I have been tired of cardboard storage solutions with no real standard in depth sizes for awhile.

Not to mention the wear and tear on the boxes over time.

New item from BCW looks promising for most card protection sizes. Widevision and Graded cards still need to find a different home.

https://youtu.be/2HcAq9HrIIs

Interesting. . . are you going to check it out?

Looks pretty well designed, but the price tag is possibly a deal breaker for me.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
Interesting. . . are you going to check it out?

Looks pretty well designed, but the price tag is possibly a deal breaker for me.

I just copied this from their website

Weight: 4.80 lbs
Holds 3200 loose trading cards
Rows are wide enough to hold toploaders, magnetics, and deck boxes
Stackable
Includes 4 Card Bin Partitions
Hinged lid features secure, sliding locks
Interior Row Dimensions (WxHxL):
3⅛x 4¼ x 14⅜
Exterior Dimensions (WxHxL):
15 x 4¾ x 15

Pre-Order - Available: 02/15/21

$39.99

It appears that further partitions won't be available until June

regards

John

I think finding a good way to store a large card collection is like trying to find a better mouse trap. You can get the humane ones, the expensive ones, the baitless ones, the covered ones, the poison ones, the ones you don't have to touch or see and the mice keep running around. In the end you go back to the good old $1.49 snappers with a dab of peanut butter and that's the end of them.

These boxes look great for a professional seller that might want to take 2 or 3 to a show. Remember shows? But just to store thousands of base cards and complete sets and assorted cards that don't amount to anything in a closet or basement or garage seems unnecessary to me unless your whole collection can be contained in just a couple of boxes.

For bulk card collections nothing will beat those little plastic boxes in bigger cardboard boxes, or 5000 count cardboard boxes or binders. Its a question of maximizing space and knowing which box or binder contains what cards. You have to check once in while to make sure the cards aren't getting damaged under stacked weight or you need to replace a box/binder for some reason.

This particular product looks really nice as a display, but it wouldn't help me any.

I might have to look into getting one of these to store all my extra base cards that are laying around in stacks or in their retail / hobby boxes. Looks like it would help clear up some needed space.

I like that the big plastic box looks sturdy, accommodates singles in sleeves and top loaders, and is stackable but I'm not looking to replace my "storage system." I still have my 70's baseball and non-sports in the same shoe boxes they were in then. The boxes have held up. I still have cards in binders. I have a lot of promos in "mineral flats," cardboard boxes ranging from 1 to 4 inches high with a top that rather tightly fits over the bottom but I have most of them in Sterilite bins. I wish the company had stuck with the same design and volume choices, though. The newer ones are not stackable with the older ones in that they don't lock together in a similar way to those big boxes in the video.

Inside those bins are a loose mix of containers such as candy boxes like those open-top boxes that Lifesavers are sold in. They are the perfect size for cards in sleeves or top loaders face-up except for the Pep-O-Mint ones which have a slightly smaller box. I like that some of the smaller sets of the 90's had their own cardboard or plastic box.

Yeah, I look through my cards often enough to determine when some box (or box within a box) should be replaced.

Jess

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
I think finding a good way to store a large card collection is like trying to find a better mouse trap. You can get the humane ones, the expensive ones, the baitless ones, the covered ones, the poison ones, the ones you don't have to touch or see and the mice keep running around. In the end you go back to the good old $1.49 snappers with a dab of peanut butter and that's the end of them.

These boxes look great for a professional seller that might want to take 2 or 3 to a show. Remember shows? But just to store thousands of base cards and complete sets and assorted cards that don't amount to anything in a closet or basement or garage seems unnecessary to me unless your whole collection can be contained in just a couple of boxes.

For bulk card collections nothing will beat those little plastic boxes in bigger cardboard boxes, or 5000 count cardboard boxes or binders. Its a question of maximizing space and knowing which box or binder contains what cards. You have to check once in while to make sure the cards aren't getting damaged under stacked weight or you need to replace a box/binder for some reason.

This particular product looks really nice as a display, but it wouldn't help me any.

I'm curious as to how well sleeved cards fit in this. . .

A while ago I removed most of my cards from toploaders due to weight and the amount of space they took up (and threw away the toploaders -- ugh!). Most of my cards are now in sleeves, then in deck boxes.

