Using a Moving Company to move long boxes of comics

[torippu]

Hey all - I'm going to be moving in about a month and I am unsure of how I relocate the 8~10 long boxes of comics that I have sitting in storage.

When I moved out to CA from GA eight years ago, I only brought a small amount of my comic collection (maybe a long box worth of issues) with me while leaving the remainder of my collection at my parent's house. This time, I don't have that luxury. I've been told by the moving company that they can pack short boxes into moving boxes without any trouble. The issue is the long boxes - what do I do with them? I'm pretty particular about the condition of my books. If I repack the books myself into smaller boxes, if there anything I can go do to prevent them from getting damaged?

How about Hardcovers? If I pack all of them in boxes with packing peanuts is that being overly obsessive about my books?

Any words of advice that you can offer would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Trip

[rick]

As part of the University bookstore I run, I also am in charge of the shipping room as well.

So my "professional" advice is to pack them up tightly, use lots of packing tape to secure the boxes, mark them FRAGILE and then call either FEDEX Ground or UPS and have them haul them off and deliver them for you.

It will certainly cost less than a moving company, and on the whole both companies take resonably good care of their packages.

[pmpknface]

I think Rick speaks the truth. It won't be cheap, but what can you do. Pack them as carefully as possible, and hope for the best.

GOOD LUCK!

BTW - how many boxes are we talking about?

[torippu]

I think Rick speaks the truth. It won't be cheap, but what can you do. Pack them as carefully as possible, and hope for the best.

Yep - that's the plan! I've got some really sturdy boxes, a little shorter than a long box but longer than a short box, that I am going to be using. I am going to be use a marker to indicate "THIS SIDE UP" and hope for the best.

GOOD LUCK!

Thanks - I'm going to need it.

BTW - how many boxes are we talking about?
At last count, I had 8 long boxes + 7 short boxes in my collection here in CA. I've got a good LCS and am hoping that they will take some of my inventory for trade so I'm hoping to reduce my stock by 1~2 long boxes.

For some reason, I'm really obsessing about my Hardcovers. I have a limited inventory (Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 1~9, Captain America Omnibus, Invincible Ultimate Collection Vol. 1~3, The Walking Dead Omnibus, Hellboy Library Collection Vol. 1 and all of Queen & Country) but am planning of pack off of these in my excess DCBS boxes with popcorn and then will have the movers put them in normal boxes.

[schwamp]

Warning stickers like "Fragile" or " This side up" are eyecatchers. Also, "Do not stack" is important in that you can't trust that the movers will not try to load on top of them to pack other stuff that may not stack as well. By the time they get it, it is just another box, savvy?

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Having just moved, I can tell you -- I moved the comics, myself. So I'm out. I would suggesting packing the boxes fully and taping them up as much as possible. Since that would destroy the boxes when you unpack, I'm lost. Someone should produce a longbox mailer just for moving. Maybe get a large broken down box at a place like CostCo, cover the longbox in it, and tape the heck out of it.

I'm not sure. It's an interesting question.

The trick is in getting the right movers. The ones I had were very nice and paid attention to the boxes and listened to me when I had specific odd requests.

Good luck!
-Augie

P.S. One could never be too obsessive about ones hardcovers, Absolute editions, etc. Use everything you can get your hands on. I'd suggest rolls of bubble wrap. 1/3 of the box is packing material, the rest is books. It'll be heavy, but it should work.

[torippu]

The trick is in getting the right movers. The ones I had were very nice and paid attention to the boxes and listened to me when I had specific odd requests.

My company has agreed to pay for the move and have agreed to let us use Nippon Express, a Japanese moving company. My Japanese wife was thoroughly unimpressed with United Van Lines when we moved out to CA in 2000 so she was insistent that paying more for the move will get us better service.

For the single issues, I'm hoping that packing the books tightly with the added use of newspaper or bubble wrap (maybe) will prevent any issues from getting trashed.


P.S. One could never be too obsessive about ones hardcovers, Absolute editions, etc.

