What's the best way to store boxsets? • Collecting General • The Acaeum

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What's the best way to store boxsets?
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Sea-to-sky-games
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Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 3:53 pm

This is probably a stupid question but what is the preferred method of storage?

What I have done is to stand them up (typically wrapped in plastic to protect vs. shelfwear), remove the books and put them in separate bags with boards. This also prevents any kind of crushing damage.

With shrinked sets I do the same, but I'm thinking that if I do that, the books inside will bend a bit from gravity (unless the set is packed to the brim, like a 10th anniversary GW set). Of course, if the set is in shrink then what the books inside look like are probably irrelevant...

Anyways, please let me know what's the best way of doing things (short of having dozens of boxsets laying flat on the ground with nothing on top of them).

flying_purple_monkfish
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Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 5:05 pm

hmm.. never even occured to me to do anything with em... but then, i'm not one to try to keep my things in mint condition.. I like using and reading em too much.. hahah. My box sets live on a shelf stood up like a book and all the contents seem fine with that.. they're all too light to really be affected by gravity. to avoid crushing damage it's probably better to have em packed away on a shelf where nothing can be put on top of them right?

deimos3428
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Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 5:40 pm

Sea-to-sky-games wrote:(short of having dozens of boxsets laying flat on the ground with nothing on top of them).

Oh...nevermind. But that reminds me, I really need to post photos of my collection.

Badmike
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Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:31 pm

Sea-to-sky-games wrote:This is probably a stupid question but what is the preferred method of storage?

What I have done is to stand them up (typically wrapped in plastic to protect vs. shelfwear), remove the books and put them in separate bags with boards. This also prevents any kind of crushing damage.

With shrinked sets I do the same, but I'm thinking that if I do that, the books inside will bend a bit from gravity (unless the set is packed to the brim, like a 10th anniversary GW set). Of course, if the set is in shrink then what the books inside look like are probably irrelevant...

Anyways, please let me know what's the best way of doing things (short of having dozens of boxsets laying flat on the ground with nothing on top of them).

The only problem I've found with standing them up is the gravity issue you mention...the booklets inside, which are not hardbound, will eventually bend and warp. I've seen it happen to several box sets of mine that sat this way for several years. I try to set them flat, with only 2-3 to a pile. It's not the best way to display them, but it does keep the booklets flat.

Mike B.

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Gnat the Beggar
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 10:08 am

I only have two box sets now. Both of them are very valuable to me, so I try to keep them protected.

I have a wood grain second print OD&D box set and a white 4th print OD&D box set, each of them are stored alone on a glass shelf inside a glass trophy case. They lay flat with bubble wrap and tissue paper inside and additional bubble wrap outside all around. They are NOT stacked............

I placed a piece of thin tissue paper on the bottom of each box, between each book, and another on the top book and on top of that tissue paper I also placed a small amount of bubble wrap inside the box; just enough bubble wrap to keep the top of the box top from bowing in. The tissue paper is to protect the books from rubbing against the bottom of the box, each other, and the bubble wrap.

I did have a couple of shrink-wrapped Silver Box Sets and a whole bunch of other box sets, including about 8 or 10 additional OD&D white box sets, but (Except for the two above) I no longer have any box sets now. Badmike has them all, or at least he did two years ago anyway...........

As for more common boxed sets, as Mike stated, I would stack the boxes no more than 3 high on a shelf and I would not place any valuable box sets on the shelf upright. As for shrink-wrapped boxesâ€¦.. I have no clue, other than carefully storing them. Two years ago, I had my two silver boxes standing on a shelf just like a book.

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Maraudar
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 11:52 am

The best way you could store your box sets would be to send them to me ( I will pay for shipping) once they are recieved I will carefully evalaute them and then proceed to stick them in a very large box lined with cloth. So now you will never have to worry about them again. Of course you will never see them again but hey they will be stored safely and securely :lol:

Maraudar

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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:03 pm

I've never tried it, but I think if you took the contents and bagged them - maybe with some cardboard backing on each side, you could greatly increase the ability of the contents to withstand any "bending" from being stored on end for a prolonged period of time. If there were an exceptionally large gap between the box top and the contents, that could be carefully filled as well to prevent the bagged contents from laying at an angle.

