Should I worry about putting all of my comic books in mylar? 0

[Lord_Knikon]

Okay guys for those that do not know me getting back into comics after being out of the hobby for over 20 years. Still have all of my existing collection. Did not realize it was quite so large. (Still counting but at this point looking at over 1,000 books) not sure of value on hardly any of them but I am wondering if I should replace all of my bags and boards with mylar. But we are talking a pretty big upfront cost. I am just kind of overwhelmed at the moment over the amount of bags and boards I am going to have to buy. Besides selling a good portion of my collection do you guys have any tips on how you deal with these kinds of issues? 

[revat]

Part of the answer depends on your ultimate goals.  Do you want to continue collecting?  Sell it all off? A bit of both? Just get your collection in better shape and hold on for it to get more valuable? 

 

Additionally, it would almost certainly depend on if what comics you have.

For example, if you were collecting in the 80's and 90's, there's a good chance that most of your comics are 95% essentially worthless.  So spending 5-10 cents per to replace bags and boards (and the time) probably isn't worth it.  But if you've got comics from the 50's and 60's, could be a different answer.

And to some extent it depends on the condition of your comics.

 

So people can give you better advice, you should probably give the people a bit more info about your intentions and the contents of your collection, maybe even some group pictures.

[Bomber-Bob]

13 minutes ago, Lord_Knikon said:

Besides selling a good portion of my collection do you guys have any tips on how you deal with these kinds of issues? 

How we deal with what kind of issues ? Besides the mylar, what's your question ?

[Silver_Couch_Surfer]

I have close to 1500 books in mylar (ocd, wanted everything uniform) . Is it worth it? Depends on you. I figured I won't ever have to replace the bags/boards again but the problem is they take extra space. Normally a short box holds like 125? I'm able to comfortably fit 75 per.

I'm starting to pull out all the drek and replace with the bags/boards I get from my LCS and keep those separated. Noobie mistake I guess.

 

[Lord_Knikon]

1 hour ago, Bomber-Bob said:

How we deal with what kind of issues ? Besides the mylar, what's your question ?

I guess I should have been more specific. First, a chunk of my collection is from the 80's and 90's. I know from a price standpoint those books are just about worthless but they are worth something to me. The time I spent collecting with my father, and some of the stories I read make the collection valuable to me from a personal standpoint.

I guess in a way I answered my own question, however, I would also like to get back into collecting from a more serious standpoint. My income is limited because I was born with a disability that does not allow me to get out as much as most but as a kid this hobby was one of the reasons I did not go crazy (my childhood consisted mainly of me being at home or school) I got out of. collecting because of a tramatic event that took place right after I graduated and have not had the money to collect for several years. Not to mention I got engaged to a girl that thought comic books were a little kid hobby and a total waste of money. She tried to get me to sell off my whole collection a few years ago but the guy saw my disability and thought he could get them for nothing and I refused to give away a huge chunk of my collection for a few dollars store credit in his very overpriced shop. (He had issues in his shop that were likely mid grade keys. I would say 5.5 or 6 from what I looked at for prices higher then people were selling 9.6 graded keys on eBay at the time.) It was a joke. I never went back to his store again.  Anyway, to make a long story shorter the woman I was engaged too left me to be with someone else and I moved back to my home state. For the first time in years I am not literally spending every dime I am making on bills and would Like to start collecting again because as I started going through my collection after moving I remembered how much I missed it. I guess it is just after being a casual collector for years and being out of the game so long I feel like there is so much I need to do and I am kind of lost as to what to do first in terms of storage and rebagging and boarding my books and coming up with some way to organize and keep up with my collection. After that I can look into getting some of the xheaper keys that I have really wanted to add to my collection.

Thanks for the replies so far sorry if I was a little vague

Edited January 3, 2019 by Lord_Knikon

[revat]

1 hour ago, Lord_Knikon said:

I guess I should have been more specific. First, a chunk of my collection is from the 80's and 90's. I know from a price standpoint those books are just about worthless but they are worth something to me. The time I spent collecting with my father, and some of the stories I read make the collection valuable to me from a personal standpoint.

