Does anyone store low value comics in bags only? 1 1

[MutantMike]

I have a big Superman run I got, about 1000 comics, 1987-2011. I have bags but not boards at the moment but have read a lot about people storing 4-6 comics per bag, no board for collections and run but using a board for something that may have a little value

[Sauce Dog]

Bags? That's fancy! My main long box of books I like to constantly re-read is nearly all loose books!  

[whomerjay]

From a business standpoint, not worth the time or even the money to board such books. If you move them around a lot you’ll get some damage over time. Many I’ve had for 35 years are fine, but several also have some light creasing or spine ticks from mostly bending in the box. If you’re careful, they should be fine. 

if you have time and you like the books for your collection, go ahead and board.

[mysterymachine]

I used to put three bronze age books into one silver age bag and they held up pretty good. But they also need to be stored in a full box to avoid drooping and bending. 

 

[Ken Aldred]

Over the long term you can get bending, slight spine creasing, or indentations in the cover.

Many of those Superman comics, though low value, are nice books, and I wished I’d bagged and boarded and taken better care of mine despite that.  (I recently had a look through my entire collection.)

The early Byrne / Ordway comics, for example, were ones I bought while at college and couldn’t afford the acid-free boards for the volume of material I was reading, but didn’t correct that later on.

Some survived intact, but there’s variability.

Edited November 13, 2023 by Ken Aldred

[Robot Man]

I used to store my runs of “moderns” several to a bag with alternating spines and no boards. I handled them carefully and stored them in full boxes with very minimal or for the most part no damage. I of course individually bagged and boarded the “keys”. They have held up quite well but, I almost never handle them any more.

And funny, I’ve been buying comics so long most of my “moderns” are over 40 years old. I recently pulled out a bunch of 20 and 25 cent cover price books to indivually bag and sell. 

[Stefan_W]

I have bought many collections where people have left out bags and boards, or had just bags with no boards. The latter works out best when the boxes are not moved for a long time and the plastic bags start to fuse together. This creates essentially a brick of comics that is solid and keeps them in really nice shape assuming there was nothing odd about how they were put into the box to begin with. A total pain though for trying to release comics without damaging them - basically have to gently pull them apart one at a time or else cut the tops of the bags off without cutting the comics. 

[ThothAmon]

I have a long box of near mint bronze atlas titles unbagged somewhere with alternating spines. Never were worth the effort to bag but I remain speculatively hopeful. 

[MattTheDuck]

On 11/13/2023 at 8:26 AM, ThothAmon said:

I remain speculatively hopeful

This is the only point that might deserve emphasis.  It's hard to know what books might become valuable for whatever reason in the future.  A book that's never going to be worth anything is probably not worth boarding - on the other hand it's a pretty small additional investment "just in case."

[universal soldier]

With the exception of coverless and some real rags, all my comics are induvidually bagged and boarded. I'm in the process of converting everything over to mylar and acid free backing boards. Everything I've bought since 2009 is already in mylar as that is when I made the call. My intent is to never have to go through this again as some of the poly bags from the 80's and 90's are stickly like not wearing underwear on a humid day.

[shadroch]

On 11/13/2023 at 6:22 AM, MutantMike said:

I have a big Superman run I got, about 1000 comics, 1987-2011. I have bags but not boards at the moment but have read a lot about people storing 4-6 comics per bag, no board for collections and run but using a board for something that may have a little value

Putting enough comics in a bag to make it nice and tight works well because the bag is, in effect, it's own brick. 

[jimbo_7071]

Boarded with what? I don't use full backs for anything worth less about $50. For books in the $10-$49 range I stick with half backs. I don't bother with boards for reading copies. I seldom use polybags unless the comics came in them, though. (I have not bought any polybags since the 80s.) I usually use 2-mil Mylars. Some guys will slide a closed 2-mil Mylar or 1-mil Mylite into an open-top 4-mil magazine-sized sleeve (which allows you to look at the back cover). The stiffness of the 4-mil sleeve makes a board unnecessary.

[JollyComics]

Due to increasing of ultra-pickers, I have to re-bag and put the board for every book ever since.  I bought several nice late bronze and early copper books from JS Comics (ebay).  The seller doesn't bag and board individually. 5-7 books per bag without the board.  I could see why the seller got several negative feedback due to bulk books in one bag they detest or complain.

[shadroch]

On 11/13/2023 at 4:52 PM, JollyComics said:

Due to increasing of ultra-pickers, I have to re-bag and put the board for every book ever since.  I bought several nice late bronze and early copper books from JS Comics (ebay).  The seller doesn't bag and board individually. 5-7 books per bag without the board.  I could see why the seller got several negative feedback due to bulk books in one bag they detest or complain.

I wouldn't ship a book without a bag and board unless it is a 100 books for $30 sale. If a book is priced individually, it is B&B'd.

[JollyComics]

On 11/13/2023 at 5:56 PM, shadroch said:

I wouldn't ship a book without a bag and board unless it is a 100 books for $30 sale. If a book is priced individually, it is B&B'd.

Sometimes, I ship 50 books for $15-$20 in one bag.

[Telegan]

I put everything into mylites and half-backs because I'm that crazy.  It's been easier lately since I've switched to buying mostly Golden Age and slabs. lol.

When I was a kid in the 80s, I used to put about 10-20 comics in a Ziploc bag or grocery store bags to "protect them".  *sigh*

[PopKulture]

For more common bronze or early copper, I’ll put a book facing cover out on either side of the board, two to a bag. It saves money as well as space and weight in the boxes. 

Edited November 14, 2023 by PopKulture

[MutantMike]

On 11/13/2023 at 9:07 AM, mysterymachine said:

I used to put three bronze age books into one silver age bag and they held up pretty good. But they also need to be stored in a full box to avoid drooping and bending. 

 

Just got a run of books in the mail yesterday. Guy had 6 per silver bag, all facing opposite directions for spines sake, only 1 board! They were real nice this way, I might try that.

 

So loose book, multiple per bag and no board is fine but fill box is important? I do notice the "drooping" in about 20-30 I bought from my big Superman run were they were stored in a box no board but not full. I did not know the term for it until now

[MutantMike]

On 11/13/2023 at 12:13 PM, shadroch said:

Putting enough comics in a bag to make it nice and tight works well because the bag is, in effect, it's own brick. 

I like this. As stated above, I had some come via mail, 6 per silver bag, and the guy had 1 board in the middle and it was nice!

But even without the bag a lot of collectors do this "brick" method? I mean of the 1000+ Superman comic run I have from 1987-2011, only a few are above $10 so with most being $1-$2 I might try this.

 

Does the box have to be full using the brick method or will drooping not occur due to so many per bag?

[musicmeta]

I pretty much bag and board each comic regardless of value.  I just like having all my comics this way.