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IttyBitty
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 5:22 pm

Maraudar wrote:The best way you could store your box sets would be to send them to me ( I will pay for shipping) once they are recieved I will carefully evalaute them and then proceed to stick them in a very large box lined with cloth. So now you will never have to worry about them again. Of course you will never see them again but hey they will be stored safely and securely

Maraudar

gyg
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 9:06 pm

The best way to store box sets is to thorougly thumb through all of the books - leaving assorted bookmarks along the way (such as post cards, old tsr catalogues and hastily scribbled post it notes), then sling the box on a shelf with a couple of dozen pages of adventure notes stuffed inside - there will of course now be more room in the box because by now you will have blu-tacked all of the maps to the wall :lol:

(It could be said that my collection could not be described as 'near-mint')

Sea-to-sky-games
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 3:41 am

Okay, let me stress my question differently:

Given that it seems agreed that boxsets shouldn't be stored upright (except if you take the books out, like I have done) given the possible bowing issue, does it necessarily follow that shrink sets shouldn't be held this way also?

Presumably they will never be opened so what happens to the books might not matter. Moreover, the boxsets were stored this way in the stores so the books were already probably as bent as they are going to get by keeping them stored upright.

red_bus
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 7:26 am

I have a set of Chaosium box sets and to store them upright I just put some bubble wrap in each box - on top of the books & maps. That way they are held reasonably flat in the box.

As to shrinkwrapped box sets - well, it may be that the books inside are in a grim condition anyway, with staple-rust and mould. So, it matters less - unless you open the sets...

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dbartman
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:01 am

Here's are some suggestions:

1. If the box set is open, seal the contents in their own bag. Separate any cardboard from bleached paper since the acid can react with this paper over time and yellow it. Simply inserting a bag under the contents might be enough.

2. Buy the largest polypropylene bags you can find to seal the box sets in, even if they are in SW. There have been a few discussions posted on what bags will work. Create you own custom bag from a couple of bags, if a particular box set is too big for the bags available. Make sure you remove any slack space in the bag. Otherwise the sides of the box could bow during step #3.

3. Store the box sets flat, and with other box sets, in storage boxes of the appropriate size. Place the most rigid box sets on the bottom. Insert a cardboard spacer between each box set. This will place the load onto the edges of the box instead of the middle, thus eliminating the dishing that can occur. Fill any gaps in the storage box with other D&D collectibles and close it up.

4. If a box set is open you can optionally fill it full of bagged modules etc. to optimize the use of space and reinforce the box. This is assuming that there are no objects in the box that would prevent this such as dice or an old candy bar... You also will have to record, or remember, what box you placed the items into.

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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 4:00 pm

dbartman wrote:
*snip*

You also will have to record, or remember, what box you placed the items into.

This is so very true!

ShaneG.

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dbartman
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 7:39 pm

If you forget, and sell your box sets, someone might post their find here

viewtopic.php?t=874

Plaag
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 5:46 pm

*bump*

ShaneG.

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argyrebasin
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 3:23 pm

gyg wrote:The best way to store box sets is to thorougly thumb through all of the books - leaving assorted bookmarks along the way (such as post cards, old tsr catalogues and hastily scribbled post it notes), then sling the box on a shelf with a couple of dozen pages of adventure notes stuffed inside - there will of course now be more room in the box because by now you will have blu-tacked all of the maps to the wall
(It could be said that my collection could not be described as 'near-mint')

Hahahahaha. Good one!
:wink:

FormCritic
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 4:41 pm

gyg wrote:The best way to store box sets is to thorougly thumb through all of the books - leaving assorted bookmarks along the way (such as post cards, old tsr catalogues and hastily scribbled post it notes), then sling the box on a shelf with a couple of dozen pages of adventure notes stuffed inside - there will of course now be more room in the box because by now you will have blu-tacked all of the maps to the wall
(It could be said that my collection could not be described as 'near-mint')

Gyg...that is the best kind of collection to have.

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gyg
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 7:53 pm

FormCritic wrote:
Gyg...that is the best kind of collection to have.

Safe to say my stuff is not in the best condition - I'm the only person I know who, when he get's a duplicate item, puts the worst item in the collection and sells the nice copy! I know that my 'keeper' stuff will be well thumbed over time, and as I never intend to get rid of it, it only really matters to me.
I recently catalogued all of my stuff (half-heartedly) and the spreadsheet column marked 'condition' has mainly been left blank. (Probably the only ones I've filled in are the ones that fit into my own special categories - 'scabby', 'very scabby', well loved indeedy' etc - I probably need to include the 'rogered by canine ' description as well at a later date

)

When it comes down to it my collection is valueless to anyone but me - but it's value to me is enormous.

You can never have too much of something you didn't need in the first place.

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