How do you tell your cd cases apart? Mine all look the same!

[nate1749]

I've got about 10 cd cases (binder looking ones) and they are all black and generally look the same. I've also decided that I'm only going to buy these case logic 128 cases from now on. They are sturdy, the pages don't get stuck in the zipper, and they don't feel like I'm carrying around a 20lb brief case.

Regardless, I often have to open a few different cases before I find the right one I'm looking for. The only solution I can think of to this is to print a large label and put it on the spine, but that will look kind of ridiculous (I think..) & cheap (definitely).

How do you guys sort your cd cases so you can identify the right one? If they made the one I like in a bunch of different colors that would be nice, but they don't so ...

Nate

[Flack]

If you don't want "cheap" you probably won't like my solution ... I have duck tape stuck (sideways, not longwise) across the spine of all my CD books, with information written on them in black Sharpie. It may not be the most impressive-looking system of all time, but it meets my personal criteria (cheap and easy).

[bargora]

Separating the CDs from their cases seems like rank heresy to me. You aren't throwing the cases away, are you?

Anyway, I suppose you could hand them over to your grandmother and have her embroider something on the spine.

[Mr.Faxanadu]

I've been thinking about this myself..... I was planning to use card stock and print up nice lables. Then I was going to use that velcro with the adhesive backing to place them onto the binder spine. This allows them to be exchangeable

[Cauterize]

hmmm id only use these cases if it was for backups...

[Daria]

White out pens work well on those binders.

[maxlords]

I never use binders either. I agree. Heresy! BURN THE HERETICS!

[tholly]

I never use binders either. I agree. Heresy! BURN THE HERETICS!


Me either....That's what the cases were made for. And, if you need to travel, do you really need 128 games with you....just get a 12 disc case if you need to take games somewhere

[ghostangelofcky]

Regardles of what anyone else thinks dude it's your collection, keep it as you see fit. Burn the fascists. LOL

I have case logic cases for all the loose cd games I've aquired over the years, mainly 3DO. I just bought one of those label makers nad put it length ways on the spine it looks less ghetto that way.

[nate1749]

The cases aren't just games, I put all disc types in them. So I have a few cases of just audio cds and then some with computer discs and then some with movies and then actual video games in others. Everything is organized quite well in them and fairly easy to find what I want, but right now it's harder to find the right case.

I use the cases because they are by far the most space efficient and make it incredibly easy to look at & find just what I'm looking for. I'm not the same type of collector as most of you guys. I prefer loose games and have no interest in keeping manuals or boxes... I know I know, shoot me - but to me they're just big, bulky, old and crappy feeling. To my understanding they only increase the value of the game, which is not what I'm interested in.

The velcro idea is AWESOME, I'm definitely going to look into that. White marker wouldn't be bad if my handwriting didn't look like I was in kindergarten. And if my grandma was alive I'm sure she'd love to sew on the side of these cases. Thanks for all the ideas everyone!

Nate

[Slipdeath]

Well you wont need to if you have this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=52473&item=4700758130&rd=1

[bargora]

I prefer loose games and have no interest in keeping manuals or boxes... I know I know, shoot me - but to me they're just big, bulky, old and crappy feeling. To my understanding they only increase the value of the game, which is not what I'm interested in.
Yeah, yeah. The boxes and manuals are worthless. The boxes and manuals have cooties. That's how pre-adolescent boys talk about girls. One day you're going to wake up, hit yourself in the head, and exclaim "what the hell was I thinking?!?"

Or not. It's just that collectors have a visceral reaction to that kind of thing.

[SirDrexl]

This suggestion assumes that the pages will fit in a standard 3-ring binder like the kind you would put looseleaf paper in.

There is a company called Avery that makes binders that you can customize. Basically, the outside hard plastic is clear, and has a "pocket" on the inside so that you can insert any cover you want. The spine is like this also. You can download templates at their website at http://www.avery.com/library.

I would at least keep the boxes and manuals for your games, in case you ever decide to sell any of them, or you change your mind about your storage strategy. Just put them somewhere away from your collection if you want. I do this with those cardboard (or in one case-no pun intended, metal) slipcovers DVDs sometimes have on the outside.

If space is really a problem, the least you could do is take out the cover art sheets so you can "unfold" (is that the right word?) them and store them flat, and then throw away the plastic cases. However, you probably should keep a few of the unique ones that aren't easy to come by loose like the green- and silver-colored Xbox cases, the unique GameCube cases, the double-disc jewel cases, etc. Cardboard boxes can be "flattened"-again, I don't know what the right word is, but by undoing the flaps or whatever you can store them flat.

