands upright in a standard storage box. The soft sleeve goes on first, every time. Without it the card face rubs on the inside of the shell each time it moves, and that is where those fine surface scratches come from.

• Best for: hits, rookies, numbered cards, anything you will sell or trade
• Fits: standard 2.5" x 3.5", 35pt cards
• Our sets: violet-box sports toploaders and ice-box TCG toploaders

Semi-rigids: for the grading run

Grading services ask for semi-rigid holders because the card has to come out on their bench without a fight. Ours are 3 5/16" x 4 7/8", taller than a toploader, and just stiff enough to stop a bend in the box. Sleeve the card, slide it in, and the grader can pull it by the sleeve.

• Best for: PSA, BGS, SGC and CSG submissions, light flat storage
• Do not: tape the top shut or use them as your only shipping protection
• Our sets: 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 holders with matching sleeves

Magnetic holders: for looking at

A 35pt one-touch holder clamps a bare card between two clear halves with a magnet. It looks better than any loader and stands on its own, which makes it the right home for a card you actually display. No soft sleeve inside: the recess is cut for the card alone.

When in doubt

Sleeve it and toploader it today, decide tomorrow. Nothing about the sleeve-first routine is permanent, and a card in a soft sleeve and a toploader is safe while you make up your mind.