Tag: comic book storage

Extra Comic Book Storage Supplies: Always Have Them Ready

Aug. 21 Comic Book Collecting no comments

I am a firm believer in always having more comic book storage supplies than you currently need. I always have one empty short box I am not using, extra bags and boards waiting to be used, and extra tape. You never know when you will need them.

Comic Book StorageYou Never Know

I was driving down Gratiot with my family one day and saw that a vacant shop had temporarily been turned into an estate sale. There were tons of antiques which I passed by, but my eyes caught a table with comics on it. While there were not many, my $8.00 purchase was for a few hundred dollars in comics. If I did not have extra comic book storage supplies, something might have happened to these issues between the purchase and when I could get to a store to purchase protection.

There have been times I have been called on the fly by friends and family about garage sales with comics. These instances can come up at any time, and I do not want to be caught with my pants down without enough supplies.

Not All Comic Book Stores are the Same

If you have been into Wonderworld Comics, you know that all of our comics are bagged and boarded. Most comic book stores do not do this. Since I travel around to various stores to see what they sell to improve my collection, I need extra comic book storage supplies on hand at all times.

What Could Happen?

If you do not have enough comic book storage supplies around the house, something could happen to your newly-purchased comics. Life happens. Stacks get knocked over. Drinks get spilled. Kids get excited and grab. These are some of the events comic book storage supplies attempt to protect you from. If you have been collecting for a long time, you can count at least a dozen times when you waited too long to protect your comics.

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Always Keep Lids on Your Comic Book Storage Boxes

Jun. 17 Comic Book Collecting Comments Off on Always Keep Lids on Your Comic Book Storage Boxes

Someone asked me the other day if lids were actually necessary for comic book storage boxes. There are many reasons why you should always have a lid on your comic book storage boxes.

Comic Book Storage

Comic Book Storage

Keep Everything Out

First off, lids on comic book storage boxes help to keep everything out. This includes insects, and dust. Over time, these can do damage to the bags you store your comics in.

Keep Everything In

No matter how careful we are when we are moving comic book storage boxes, we can sometimes tip boxes. While the lids are not tight to the boxes, they will at least give some support in keeping the items inside from slipping out.

Stacking

If you are going to stack your comic book storage boxes, they need to have lids. The lids help to spread out the weight of upper boxes. This will help the boxes on the bottom to last longer. The longer a bottom box lasts, the less chance there is for collapse and the loss of a collection.

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Best Type of Marker for Comic Book Dividers

Jun. 01 Comic Book Collecting Comments Off on Best Type of Marker for Comic Book Dividers

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Comic Book Collecting Tips: Numerical Order

Apr. 03 Comic Book Collecting no comments

One of the comic book collecting tips which I cannot stress enough is how important it is to have your comic books stored in numerical order. Not only does this help you as a collector, it also helps any store owner you take your comic books to with the intention of trading or selling. If you are a convention vendor reading this article, these reasons apply to you as well as they will help you to move more product.

Comic Book Storage

Comic Book Storage

 

Your Collection

 

If you care at all about your comic book collection, you need to store you comics in numerical order. This is one of those comic book collecting tips you should never ignore. If you are going to search through your collection, it is much easier to find issues if they are stored in numerical order. You can gain a better grasp of the issues you need, as you simply have to find where the gaps are in your runs. If a particular issue begins to spike, such as Spawn #9 (the introduction of Angela) is now, you can easily find the copy in your storage boxes.

 

Selling Your Collection

 

When looking through a box at his or her store, comic book store owners are going to hope that your collection is in numerical order. Chances are good, if the buyer is “in the know,” he or she is going to skim your collection for certain key issues. If those issues are found, you might be looking at extra money. Those can be found easier if you follow one of the most basic of comic book collecting tips.

 

Convention Vendors and Comic Book Collecting Tips

 

As a collector, I am more likely to pass convention vendors by which do not have their comics in numerical order. I understand that people look through the boxes and the order can become messed up. As someone who has been collecting for three decades, I can tell the difference between customer negligence and seller negligence. Do everything you can as a vendor to follow as many of the basic comic book collecting tips as possible, especially this one. If I am looking through a box of yours at a convention, chances are good that I am looking for key issues. Make sure I can find them.

 

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Comic Book Dividers: Start Using Them Already

Feb. 18 Comic Book Collecting no comments

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Bagging and Boarding Comic Books: Yes You Have To

Feb. 10 Comic Book Collecting no comments

As someone who has collected comics for over 30 years, I am often asked about bagging and boarding comic books. Yes, it can be expensive and time-consuming, but bagging and boarding your comics will give you the best chance of preserving your collection outside of having each comic slabbed.

Bagging and boarding comic books

Bagging and boarding comic books

I bag and board ever comic I purchase even if it is a freebie I picked up at an event like Free Comic Book Day. While it is a stretch, there is always a chance a new comic given out on FCBD might end up being a smash hit sometime down the road. Even through thousands of copies might have been given out for free, there is only a small percentage of collectors which will show the same concern and care for freebie comics as is shown for $50 issues.

Bags alone will help to keep moisture and insects away from your comic. Over time, though, stacking the comics or standing them up will take a toll on your collection. Stacking them will cause for pressure damage on the lowest issues in the stack and standing comics up will place pressure on the spines and cause them to buckle or separate from the binding. Bags and boards together give the best support for your collection.

People will often tell me that they do not bag or board their comics because of the price involved in keeping a collection secure. I never thought this argument made sense. A 10o pack of bags or boards can sometimes run $10 each. This is $0.02 a comic. If you are going to spend $4 on a new comic in the first place, spending an extra $0.02 to keep it secure is not a stretch. The difference can really come down the road if you go to sell you comic.

The New Mutants was one of my favorite titles when I was a teenager as the characters dealt with some of the same types of angst I was at the time. In the early part of 1991, the series was winding down and everyone knew there would only be a handful of issues left when issue #98 came out. Nobody knew that Deadpool, who was introduced in the issue, would turn out to be one of Marvel’s prime characters over the next twenty years. Anyone who spent the extra money to keep the comic they purchased for $1 back then is happy when they see copies selling at conventions for over $100.

If a comic is selling for $100 at near mint, it is not unreasonable to say one rated at 8.0 would sell for $15-$17 less. At a 7.0, the total value of the issue can drop by almost half. Isn’t the $0.02 worth keeping the value of a comic as high as possible?

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Comic Book Storage: Long Boxes vs. Short Boxes

Feb. 09 Comic Book Collecting no comments

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