There has to be an easier way 1 1

[dupont2005]

On 8/30/2021 at 6:30 PM, universal soldier said:

Sweating my teats off tonight. I have a routine where I read, bag and board, catalog, and then into a long box. Every couple months or so, I file by alpha and end up having to make room in the boxes for new books by pushing everything forward a box until I get enough to make a new box.  damn you OCD 

What do others do?

That’s exactly what I used to do with 10,000 comics stacked 3 long boxes high. Then I started letting the pile get bigger and bigger before putting them away, then I’d just throw them all in a box Un sorted. Then I had too many Un sorted boxes. Felt completely overwhelmed. It’s why I got rid of like 80% of my collection

[djzombi]

On 8/30/2021 at 9:30 PM, universal soldier said:

Sweating my teats off tonight. I have a routine where I read, bag and board, catalog, and then into a long box. Every couple months or so, I file by alpha and end up having to make room in the boxes for new books by pushing everything forward a box until I get enough to make a new box.  damn you OCD 

What do others do?

Welcome to my life.  
I've gotten behind in my filing (and cataloging to a lesser extent).  I have about 5 longboxes worth that need incorporating into my ~35,000 book collection   

[universal soldier]

On 9/2/2021 at 8:32 PM, djzombi said:

Welcome to my life.  
I've gotten behind in my filing (and cataloging to a lesser extent).  I have about 5 longboxes worth that need incorporating into my ~35,000 book collection   

 some of you have massive collections! I though 12K was tough to mange...

[djzombi]

Well, I've been collecting for over 40 years, and by collecting, I mean COLLECTING since then.  I've rarely gotten rid of a book, and still have the books I bought when I was 5 years old.  I've just been adding, and adding, and adding....

[Pat Thomas]

On 9/2/2021 at 7:32 PM, djzombi said:

Welcome to my life.  
I've gotten behind in my filing (and cataloging to a lesser extent).  I have about 5 longboxes worth that need incorporating into my ~35,000 book collection   

I have the benefit of an entire finished basement with a large bar / recreational area and 2 large bedrooms where my comics are. I've also been retire for almost 10 years, so I really don't have any limits on the time I can spend buying, cataloging, organizing, or occasionally reading comics. I learned my lesson about letting them pile up years ago, so it's rare that I have much more than a shortbox to put up. I just stay on top of it.

In addition to my collection, I used to always have 3-4,000 doubles and other stuff I ended up with in their own area and catalogued in the MCS database. I used those for trade credit with MCS when I was able to work up about $100 worth, and I used the credit for my collection. In 2018, my lcs shut the doors. I had purchased 10 longboxes of mixed stuff for cheap already, but the owner called me late on their last day with approx  75 shortboxes for $5 apiece that had to be out of the building that night, so I told him I would take them. There ended up being even more there, but he told me to take everything for the amount we had already agreed on (plus I ended up getting 5 comic book shelve units that have a top level divided into 6 rows with transparent plastic in front and 2 lower levels that each hold 6 longboxes, for $100 apiece), I ended up with about 12,000 comics in total disarray to organize, catalog, and then blend in with the other MCS trade stock. 

It took me probably 6 months to get it mostly finished. I didn't get up every day and work on comics all day. Some days I might spend 6-8 hours working on the project, but mostly I would work on them a couple of hours when the mood struck. A lot of days I didn't work on them at all. But I developed a system to get the individual boxes organized and add them to the database. As I entered them, I pulled whatever books MCS wanted to buy, and move on to another box. After I got 5 or so longboxes accumulated, I phased them into my stock. It was a job, but I finished it. I've done over $20,000 in trades with that stock so far, and I'm just now getting back down to my normal stock level. I would love to do another one soon.

[Lpgk]

On 8/31/2021 at 5:07 AM, universal soldier said:

Thanks for the replies, some interesting thoughts and ideas. It never really ends though. I committed to mylar back in 2009 but still only have about half of my collection transitioned. Waiting on 2K of m2's and half backs from eGerber (likely shipped in mid-October). 

Even my boxes need replacing. The current boxes I find to be much less sturdy than the ones from the 80's. My shelving needs to change too (similar to the image below). The overhang on the back of the long box gets caught and rips the cardboard. I have a bunch with packing tape holding them together. Considering the move to short boxes. Lol, in short 

 

I use this exact same shelf (from Target) but only have short boxes. I have the same problem as you where it's not easy to move boxes around since the grill catches the box and it doesn't slide easy. 

[universal soldier]

On 9/3/2021 at 5:33 PM, Lpgk said:

I use this exact same shelf (from Target) but only have short boxes. I have the same problem as you where it's not easy to move boxes around since the grill catches the box and it doesn't slide easy. 

I believe I got this at home depot but still not optimal and tends to bow with the weight of three long boxes. 

[Namtak]

Recycling bin?

[RandyL]

Universal Soldier, That's exactly what I have... Home Depot shelving. Works great. On another note, I don't shift comics once they're in a box. Each of my boxes has a unique number and I organize using CLZ Comic daya base. It's great for what I use it for. I can find comics quickly and I don't worry about OCD and moving comics at all. I want to get Superman #XXX, then I check CLZ to know where it is. Most importantly, if it works for you, then that's 90% of collecting and organizing happily.

Edited September 5, 2021 by RandyL
Added reference.

[Lpgk]

I have some of those plastic shelves but do not recommend them since they will definitely bow. The metal shelves from Target are better since they do not bend no matter the weight. 

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 9/7/2021 at 1:34 PM, Lpgk said:

I have some of those plastic shelves but do not recommend them since they will definitely bow. The metal shelves from Target are better since they do not bend no matter the weight. 

I use the plastic, got them from Walmart, the bow a bit but haven't had any problems for nearly a year after obtaining them.

Idk

[sckao]

I think most non-solid shelves have this issue. I use the 200lb test cardboard pads that I buy to line the bottom of the shelves. (They are 18x14  that I cut down to 9x14 to protect slabs when I mail them.) Composite boards would be tougher probably as well.

Edited September 7, 2021 by sckao