Long term sticker preservation
crdsnslbs561
Posts: 2 ✭
I'm collecting soccer stickers and noticed that "non-psa" slabs don't protect stickers very well. I live in S. Florida and noticed that from the time I ordered these slabbed stickers to the time I get them the sticker gets a lot of warping especially in the summer time. After returning some the sellers confirmed that sticker was warped in the slab during transit.
People forget stickers all have glue which is liquid or perishable. When it heats up at all it can harm the condition and ruin the grade. Even with a 8.5 grade, if it warps inside the slab after grading, there goes your 8.5 grade and the slab won't preserve its value. I'm pretty sure this wouldn't just apply to soccer stickers but also 80's basketball stickers. If anybody had this problem with non-psa graded stickers in warmer climates or times, let me know if this is common.
Stickers aren't cards and vice versa. The stickers glue makes it very delicate. I wanted to get some CR7 and Messi rookie stickers but I don't think it's worth it from certain grading companies if it's going to get easily damaged and I don't have anything to decently preserve them.
Closest thing to stickers in collectibles world I'm guessing is stamp collections since both have glue making them condition sensitive. Turns out stamps need 50% RH and 50 to 62 degree fahrenheit for long term preservation. If you apply this to stickers, long term collecting in most environments is not feasible. You would need your home's A/C running at 50-65 degrees year round with humidity control for the storage area. Does anyone collect stamps in warm climates and is this correct?
I've reached out to other hobbyists but none have a lot of experience with stickers. Most say don't overthink it, it's not a big deal or just use silica packets for humidity which I guess is cool for cards. I guess no one really cares about stickers.
If you have 50k plus in very rare stickers or are looking to invest that much into it you want to make sure you are looking after you're investment, especially if you're holding period is 10+ years.
My best solution is using a digital humidity and temperature controlled cabinet for collection storage. It seems a little much just reading that sentence and they are expensive (1k to 5k), with none on the market designed for this specific market. You would have to look at models for cigar humidors, wine coolers or scientific use cabinets. Pretty weird and kind of a little much. If you are building up a collection of soccer stickers that might be 50k in value or more right now, a 1k to 5k investment might actually be worth it for preservation. If anyone knows anything better for preservation of graded stickers let me know.
Comments
How about a mini refrigerator that has a temperature control?
If I recall correctly, @blurryface has some tricks (from experience) when it comes to dealing with humidity.
Hopefully he can weigh in…
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
Curious - are you saying that PSA's slab has solved for temperature/humidity variants while the other major TPG's have not?
As far as stamps my father was a collector for decades and I never heard him say a word about temperature affecting his collection. We didn’t live in Florida but the house was air conditioned (though certainly not 50-62 F).
sorry just saw this. i split my time from right above in sav, ga. humidity is a beast. it effects not only the labels but sticker cards too. first noticed it on my beloved 80 rotj sticker set. and on the psa flips themselves. theyd get all wrinkly. when removed and not properly replaced is when it would seem to happen the most.
first thing is a dehumidifier for your storage room. a dedicated one. you also wanna make sure your storage area is no where near a major opening or closing of a door or window. it causes major condensation as you are prolly fully aware of. cold glass and plastic are the first things to get attacked.
as for constant storage of stickers and or high dollar items, i use a large gun vault. be sure to order the large silicon gel packs to absorb any dampness. metal is cool on the outside but stays a lil warm on the inside so when you open it up it can cause just enough of that dayum condensation. i also use perfect-sleeves for each one of the slabs. this thin plastic sleeve helps immensely during those dreaded summer months. when its time to sell the card, just like new wood for hardwood floors, in the south you wanna take it out and let it acclimate before wrapping it up and shipping. let it sit in the garage for a couple of hours vs taking it outta a 70 degree house, wrapping that coldness up in plastic bubblemailer and then sending it out into 100+ degree mailbox. have to remember that even though they are water tight, those slabs are sonically sealed. enough air does get trapped in there to cause negative effects. acclimating it first will prevent the flip from wrinkling and possible sticker adhesive issues. again, just the garage. not the driveway. esp in south florida!
id rather have 108 degree of direct sun in az than 98 degree of direct shade in ga. and its not even close. ive tried to explain this to folks in the past just how bad it can be down this way. they usually laugh and say its not that bad. until its their babies, theyll never quite get it. and thats ok. 😉
best of luck! if you have any tips, im always all ears…
Still saying I gotta get a gun safe....
Yaz Master Set
#1 Gino Cappelletti master set
#1 John Hannah master set
Also collecting Andre Tippett, Patriots Greats' RCs, Dwight Evans, 1964 Venezuelan Topps, 1974 Topps Red Sox
Locking lid storage totes, with a large'ish shallow open container inside filled to the top with these:
https://www.amazon.com/Dry-Desiccant-Indicating-Industry-Standard/dp/B0725LNZ24/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=dry+dry+silica+beads&qid=1625751927&sr=8-4
recharge when they start changing to green color
The mini fridge controls temp but not humidity. PSA are better than others but still have the same problem after cracking the slab.
If you look at the front and backs of the 2006 Candy Ronaldo/Beckham/Ibrahimovic stickers on ebay from PSA 6 to PSA 9 you can see varying amounts of discoloration that look like "wet spots" from the glue being heated up. I have a PSA 6 of this sticker and noticed that after a few months the "wet spots" were increasing in size. I even checked the original listing pic to see major differences.
It's kind of like the greening problem for 96 Topps finest Kobe's except damage is getting quicker. I got a few bgs slabs recently and the heat severely warped stickers more noticeably because the slab design gives sticker inside space to wrinkle. PSA slabs you can notice "wet spots" but the sticker's condition is prevented from warping in the slab because of tightness of fit.
The vault with temp control and silica packets is pretty good and the most common way to store cards and stickers. I think for stickers it will be more of a problem to store it this way than cards. Stickers and stamps have the glue issue which museums and high value collections require 50% relative humidity.
Apparently the problem for stickers is humidity going above and below the 50% target zone. When this happens water volume (humidity levels) expand and contract and even without temp changes it can warp or damage the condition of the sticker slightly. Add temp fluctuations and it gets worse.
Silica packets might reduce the humidity below an rh of 50% during storage. If it's longer term, the glue can become brittle and harder which sounds like it's not that bad, but if you introduce more humidity and temperature variance when taking it out of storage it can cause more damage than initially.
This whole topic is very nuanced and definitely seems for slightly ocd collectors, but if you're investing in stickers either 86 fleer Jordan's or 2002 Futebol Cristiano Ronaldo or anything worth more than a few hundred bucks these issues are going to come up.
It's just recently that the market/hobby identifying value in stickers but no one has really mentioned these problems that arise. Maybe it's the region I'm in and the time of year that's making these longer term problems more rapidly visible.
This topic is just as new to me as it is to whomever's reading this post and I'm pretty sure the grading companies aren't fully aware of these issues. I'm just brainstorming ideas to help preserve quality and value in these items especially if anyone wants to keep them long term.
they definitely arent. most other collectors arent either simply because they dont have to deal w/ the problem. it's why i started splitting my time. i always find it funny though when folks come outta town for a wedding or something in say, mid july and their shirt is soaked the minute they walk outside. and if one of those daily afternoon thunderstorms had just rolled through a few hours previously, forget about it! the heat isnt what gets ya. it's the humidity.