DrawerBoxes(TM)
Keeping your collection organized

Damn! Before last year, storing my immense collection of comics each month meant digging 30 boxes out of the closet, arranging them in an organized manner, adding new issues to their appropriate bin, then restacking all of the boxes back up again. This was a back breaking endeavor that I dreaded each and every month. But then I discovered a small booth at San Diego Comic Con 2005 that changed how my comics are organized.

The Chort and I came across a very unassuming booth at last year’s comic convention in San Diego. Had we not been tired and walking slowly we would have completely missed them. The Collection Drawer’s DrawerBoxes (TM) were on display and after checking out these comic organizers first hand, we were sold.

With regular long and short boxes, if you have them stacked in your collection room, you can’t access the titles in the bottom box until you remove the ones on top. The idea behind DrawerBoxes(TM) is the boxes are drawers, meaning all you need to do is pull the drawer of the bottom box out and the entire stack remains standing. Huge timesaver believe me.

Here’s how the boxes work. Instead of being a single box, DrawerBoxes(TM) have a double cardboard shell surrounding the box. There is so much cardboard in these boxes that each box weighs in at around 5 pounds. This shell is strong enough to support five fully loaded drawers even when the bottom drawer is completely removed. Currently I have mine stacked five high (by five wide) in my collection room.

Each 9” by 26” box will hold 235 bagged and boarded comics, (although it does get pretty tight completely full), and are short enough to fit in most closets. According to the company you can store up to 1400 comics in a two square foot space. If you do need to transport the collection, there are handles on either end just like a traditional long box. This is especially useful for those who have to move a lot because they are constantly being evicted for using rent money to buy comics.

There are a couple of drawbacks to these boxes. First they can be very frustrating to put together. Because of the way the tabs interlock they will occasionally pop out lowering the structural integrity of the box. If the box fails it could mean 4200 comics falling and landing on someone. The other drawback is access. Yes I do love the fact that I can reach comics on the bottom of the stack, but at five high, it is really hard to load and unload a full drawer on the top of the stack. The best height I have found is four boxes. Even at this height the column on the end leans out a little too much for my comfort. One of the shops I frequent has actually built a frame around stacks of 4×6 and keeps everything together. These are made of a couple of 2x4s with a piece of plywood on top for customers to place their finds on.

As sold as I am on these boxes, the biggest gulp for anyone looking to transform their storage is the price. A five pack of the DrawerBoxes(TM) will cost you $43.75, which seems a bit excessive. Still never having to stack and restack boxes make the cost well worth it. The best part of these drawers is it will dramatically change how you organize your collection room (or closet) and really cleans things up.

If you are looking for a discount, see if the company will be at the San Diego Comic Con, last year they had a show special which took $10 off the cost of a five pack.

I give Drawer Boxes 5 (out of 5) Stars.

For more information visit http://collectiondr.temp.powweb.com/