In general I like this approach, but I'm not thrilled with the deck boxes as the lids often seem to be in the way. Using a larger box with dividers like this might be a good approach, but if there is too much room side to side in the box for a sleeved card I would be concerned about damage.

quote:

Originally posted by AWR:
I might have to look into getting one of these to store all my extra base cards that are laying around in stacks or in their retail / hobby boxes. Looks like it would help clear up some needed space.

Be careful you don't spend $40 on a box that holds $20 worth of commons . . .

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
I'm curious as to how well sleeved cards fit in this. . .

The depth of this box is for cards in both top loaders and magnet cases. Not so much for graded cards. It is the same depth as the super shoe storage box size.

As mentioned, I would not buy this for a bunch of loose commons or base sets. However; as my autograph collection has passed 2050 cards this would be a much better solution that what I am currently using.

I ordered some of these after noticing that some of my cardboard boxes are starting to look like they are yellowing.

Just spent about 10 minutes looking at the BCW Card Bin -- my $.02 in case anyone is curious.

I typically use 3 row boxes as I like the depth of the 3 rows. Space is at a premium for me.

The bins are not as deep as a 3 row, so each row holds less, also because of the lock in the middle the 3 row box is narrower than 3 rows in the bin -- the 3 row box takes up the space of about 2 and a half rows plus the lock in the bin.

Quality is fine, they seem well built.

Everyone is sleeping in my house -- and I found them very loud compared to card board boxes -- the lids seem to bang around a fair bit.

I hate the lock. I don't know what purpose it actually serves, and worse I hate the dead space in the middle. Maybe design wise they needed a place for the lids to meet up, but it seems excessive, and it seems like it could be a lot smaller. I hate the wasted space.

There isn't an obvious place to pick the bins up, except from the bottom. It is tempting to lift them from the hinges on the sides, but it seems like that is asking for trouble -- the hinges are narrow so they could easily slip and it also seems like a potential weak point in the box. While this is a problem with cardboard boxes too. It seems like they could have had an easier way to pick these up though.

I like that they are made from acid free plastic, that is a huge selling point for me. . . that said the hinges in the top seem like they could let dust through. I can see light through the hinges, so these could let dust and light through. Cardboard boxes have solid lids so that's not a concern on those.

I was hoping these would be great for long term storage, but with the hinges in the lid with possible dust/light penetration I have some concerns.

Personally I'm mixed on these. At the price point I'd like to see a perfect or near perfect product -- in my opinion there are pros and cons to these. I probably won't buy more unless they are redesigned.

I couple more quick thoughts. . .

I put cards in toploaders in one row. These fit well.

I have some cards in toploaders in team set bags. These fit ok, but were very tight.

The bins really don't flex. I stopped before I had the entire row filled as I was worried it would be really difficult to get toploaders out if the row was too full as there is no room at all side to side, and the bin doesn't flex at all.

It's not like a cardboard box where if it gets too full you can get your fingers around the side of the toploaders, or flex the cardboard a bit to get your fingers around the front or back of the end cards.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:

The bins really don't flex. I stopped before I had the entire row filled as I was worried it would be really difficult to get toploaders out if the row was too full as there is no room at all side to side, and the bin doesn't flex at all.

It's not like a cardboard box where if it gets too full you can get your fingers around the side of the toploaders, or flex the cardboard a bit to get your fingers around the front or back of the end cards.

Don't hate me but I found most of your complaints really petty except for this one. The rigid design does remove a certain flexibility you had with cardboard boxes. You have to leave about 5 cards out so your row has some looseness to it. Grabbing the cards from the sides is much more difficult. But then maybe I was over packing my cardboard. I have found that as I add new cards to the bin having the rows loose is helpful.

Light is going to hit what exactly? The top side of your card? My cards are stored where there is no light anyway. I think the locks are great and when they stack they lock in place. Certainly nice for any type of moving situation. I never found an obvious place to pickup my cardboard boxes except from the bottom. I'd be scared to pick them up any other way. In fact you could grab the bins by the side corners with much more confidence. Dust? Anything stacked is pretty well protected. Worst case ya might want to throw a small cover or towel over your top layer. Again, card is in penny sleeve, top loader and covered bin with very small openings at a minimum. Not gonna really lose any sleep over dust.

