People choose to collect items for many different reasons — from the thrill of finding collectibles to making a profit buying-and-selling them. But regardless of the reason of starting a collection of some sort, everyone has one goal in mind, and that is to keep the collectibles in the best condition possible while they are in your possession!
Follow our suggestions and you’ll have a great shot at reducing natural and unnecessary wear-and-tear on your collectibles–
Reduce clutter and sell items you no longer want. Storing items properly and in an organized fashion takes a lot of time and effort. Don’t waste your own time by storing items you don’t want anymore. Before you begin storing everything, then would be a good time to really analyze what you want to keep and what you can get rid of to free up cash for other things you may want more.
Store at a consistent temperature. Extreme temperatures or wild fluctuations in temperature can do serious damage to your collectibles even if they are stored properly. A good rule of thumb is that if you’re comfortable in the same room as your collectibles, then it’s an appropriate temperature. This usually means no basements and no attics since their temperatures deviate frequently and can hit extremes.
Store at a consistent relative humidity. Just like extreme temperatures and fluctuations in temperatures, extreme humidity and fluctuation in humidity can also cause serious damage to your collectibles even if they’re stored properly. Without any instruments to measure relative humidity, it’s safest to simply avoid attics and basements, and if you’re choosing a storage facility, make sure they have temperature and humidity control.
Avoid direct sunlight. Sunlight is another damaging factor in collectibles. Too much exposure to sunlight will cause colors to fade and materials to warp or deform. Some storage devices will provide UV protection, which is a great idea, but it’s usually safest to simply avoid sunlight exposure at all.
Store items you don’t want to see frequently or display. If you aren’t displaying your collectibles, then store them away and label the boxes they’re in. This will prevent digging around when you do decide to take items out, exposing collectibles to the elements when you don’t need to be.
If you’re ready to get rid of some of your items, or you simply want to sell items you have to free up cash to buy other items, give Neat Stuff Collectibles a call at 800-326-7064 and we will be happy to see if we can make an all-cash offer!
