New to the forums and have been collecting for about two years. I’ll probably be posting in this section the most as I like to hear other people’s opinions on my thoughts to help whether its negative or positive reinforcement.
Todays question:
I have a “complete” binder set of Champions Path. However the two Zards (hyper and shiny) I have in PSA 9 form. As I flip through my binder I am always displeased with my two blank spots in the binder where the Zards would normally be. Would you think its petty to buy fake version of those cards and place them in those slots, writing “FAKE” on the backs of the cards for transparency. I don’t really want to focus my funds on those two cards in raw as I already paid for the protected/graded versions but also want to sooth my OCD.
Just crack one out and put it in the binder. That’s what I would do (and is what I have done with tons of cards). Don’t support the people making counterfeits.
Yea I don’t like the idea either of supporting FAKEs. I’d rather my Zards be in PSA cases so I won’t be cracking, maybe I’ll put red energies there and right “See PSA” on them lol.
Take a picture of your graded cards and print them out small enough so they fit in the binder sleeve. This way your cards are technically in your binder and you’re not giving your money to someone who creates fakes.
I would either crack, use a place holder, print out a picture of the card onto regular paper and cut it to be card size, or print out a scan of your graded card as others have suggested.
DO NOT buy a fake card. Purchasing fake cards provides funds for those scum bags to print more inventory of fake cards and to invest in better printers.
Download a high resolution photo of the card, print it, write see PSA cert #, and insert in your binder.
I probably wouldn’t crack a 9 or 10. Maybe in this case, sell the 9, and purchase a mint raw copy. Might be a few bucks ahead that way.
My custom solution is something I call “blackout cards.” They are black card stock cut to the exact dimensions of a card, which I sleeve in a KMC Perfect Fit.
It’s entirely psychological. An empty slot feels different compared to a slot that’s filled, even if not occupied by a card. For me, an empty slot is defined by absence. It does not represent anything. But a blackout card represents something in some way. I prefer it to an empty slot.
There is also the visual satisfaction of there being something there. I like how it looks.
@zorloth — Here is a good example of how I use them.
The final WotC promos were the “Best + Winner” cards, which were meant to be two sets of 9. But neither set was completely distributed. So the Winner set is missing #3 and the Best set is missing #8 and #9.
So my preferred way to display these is still on complete pages with black out cards to represent the missing cards which were never released.
Of course, you could just leave them empty. Especially because these cards in particular do not exist. But what I like about blackout cards is the versatility of what they can represent for me. Sometimes it’s a card that doesn’t exist. Sometimes it’s a card I can’t afford. Sometimes it’s a card in a slab. But it gives me something to associate with the card that an empty a slot doesn’t.
This is just my solution. This psychology may not appeal to someone else. I like it though!
@stagecoach , ohhhhhh, I didn’t realize you were using binders with transparent card sheets. I definitely like the black placeholder cards in those. I figured you used black-backed card sheets (like the ones in Ultra Pro/Dex Protection binders), in which case the black placeholder card would be barely visible lol.
Its your collection, you’re the only one who will be seeing it, not sure why you would need a placeholder or cards with disclaimers written on them lol. That said I would either leave them empty or suck it up and buy raw copies, but no fakes. I wouldn’t want to support the people making them.
I’m planning on getting someone who creates them (like drewzcustomcards) make high quality versions of my scanned slabs. I’d do my own, but it’d look like a 5 year old did them - although I am organising children’s cardboard in a folder so that could be accurate.
I personally really dislike empty/placeholder slots in a binder as well. I rarely have this situation occur since I basically collect like this:
non-holo cards in the binder
holo cards in graded (PSA) cases
There are some edge cases such as my Japanese VS set, where I graded the non holo Lance’s Charizard since it was a clear PSA 10 candidate and I figured that would be a very nice card to have graded (it did get the 10!). I ended up solving this by moving all the cards in the binder, as if the Charizard simply doesn’t exist. Happy with the result, as there’s no gap, and if I want to look at the Charizard I pull out the case.
But in the end, solve it how it makes you happy, that’s what I did too!
I wouldn’t buy a fake card, but also I think it would be cool to maybe commission a knock off with cool art or something? Then again, I’m trying to figure out this problem as well.
