Removing price tags • Collecting General • The Acaeum

The Acaeum Forums • Collecting General

Removing price tags
	Page 1 of 1

Author

silver_beetle
Prolific Collector

Posts: 123
Joined: Oct 06, 2005
Last Visit: May 22, 2017
Location: Cleveland, OH

Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 8:00 am

I recently bought some items at Half-Price Books and a got good prices on them, but they all have price tags on them! What method do you recommend for removing them without damaging the covers? Thanks.

FormCritic
Grandstanding Collector
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 6720
Joined: Jul 16, 2005
Last Visit: Feb 02, 2021

Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 10:47 am

I would leave the pricetags on, silver_beetle.

Consider the price tags to be like destination stickers on an old sea trunk.

I managed to rub the sticker off my Half Price Books copy of the Nyambe D20 hardback by rubbing it off and using a little soap on the last bit. But, that was a glossy hardback...not a fragile module.

Mark

"But I have watched the dragons come, fire-eyed, across the world."

Sea-to-sky-games
Prolific Collector

Posts: 760
Joined: Dec 31, 2005
Last Visit: Oct 17, 2021
Location: Dallas, TX

Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:24 am

Lighter Fluid.

Beyondthebreach
Verbose Collector
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 1709
Joined: Feb 04, 2004
Last Visit: Aug 23, 2016
Location: Chandler, AZ

Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:43 am

Here are a few old threads that discuss it in greater detail:

http://www.acaeum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=799&highlight=price+stickers

http://www.acaeum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2394&highlight=price+stickers

"Gleemonex makes it feel like it's seventy-two degrees in your head... all... the... time! "

JohnGaunt
Sage Collector

Posts: 2332
Joined: Feb 20, 2006
Last Visit: Aug 27, 2017
Location: Shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods

Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 7:47 pm

MShipley88 wrote:I would leave the pricetags on, silver_beetle.

Consider the price tags to be like destination stickers on an old sea trunk.

But, Mark, the HPB stickers are as ugly as sin --- computer-printed date and price on a white sticker. Blech.

I managed to rub the sticker off my Half Price Books copy of the Nyambe D20 hardback by rubbing it off and using a little soap on the last bit. But, that was a glossy hardback...not a fragile module.

Hardbacks, strong; other paper, weak.

I have often rubbed the ink from covers that I thought were more durable, even d20 stuff. Yeah, I've ruined more than my share of books by experimenting and slowly learning that lighter fluid (untried by me) may be a good alternative to whatever I choose to use.

dbartman
Sage Collector
Valuation Board

Posts: 2005
Joined: Nov 16, 2002
Last Visit: Oct 26, 2021
Location: Ohio, The land without sun

Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 9:43 pm

As mentioned, there have been a few threads on this topic in the past but I'll throw out a bit of what I do.

If the item in question has a semi-glossy to glossy finish, I use a solvent called Energine. It works perfectly! You can find it at retail and hardware stores.

To remove stickers, sticker residue, stains, and other sticky substances...:

1. Gently daub it onto the sticker with a cotton rag.
2. Once it has soaked in for a bit, gently peel the sticker off.
3. Follow up with a gentle rubbing with the cotton rag to remove any remaining residue.
4. Done!

Note: This will also work for the older non-glossy covers but it can potential remove some of the color, so be careful! Also, bear in mind that with the more porous covers, the sticker will have, more than likely, already stained the cover permanently. It might be better to leave it on in this case. I personally remove them anyway.

Sea-to-sky-games
Prolific Collector

Posts: 760
Joined: Dec 31, 2005
Last Visit: Oct 17, 2021
Location: Dallas, TX

Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 9:50 pm

Note: This will also work for the older non-glossy covers but it can potential remove some of the color, so be careful! Also, bear in mind that with the more porous covers, the sticker will have, more than likely, already stained the cover permanently. It might be better to leave it on in this case. I personally remove them anyway.

I'll second this. It can be done on paper-like surfaces.. but you don't want to use too much. A Q-tip is pretty useful here.

Frankly, though, I don't mind if I lose a bit of color if I can get that white blight off the page.

Zenopus
Verbose Collector

Posts: 1661
Joined: Sep 03, 2003
Last Visit: Oct 19, 2021
Location: Portown

Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:26 pm

MShipley88 wrote:
Consider the price tags to be like destination stickers on an old sea trunk.

I agree with Mark. I have/had some modules I bought at the store Games People in Gastown in Vancouver, Canada in the late 80s and I could always readily identify them by the price tag on the cover. I sold two on Ebay recently (downsizing) but still have the third (Monster & Treasure Assortment). Now a soldier in Iraq has at least one of them (B7, IIRC).

When I returned to Vancouver in 2000, the store was still there and still had a box of old modules. Most were expensive (over 20 Canadian dollars) but I bought the cheapest - an X1 in shrinkwrap - and opened it! This was fun because I didn't have an X1 and hadn't read through it about 10 years or more.

Sea-to-sky-games
Prolific Collector

Posts: 760
Joined: Dec 31, 2005
Last Visit: Oct 17, 2021
Location: Dallas, TX

Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 12:33 am

When I returned to Vancouver in 2000, the store was still there and still had a box of old modules. Most were expensive (over 20 Canadian dollars) but I bought the cheapest - an X1 in shrinkwrap - and opened it! This was fun because I didn't have an X1 and hadn't read through it about 10 years or more.

That store closed down this past November and had a liquidation sale (75% off).. and then sold the rest to Liquidation World.

I actually picked up an AC5 there for $10 back in 2001 (among many other things).. not sure what boxes you were looking in.. they had lots of good stuff:)

There is another location in North Vancouver that might still be open whenever you end up there next. I've drained it of anything particularly interesting.. but if they have a liquidation sale there's probably a lot of 2e stuff worth picking up.

Badmike
Grandstanding Collector
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 7969
Joined: Jun 23, 2003
Last Visit: Oct 23, 2021
Location: DFW TX

Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 12:37 am

silver_beetle wrote:I recently bought some items at Half-Price Books and a got good prices on them, but they all have price tags on them! What method do you recommend for removing them without damaging the covers? Thanks.

I like to tear at them with my teeth, worrying them back and forth like a rabid weasel on crack. Gets the sticker off everytime...

Mike B.

Ok, actually, HPB stickers put on fairly recently should easily come off with a fingernail....it's the old stickers you have to worry about.

"THE MORE YOU THINK ABOUT WHY i DONE WHAT i DONE THE MORE i LAUGH" Cougar
"The Acaeum hates fun" Sir Allen
"I had a collecting emergency" Nogrod
Co-founder of the North Texas RPG Con
http://www.ntrpgcon.com

robarlis
Active Collector

Posts: 11
Joined: Jan 05, 2006
Last Visit: Mar 05, 2017
Location: UK

Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 4:59 am

Using a hair dryer works quite well too - not too hot a setting, move it over the top of the offending label, and you should find the adhesive on the label starts to soften, carefully peel with fingernail.

silver_beetle
Prolific Collector

Posts: 123
Joined: Oct 06, 2005
Last Visit: May 22, 2017
Location: Cleveland, OH

Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 7:37 am

robarlis wrote:Using a hair dryer works quite well too - not too hot a setting, move it over the top of the offending label, and you should find the adhesive on the label starts to soften, carefully peel with fingernail.

I think I'll try that, then go to a solvent. Thanks for the advice.

"We were put on this Earth to fart around."
- Kurt Vonnegut

The Acaeum Forums • Collecting General

Page 1 of 1