Realized I'd been organizing my longbox wrong for like a decade

So last month I was at my LCS and this guy next to me pulls out a Silver Surfer #4 from his box and it's in perfect shape. Meanwhile my copy of ASM #300 is all beat up from sliding around. It hit me that I've been putting my best books in alphabetical order with everything else and they just get wrecked over time. The guy said he uses magazine holders for his key issues and keeps them seperate. I went home and pulled out 12 books I should have been protecting better. Now I got a seperate toploader box for anything over $50 value. Has anyone else had that moment where you realize your whole system is trash?

2 comments

2 Comments

schmidt.amy1h ago

@jade271 definitely nailed it about the rubbing against cheaper books. That X-Men #141 corner ding story makes me cringe because I had almost the same thing happen with my Fantastic Four #48, the first Galactus issue. But your point about separating high value books is spot on, just a small thing to add - make sure the toploader box itself isn't too tight. I bought one that was just a bit snug and actually started bending the top of my books a little. Learned that lesson after swapping out a few slabs.

jade27120h ago

I used to think alphabetical was the only way to go. Kept everything in one longbox, A to Z. Thought separate boxes were just for hoarders or show-offs. But then I saw my NM copy of X-Men #141 get a corner ding from rubbing against a cheaper book. That hurt. Now I got a small lockable box for anything valuable. Grade doesn't matter if the condition drops. You're right, the old system is trash once you realize it.