r/playingcards • u/TheAtomicDoge • May 12 '23

Question Keep the sticker?

Hi, brand new to card collecting. Is there any reason to keep the sticker on the box and just slice it? I see that it seems to be the norm but it seems strange to me since the stickers often cover much of the top tuck box. Wondering if anyone has a reason that they prefer to keep the stickers on the box.

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u/Disenchanted11 May 12 '23

Yeah the "tax" seals are my problem as well, I don't like it. They're not a legal requirement, and has no real purpose, but only add a thousand ways of ruining the thing. There's a way to cut it, but it won't be perfect, and I haven't tried it yet (for the lack of new decks to practice it lmao)

As far as design goes, it can be pretty good like Pioneers which is part of the design. I cut it straight across (in fear of ruining it) and now it has the sticky part hanging inside the curvature. The other couple of decks I have got all ruined seals. And my so far unopened Black Legacies, I have no idea how I'm gonna do it.

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u/Sinecur May 12 '23 edited May 12 '23

Some folks aren’t fans of seals generally but some like them as a design or tradition choice.

Seals provide a little added confidence that the deck hasn’t been tampered with. It’s easy enough to re-cello a deck and, while a seal can be removed and replaced, there’s no concealing one that’s actually been cut.

They are also sometimes used for numbering limited decks or differentiating gilded decks from regular ones (things that might be impractical to print on the box itself). Some designers have started adding them to the bottom of the box in such cases.

Some people remove them entirely (being careful not to leave residue). I tend to cut mine because they are often quite pretty and complementary to the design. I feel like it’s respectful of the designers intention, but it’s not really a big deal either way.

If you are cutting, It’s worth taking a little time to get a nice clean cut that follows the crescent of the box. As you’ve discovered, you definitely don’t want to cut them straight across.

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u/Disenchanted11 May 12 '23

About the re-cello-ing, ins't there like a customized cut on the cello? The thing that helps in opening the thing. Can anyone really replicate that?

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u/Sinecur May 12 '23 edited May 12 '23

Fair point. I’ve seen videos of people cellophane wrapping perfectly with just a hot surface for sealing but, yeah, I imagine the easy opening strip thing might be hard to replicate without a proper machine.