For me this is a special card storage only device and I am pretty happy with it. But to each his or her own.

As far as your nocturnal card viewing and sorting habits.....yeah, I got no answer.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mykdude,

For reference 4 boxes cost me $150 delivered with the goal of replacing 4 cardboard boxes that cost ~$20 for all 4.

I'm curious what you find the locks useful for. It seems like the lids would stay closed easily on their own, and the locks aren't robust enough to be useful in preventing people from accessing the box if you were in public. To me the lock just takes up space -- I'd rather have the boxes that much thinner as I don't have a lot of extra storage space.

I was thinking perhaps these boxes would be good for dealers as they will likely wear better than cardboard boxes, but I've had to load and unload in rain -- with the possible water penetration from the hinges I'm not sure I'd personally feel comfortable with that.

The light/dust penetration is a deal breaker for me as I am looking for basically an archival storage solution. I've seen many comics with discolored edges due to light. Is that a problem with cards? I don't know, but I'll leave someone else's collection to figure that out.

Of course I could, and I may, attempt to cover the hinges, but for nearly $40 a bin that seems like a problem that I shouldn't have to deal with.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: webjon,

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
For reference 4 boxes cost me $150 delivered with the goal of replacing 4 cardboard boxes that cost ~$20 for all 4.

Agreed price is high. Cardboard solutions aren't going anywhere.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
I'm curious what you find the locks useful for. It seems like the lids would stay closed easily on their own, and the locks aren't robust enough to be useful in preventing people from accessing the box if you were in public. To me the lock just takes up space -- I'd rather have the boxes that much thinner as I don't have a lot of extra storage space.

Pick up your box by the front and the back with your palms around the top. Do it with and without the locks. It is basically the replacement for the hinges on the other sides.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
I was thinking perhaps these boxes would be good for dealers as they will likely wear better than cardboard boxes, but I've had to load and unload in rain -- with the possible water penetration from the hinges I'm not sure I'd personally feel comfortable with that.

I can see cardboard being more absorbent in a rain situation (not a problem for me) but even then I think I would have extra material (plastic sheets or towels) to protect in any case. Simply put, moving paper collectibles in the rain is never a good idea. Just about all other mobile situations I can think of the bins are more suitable for traveling sellers.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
The light/dust penetration is a deal breaker for me as I am looking for basically an archival storage solution. I've seen many comics with discolored edges due to light. Is that a problem with cards? I don't know, but I'll leave someone else's collection to figure that out.

I guarantee you these do not allow for enough light to cause that sort of issue. That comic damage was not caused because they were kept in this type of storage. Every comic book store I go into has rows and rows of wide open boxes for customers to sort through every day. I'm not saying it is impossible for damaging light to hit a few spots inside these bins but it would have to be a long term extreme source of light.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
Of course I could, and I may, attempt to cover the hinges, but for nearly $40 a bin that seems like a problem that I shouldn't have to deal with.

Basically it is a weigh and balance game. For the small amount of things I don't like about the product I found that the majority works for my needs. I am much happier with this solution for my autograph/art cards than what I had before. These are the cards I am most active with. Is it worth it for all of my other cards? Absolutely not. But then, how many specialty notebooks have I purchased in the $25 to $30 range that pretty much suck at protecting my cards?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mykdude,

A couple more observations (sorry mykdude).

First -- obviously to each his own, some people will love these. I think all the reviews I've seen on these products were from dealers, which have been universally positive, so I wanted to share my unbiased thoughts for people thinking about outlaying the cash as there are definitely pros and cons.

I understand what you are saying about the light penetration being potentially minimal, and perhaps unlikely to cause an issue, but as prices rise I'm just not willing to take that risk with cards that are now worth so much money.

Speaking about weight. These are over 4 pounds empty. Boxes full of toploaders are already heavy. I haven't loaded one with toploaders (I'm not sure what I'm doing with them, if they were easily returnable I'd be taking them back), but they are heavy empty, and are definitely added weight to already heavy boxes.