Totally agree. The DCBS boxes are super sturdy so I'm pretty confident that if I pack 2~3 HC per box with the packing peanuts then I won't have any issues when they are packed into another box. The boxes will be heavy but, thankfully, I'm not the one doing moving! :biggrin:

[pmpknface]

I'm packing up all my stuff too, and I'm using the DCBS boxes too. Because I get larger ones from statues and stuff I can fit a LOT in some, but I'm using the smaller ones to FILL with tpb's and HC's.

For now, the long boxes were just moved to my girlfreind's the way they are, but in the past I just taped them up with packing tape around the front and back and then just cut it when I re-opened them. So the tape is still on them, but the boxes are open. It actually helps keep them togather and keeps the TONS of stickers that I put on them sticking. :D

[torippu]

Well, I'm half-way to my goal of packing my comics. Got the HCs all packed up tonight. I was able to pack 3~4 books per box, tape 'em shut and then stuffed them in another box. The movers are probably going to hate me because the boxes are so heavy but that's what I am paying them for, eh?

[torippu]

And the long and short boxes that I had in storage are completely repacked. Unless the boxes get dropped and corner or two gets crunched, I pretty confident that the books will make it through the move. The prized possessions in my collection got the extra special treatment - a short box packed into a box and then filled will packing peanuts!

[pmpknface]

Well, I'm trying to sell my apt and I've slowly been moving my comics out of my place into my girlfriends. This weekend I moved 11 long boxes, 1 short one, and then 35 wooden cubes full of comics. All together, it's gotta be like 6000 comics.

I also did moce some smalled DCBS boxes that i pack full of tpb's and HC's. I just lay them side by side and fill 'em up. Most sizes fit like a glove but some of the slightly oversized collections have to wait for larger boxes.

I've just been taking

[torippu]

Well, I'm trying to sell my apt and I've slowly been moving my comics out of my place into my girlfriends. This weekend I moved 11 long boxes, 1 short one, and then 35 wooden cubes full of comics. All together, it's gotta be like 6000 comics.


Are you still going to have a comic room in the new place? If so, you'll have to share pictures again.

I'm very happy that my comics will be back with me again (as opposed to in storage) once we get to the new place in Oregon!

[pmpknface]

Well, congrats to that!

That's the plan! Of course, I don't have this new place yet. But when I do you'll be sure to see some pics!

[pmpknface]

Last night - 3 more long boxes were bought and I moved some more books.

Funny story - I had 2 long boxes that had no lids. So I took some USPS Express Mail boxes and cut them up and BAM! New lids. :)

[torippu]

Update - the books are packed and I am just waiting for the truck to arrive. Here's hoping everything goes smoothly. I was asked to place a dollar amount of the comics in each box. That's kind of tough - I'm sure that most books aren't worth much more than a buck or two but they mean a lot more to me!

[pmpknface]

GOOD LUCK!

I've got a truck full of crap right now, including a box of CGC'd books. Among them, my: ASM 1, ASM Ann 1, DD #1 and a LOT more.

[torippu]

GOOD LUCK!

I've got a truck full of crap right now, including a box of CGC'd books. Among them, my: ASM 1, ASM Ann 1, DD #1 and a LOT more.

Yep - I'd have to say that your collection is probably worth a heck of a lot more than mine.

The movers and come and gone (in under 3 hours!) and I won't see my books until we get to Oregon next week. I've got my fingers crossed that all 11 of the boxes that I packed myself show up!

[pmpknface]

Yeah, well give it time... 11 boxes? Are they long boxes or just normal ones with HC's in them? I put 12 long boxes in my truck at a time. Damn.... how many trips did I make?!?!?!

[torippu]

Yeah, well give it time... 11 boxes? Are they long boxes or just normal ones with HC's in them? I put 12 long boxes in my truck at a time. Damn.... how many trips did I make?!?!?!

Let's see - the boxes that the movers provided were shorter than a long box and shorter than a long box and about 25% higher than your standard boxes. I packed those full. My HCs got packed into DCBS boxes and there were 6~7 of them. They got packed into larger boxes full of stuff from my kids room so I'm pretty confident that they are secure.

[pmpknface]

You're golden. Have a beer and relax. ;)

HAPPY FRIDAY!