Saturday, May 26, 2012

The Essential Tool For Trading Card Collectors: Ultra-Pro 3” X 4” Regular Toploader!


The Good: Durable, Clear, Inexpensive, Easy to use
The Bad: Generally requires thin toploader or tape to properly use.
The Basics: One of the essential tools for those who trade and collect trading cards, Ultra-Pro 3” X 4” Regular Toploader are easy to recommend!


For those who do not follow my many, many reviews, in addition to being a very active reviewer, I have my own small business selling trading and gaming cards. It is, therefore, something of a surprise to me that I have not reviewed Ultra-Pro 3” X 4” Regular Toploaders before now! The Ultra-Pro 3” X 4” Regular Toploader are a near-perfect product that are absolutely essential to trading card collectors. Because there are so many things that can befall a trading card – given that they are generally fragile, usually cardboard, objects – having protection for trading and gaming cards is absolutely essential. Ultra-Pro 3” X 4” Regular Toploaders provide that protection.

Ultra-Pro 3” X 4” Regular Toploaders are solid polypropylene protectors that are clear and very firm. Sealed on three sides, the Ultra-Pro 3” X 4” Regular Toploader accepts a card by sliding it in through the slit at the top of the toploader. The Ultra-Pro 3” X 4” Regular Toploaders fit virtually any standard 2 1/2” by 3 1/2" trading cards, save the thicker costume cards that have become a standard style of chase card over the last decade. When properly placed in the Ultra-Pro 3” X 4” Regular Toploader, the corners of trading cards are protected and the surface of a trading card is able to resist scratches and dents as well.

While these simple devices might initially seem to be perfect, Ultra-Pro 3” X 4” Regular Toploader are a near-miss on perfection for a discriminating reviewer. Nothing short of a Lucite block will keep a trading card in absolutely mint condition (where’s the fun in that?!), and Ultra-Pro 3” X 4” Regular Toploaders do a decent job of protecting cards for the most part. However, Ultra-Pro 3” X 4” Regular Toploaders leave a little too much room inside the toploader to be truly perfect. It might seem odd, but the 1/4” on average left over inside the Ultra-Pro 3” X 4” Regular Toploader allows trading cards to move around inside the toploader. For gaming cards, which are usually half as thick, movement within the toploader is even more extreme.

I am a fan of one-stop solutions; a product that actually solves whatever problem it claims to on its own. Ultra-Pro 3” X 4” Regular Toploader pretty much demand the use of the ultra-thin polypropylene soft plastic toploaders in conjunction with the Ultra-Pro 3” X 4” Regular Toploader. The extra layer of protection prevents the card from moving around within the hard plastic toploader. Even with the soft plastic toploader, one will be compelled to use tape to seal the opening of the Ultra-Pro 3” X 4” Regular Toploader, to prevent a card from being jostled out in transport.

To get your card out of the toploader, simply turn it over and gently tap the bottom; your card will slide out easily. Ultra-Pro 3” X 4” Regular Toploader are easy to use and are great for anyone who travels with, trades or sells trading or gaming cards!

For trading card reviews, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Star Trek: Nemesis trading cards
The Hunger Games trading cards
Twilight trading cards

8/10

For other card product reviews, be sure to visit my Card Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

No comments:

Post a Comment