The Sorting Process

Hello there!

Sorting a large box of individual MTG cards can be a challenging task. Allow us to handle that for you! 

We have been testing archival solutions for our own collections since the 1990s and we create easy-to-follow organizational systems to help you quickly locate and retrieve your items. We aim to provide all the information you need to make informed decisions about your collection. We can provide a snapshot of the Market Price Value (MPV) of your items and reasonable expectations for selling them yourself. In fact, many of our customers are not interested in selling their personal collections at all, but are looking to understand the value and long-term storage options available.

We can also upgrade your storage systems with new boxes and binders for better presentation and storage.

Please note: If you do plan to sell your entire unsorted collection, we recommend going directly to a buy-list vendor. Our services would be redundant and not beneficial in this case.

We engage in "self-grading," but can also identify individual cards that may require professional grading.

If you are curious about the potential value of your collection, send it to us for research (for a fee), storage upgrades (optional), and we will return it to you safe and organized according to your preferences.

To begin it is recommended that you know the total number of cards in your collection, don't worry, we know a couple shortcuts for figuring this out!

  1. We will verify this number with you during the process to ensure nothing was lost or removed during shipment and processing.
  2. This number also determines your bracket and sorting fee. If you prefer not to be surprised, please count your cards and compare your bracket to our latest sorting chart.

There is no minimum number of cards per shipment, and currently no maximum either!

Card Counting Tips

Each Magic: The Gathering card weighs roughly 0.06 Ounces or 1.8 Grams

When weighing your collection, make sure to subtract the weight of your boxes and containers from the total weight.

If there are foils in your collection, they can weigh up to 2 Grams each! You may want to keep this in mind if using weight to estimate card count. It adds up!

Five (5) inches of stacked standard, un-sleeved, non-foil cards equals roughly 400 individual cards.

Typically 80 cards per each one (1) inch stack.

Keep in mind that foil cards have an additional coating and are thicker than non-foil cards when using stack height to estimate card count.
It adds up if there are enough of them!

Many popular card sorting boxes on the market today have the
card count already figured out for you!

A single lane white card box typically holds 800 cards (no
sleeves, non-foil). Fill one lane and you can safely estimate you have roughly 800 cards.

We will count, by hand, the number of cards we receive and confirm the number before beginning the sorting process.

Some customers choose to pre-sort out basic lands or multiple copies before sending us their collection to keep the sorting fee lower.

We are happy to discuss your options!

Confirm Card Count & Preferences

Once we receive your collection and confirm the card count, the sorting process will commence. The entire collection will be organized according to your preference, with options such as alphabetical order, set, rarity, high-low value, and dealer's choice, among many others. Depending on the contents of the collection, a combination of styles may work best for you.

We also offer add-on products like leatherette binders with zipper closures and crisp new boxes! We can even sleeve cards for you if you desire.

Main Sorting Styles

Type VS Rarity

Sort by the type of the cards: artifact, creature, instant, etc. We've created a sorting deck to assist in this process, check out the SHOP for more detail!

Sort by the rarity of the cards, rarest cards first unless another sub-sorting style is preferred. We've created a sorting deck to assist in this process, check out the SHOP for more detail!

Sub-Sort Categories

Additional Sorting Options

Self-explanatory. A-Z.

Simply sorted by color.

Sort by set, starting with the oldest set first unless otherwise specified.

Sort by the highest Market price value (MPV) to lowest, unless otherwise specified.

Not Sure? Don't stress! You can always opt into "Dealer's Choice" - Sidequest Sovereign will choose the best sorting solution based on the specific contents of your collection. 

Ready to Get Started?

We can also add levels of sorting based on your personal preferences, such as casting cost, separating foils, sorting out all but four (4) copies for sideboard storage... infinite possibilities exist, and we are happy to discuss your options with you.

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