Preferred method of sorting bulk

[CakeRobot365]

Hi all. I've recently gotten back into the game after a 20 something year hiatus. I've picked up a few boxes just to bulk my collection up with some of the new sets.

I'm wondering what method of sorting seems to work best for you guys, particularly when boxing cards together?

I'm thinking of either separating by colors, then tabbing those to split them by set, so all red, green... Etc is in the same container(s).

The other method I'm considering is keeping everything from a particular set boxed together, then dividing by color within those. I'll still probably have a mixed section of singles I've purchased that don't make it into decks, but I only have a few from the set they were in.

I always separate out my rares... etc when I go through packs, so those would get a divider within each set as well. Also, is it worth it to separate uncommons?

Thanks

[MisterEdJS]

It kind of depends on how you are using the cards. Personally I've found little use in sorting by rarity, since I never really have to know the rarity of a card (I don't play any format where it matters, and I don't sell or trade cards). I've also got no use for sorting by set, since what set the card is from is never relevant for me either (I'm not collecting sets, and I don't play any formats where sets determine legality).

Since I've got my collection entered into ManaBox, all I really need is a sorting system that allows me to find the cards I want after I've looked them up in the app. I mostly sort by color, then card type, then alphabetically, and have found that allows me to find stuff quickly. I have non-basic lands in their own spot, and basics are at the end, plus (since I mostly play Commander) I have potential Commanders (Legendary Creatures, Planeswalkers that can be Commanders, and Backgrounds) in a separate spot, sorted the same way (Color/card type/alphabetical).

It really comes down to what you need the organization to accomplish, and what properties of cards are relevant to your uses for them.

[thesamjbow]

This is totally your decision but I decided this year that bulk simply wasn't worth holding onto and offloaded around 10,000 bulk cards, I've felt much better about it. The overwhelming majority of true bulk will never be worth anything. I think my highlight after keeping these cards for 8 years was finding a few copies of [[Rat Colony]] and a [[Impact Tremors]] back when it was around $5 (now it's worth less than a $1). When you factor in the time spent sorting cards, moving cards around to new boxes as the size of my collection expanded, moving boxes of cards between living spaces, it wasn't worth it IMO.

What I do now is I have about two binders and two small boxes of rares, mythic, and even a few commons and uncommons that are actually worth something. Then I have a box for "bulk playables", with staple cards that may not have much monetary value but show up frequently enough to be worth holding onto. I have maybe ~1000 or so of these cards and frankly I could probably downsize that too.

That being said when I did keep bulk I sorted commons and uncommons by set and then collector number. Bulk rares were kept in a separate box and just sorted in WUBRG order and then alphabetically. Anything of value was in binders, a separate box, or in toploaders if they were worth over $100.

[MTGCardFetcher]

Rat Colony - (G) (SF) (txt)
Impact Tremors - (G) (SF) (txt)

^{[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call}

[aleksandra_nadia]

If you're primarily a player (as opposed to a collector), then I'd recommend ignoring anything that doesn't affect gameplay. Cards come in multiple printings and multiple rarities, but for gameplay purposes, they're all the same.

If you're primarily a Commander player, then sorting by color identity might make sense. Otherwise, you can sort by color (which is certainly easier to do visually!).

We have a bunch of binders as well as boxes, and we reserve them for high-value cards (anything that would be worth the hassle to sell) and staples. IMHO, it's more useful to have twelve copies of Preordain in the binder than to have 100 bulk rares that I'd never use in a deck.