I got a couple questions. If anyone has an opinion, I would really appreciate a reply. I was wondering if binders are good for cards? If yes, then which kinds are the better kinds? If not, them what is a good storage method? Any good sleves and top loaders to recommend? Cheap if possible but I am willing to pay for good quality obviously. Thank you to anyone who takes time to read this and reply.
Binders are great for keeping cards – just make sure to avoid o-ring binders. I’d highly recommend getting something from Ultimate Guard, Ultra Pro, or Dex Protection, all of which make great binders. Outside of binders, you can get long cardboard storage boxes, which will be cheaper but obviously less good for displaying your collection. For sleeves, penny sleeves, KMC perfect fits, and Dragon Shield sleeves are all great options. Penny sleeves are the cheapest option by far, and they do the job well. For top loaders, they’re all basically the same, just get whichever ones are the cheapest.
Binders - Ultra Pro
Card Sleeves - Penny Sleeves (Ultra Pro)
Card protection - Card Saver 1 (Top loaders are crap)
You don’t use ultra pro sleeves? I usually skip penny sleeves. Is there a reason I should buy penny sleeves over regular ultra pro sleeves? Also I love my binder. Mine is Ultra pro. It has a zipper and is suede. (Hope I spelled that right haha) but I love my binder I’m probably going to buy a few more soon. I have two full already 
I prefer penny sleeves because the card fits without being crammed and it fits loosely which will be easier for grading and putting in Card Savers. I personally put my binder cards in penny sleeves because they fit nicely in ultra pro binders, and are far far cheaper than fitted/ultra pro sleeves.
Yes sleeves get somewhat expensive fast but I prefer the look. I was just curious if penny ones were that much better. I might switch at one point but I love sleeves. Makes for a real clean look in my opinion
Here’s what I use:
Sleeves: BCW Standard Card Sleeves or Ultra Pro Premium Card Sleeves
Binder: BCW Pro-Folio LX. I picked up Red/White ones so it looks like a Pokeball. Side loading sleeves.
Toploaders: Card Saver I. Required for PSA submissions, but are perfect way of storing cards long term too.
I also collect some thicker (non Pokemon cards) and found the Ultra Pro One Touch Card Cases to be really nice.
It’s a few years old, but you might find this video rather informative for reviewing different kinds of binders.
Perfect fit sleeves have a very clean appearance. They are also the bane of my existence if I ever need to get the card back out of the sleeve. I’d rather try and open a taped toploader than get a card out of a perfect fit.
I personally store my cards in Ultra-Pro D Ring Collectors Albums, I use Ultra-Pro 4 pocket pages and Card Saver 1’s with regular penny sleeves. I have very specific tastes and am pretty rigid when it comes to how I display cards in binders because I don’t like the page looking too cluttered. I’ve found this to be a great way to avoid any binder damage while also having the option to display and create sets out of PSA able or ready cards. I have about 350 cards currently in this binder holding a majority ADV and PCG sets. Highly recommend anyone to try this out. 
imgur.com/gallery/rTz16qj
And yes the pages are quite secure and the cards rarely have the option to move around 
@umbreon good looking setup!
I’ll add that Ultra pro premium sleeves offer great clarity and sizing. Penny sleeves are hazy in comparison. You get what you pay for.
I never use perfect fits except for Japanese cards.
I use clear Dragon Shields with the Dex Protection 9-pocket binders.
Ultimate Guard and Dex Protection make the best binders hands down - no question. Penny sleeves with Card Saver I’s are the best way to store cards outside of a binder. Penny sleeves are the best sleeves hands down for cards you want to protect - super gentle on your expensive cards.
I love binders. They’re fun to customize and decorate.
Just don’t put cards inside.
Binder: VaultX (I am based in EU so found a great deal for it, similar to the UltraPro)
Sleeves : Ultra Pro penny sleeves.
Hi, sorry if I’m asking a question that’s well known but why would you not want put cards into binders?
Is it more of a personal preference?
I can so relate to the struggle!
It’s the main reason why I personally use penny sleeves on all cards in my binders. I’m really afraid the tightness of perfect fits damages the cards. Whenever I have to get cards out of perfect fits if they are shipped to me that way, sweat starts building on my forehead.
Sometimes they are even so tight, the card has a very light bend to it when inside the perfect fit.
The main two points for me of sleeving cards inside of a binder are: a) protection when sliding them in/out of binders. It happened that I wanted to re-organize binders, so this is an important one. b) dust protection. The combination of side loading binder pockets & sleeves makes it that basically zero dust gets on the cards. (combined with the fact that I use those binders with zippers, this works really well).
Penny sleeves tick both of those boxes, without endangering my cards, I absolutely love them.
Perfect fits have their uses though. For me this was double sleeving my MTG decks, so the cards could stay in relatively good shape after years of playing with them. But for simply collecting cards, I stay away from them.
This is an issue with some perfect fits, but not KMC perfect fits. Not a shill for the company or anything; look up reviews. They are consistently the perfect size and don’t bend/damage my cards at all. Penny sleeves are great, but I like using a perfect fit + penny sleeve before putting into a binder since penny sleeves are super thin and any piece of dust or dirt that gets into the binder can easily make an impression on a penny-sleeved card. The extra layer of protection is very useful.
I think perfect fits are also useful for storing holos for the same reason they are great for playing with MTG foils. Non-perfect fit sleeves are loose enough that cards shift around in them, which can cause scratching if any dust or microscopic particles get into the sleeve. Perfect fits entirely prevent this scenario. It’s obviously more important for MTG foils that are being played with since shuffling risks shifting the cards in their sleeves as well as letting outside dust/particles in. But I think this can happen over long periods of time to Pokemon cards sitting in binders. To each their own, but I think perfect fits are worth it for Pokemon cards, too (but, as you’ve said, avoid bad perfect fit brands because some can bend/damage cards).