Toploaders are one of the greatest ways to protect trading cards. Once the card is inside a toploader, barely anything can damage it. The problem? It is tough to get cards out once they are inside of the toploader. Thankfully, there are a couple of options.
The safest way to remove cards from top loaders is to just pull the card out. Most toploaders will open up just enough that you can reach in and pull the card out. You may also want to try removing the card with a pair of tweezers.
Throughout the rest of this page, we do want to give you a few more tips on ensuring that you are able to get cards out of toploaders by causing the minimum amount of damage to the card.
How to Safely Remove Cards from Toploaders
There are a few different methods that you can use to remove cards from top loaders. We are going to go through each of them from safe to the most unsafe i.e. if you do not want to cause damage to the card. However, do bear in mind that the actual process of removing a card from a toploader is going to likely cause damage to the card no matter what. If you want the best possible protection for your card, then it should always remain inside that toploader.
Gently Squeezing the Toploader
This may cause a small amount of bending in the card if you are not careful.
With this method, just give the sides of the toploader a gentle squeeze. This should be enough to open up the top loader a small amount. You will then be able to reach in and pull out the card.
Using Tweezers
The second option is to use a pair of tweezers to grab the card and slowly pull it out. This method should not be used if the card is not placed into a penny sleeve. This is because the tweezers will end up damaging the card face.
Sawing the Toploader
This is probably going to be the safest method because you won’t be coming into contact with the card at all. This means that you do not have to bend the card or even touch it, which is nice. Although, of course, you are going to need to be good when it comes to your sawing skills.
You will need a small hacksaw to do this. You will need to saw down the seam of the toploader, either on the right or left-hand side of the toploader. Not the bottom. Be gentle and make sure that you do not come into contact with the card at all. It will ruin it.
Getting a Penny Sleeved Card Out of a Rigid Top Loader
Getting a penny-sleeved card out of a rigid top loader is going to be difficult. This is because you can’t really squeeze the top loader like normal. This is because the penny sleeve will have caused such a tight fit that there will be no movement in the card.
The first thing that you can attempt is to use a pair of tweezers and try and grab the outside of the penny sleeve. In the vast majority of cases, this will allow you to gently remove the penny-sleeved card from the top loader.
Failing this, you have little choice but to actually destroy the toploader. This means getting a small hacksaw (sometimes known a junior hacksaw) and gently sawing off the edges of the toploader. If you saw off either the right or the left side of the toploader, then the card can easily be removed. You may as well throw away your toploader after this, though. It is now useless.
Do Top Loaders Ruin Cards?
If you buy high-quality top loaders then, no, they are not going to ruin the cards.
If you buy cheaper toploaders, then there is a small chance that they will have an impact on the card. This is why you should stick to buying well-reviewed and high-qiality products from companies like Ultra-Pro.
We recommend using high-quality top loaders like these from Ultra-Pro. Ultra-Pro has been the leading manufacturer and supplier of sports and gaming collectibles accessories since 1952.
Are Top Loaders Safe for Pokemon Cards?
Top loaders are 100% safe to add Pokemon cards into.
However, for that added protection, particularly if you are looking to sleeve up a shiny card, we recommend that you place the Pokemon Card into a penny sleeve first. This just helps to prevent the card from being worn down if it moves around a little bit too much while it is placed in the top loader.
Ideally, you should only be putting one Pokemon card into a toploader at a time. Although, if you are dealing with cheaper cards (e.g. commons or uncommon) where the value of the card isn’t that high, to begin with, then you could feasibly add as many as you want into the toploader.
Remember, you should always try to ensure that you purchase the best toploaders possible. Do not buy cheap toploaders, they are often made from lower-quality materials. These lower-quality materials do not offer the best protection for the card. In fact, they could end up damaging the card if you are not careful.
How Many Cards Fit in a Toploader?
While it may look like you have a ton of space inside of a toploader, you shouldn’t really be trying to stuff as many cards in there as possible.
In an ideal world, you would only be putting in a single card. This will help to ensure that your card is protected properly. However, at a push, you can put in 2 cards. This is assuming that they have been both placed into penny sleeves. If they aren’t in penny sleeves, then the cards will rub against each other. If that happens, then the color of the card, or even the card quality, can be ruined.
Should You Tape Up Top Loaders?
While there are some people that tape up top loaders in order to prevent cards from falling out, it is suggested that you do not do this.
When you tape up top loaders, you are running the risk of the card coming into contact with the tape. If this happens, then it is going to ruin the edges of the card.
If you absolutely must tape up the top loaders e.g. if you are mailing a card out, then we suggest that you cover the top of the card with a small piece of paper. You can then tape this piece of paper into place. This ensures that the card inside of the toploader is not going to be coming into contact with the adhesive.
Final Thoughts
In an ideal world, you would always leave a card in a toploader. It is going to be best protected like that. However, if you absolutely must remove it, then you have a variety of options available to you.
Remember, it is best that you do not touch the card while you are trying to remove it. If the card is in a penny sleeve, then grip the penny sleeve. If the card is unsleeved, then you should try and saw the card out instead using a hacksaw.
Once the card is out of the toploader, make sure it is sleeved up as quickly as possible. This means a new sleeve if it was already in a penny sleeve. This will help to keep your trading cards in the best possible condition.