Josh-da-man

Those looking for new storage options might be interested in these new plastic boxes from BCW.

https://www.bcwsupplies.com/long-comic-book-bin



They are somewhat pricey, starting at $50 each, but they're $41 and change if you buy five or more, which most people will need, anyway.

PhantomStranger

My entire 90's collection is bagged and boarded but I haven't physically checked their condition in something like 20 years. All in storage. Including all the key issues that trade for big money these days. I dread pulling them out and finding some have deteriorated.

The Valeyard

Awhile back, when I was re-bagging and boarding my Superman books, I noticed my Superman Forever was the exact same way. I was able to clean it (carefully) but it as weird. My copy of Sensational Spider-Man #0 had the same issue. All other lenticular covers looked okay.

Another weird thing I noticed was my copy of The Golden Age #3 had "bubbles" all over the front and back cover. Like the whatever material/coating that protected the cover had bubbled up. I set out to find a new copy and discovered that there were a LOT of copies of that issue that had the same problem. After a few months of searching, I finally found a "normal" copy. But I check it once in a while to see if this one will end up having the same issue.

morriscroy

Is there a "turnover" time period, where one should replace all the bags periodically?

Back in the day when I was still collecting, I vaguely remember something being mentioned about replacing the bags once every decade or so. Though at the time, I though it was just a lousy "sales pitch" by comic shop operators, trying to cash in on the "paranoia" of collectors' collections decaying away.

Since I stopped collecting, I largely didn't care anymore and just left my collection in whatever bagged/non-bagged boarded state it was in (all in multiple longboxes). Basically frozen in time, subjected to whatever storage environment they were in for over three decades.

Red Hood

Depends on where you store your books and the type of bag and board you use. Those bags and boards from the 90's should have been replaced by now. The boards usually yellow and they absorb the ink from the back of the books. The bags were usually thicker back then and they carried some acid, so they usually turn yellow and sticky. The BCW bags and boards and made of better material so if you store your books in them and in a humid controlled environment, they will certainly last more than 20 years.

Josh-da-man

My preference has always been for polypropylene (PP) bags, as opposed to polyethylene (PE) bags.

It's been my experience that the PP bags hold up much better than PE bags. The PE bags tend to discolor (either get cloudy or yellow) and tend to feel tacky and gummy after a short period of time. That the PP bags don't change color or feel makes me think they're more chemically stable.

A lot of collectors have perference for one type of bag over the other, though, so YMMV.

I also tape the flaps of my bags shut. My method here is to take a 2 1/2" to 3" piece of good quality Scotch Tape (Scotch brand, not the off-brand shit), and put it horizontally in the center of the flap, with about 1/8" of it hanging over the flap to seal it to the body of the bag. This provides enough surface area to seal the bag, but, if you're careful when removing the comic, it won't get stuck to the cover.

morriscroy

(On a tangent).

Back in the day, I was also using bags for storing larger sized titles such as: magazines, dungeons & dragons books, etc ....

The taping flaps thing was tricky to do right for thicker books in bags, such as Dungeons & Dragons hardcovers and really thick magazines/books. Other than taping the bags completely shut sealed, there was no easy way to tape the bag flags without some exposed space. Through these exposed spaces which the bag flaps were not able to fully cover, I noticed there were bugs and other tiny creepy crawlies finding their way inside and eventually dying at the bottom of the bag + magazine/book. In contrast, non-bagged magazines/books didn't have this dead creepy crawler problem.


In the end this was all largely for naught, when such stuff was also dump bin fodder in the end many years later.

Red Hood

Same here in terms of using and preferring PP bags over PE bags. I've seen PE bags go bad after a couple of years. Instead of using tape, I've been buying the resealable BCW Silver Age bags, so I don't have to use tape. And that's another thing. I buy Silver Age bags to use for current books. They are better that the current bags, which are extremely tight and don't fit anything over 32 pages. Any edition with more than 32 pages will basically get damaged trying to fit it in the bag.

reverie

I've recently been thinking about redoing my bagging/backing to put two books per bag- each facing out on opposite sides of the board. I figure I'd save space (and weight), and theoretically it would help the spines as well since they all wouldn't be on the same side from the front of the box to the back. Is there reason to think this might not be a great idea?

ytrez

Most comic boards are only coated on one side (the glossy side). So the other side won't be acid free.

Red Hood

Is a bad idea because most bags aren't made to hold 2 books plus a board. You'll end up damaging your books instead of protecting them, which is the whole purpose of the bag and board.

Josh-da-man

^ I've done that with Silver Age bags, and they fit two comics nicely.

It not only saves money on bags and boards, but space in boxes as well. And it also keeps the spines of the books lined up; if the books aren't staggered, the spines are still thicker and, unless the box is full, it can sort of warp/roll the spines.

reverie

That's what I was thinking, that silver age bags should work.

Good point on the acid-free backs though- I'll have to make sure I pay attention that the whole is acid free, and not just one coated side. Thanks!

Timber

Very pricey but that's exactly the type of thing I want. I just don't think cardboard is a great option for long term storage.

Red Hood

COVID has really affected the supplies at BCW. They won't have most of the bags until 10/8/20. That's a long time to be out of stock.

The Valeyard

Well crap. I'm about to run out of regular bag and boards.

Red Hood

Same here. This really sucks cause I don't know what I'm going to do for the next several months without supplies for my books

Bronkster

I order bags and boards directly from BCW. The shipping cost sucks, but it's free if ya order $200 - which is WAY more than I need!

Red Hood

I do the same but for me free shipping is $80. Are you ordering as a retailer?

Bronkster

It used to be $80. And I was fine with that because it was easy enough for me to plan ahead. But they changed it to $200 (unless they changed it back - I just ordered a few weeks ago)

Trevor

I’ve given up on bags and boards for the majority of my collection. My plan is to put runs of however many fit into magazine size bags, just for ease of sorting/finding.

i think I’m going to start using those Top Loaders for my valuable books. Basically a hard plastic shell that a regular silver bag/board/book slides into. Anyone ever use them?

Red Hood

I use them for expensive books I haven't graded or for when I go to cons and buy expensive books that don't already have the top loader. They are pretty good for what they are but they hardly fit to any box other than magazine size.

Red Hood

You are right! Wow, they must be getting getting screwed by UPS on shipping charges now. I guess I'll have to double my order.

Red Hood

Does BCW charge the credit card upon order or do they charge once the items are shipped?

Bronkster

I use my Paypal balance, which they snag right away. Sorry I can't answer the credit card question.