I guess in a way I answered my own question, however, I would also like to get back into collecting from a more serious standpoint. My income is limited because I was born with a disability that does not allow me to get out as much as most but as a kid this hobby was one of the reasons I did not go crazy (my childhood consisted mainly of me being at home or school) I got out of. collecting because of a tramatic event that took place right after I graduated and have not had the money to collect for several years. Not to mention I got engaged to a girl that thought comic books were a little kid hobby and a total waste of money. She tried to get me to sell off my whole collection a few years ago but the guy saw my disability and thought he could get them for nothing and I refused to give away a huge chunk of my collection for a few dollars store credit in his very overpriced shop. (He had issues in his shop that were likely mid grade keys. I would say 5.5 or 6 from what I looked at for prices higher then people were selling 9.6 graded keys on eBay at the time.) It was a joke. I never went back to his store again.  Anyway, to make a long story shorter the woman I was engaged too left me to be with someone else and I moved back to my home state. For the first time in years I am not literally spending every dime I am making on bills and would Like to start collecting again because as I started going through my collection after moving I remembered how much I missed it. I guess it is just after being a casual collector for years and being out of the game so long I feel like there is so much I need to do and I am kind of lost as to what to do first in terms of storage and rebagging and boarding my books and coming up with some way to organize and keep up with my collection. After that I can look into getting some of the xheaper keys that I have really wanted to add to my collection.

Thanks for the replies so far sorry if I was a little vague

given this, its still up to you.  Just do your own math and see if you derive the level of enjoyment where the value is good for you, since its not purely a financial decision. Good luck.  I would say mylars aren't necessary to protect non-key comics from the 80's and 90's, but everyone does this differently and enjoys their collections differently.

[Bomber-Bob]

2 hours ago, revat said:

given this, its still up to you.  Just do your own math and see if you derive the level of enjoyment where the value is good for you, since its not purely a financial decision. Good luck.  I would say mylars aren't necessary to protect non-key comics from the 80's and 90's, but everyone does this differently and enjoys their collections differently.

But they look so much better in mylar !

[Karl Liebl]

After 20 years I think mylar and new boards are definitely worth it.  For the cost of 3 or 4 slabs you can have some happy books for another 20 years and they will look better and have greater protection

Just be careful and buy the right sizes.  If you want 4 mil its not going to fold and tape like an old poly bag.  Also I like the larger sizes because it is less likely to damage the book while inserting and retrieving.  There are many choices but you dont want them to fit too tight.

Also some nice new corrugated plastic boxes are good these are only 25 buck for 2 on amazon and can hold slabs as well as books, I am happy with them! Rodent proof too!

Edited January 4, 2019 by Karl Liebl

[marvelmaniac]

16 hours ago, M.T.Lott said:

The best collection the hobby's ever seen was never bagged or boarded 

Very Rare Occurrence and Conditions had to be Near Perfect for an Extended Period of Time.

The bag is designed to keep the book itself from being handled and away from environmental and natural contaminates.

The board is designed to keep the book flat and straight and prevent it from being bent when the bag/book is handled or stored.

The box is designed to store multiple bagged/boarded books, hold your comics in the proper position, away from contaminates/pets and away from natural and man made light.

The problem with comic books especially older books from the 40's through the 70's books is the way they were printed and what they were printed on.

They were printed on newsprint, the least expensive paper with acidic inks so the book itself degrades by itself over time, it actually starts degrading the moment it is printed.

Using proper storage materials/procedures/techniques is only designed to "Slow Down" the "Natural Degrading Process" of the comic book. not stop it.

Poly Bags are fine and inexpensive, the downside is that the plastic used to manufacture the bags contains acids and as the bag starts to breakdown/degrade over time those acids are released causing damage to the book they are designed to protect.

To help minimize this Poly Bags stored in a controlled environment away from light should be replaced every 5 years.

Mylar is an inert material that does not contain any acids and will not break down over time, once purchased they are good for a lifetime.

If I were in your situation I would take my most valuable books and my favorite books and place them in Mylar with an Acid Free board even if it is only a 1 Mil Mylite.

I have numerous books in 1 Mil Mylites, I started using Mylites in the late 80's from my LCS and 1 Mil is all they carried (were there other sizes back then???) and those same books are still in those same Mylites today.

 

[Artboy99]

I have purchased collections that had books bagged and boarded in poly bags and they have been in the same bags for 30 years and the books are fine. The bags were yellowed and starting to stick together but the books themselves were in beautiful shape and high grade.

To me it only matters to go to mylars if it means something to you and the books themselves have some value. I wouldn't mylar a book that is worth 10 cents.

[theCapraAegagrus]

11 minutes ago, Artboy99 said:

I have purchased collections that had books bagged and boarded in poly bags and they have been in the same bags for 30 years and the books are fine. The bags were yellowed and starting to stick together but the books themselves were in beautiful shape and high grade.