The other thing I just realized is that the flaps on the lid -- the small part between the hinge on the top of the box and the center of the box when the box is closed only opens to a 90 degree angle. When both flaps are opened it's kind of shaped like a toaster with toast popped up.

The small flaps open enough to expose about half a row of cards, so not enough to get toploadered cards out. I thought the small flaps would rotate 180 degrees so the lid could be fully opened and resting at the side of the box, but that's not the case. The only way to fully open the lid is to rotate the small flaps all the way under the box -- the side hinges rotate 270 degrees, so the large flaps will rest on the side of the box with the top flaps acting as kind of feet.

If you try to open the lid without rotating the lid as feet the wind up splayed out on the side like wings. I should have noticed that in the reviews as the reviewers do have the boxes opened like wings, but I didn't realize that or under the box were the only options.

This blog has some pictures showing the 'toaster' and 'wings'

https://sportscardinfo.wordpre...e-bcw-3200-card-bin/

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
A couple more observations (sorry mykdude).

Haha! No hurt feelings whatsoever dude! I like the bin and you don't we can still be friends....right?

As i said I think much of what you are hitting on is really minor but I also think that there are plenty of collectors who have just gotten comfortable with the traditional cardboard storage solution. And there's nothing wrong with that.

I do concur about the added weight but I would feel much more comfortable stacking these higher than I would cardboard.

Certainly -- We can still be friends.

I really want to like the bin, and I think there is definitely a place in the market for a premium product. . . when I pay 8-10x more for premium version of a product I have high expectations.

For me the lid design is not good. I'd prefer a lid that is better designed to block the elements as well as one that is easier to access your collection as well as get out of the way.

Even with this hinged lid design it would have been easy to design hinges that overlapped to not have gaps for dust / light / etc. I would think preventing penetration from the elements would have been one of the main design requirements for a long term storage solution.

If they didn't want to design a gap-free hinge I would prefer to have a solid removable lid, or even a 'roll up' solution like you see in security doors or roll top desks.

I can get past most of the other issues as they serve a purpose, the weight and noise is due to better material (and I would feel comfortable stacking these as they are solidly built), etc, but for me the lid design is a miss. Even watching the reviews again you can see the reviewers fiddling with the lid.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
A couple more observations (sorry mykdude).

First -- obviously to each his own, some people will love these. I think all the reviews I've seen on these products were from dealers, which have been universally positive, so I wanted to share my unbiased thoughts for people thinking about outlaying the cash as there are definitely pros and cons.

I understand what you are saying about the light penetration being potentially minimal, and perhaps unlikely to cause an issue, but as prices rise I'm just not willing to take that risk with cards that are now worth so much money.

Thanks for sharing. I was intrigued when I first saw the video, but I think the gaps in the lid would irritate me too, so I'm glad you mentioned it.

Out of my own curiosity I did a quick test this morning to try to see if light bleed was really a concern with these boxes.

I started recording a video on my phone, put in in various places in the box and closed the lid.

In my test there was light bleed at the inner hinge, and slight light bleed at the outer hinge where the grooves are cut for the dividers.

I accidentally caught a surprising amount of light bleed at the front of the box, and initially thought I screwed up the test by not having the lid closed, but in looking closely quite a bit of light bleeds above the toploaders and in to the box as the lid is basically open above the toploaders to the interior of the box.

I have no idea if it is enough light to damage cards or fade autographs/sketches, but I'm not taking any chances.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
Out of my own curiosity I did a quick test this morning to try to see if light bleed was really a concern with these boxes.

I started recording a video on my phone, put in in various places in the box and closed the lid.

In my test there was light bleed at the inner hinge, and slight light bleed at the outer hinge where the grooves are cut for the dividers.

I accidentally caught a surprising amount of light bleed at the front of the box, and initially thought I screwed up the test by not having the lid closed, but in looking closely quite a bit of light bleeds above the toploaders and in to the box as the lid is basically open above the toploaders to the interior of the box.

I have no idea if it is enough light to damage cards or fade autographs/sketches, but I'm not taking any chances.

Wow! You are nuking this! But sure, if you keep your collection stored under a constant light source for weeks at a time (most collectors I know do not) then this is not a solution for you.