Who Makes Good But Inexpensive Binders

I make my own album pages and keep them in three ring binders and page protectors.

I had to move a few things recently. One binder was getting a bit full and moving a section would overfill the next one.

The ones I use have come from a bunch of nice ones I got on closeout from I think Michaels years ago.

I've had some binders from Target that rusted before I even used them.
And to my surprise the "economy" two inch binders at Staples are now $11 !
I've gotten used to having the new ones be in bright kid colors, but that's a crazy price for a not so good binder.


Does anyone make a decent binder at a reasonable price? I prefer D ring

Yes, I know there's a bunch of places that sell very nice binders for more like $40+ each.

I wait until the Staples binders go on sale, which they do a few times a year, half price IIRC, but you have to buy 4 of the exact same type and color, not mix and match, I learned once the hard way. If you try to buy 3 black and accidentally one dark blue, you do not get the sale price.

They are not premium binders, but they last fairly well under regular use and I have never had them rust (but I don't live in a high humidity area). I do open-and-close the rings a few times in the store to check the alignment, as there appears to be bad quality control and/or shipping problems, but once at home they have held up fine.

I also use Staples binders. Not the heavy duty ones, as the standard work fine. Just don't overload too much. I stick to the 1.5 and 1 inch thickness.

I'm picky about binders and never found one at Target, Staples or Amazon that I liked. I like BCW binders, technically they are for sports cards, but they are D-ring, quite sturdy and work great for stamps or general purpose. $10.99 for Three-Inch, or $9.49 for Two-Inch (or as low as $8.24 and $7.12 respectively when purchased in quantity)

https://www.bcwsupplies.com/3-inch-album-black

https://www.bcwsupplies.com/2-inch-album-black

Now if somebody knows of something like that but which has a slipcase, I would be very happy!

Another option is vintage (Made in USA, pre-Y2K) binders from Avery-Dennison and other brands. They really don't make them like they used to. You can find them on ebay although they are not particularly cheap especially with shipping. But maybe available locally at thrift shops etc.

Beware the false economy of cheap storage options.

Buy quality binders and slipcases. Your stamps will thank you!

I only use awesome binders. They remind me where my good stamps are!

You could also try estate and yard sales or general auctions for used ones.

I use Avery Framed View binders. They're very sturdy, and unlike binders designed specifically for stamps, the rings actually work properly and stay aligned no matter how much they're used.

paddle_more,

What brand of "awesome" binder do you prefer? Which brand is shown in tbe image you uploaded? Do the come with slipcases?

I buy binders at Walmart, the off brand. Last year after the school supplies went on clearance. I bought 20 packages of 6, 1" binders each, for $5 a package. That's less than $1/binder. Yes, they are cheaply made and won't last forever. But then again, neither will I. I now have enough binders to last for the rest of my life, even if I have to replace some that have fallen apart. More money for stamps is how I look at it.

Let me look into that when I get back home. Some of my leather look binders were just bought off the shelf from Staples about 15 years ago. They don't have specific slipcases but I have my shelves set very tight so there is almost no room above them.

For a regular (not designed for stamps), I liked Avery Heavy Duty binders and have quite a few. The problem is the quality seems to have dropped for these so the same type today is not as good. At a typical office supply place, it seems to be a race to the bottom to get cost down with quality suffering.

Lighthouse Vario binders are $33 when on sale and they come with a slipcase. They look good because they look like an album, are well-made and the rings fit together securely so there is no tearing of the holes. Not the cheapest first cost but economical over the long haul.

I use ordinary binders, just the 1" size. They're not very thick, so one country occupies 2 or more binders. These can be obtained at office supply places and places like Sam's Club. I know they're cheap, but I don't have the ca$h to buy the nice stuff :-}

I use mostly the Steiner printable pages, but I also design my own pages too. I use white cardstock, letter size. Although my binders are "cheap," I drop each page into a plastic page protector sleeve. My pages are printed 2-sided, but the stamps are kept flat and safe by the page protectors. I use a regular typing sheet to slide pages back into sleeves if I remove them, like to add stamps, so the ones on the back don't snag on the sleeve opening going back into the sleeve. I get the super thin sleeves off Amazon. They allow for more pages in a binder and are $25 for 500, so one package covers 500 leaves or 1000 printed pages.

I work at a high school, so I'm always on the lookout for used binders that I can have for free. I only use white or black 1" with the plastic outer liner. I put a decorative spine printout on each (I blew up an image of a Monaco stamp and used one edge of it for the design for the spine, and I used my photo editing tool to transfer a picture into the decorative center.), so they look decent on my shelves.

Consider using these and adding the sheet protectors. Those are the secret to allowing for two-sided printing and also give me the peace of mind that I need when showing my albums to non-collectors who always want to rub their dirty fingers across my stamps. With the plastic sheet protectors, no harm done :-}

I'm getting ready to go to work this morning, but I'll post some pix later :-}

Josh

I like Target's D-ring binders. Never had one rust on me. I particuarly like that they have clear plastic on the front, spine, and back for slipping in labels. Not awesome and leathery but functional and cheap and come in various colors.

I just recently discovered BinderTek binders. They come in 2, 3, and 4-inch widths. Metal-reinforced corners, metal pull ring (which is brilliant for easy removal from slipcases or off shelves), and quite possibly the smoothest well-engineered opening mechanism I've encountered.

Binder + slipcase runs about $35, but if you don't need the slipcase (which I do not), you can cut that number in half. Even better, if you aren't concerned with matching colors, wait for Quill to put 7-packs on sale through Amazon. I got a 7-pack of 2-inch binders in navy (no slipcases) for $101 shipped, which works out to $14.50 per binder.