I don't really see anything wrong with storing them like this. It would certainly be nice for storing all those PC games that came in those large boxes.

[Kid Ice]

I swear by these cases:

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=299298&pfp=BROWSE

I don't like to keep the games in their boxes. The boxes are on a shelf for display, and sometimes in piles. I don't like taking discs in and out of boxes because they can get scratched. I can easily keep the discs alphabetized in the case, and then just stick the box anywhere it fits on the shelf. And I'm sorry to say I do have a couple dozen unboxed games.

The front of the case is see-through, so I can tell what's in the box by the first game without opening it. So if it's Last Bronx, that's the Saturn case L-Z.

[nate1749]

I've got about 10 cd cases (binder looking ones) and they are all black and generally look the same. I've also decided that I'm only going to buy these case logic 128 cases from now on. They are sturdy, the pages don't get stuck in the zipper, and they don't feel like I'm carrying around a 20lb brief case.

Regardless, I often have to open a few different cases before I find the right one I'm looking for. The only solution I can think of to this is to print a large label and put it on the spine, but that will look kind of ridiculous (I think..) & cheap (definitely).

How do you guys sort your cd cases so you can identify the right one? If they made the one I like in a bunch of different colors that would be nice, but they don't so ...

Nate

Still looking for a solution for this. I've been printing out labels, but they only stick for a few days/weeks then they come off (very annoying). Doesn't anyone else just have a bunch of black cd cases?

I bought some velcro patches from hobby lobby, but I haven't found the right size/one just yet.

Nate

[davidleeroth]

My friend bought a 300-disc CD changer from a recycling center for 15€. The optics were shot, that's why it was cheap but you can still insert the appropriate info for every disc, shuffle and eject them. It could be faster but it's convenient as hell and keeps the disc dust- and scratch-free.

Might be a bit akward if you're a travelling type of guy or gal, though.

[CYRiX]

Hey Since I don't exactly have all my cd's in a cd tower where i can jus pull one out with out the rest falling I just keep the cases on a shelf and put the cd's in a binder. the only bad part is have 100 cd's in order and then having to shift all of the cd's one spot over to keep it in alphabetical order.

[SlayerOfFurbies]

Screw using binders.... keep your games in their original cases... that way you know what each disk is.
in most cases your binders end up scuffing your disc.. hence decreasing the value incase you decide to sell

Burn the Witch! LOL

[syd]

Personally, all I use are binders. The actual cases are nice, but then comes the problem with where to put them? You'd have to buy a cd rack/tower of some sort, which takes up a lot more space than any size binder, and costs a lot more too. Besides, if you have the games in alphabetical order in the binders then you wouldn't have a problem finding a game. That's my opinion anyway. :D

As for how to label the binders, I would go with a label printer kind of job. Just get a cheap label, put something fancy on it, and stick it on there. It doesn't have to be just a basic black font on white label if you don't want it to be. I'm sure you can get a nice colourful design to print on a label.

BTW, currently I've only got 2 binders, a big one and a small one, so they're easy to tell apart. LOL

[Xizer]

I prefer loose games and have no interest in keeping manuals or boxes... I know I know, shoot me - but to me they're just big, bulky, old and crappy feeling. To my understanding they only increase the value of the game, which is not what I'm interested in.

Are you saying you...throw away the cases?!!!! X_x

BURN HIM! BURN HIM! BURN HIM AT THE STAKE!

Seriously though, man - if you throw them away...stop it. Please! At least sell them on eBay. There's people who are missing cases/manuals for their things and desperately need them - if more people sold the boxes/manuals if they didn't want them getting complete games would be far easier.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I used to keep my games in these cases, back when I only had a few for the PlaYStation. I got about four of those official PlayStation Cd cases, and I often have to go through all four before getting to the one I want. It's always the last one. Lol.

No sure way of telling them apart except for storing them in a way that you know which is which. Ie, second case on the left is PlayStation games, one on th e far right for Dreamy games Etc...

You could always try tyinga piece of coloured string to the zipper of each case, and remember what each represents...

[boatofcar]

My heart skipped a beat when I saw bagora reply to this. Then I looked at the date :(

Anyway, I'd take Flack's suggestion, except use masking tape instead of duct tape. It's easier to read and to remove should you decide to.