To protect them all I started bagging them in clear polypropylene bags and sticking tape. This is fiddly, takes ages and sticky tape and collectibles are never a great mix.
So I was looking around for a better idea and I figured that a rigid plastic clamshell would do the trick http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clamshell_%28container%29
Unfortunately, although you can buy many shapes and sizes off the shelf, booster pack size is not one of them. However most companies will manufacture them to your specifications if you ask them nicely, and pay them a lot of money.
So I got in touch with the nearest company...
Off-the-shelf clam shells of a similar size cost about 30 cents each, which was encouraging.
So I sent in a request for more info...
So I bought some more bags and sticky tape.Custom vacuum forming mould = $3400-$3800 approx
Die cutting knife = $220- $380
But it got me to thinking, if I did go ahead, it would have to be right first time, so what features would make the ideal clamshell?
I came up with a few
Obviously archival plastic; clear, colourless, no softner
rigid, so it will support its own weight and could be used as a mailer
Space to add information about the booster, e.g. Expansion / year / language etc.
Sized to fit 6 card to 15 cards and possibly demo boosters?
I came up with this
the clamshell splits open down the middle, hinged bit is down the bottom on the right. The booster sits in the middle and there is space either end for the sealed ends. At the top left is a place where a piece of paper with all the info can be inserted.
I can already see a few issues, Japanese boosters on the hangers wouldn't fit and thinner boosters would rattle around.
Anyway I thought I would get some input from any bored forum members with too much time on their hands, just in case I get really sick of bagging my spares.
So I would like to know things like, should it have a hole for hanging them up, would they make good mailers, how big should the space be for the information, what features should be included? I figure that there are enough companies out there servicing the collectables market that if I came to them with a design that was good enough, they might just take it on.
In particular I remember seeing a graded booster by one of the big companies, it was graded as mint but it was crammed into a holder too small for it and the sealed edges were folded back to make it fit, no way was I going to buy it.
I also had a problem, I have a sealed box of revised and I wanted one booster to put in an album. I knew that as soon as I openned the box and took out the booster I needed, the value of the remaining boosters would plummet, everyone would assume they had been searched.
However, if the box was opened by a trusted name in Magic, or by a third party, like the graders, and each booster was taken out and sealed into a tamper-proof holder then each booster would retain its value as it could be sold as a "certified unsearched by x".
This could also be used for sealed boxes which have been mapped. As there is no requirement for grading the fee would be fairly low.
Probably not worth it for a Saviours of Kamigawa box but if you had a sealed Unlimited box and no one could afford to buy the whole thing it might be worth trying to sell them individualy, however who would believe you hadn't searched it?
Anyway, I would welcome any comments, hints, tips, idle musings or ideas on this. (with the exception of the drawing, it took me 10 minutes to draw it on paper, it took over a week to work out how to do the same thing on Google Sketch Up, and it looks no better!)
Cheers
Mark