Hi Everyone. I’m looking to get a safe for my collection and wanted to get some suggestions. Looking for something that could hold around 4-5 regular size binders.
Thanks!
What is your goal?
Fire protection? Theft protection? Flood/Water protection? Keeping a housemate from pawing through with dirty fingers?
What is your budget?
Understood on the size given the 4-5 regular size binders requirement.
Depending on the answers to those two questions there is almost certainly an option that will provide some amount of utility to you and I could suggest something specific. I personally own things ranging from small “burglar convenience” fireproof lock boxes all the way up to actual safes (not just residential security containers that most would think of when they hear “gun safe”).
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I’ve also have been toying with the idea of getting a safe for my collection. Right now what works for me, is the Harbor Freight “Apache Cases” they are identical to the Pelican Cases for a lot cheaper. It’s waterproof, and there are various sizes that can cater to your needs.
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Thank you for this. Do you know if you can different foam inserts? No sure how I would set them up in those layouts. I know this is a dumb question, but I have no idea, haha.
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That i am not sure of. Each case comes with it’s own foam inserts for you to customize for your cards. It is great!
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For storage reasons I would not recommend a safe for binders. You want free airflow, and the temperature/humidity to be controlled as effectively as possible
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This question reminded me of a post from a while back: www.elitefourum.com/t/a-budget-friendly-solution-for-fireproofing-your-psa-slabs/22559/1
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Have you considered a safe deposit locker? It’s even safer than a safe at home and I’d definitely recommend it for high-end stuff or if your cards’ worth is in the five figure range or above. The drawback is that you have to pay a monthly fee and can’t just open the locker whenever you like to admire your collection.
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If you want to protect your collection from theft then definitely don’t put it in a safe. A safe is like putting a sign up saying “very valuable items inside please steal”. A safe is better used as a decoy.
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Not really worried too much about theft, more for fire/flood safe(there is a small creak in our back yard).
Thanks to everyone for their comments!
I remember looking into this awhile ago and a legitimate fire safe to hold 4-5 binders would cost you $2k+. You need the contents inside to remain under 150 F (UL 150). Cheap fire safes are UL 350 rated and everything inside will be ruined if there’s a fire.
Just one more thing about safes being fire safe: If you buy one, make sure that it’s not just flame resistant but also somewhat heat resistant. Your (PSA) cards can still get destroyed even if the flames can’t enter the safe or melt it. All it takes is a significant heat increase inside. I haven’t tried it yet, but the cards will probably get significant wrinkles or shrink.
@charizandrew somewhat ninja’d me
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www.sturdysafe.com/ if you want some serious protection.
Fires vary a lot and depending on how you have things packed inside you’d be surprised what could potentially make it through. Having anything is a lot more than nothing.
A small fireproof safe within a larger fireproof “gun” safe is about as good as it gets IMO. If they are each rated for 30 minute fire protection you get much more than the 30+30 you might think you’d get due to how the heat transfer would work in having to penetrate the safes in series, not parallel.
OP You missed a budget. The more the better realistically, but I’d assume your budget is a bit lower than a couple grand? Wholesale stores like BJs, Costco etc. even home depot and lowes often have 5-12 ish cubic feet “gun” style safes in the $500-$1500 range. This makes for a good outer safe. Inside for max protection you can then go with something like a sentry 0500 which is a file sized safe that can hold a few binders. These are sub $100. If budget doesn’t allow for the nesting of the safes, having this alone would give you substantially more chance of something surviving a fire than nothing. Sentry also offers similar models that are waterproof. If you go ahead with anything be sure to use desiccants and open the safe regularly to air it out as per the manufacturer recommendation.
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Thanks for the overview! Yeah I’m trying to stick under 300 atm so I make look into the Sentry safe options.
Hey,
I’ve literally written all of the guides for security/protection for trading cards on E4 and have been published on Ludkins main site discussing this very topic: ludkinscollectables.com/public/blog/a-complete-guide-to-home-safes-for-collectors
If you would like to message me, we might be able to figure out what your needs are and go from there.
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@silversnorlax204 what do you recommend the humidity level inside a safe with cards?