Banknote sleeves Leuchtturm rigid vs MINGT soft

I was wondering what is your take on the two different sleeves below.

1st is the BASIC Leuchtturm rigid sleeve

2nd is the PCCB MINGT cheaper sleeve from amazon.

Note I am new to this world(based in EU).

I started first with the cheaper version and then I saw the Leuchtturm(Lighthouse) sleeves and I thought that those would be a good investment to protect my more expensive banknotes.

I am, though, worried now because as you can see in the picture the Leuchtturm sleeve looks very “wavy” and “curvy”(all over but especially at the sides) compared to the very flat cheaper one. 

Will the banknotes in time lose their flatness and therefore their value?

I've send an email to Leuchtturm and they did not reply. Then I send an email to the shop in Belgium I bought them from but they said they do not know and that I am the first person to ever ask this.

What do you think?

I use storage boutique sleeves. I also don't like anything wavy like that.

Storage Boutique are specifically for banknotes and they were cheaper than the Mingt at £3.99 for 50 sleeves but I had a look now and they went up to £5.49 for 50. 

I put each note in that sleeve then put that sleeve in a rigid sleeve

I am buffled that sleeves from such a reputable company would have this type of look, I really thought I was getting premium sleeves..

I tried double sleeving them but this makes it worse with those specifc rigid sleeves.

What rigid sleeves do you use/recommend?

They don't look rigid at all to me (more like those semi hard plastic coin flips). If those are Leuchtturm sleeves I would want my money back (they don't usually have cheap prices).

Yes they are(or at least it says so on the packaging), this is the pacaking I received.

And this was in the description:

So I expected at least a stronger feel on the sleeve(even if it were not a hard plastic type), which it is thicker/stronger than the cheaper version I have but structuraly the waviness I think will transfer on the banknotes the longer I keep them in there. I just took out the one on the earlier picture and I can see it curving already after a few days in the sleeve..

Have you had different experience with Leuchtturm sleeves, different look, packaging etc?

I only use multi pocket pages from Hartberger and no individual sleeves at the moment. These pages are very rigid, you have to use some force to open up the pockets to put your notes in and after 10 years they lock the same as in the beginning.

These sleeves must be very thin. As an example the rigidity of hard PVC in different thicknesses:

We have discussed various currency sleeves on this thread here (& many others).

I have had the odd sleeve which was deformed (did not lay flat) but my banknote was not affected. Once I took it out it seemed fine. Typically, notepaper (cotton-paper substrate) is resilient enough to withstand abnormally bent or deformed plastic (once you take the note out it will usually lay flat & not show sleeve deformities.) On circulated notes it should not be an issue either.  However I do understand your concern. If you are not satisfied, perhaps you should return them? 

I do think the more expensive sleeves are far better than the light flimsy plastic (first picture). I had a friend give me a couple bundles of flimsy cheap plastic covers (from China) which I will only use to seal a note from moisture if mailing it to someone.  I would not recommend the cheap stuff as you don't know whether its acid free.

Given the catastrophic decline in product quality in recent years, Leuchtturm can hardly be considered reputable anymore. Once upon a time, this company produced albums, sheets and holders of excellent quality.

Placing banknotes in Leuchtturm BASIC holders is like throwing them in the trash bin. More than one aspiring collector has ruined their collection this way. They used to make polyester holders, called Professional or something like that, I think. But they were open on the sides. I tried to buy some a couple of years ago, but the dealer told me they'd stopped making them.

If you're specifically looking for Leuchtturm, you can use the old-fashioned method: buy regular sheets, like Optima, and cut them into holders by hand with scissors. It'll be about the same price, but the holders will be thicker.

@Serial_Number_8  I have already read the thread you mentioned — it does contain useful information.
 

As a newbie, I’ve found it difficult so far to search properly and find suitable sleeves. Information is not always very clear, and at least in Europe I can’t find many options. That’s how I ended up with Leuchtturm, not because I’m specifically looking for that brand @Feklisov , but because I thought they offered decent quality at a reasonable price.
 

I’m considering returning them, especially since Leuchtturm didn’t really reply or clarify this specific issue and even on their own website the advertised product photos show sleeves that don’t look the same as the ones I received (https://www.leuchtturm.com/banknote-sheets-basic.html).

Still, I first wanted to check whether someone knows if this is just a bad batch (although I have 9 packs) or if this is simply how these sleeves are. 

In the meantime, I’ll test one note for a week or so to see if there is any noticeable effect, even though that won’t say much about long-term storage.

Thank you for the information thus far!

It seems to me the most likely success will be a combined soft and rigid sleeve. In this case you have to absolutely confident in the soft sleeve because that one will enclose the note.

After that the rigid sleeve is not so critical. I used to buy Uncle Paul but the supply of those has run out it seems. These are the ones I get now:

When I buy the Storage Boutique sleeves I get a large size that fits that large rigid sleeve. 

I see. Thanks again! 

For now, I guess I'll keep looking then.

Cheers!