Keeping your collection safe

Hi there. :)

I'm a bit of an amateur/novice collector right now but I think I've amassed a decent amount of games and a few collectables that I've kept since childhood. I do have one thing that I have a slight worry about in the back of my mind. Wondering if any collectors here could give some advice.

I would be kinda heartbroken if something happened to my collection and I also know that right now I can't afford to buy it all back.

So, is there any precautions you can take to keep your collection somewhat safe in the event of a fire, tornado, flooding, etc.?

I worry about fire and thieves. My house is old and I worry about the wiring causing a fire. I also live 2 blocks north of Detroit. I have several drug addicts in my family that like to burglarize homes. My cousin broke into my grandmothers house and ripped her off. 2 of my neighbors homes have been broken into. My uncle had his home broken into also. I can't afford a alarm system. I fortified my house the best I could. I prop a 2x8 against the back door when I'm not some so no one can kick it in. I also have my windows sealed up pretty well. It's not going to stop anyone if they want in bad enough but its better then nothing. If I got robbed it would be devastating. I have $8000 in video games $15000 in fishing equipment and guns and another $10000 in misc stuff.

The best thing you can do is get home owners or rental insurance. Then document everything you have in pictures and put them online.

@-artist-: I have my game collection included as part of my insurance, I also have taken many pictures of my collection to document the current state of my collection in case I ever have to make a claim. These photos are also uploaded to my personal website and a backup site, in addition to being stored on my phone. You can also try to get your collection appraised and submit the results to your insurance company to place in your file. Though I have not found anyone to appraise my collection at this time, mostly due to lack of trying.

One thing you can do to make a list is to input your collection into an online database like the one at http://vgcollect.com to keep track of what you have, this also helps to avoid buying a game you already have when your collection gets too big to remember every game you own.I also used to have a detailed list of my collection, and I plan on solving that issue soon. I keep the physical copy of this list at my parents house in a fire-proof safe w/photos of the collection.

Lastly, you can buy protective cases for your games on ebay, I usually buy from a seller named keep_em_minty, or from retroprotection and also for anything boxed make sure you keep your items in a cooled environment, but not too cool, to prevent your boxes and inserts from warping.

If I think of anything else I'll add another response.

When it comes to keeping your old games safe, I usually put them in a nice box that won't get too dust for my old games that I'm not using. Like jdc6305 said, taking pics and documenting them also helps on the home insurance so be sure to do that.

Now this is a good way to do it.

I'm studying archiving and library science for my Master's degree and one thing we go over in preservation is material such as games, movies and music. While there are plenty of ways to keep your games safe from the elements, one thing I recommend is to definitely keep them in a cool climate area (if possible). Cooler temperatures will keep both cartridges and discs in better shape. Discs however, were never really created to last forever so just keep in mind to check on them once in a while to see that they are not damaged from heat or humidity and dust them often with a clean cloth.

Hope that helps!

I think my collection should be safe enough. Just as long as little kids don't go and start touching the boxes.

It is awesome to see another archivist on here. I start my MLIS program in a couple of months!

As far as theft goes, I would recommend pictures and documentation of all the games and other collectibles you own. Also, keep your receipts (or take pics)! I personally have this in a spreadsheet, but I realize most won't want to do this. There are websites out there for this purpose. In addition, I highly recommend renters insurance or home owners insurance. Renters insurance in particular can be very cheap.

As far as protecting the games, EmptySki hit the major points. I have a couple of region based ones. I live in South Carolina and do not have central air, so I have had to move some of my more precious games to cooler places in the house. Also because I live in the south (and in a sun room), I have had to deal with sun bleaching. Make sure your collection is out of direct sunlight on a daily basis as the cases will fade more quickly than you would think. If you have games you do not play often, open them up and check them for dust every so often as EmptySki suggested and wipe them down with a micro fiber cloth.

One more comment from experience...Lysol, Febreeze, or Pledge will eat a disc. I know it seems like common sense not to clean game discs with any household spray, which I never have. The stuff lingers in the air. Once I was cleaning my shelves with it and I had left a game disc out on the other side of the room. I noticed a bit of the Pledge I was using got on the disc. I didn't worry about it too much. I just wiped it down and moved on...it was still playable but left potmarks all over the disc that only showed up later. This was not fun times. I tried some other sprays on some worn out CDs for fun (because I'm an archivist nerd) and found that these sprays will mutilate a disc.
...that was a really long rant about sprays. I'm kind of judging myself. lol Oh well. Hope it helps someone.

Invest in these too.

http://www.videogameboxprotectors.com.

JDC-Nice to have another michigander on the forums. I live in grosse ile, by wyandotte/riverview area, south of detroit.

Same here I'm in Warren just north of 8 mile. I fish down your way in the spring for walleye. How did you know I was from Michigan? I'm just curious because I couldn't find it in my account info.

I just came back to check on this thread because I had a home invasion yesterday. I went grocery shopping at 9am and I left the backdoor unlocked. I left it unlocked because I figured since my cousin was home I didn't need to lock it. He was still in bed though. When I got back from the store I noticed the gate was open. I thought someone was just checking the water meter. I go in the house and the backdoor is wide open. My cousin came out of the bedroom and asked if I just got home. He said someone had opened his bedroom door and quickly shut it. He thought it was me and it was 15 minutes before I got home. Someone had the balls to come into my house. I'm totally freaked out at the moment.

You said earlier in the thread you live 2 blocks north of detroit?

lol yeah I'm a dumb ass.

lol no biggie.