ProMold mags with inner sleeve - BEWARE

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AbraCalabro
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ProMold mags with inner sleeve - BEWARE

Post by AbraCalabro »

Hey guys, just a heads up. I recently got in some of the 35pt (ProMold rates them at 30pt) mags and these things can easily f*ck your cards up if you're not careful. I just got in a rare card, it's Flair Showcase, and I realized that the card, using their included EZ-Insert sleeve doesn't sit flush in the case. They have these slightly raised inner borders that doesn't allow the card to sink in and sit center. Also, you CAN'T use your own sleeves because they're too big. This is the 3rd Generation Mag with the inner sleeve feature.

You stick a rare card in here and you could be in for a nasty surprise down the road. I also don't know why they rate their stuff as 30 PT when every other manufacturer goes 35, but whatever. I would imagine MAYBE the BCW sleeves MIGHT fit, because they tend to run smaller than the other brands, but not likely and if it does fit / close, your card is getting pinched.

I also tried a 94/95 Collector's Choice card, which is SUPER thin, in their proprietary EZ-Insert sleeve and it doesn't sit properly in the holder.

What a waste of money. Don't waste your cash on this garbage.

I have their 1st Gen mag with this inner sleeve feature and it's superior to this piece of sh!t. Don't get the 3rd Generation ones. I'm out about 17 bucks because of this trash.

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mindcycle
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Re: ProMold mags with inner sleeve - BEWARE

Post by mindcycle »

Thanks for the heads up man. I’ve been meaning to give these a try but may skip now. Do you think it’s a design flaw with the new version, or are they just cheaping out on the build quality now?
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AbraCalabro
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Re: ProMold mags with inner sleeve - BEWARE

Post by AbraCalabro »

mindcycle wrote: Sat Dec 16, 2023 10:56 am Thanks for the heads up man. I’ve been meaning to give these a try but may skip now. Do you think it’s a design flaw with the new version, or are they just cheaping out on the build quality now?
I think it's a design flaw to be honest, because I'm wondering now what cards these holders are actually made for.

If they were to remove the raised inner borders it might work, but as of now I would not feel so hot about putting any card in there. (But then they'd be the same as the 2nd Gen) I can find some super cheapo card and put it in there later and do a scan so you can see what I'm talking about.

I have not tried the Gen 2 ones which might be the best of both worlds for the inner sleeve mags, because the Gen 2 mags have arrowhead corners, but do not have raised inner borders from what I can tell:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/393573361836?e ... R4DYkcqOYw

You can zoom in on the photo here and they don't appear to have any inner borders.

https://www.promolddirect.com/tradingca ... /es20.html

If you look at the 3rd gen ones, apparently you can put cards that are up to 30PT with a sleeve and anything over that, (35pt+) would be without a sleeve...which doesn't add up because the Collector's Choice cards from 94/95 are 20PT and even they did not fit properly / safely using their very own EZ Insert sleeve.

https://www.promolddirect.com/tradingca ... -1224.html

I want to try the 2nd Gen ones now because they advertise that they fit 35/55/75 etc. like every other mag, not 30pt. Maybe I'll grab some after new years, but the 3rd Gen are utterly worthless for 2.5 x 3.5 cards, even 30PT and less.
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Re: ProMold mags with inner sleeve - BEWARE

Post by @cp »

For a long time, I had wanted to get one of these to put a Flair base card IP auto in. Being in Canada, these pro mold mag touches are not common and I didn't want to buy one on eBay for fear of it not fitting properly and the high price tag of buying just one. Earlier this year while visiting the US, I had checked out a few hobby shops in the area and one dealer had them for sale. So I bought a couple to put my IP auto card in. I was excited to finally get a one-touch that could hold a penny sleeve. Well needless to say I was disappointed.

@abra, you are correct. These don't fit properly and my card was not settled in nicely. My card felt pressed up against the top cover and I was not happy with the outcome. Anyway, I now have 2 of these sitting in my storage box doing nothing. At least I didn't spend too much on these, but it is a shame that something is off about this particular one-touch. Perhaps the first or second-generation versions are better.
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Re: ProMold mags with inner sleeve - BEWARE

Post by 23.dead »

These complaints stem from user error. Buy the appropriately sized holder and none of this is a problem. If your penny sleeves don’t fit it because you are using something other than the standard 35pt sleeve. I have used so many of these and still continue to use these. They are a far superior product than any other brand, plus added protection. They cost $3 a piece, a small price to try for yourself.
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AbraCalabro
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Re: ProMold mags with inner sleeve - BEWARE

Post by AbraCalabro »

@cp wrote: Sat Dec 30, 2023 7:38 pm For a long time, I had wanted to get one of these to put a Flair base card IP auto in. Being in Canada, these pro mold mag touches are not common and I didn't want to buy one on eBay for fear of it not fitting properly and the high price tag of buying just one. Earlier this year while visiting the US, I had checked out a few hobby shops in the area and one dealer had them for sale. So I bought a couple to put my IP auto card in. I was excited to finally get a one-touch that could hold a penny sleeve. Well needless to say I was disappointed.

