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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2014 18:57:50 GMT -5
Thought I'd ask since buying 1,500 Gerber mylites can take a bite out of one's comic book budget. Mylites are stronger than your basic polypropylene bag and allegedly last a lifetime.
I estimate a mylite and board cost about 25c-35c per book depending on deals when buying in bulk...but if they keep a pricey book 'protected' it's worth it. Plus they display nicely.
Conversely....
I bought almost 30 silver-age books from a collector who never bagged or boarded his books. He bought them in the mid to latter 60s, read them carefully then packed them just as carefully in boxes and kept them in a cool, dark place which was both moisture and insect free. Result. Books looked 8.0 - 8.5 after 45 or so years.
I still choose to bag and board everything. Worry wart and anal condition-fusspot that I am.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2014 19:01:45 GMT -5
I do. Protection is a factor but not the only one. It's infinitely easier to flip through them when they're bagged. Quicker to get to.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2014 19:24:23 GMT -5
When I bought floppies I used bags and boards because you couldn't get just bags.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2014 19:35:25 GMT -5
If I do buy a Comic Book for investing, collecting, and keep one in excellent shape. I buy two comic books - one for reading only and one for bag and board for safekeeping so that book will always keeps it's shape. It is very important to me to do this for all my important books. It's standard policy for all comic books lovers to adopt.
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Post by Randle-El on Oct 31, 2014 20:05:52 GMT -5
I collect mainly to read, but I bag and board because I generally like to keep my possessions in good condition. Also, it's easier to keep them organized when they are held rigid by a bag and board. And while I don't collect comics for their value, I know many other collectors do. Since I periodically sell off comics I'm no longer interested in keeping, it's easier to make a sale or recoup my costs if they are bagged and boarded since there is a general perception that bagged and boarded comics are in better condition and therefore be of greater value. It also helps that my LCS bags and boards all of their books that are not new that week.
I'm sure it's possible to keep books in great condition without bagging and boarding. You hear all those stories about Golden Age comics discovered in someone's attic in pristine condition. But in those cases I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the books being stored away from light in a consistent environment and, most importantly, rarely being handled. If you're going to handle your books with any frequency, bagging and boarding seems like the prudent course of action.
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 31, 2014 20:06:41 GMT -5
I do put boards in the center of most of my #1s and key issues just to give 'em a little support but bags are too difficult for me to manipulate so I only bag my Golden Age books and a few that are too fragile to leave loose. Besides, bags and boards cost money I don't have.
Cei-U! I keep it simple... and cheap!
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Post by dupersuper on Oct 31, 2014 20:34:30 GMT -5
Bags & boards just slow me down when I go to reread books.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Oct 31, 2014 20:36:53 GMT -5
I bag (two comics to a bag, back to back), but not board... boards are too expensive, and kinda a pain. I use the boards for dividers in my long boxes, and to help the stacks of boxes stand up nicely.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,871
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Post by shaxper on Oct 31, 2014 21:04:32 GMT -5
When I had a smaller collection, I used to not only bag and board but also rotate my bags and boards every four years. At one point, I'd intended to upgrade to 4 mil mylars (2 mils don't last a lifetime, 4s do), but I didn't like the feel at all and found it difficult and dangerous to the comic to put them in and take them out of such a snug sleeve each time. So now, I bag and board everything in conventional supplies, but I don't rotate bags and boards unless acidity becomes very noticeable.
Honestly, I hold no romantic idea that I'll ever sell my collection for a good price. It will be a bulk sale one day when I'm either too done with comics to care, or I'm dead and someone else is looking to unload them. Either way, we're gonna get screwed on the sale, so why bother obsessing over condition?
I bag and board because I LIKE what it does for my collection. The boards keep the books firm and not flopping over/bending in the box, and the bags make the comics look nicer/shinier. That's my reason for doing it.
Some of the most hardcore dealers I know swear up and down that the safest way to store a collection is unbagged, stacked one upon another, alternating right side up/upside down to prevent spine role. In the right controlled environment, I believe them. However, I like bagging and boarding my books.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2014 21:20:53 GMT -5
I prefer to store them bagged and boarded in the short boxes, file cabinets or in magazine files, but a lot of stuff I buy from quarter and dollar bins do not get bagged and boarded. Some get bagged, some not. Eventually I will get them all stored the way I want, but not in a rush. Keys or higher priced back issues I buy I do make sure I get bagged and boarded sooner rather than later, but I do not obsess over it.
-M
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 31, 2014 21:37:03 GMT -5
If the books come in bags when I get them I generally keep them in them after reading and rereading but I don't go out and buy new bags and boards for books with out them.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2014 22:32:13 GMT -5
found it difficult and dangerous to the comic to put them in and take them out of such a snug sleeve each time. Why not go with a larger 4 mil, like a Golden Age sized?
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,871
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Post by shaxper on Oct 31, 2014 23:28:36 GMT -5
found it difficult and dangerous to the comic to put them in and take them out of such a snug sleeve each time. Why not go with a larger 4 mil, like a Golden Age sized? First off, golden age boxes take up more space, and when you've got 73 boxes, that space adds up. Secondly, cost and hassle. Like I said, I don't expect to ever be selling these books for a premium. They'll be sold in bulk one day, at bargain close-out prices, so why bother with the expense and time involved in moving 8,000 books into new sleeves?
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Post by Earth 2 Flash on Nov 1, 2014 4:43:51 GMT -5
My golden age comics are bagged or bagged and boarded. My hard cover collections, such as archives and absolute editions are not. Currently, I mostly buy digitally. These are neither bagged nor boarded.
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Post by Icctrombone on Nov 1, 2014 6:35:40 GMT -5
Up until about 6 years ago, I used to bag and board everything. Now I just put 20 or so comics in a magazine bag. I just about got rid of the taping method , because of too many tape pulls over the years. I agree with Shax that most of my collection will go for peanuts when I die.
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