Opening decks

[bjoern90]

Hey I’m now to collecting decks. And my stupid problem is:

On the one side I want to keep the decks in cellophane to maybe sell some one day on the other side I want to see them from the inside and use them.

Is here anybody who has the same stupid problem?
How do you solve this. I thought about buying two and use one but it’s also kind of strange.

[th4mo]

Hello Bjoern and welcome to UC

I think you'll find this is an issue that all collectors have to face and figure out for themselves! It's going to depend on the answers to several questions you have to ask yourself:

WHY are you collecting cards? to experience and enjoy, or as an investment, or something else? The truth is that if you buy a wide variety of cards, only a few them will have the potential to ever significantly increase in value.

WHAT kind of cards will you focus on with your collection? will you focus on custom courts, beautiful tuck boxes, cardistry decks, magic decks, particular artistic styles or themes, specific companies or designers, artists, etc?

What is your BUDGET? What can you afford to spend while you are figuring out the answers above?

Some people try to very very carefully open their decks to keep them as pristine as possible, but in the end I don't think there's much middle ground: a deck is either opened or unopened, and that will most likely have a significant impact on the resale value.

For a long time I took the approach of buying two decks, so I could keep one unopened. I was also buying almost every custom deck I came across. That got to be too expensive so I started to only buy 1 copy of the decks I wasn't very excited about. Eventually I stopped buying those decks at all and now I just buy the decks that I feel I "can't live without"! For those, I still buy one to open, and one or several to keep in mint condition. I have yet to actually sell or trade any decks away, mostly out of laziness!

quite a few people here never open their decks, and others love to poke fun at them, but the decision is entirely up to you!

Good luck, and if I'm being totally honest.... get out while you still can!

[GandalfPC]

For a long time I took the approach of buying two decks, so I could keep one unopened. I was also buying almost every custom deck I came across. That got to be too expensive so I started to only buy 1 copy of the decks I wasn't very excited about. Eventually I stopped buying those decks at all and now I just buy the decks that I feel I "can't live without"! For those, I still buy one to open, and one or several to keep in mint condition.

Yup - that, more or less - though I tend to open a lot less of the ones I intend to open than I intended. (about 200 opened out of 1600+)

[Honeybee]

Perfect post/answer th4mo

I open everything - sometimes even multiples

I wonder whether keeping them unopened isn't sometimes to allay the guilt of indulging so much - thinking that our heirs will one day be able to recoup the money we have spent

[Bradius]

Yeah, th4mo said it about as well as it can be said. I agree.

[bjoern90]

Thanks @th4mo for this long answer and thanks for welcoming me. I think I will have to find my own way then. I will limit myself on some brands and only collect these ones

[GandalfTheWhite]

I wanted to respond in a quick short way... I always intend to open the decks I buy. When I receive, I treat them as the most precious things and I tell myself that I will open on the weekends/when I have some time to myself/when I have some serenity. Unfortunately, life happens and those said things rarely happens. So, like the elder Gandalf said, I have few open vs. unopened. Deep down I still want to open them but when the time is right and I do not know when that is.

[Honeybee]

Is intact cellophane worth nearly triple a designer's signature?!
$260 v $92.50 only 3 weeks apart and both sealed
(Of course there is the vagaries of auctions)

[kevork]

Me personally, I'm not a huge fan of signatures on tucks in such a fashion. I love tucks and signatures can detract from them. I don't mind signatures on the bottom like how Lotrek does it.

No idea what contributed to this phenomenon seen here, but that's my personal take.

[hsbc]

I like signed tucks -- I hate it when the cello itself is signed

[Honeybee]

Kev, I am probably in your camp but I would say that the signature on this particular tuck looked OK
I seriously thought of going for this deck by extending my self-imposed ceiling from $100Au to $100Us ($150Au) but not only did I think that it may be topped anyway - it only needed 2 going for it to see it escalate, there was postage to Au too so in the end I was very disciplined LOL

[rousselle]

Hey, bjoern90, that is a *great* question.

Here's my take, and as everyone here will tell you, I'm always right.

Art is meant to be enjoyed.

If you enjoy the art more by handling it, feasting your eyes with it, playing with it... hmmm, that sounds a little suggestive, but you know what I mean. If opening a deck and examining it is enjoyable, have at it.

If you enjoy keeping a deck in mint condition, go for it!

If you enjoy both, well, then you'll find yourself in the same position as th4mo and so many of us are in: buying multiples, opening some (and probably not as many as you first intend), keeping some pristine, and amassing more decks than you could possibly ever put on display and/or pull out at your weekly poker game.

Sure, some of us rib the others because they enjoy their art differently from the way we do, but it's all in good fun.

Welcome to the dark side, bjoern90!

[Harvonsgard]

The red eye is indeed always right (notwithstanding whenever he has an opposing view to mine ofc)!

[PiazzaDelivery]

It's already been mentioned, so allow me to simply add a tally to the "buy two, open one" column.

[Bradius]

I don't like opening decks, but do occasionally. That said, to be honest. Here is a secret. You will never get rich or make money collecting playing cards. Deal with it and enjoy them. Maybe a few super collectible if you want, or if you buy the in the dozens like me....

[Honeybee]

Cellophane has to be a big deal (unless it is easy to have it done/redone)
I had to open another deck from the bottom today as the top flaps were preventing me from opening the lid without fear of damaging the tuck
Afterwards I glue it back up - there is no way anyone would know

As I am an opener I cut a sliver off the offending flaps to make top opening easier in future
I only have a couple of hundred decks but I have had to do this before despite having all sorts of tools to try and open difficult tucks conventionally

ps Bradius I am confused why you want a dozen if you don't open them

[hsbc]

(unless it is easy to have it done/redone)

Equipment aside, it's very easy -- there's someone on the Kings Wild Discord who has access to a cello machine and they regularly open up decks to see the art and then re-seal them to keep

[Honeybee]

Thanks hsbc, I thought this may be the case.

Collectors who do not open their decks could have sealed tucks with totally different cards inside them
Mind you, I am not sure what a crook would do with the deck without the tuck or maybe there are some expensive decks out there with tucks that are easy to counterfeit. It would only take one person to open such a fake deck for the game to be up but then you're never likely to be able to trace such a (fictional) deceptive person

Having eliminated cellophane as proof of a deck being unopened, I wonder whether there isn't a case to be made for a seal Top and Bottom
(Or are seals easy to remove and reapply?)

I am getting very conspiratorial here LOL
Buying from trusted sellers is the answer

[Honeybee]

I saw a valuable deck on ebay today with supposedly new cards but being sold in only a deck protector
Maybe the seller has a cello machine and has slipped the cards out of the bottom of the tuck and replaced them with standard bikes before resealing
So that he can sell the tuck (fake deck) to a 'non opener' and makes another sale with his ebay listing of the deck only

[CrystalDrug]

I open every single deck I buy. I love exploring the artwork inside and playing with the cards. I collect playing cards to enjoy them, that's the whole point of the hobby.