Serial Seal™ · For toploaders
Custom toploader seals, with a different number on every one
A toploader seal is a die-cut holographic foil label folded over the open top edge of a rigid toploader, with your number printed on the front face. Card in, label over the lip, press both sides down, photograph it. The number from your spreadsheet is now on the holder.
This page covers top loader seals only: the 3 in top edge, 35pt through 130pt, the fold, the adhesive argument, the price. For magnetic holders and slabs, see one-touch seals and graded slab seals.
What a custom toploader seal actually is
The Standard seal is 1.77 x 0.75 in (44.96 x 19.05 mm), printed on holographic foil. In the folded or toploader-banner layout it gets creased across the middle and hung over the mouth of the holder rather than stuck flat to one face.
On a 3 in wide toploader, 1.77 in covers just under 60% of the top edge when centred, leaving clear plastic on both shoulders. The front face carries the number, your shop name or logo and an optional QR; most sellers leave the back blank or repeat the number so it reads from either side in a mailer. Step-by-step: how to seal a top loader.
Why every custom toploader sticker carries a different number
You set a prefix and a scheme; the run generates from it.
- Sequential — prefix plus a start number you choose, so a 60-seal run reads BRK-0416 to BRK-0475.
- Random codes — no order, and nothing that tells a buyer how long the run was.
- Batch code plus number — a break date or a box code, then 1 through 60.
- No number — plain branded seals, if all you want is the shop mark.
Within one order, no two seals share a number. The number is a label you assigned, not a fact about the card.
The honest part: adhesive, and what tape does to a top loader
Every toploader thread lands in the same place, and the forum consensus settled years ago: shipping tape across the mouth of a toploader ruins it. It clouds the plastic, leaves a gummy line, and cracks the lip when a buyer picks at it.
A small die-cut foil label is a different thing. It goes on the plastic of the holder and it peels back off the shell. Three rules:
- Never on the card — not the surface, not the back, not the edge.
- Never on factory-sealed wax — packs, boxes and tins get a seal on the bag or case around them.
- Never on a holder headed to a grader — pull the seal and send the card bare in a fresh holder.
Give it thirty seconds of thumb pressure before the mailer, or foil lifts at the corner on a dusty holder. Same fold on a team bag or a shipping package.
Sizing: folding 1.77 in over a 3 in top edge
What matters is the outside spine — the thickness of the loaded holder across its mouth. The fold crosses it, and whatever it eats comes out of the two faces. Point counts describe the card, not the shell, so a 130pt holder measures thicker than 0.130 in. Measure your own stock first.
| Toploader | Card | Outside spine | Seal per face |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35pt | 0.035 in | ~0.11 in | ~0.32 in |
| 55pt | 0.055 in | ~0.13 in | ~0.31 in |
| 75pt | 0.075 in | ~0.15 in | ~0.30 in |
| 100pt | 0.100 in | ~0.18 in | ~0.28 in |
| 130pt | 0.130 in | ~0.21 in | ~0.27 in |
When the Large seal is the better call
Large is 2.5 x 1 in (63.5 x 25.4 mm), in Shattered Prism or Aurora foil. Folded over a 130pt holder it leaves about 0.39 in per face and spans 2.5 in of the edge, so the wraparound toploader sticker reads as a brand bar, not a chip of foil. Use it on 100pt and thicker, or when the front face has to hold logo, number and QR at once.
Toploader stickers in holo foil, printed with your artwork
Both sizes print on two holographic foils, Shattered Prism and Aurora. Upload a logo, type a shop name or pick from the gallery, and the same artwork runs the whole order so seal 1 and seal 4,200 match. For toploaders the layouts that matter are folded landscape and the toploader banner; Duo prints two numbered halves you cut apart, for matching numbers on a holder and its team bag. Where to put a seal on every card format covers the rest.
What custom toploader seals cost
Standard seals are $6.00 per pack of 12. Minimum order is 60 seals — five packs, $30.00, $0.50 a seal — and the rate steps down from there.
| Seals | Per seal | Order total |
|---|---|---|
| 60 (minimum) | $0.50 | $30.00 |
| 120 | $0.45 | $54.00 |
| 600 | $0.40 | $240.00 |
| 1,200 | $0.36 | $432.00 |
| 2,400 | $0.33 | $792.00 |
| 4,200 | $0.30 | $1,260.00 |
Self-serve runs up to 10,008 seals; larger is quoted. Large seals are $9.00 per pack of 12, same 60-seal minimum, $45.00 to start, on a percentage ladder.
| Seals | Discount | Order total |
|---|---|---|
| 60 (minimum) | — | $45.00 |
| 120 | 10% off | $81.00 |
| 600 | 20% off | $360.00 |
| 1,200 | 30% off | $630.00 |
| 4,200 | 40% off | $1,890.00 ($0.45 a seal) |
Log it: a photo and a number
The seal is half the job; the record is the other half. Ten seconds a card:
- Fold the seal over the top edge and press both faces down.
- Photograph the sealed toploader with the number readable and the card visible.
- File the number against the order in My Seals.
Add a QR and it points at a seal record — a page showing the design, the number and the date it was logged. It says nothing about the card. It helps document what was shipped, and a numbered, photographed holder helps deter swaps and return fraud the way a clear packing photo does. See the return fraud page.
What to write in a listing
Keep it to what you did: “Every card ships in a sealed toploader with its own number. The number is photographed before shipping and logged in our records.” That is the number, the photo and the log — nothing you would have to walk back. Branded seals for eBay and Whatnot sellers has more of it.
What a seal will not do
- It can be peeled and replaced. Someone with a heat source and a spare pack can swap one. It is a foil label, not a lock.
- It says nothing about the card. The number is one you assigned, and it carries no opinion on grade or condition.
- It has no standing with any marketplace or grading company. eBay, Whatnot, TikTok Shop, PSA, BGS, CGC and SGC have never heard of your prefix, and no platform treats a sealed item differently.
- It does not decide a return. A case is settled by the platform on the evidence it accepts. Your photo and log are pieces you can hand over; the seal makes no call.
- It does not belong on the card, on sealed wax, or on a holder going to a grader.
Common questions about top loader seals
Will the seal come off the toploader cleanly?
A die-cut foil label peels off the shell — usually a fingernail at the corner and a slow pull. On a dusty or scuffed holder it can leave a faint outline. That is still a very different outcome from tape across the mouth.
What size do I need for a 3 in toploader?
Standard, 1.77 x 0.75 in (44.96 x 19.05 mm), covers just under 60% of the 3 in top edge and folds over anything from 35pt to 130pt. Move to Large, 2.5 x 1 in, on 100pt and thicker.
Do the numbers have to run in order?
No. Sequential from a start number you set, random codes, a batch code plus a number, or no number at all. Within one order, no two seals share a number.
Can I seal a toploader that is going to PSA or CGC?
No. Do not seal that one at all — send the card in a clean holder. Seals are for what you ship to a buyer, not what you ship to a grading company.
Build the run in the browser: pick a foil, drop in your logo, set your prefix and start number, and look at the folded layout before you order. Start with the Standard seal for everyday 35pt and 55pt toploaders, or switch to Large for thick holders and headline cards. Sixty seals, $30.00, and a different number on every one.
Guides
A seal is film on adhesive: it can be peeled and replaced. What it gives you is the number, a dated photo and a logged serial. Serial Seal™ is not affiliated with or certified by any grading company, card manufacturer or marketplace.