@abra, you are correct. These don't fit properly and my card was not settled in nicely. My card felt pressed up against the top cover and I was not happy with the outcome. Anyway, I now have 2 of these sitting in my storage box doing nothing. At least I didn't spend too much on these, but it is a shame that something is off about this particular one-touch. Perhaps the first or second-generation versions are better.
Ah, yes, you know my pain lol. Even placing a super thin 20 PT card in there was a disappointment, because it advertises that it would hold a 20 PT card in their EZ-Insert sleeve, but nope. It still sat ever so slightly on the raised inner borders, and I didn't feel so great about leaving the card in there. I can confirm that my Gen 1 holders without the arrowhead corners work great and I have some really high end cards in them. The Gen 2 I have yet to try, but I assume they will be just fine since they don't appear to have inner borders.
23.dead wrote: Sun Dec 31, 2023 9:08 am These complaints stem from user error. Buy the appropriately sized holder and none of this is a problem. If your penny sleeves don’t fit it because you are using something other than the standard 35pt sleeve. I have used so many of these and still continue to use these. They are a far superior product than any other brand, plus added protection. They cost $3 a piece, a small price to try for yourself.
I'm afraid not. Please review what I posted and you will see that it's an appropriate size. In fact, even a card which is less than 30PT would not safely fit in there. Also, the sleeve itself came WITH the mag, from ProMold, it's the EZ-Insert sleeve and that's exactly what I used. I did try another sleeve just to see if it would make a difference, but no luck. I also mentioned that my Gen 1 holders were just fine and I'm well aware of buying the correct sized holder. The Gen 3 holders advertise that they will hold up to 30PT, not 35PT, which is abnormal, but the Flair card I wanted to put in there would still fit just fine as other cards I've had from the same year of release fit in the 35PT holders with a tiny bit of room to spare. Again, I put a 20PT in there and it still didn't fit right.

If you're referring to Gen 1 / Gen 2, I don't have complaints on the Gen 1 and have not tried the Gen 2s yet.
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Re: ProMold mags with inner sleeve - BEWARE

Post by SHowley2003 »

That’s interesting. I’ve got several cards in the 1st and 2nd gen 180pt sized mags w/ sleeves and they work perfectly. I’ve never tried any of the other sizes or any of the more recent versions.
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Re: ProMold mags with inner sleeve - BEWARE

Post by shaqcircuit »

I feel like promold’s best product line is their 1st gen’s. I’ve never had any problems with sizes 35-180pt with sleeves using that line.

I bought a few of the 3rd gen’s at one point to try them and ended up returning them because I didn’t like the fit.
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AbraCalabro
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Re: ProMold mags with inner sleeve - BEWARE

Post by AbraCalabro »

SHowley2003 wrote: Tue Jan 02, 2024 4:15 pm That’s interesting. I’ve got several cards in the 1st and 2nd gen 180pt sized mags w/ sleeves and they work perfectly. I’ve never tried any of the other sizes or any of the more recent versions.
I'm finding GEN 1 to be the best so far because you can use your own penny sleeve from BCW, or Ultra PRO, or whatever other 3rd party brand. The GEN 2 ones are also great, but you can ONLY use their included penny sleeve, of the 3-4 GEN 2 mags I have, not one of them would take anything other than the included sleeve from Pro Mold and that sleeve is a little tighter than your standard sleeve because its dimensions are a bit smaller so that it fits into the GEN 2.
shaqcircuit wrote: Thu Feb 08, 2024 6:24 pm I feel like promold’s best product line is their 1st gen’s. I’ve never had any problems with sizes 35-180pt with sleeves using that line.

I bought a few of the 3rd gen’s at one point to try them and ended up returning them because I didn’t like the fit.
Agreed, 100% and thanks for chiming in. I actually ended up throwing out my GEN 3 holders. I'd say that unless you absolutely MUST have arrow head corners on the mag, then GEN 1 is the winner, every single time. I recently got more GEN 1 mags in addition to a few GEN 2 mags just to try them and while they worked just fine using the included penny sleeve, you are beholden to that one sleeve, unless you buy the specialty sleeves in bulk from Pro Mold...but it's not worth the hassle, unless, as mentioned, you must have the GEN 2 arrow head corners.

I have had no problems with fitment in the GEN 2 regardless of the card thickness and no issues even with my recent GEN 1 purchases.

GEN 3 = poopoo
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Re: ProMold mags with inner sleeve - BEWARE

Post by workingclasscards »

I buy 130 pt pro mold gen 1 and use them for 130 pt and thinner cards.
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Re: ProMold mags with inner sleeve - BEWARE

Post by AbraCalabro »

workingclasscards wrote: Sun Mar 10, 2024 7:48 pm I buy 130 pt pro mold gen 1 and use them for 130 pt and thinner cards.
Good call. I think the GEN 1s are the best to be honest.
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