How Important are Backer Cards?

Hey guys!

Recently ive been wondering what everyone's opinions on backer cards are. Generally, I take my pins off the card and either put them in a book or on a board. But looking through the trade and sale threads on here, I have noticed that many people still have the cards. I do keep some on their card, such as special pins that came from special events (ie DMR pins that usually come on a special backer).

That being said, is it important to you if you are trading to get the backer card? Do you save them for your collection, or get rid of them? Would it be a deal breaker if someone didnt have the card? Im genuinely curious as they dont have much value to me, so I wanted opinions!

I keep all my backer cards but only provide them in a trade if they are "special". Would also provide a black/plain one if someone specifically asks for it but nobody ever has. Similarly, I am interested in the backing card being there on pins I am receiving but only if there is something unique about it, such as a description of the pin, etc. In those cases, it's somewhat of a must for me. In others, it doesn't matter.

You might also want to check out this thread which recently had a similar discussion: Card Backers?

This is copy and pasted from the thread Ajk mentioned...

I keep all my LE backing cards, I don't take them off in my trader book. I've seen lots of other traders take them off to make more room in their books for more pins and keep the backing in a Ziploc if someone wants them with the pin.
I guess it's mostly preference, I'm sure that in a way just like not having an original box decreases the value of a collectable, not having the backing cards for certain pins may decrease the value. Some traders won't trade without the backing cards.
I think people like them more to prove authenticity. But I guess for OE pins it may not matter as much, unless it came with some special type of backing.... >.> or tin or box, sometimes I ask if they can cut the backing out if it was from a box collection and I'm only getting part of the set. So many decisions... but many pins that I get don't have backing cards and I don't feel their worth any different from the ones that do.

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I keep all of my backer cards in a drawer of all my keepers with the PP # on them. I keep all my traders that came with a card on the card.

I have not traded or bought because the card was missing. To me, the card is an important element of the pin. It can contain valuable info on it.

I think with trading it can come back to personal preference.
For sales I prefer keeping all the backing cards, I'm buying them new usually from DSSH and if I'm selling anything from there I just keep it in the condition I purchased it in. Generally the DSSH pins come in a plastic cover over the pin and backing card. What ever the person wants to do after that is up to them, but for selling purposes I like buying and selling them with the cards and and plastic. Box sets are the same, some of them come with an additional white cardboard cover to protect the integrity of the box and I keep all that together for any LE Trade or Sale. I'm mostly only like this with LE and some of the Box sets, but even some LE's like the previous PTD's didn't come with a backing originally, just a little plastic Ziploc and I would probably prefer to not have the dime baggie.

If it's OE, mystery, bag/box or anything like that... I can only keep so many of those before I feel like I'm just collecting trash but I do keep one of the bag or box in a notebook for personal reference. I have my OE single pin backs but most of those pins I'm traded with no backs anyway, those also start feeling like collecting trash after a while. I say Yes to keeping anything LE related, but OE, HM, LR or very old pins I could really care less, most of them are cardless anyway... as long as the pin is authentic I'm happy ^___^

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I prefer to keep all my backer cards. Most traders I meet tend to prefer trading for pins with them too. It helps to be able to see where the pin is from, whether it is DSSH, WDI, or from the parks. I like to keep the pin on the card and in plastic in my book of traders. If a pin I like doesn't have a card though, I don't care too much.
For my personal collection, I do display my pins without their cards, but I label and organize each card so I can find it easily later on. In the end, it mainly depends on personal preference.

If I am getting the pin to sell or trade, I will keep everything together (backer card and plastic wrapping, and outer box if it came with it), because you never know if the person who wants it will want them or not. If I'm getting it for my own personal collection I don't care as much, since most of my pins go onto lanyards or pin boards and I don't display the backer cards on those. That being said, if it's a pin that I know has been scrapped, I much prefer it to be on the backer card regardless. I keep my traders in trading card sleeves in binders, so most backer cards fit into them pretty neatly.

For PTDs and mystery box pins, I don't usually mind if it's out of the baggie, since those baggies get pretty cruddy pretty quickly.

For pins with Free-D, I care more about the plastic than the backer card, since the plastic helps protect it against scuffing and staining. I have one pin across all my lanyards still in plastic, which is the DSF Felix pin with a Free-D hat.

For OE/rack pins that have standard backer cards, I don't find them entirely necessary. If it's an LE pin, I prefer to have the backer cards.

There are some pins whose value is tied to the backer cards. Beloved Tales, for instance. I've seen people value them at half the full value just because they don't have the card. DA pins tend to do a lot better with the card, though they aren't as egregious as the BTs.

There is one pin that I am searching for specifically BECAUSE of the backer card, because it is a very special backer card.

I personally keep all the backing cards(and kept the kids from their early days of collecting) as they don't take up too much space, but they are kept in a box mixed up and if I trade will include a backing card if the person prefers or it is a specific pin/card. I keep them in case they are needed or I change my mind in 20 years time about how they are displayed. Certain Hardcore collectors like in any hobby will keep mint on card, preferably in original plastic wrapper, with a receipt of purchase where possible(You know who you are!). I am considering putting a small sticker to identify which one is which as some others have suggested, but not sure I'll get the enthusiasm to see it through...as I type though I'm now considering a backing card display...anybody know a good counselor ??(Just kidding!)

Back when I first started trading, I casually put the cards to the side or threw them away. But as the scrapper scene, it has almost been justified keeping cards to the side for a legitimate trade as it helps distinguish it from it cardless peers(though not always). If you plan on putting them in a binder with trading card slots, it's just as well to keep the card as they just slide in. Just consider that other hobbies/collectibles are almost as crazy if not more so about mint/collector status and that it might be easier to play the safe route and keep onto the card.

I think my last 6 PinPics requests sent to me stated they would only trade if I had the original backer card for the pin they wanted. For traders I keep in original packaging for these types of requests. For me if I am looking for a pin to add to my collection I don't mind if it doesn't have a backer card as I will be placing the pins in some type of display.

When I started I threw away backer cards and put pins into displays (for the first ~5-6 months), but now I keep all of the cards (I try to keep them close to their pins by tucking them behind each displays). There are multiple reasons:
1) Cards are important for both my collection and my traders. As I have progressed in this hobby, some pins that were part of my perm collection transitioned to traders as I dialed into what I wanted to collect. So cards may be good to keep, depending on how your tastes change over time.
2) As previously stated, other traders want them, so if I want to increase my odds of trading, backing cards are important to keep.
3) It has also been recommended to me, even if there is not an official backer card... try to come up with on from the original packaging. For example the DSSH alphabet set came out 4 to a card, it was recommended that I cut the card into quarters to keep some of the original packaging with each of the pins as I trade them. Perhaps will lend more credibility to my traders not being scrap.

It seems that most people prefer keeping the backer cards neat and along side the pin "just in case." I kept some of my backer cards but I have no idea which pins they go to. Is there any way to figure it out based on the bar code?

Some of the SKUs are on PinPics and you can search by SKU if you move all the way
to the bottom of the search sidebar. A lot of the time when I do this search, I try the
original with the two outside numbers and if that doesn't work, I try the inside numbers.