The House of Cards

This short blurb is not intended to turn people away as Fleer and Skybox had some of the best looking insert sets in the 90s. The purpose is to provide awareness to new people to the hobby some of the risks associated with purchasing Fleer or Skybox, produced post 1997 and pre 2006 cards; in particular the final two years releases 2003-04 & 2004-05.

Firstly let’s look at a bit of history. On May 2005, the Fleer Corporation suspended its trading card operations. In early July 2005, the Fleer Corporation started to liquidate its assets to repay creditors. This led to the sale of the Fleer brand name, which the Upper Deck Company purchased for a mere $6.1 million.

Following the sale of the brand name, an auction was held on 9 September 2005 at New Jersey Radisson Hotel where many unfinished products, unique items, uncut sheets, spares etc. were …continue reading

Binder Pocket Pages are commonly used to safely store your valuable collectibles such as trading cards, currency notes, coins, post cards and stamps.

The following section provides a brief explanation of the different pocket pages available in the collecting hobby and what each one is best suited for. Please note that this guide is a rough estimate as sizes may vary between different manufacturers and time of production. If unsure of size, the best policy is to always measure twice the item you wish to protect to ensure the most suitable page pocket size is selected.

There are several manufacturers of binder pocket pages. The two most popular sold are …continue reading

Let’s face it, no one wants to receive damaged goods, and Gimko certainly does not wish to have unsatisfied fellow card hobbyists.

The following guide outlines reasonable endeavors that should be taken when packaging and shipping cards to ensure that in most cases cards arrive undamaged or are not lost due to postage.

Packaging:

The following are minimum recommendations for card protection:

• Card should be placed in appropriately sized toploader or magnetic one touch holders.
• If using a toploader, each card should be placed in a penny sleeve.
• Card(s) should then be placed in a team bag and sealed to prevent water damage during transit. …continue reading

The most common question people ask is “what holder size do I need to protect my precious cards safely?”

There are two simple methods that can be used to work this out on your own.

NOTE: Calculations are estimates based on Ultra Pro products (toploader and magnetic one touch holders), as these are the most commonly used for protection in the card collecting hobby.

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Images courtesy of Ultra Pro

Method 1 – Stacking Regular Cards:

The hobby is an ever-changing one. We’ve all seen ups and downs, highs and lows, seen the hobby evolve, twist and turn into the one we know now. We’ve all had those hits, those misses and cards that we would never dream of parting with.

The Gimko team here joins you. We are one of you, each with their own story to tell in the hobby. Together we have over 100 years in the hobby, each bringing their own unique ideas, experiences and observations from the hobby with them. So what makes us unique? We’re actually in the hobby, so what we do with the site and what we offer is what we see as benefiting the entire collecting community.

But what is Gimko? I must have got ahead of myself. Gimko is a brand-new auction site, but not just any auction site. We aim to cater for you, the collector, and you only. …continue reading