To me it only matters to go to mylars if it means something to you and the books themselves have some value. I wouldn't mylar a book that is worth 10 cents.

Idk. I bagged-and-boarded my New 52 Justice League run even though it's only worth about $130 total.

[Karl Liebl]

The old style poly bags wrinkle up over time and some of that may transfer to the books although it might takes ages.  Get some mylar 1 or 2 mil and new style boards. Maybe it can be fun at least I think so.

[Bomber-Bob]

Just now, Karl Liebl said:

The old style poly bags wrinkle up over time and some of that may transfer to the books although it might takes ages.  Get some mylar 1 or 2 mil and new style boards. Maybe it can be fun at least I think so.

I hate that wrinkling on the polybags and it can transfer to the book sooner than you think !

[Karl Liebl]

2 minutes ago, M.T.Lott said:

Don't even bother with the 1 mil Mylites, get the 2 mil Mylar with Fullbacks and you'll be all set.

Agree but also go a size or two up.

[Silver_Couch_Surfer]

25 minutes ago, Karl Liebl said:

Agree but also go a size or two up.

I find the 725M2's work well for late silver thru moderns. Depends on the book and cut though.

 

[lou_fine]

19 hours ago, Bomber-Bob said:

But they look so much better in mylar !

+1

Totally agree with you here and that is why I can't understand why anybody would slab a book unless it comes time to sell them and even then, only if the book has any significant value at all to warrant the additional inhibiting slabbing cost.  

[lou_fine]

5 hours ago, marvelmaniac said:

Using proper storage materials/procedures/techniques is only designed to "Slow Down" the "Natural Degrading Process" of the comic book. not stop it.

Poly Bags are fine and inexpensive, the downside is that the plastic used to manufacture the bags contains acids and as the bag starts to breakdown/degrade over time those acids are released causing damage to the book they are designed to protect.

To help minimize this Poly Bags stored in a controlled environment away from light should be replaced every 5 years.

I guess this means that I should really get around to replacing my books from the 70's which have been sitting in blocks of 5 or 10 books in the same old poly bags for 40+ long years.  

And yet every time I go to pull them out, they still look as minty fresh with the same glossy colors as when I cherry picked them off the shelves of the LCS when they first came out.  

So, why waste the money on relatively "worthless" books as the only books which I put into Mylar are my GA books since they have relatively more value and look so shiny and new in Mylar.  

Edited January 4, 2019 by lou_fine

[thehumantorch]

11 hours ago, Karl Liebl said:

After 20 years I think mylar and new boards are definitely worth it.  For the cost of 3 or 4 slabs you can have some happy books for another 20 years and they will look better and have greater protection

Just be careful and buy the right sizes.  If you want 4 mil its not going to fold and tape like an old poly bag.  Also I like the larger sizes because it is less likely to damage the book while inserting and retrieving.  There are many choices but you dont want them to fit too tight.

Also some nice new corrugated plastic boxes are good these are only 25 buck for 2 on amazon and can hold slabs as well as books, I am happy with them! Rodent proof too!

I'd love to dive into those boxes.  The corrugated plastic boxes look great, I've got to think about picking some up

[thehumantorch]

8 minutes ago, lou_fine said:

I guess this means that I should really get around to replacing my books from the 70's which have been sitting in blocks of 5 or 10 books in the same old poly bags for 40+ long years.  

And yet every time I go to pull them out, they still look as minty fresh with the same glossy colors as when I cherry picked them off the shelves of the LCS when they first came out.  

So, why waste the money on relatively "worthless" books as the only books which I put into Mylar are my GA books since they have relatively more value and look so shiny and new in Mylar.  

I think there's a good argument that the process of pulling all those relatively undisturbed books out, removing them from the old bags, putting them into new bags, and putting them back in the boxes may do as much damage or more damage than just leaving them alone.

[marvelmaniac]

18 hours ago, lou_fine said:

I guess this means that I should really get around to replacing my books from the 70's which have been sitting in blocks of 5 or 10 books in the same old poly bags for 40+ long years.  

And yet every time I go to pull them out, they still look as minty fresh with the same glossy colors as when I cherry picked them off the shelves of the LCS when they first came out.  

So, why waste the money on relatively "worthless" books as the only books which I put into Mylar are my GA books since they have relatively more value and look so shiny and new in Mylar.  

This is "merica" you can do whatever you like with your books, its in the Constitution and the Bill Of Rights.