Finally A Replacement for the Superior Crate For Record Storage

[thebes]

Records. They take up space and they are usually stacked sideways, which means you have to turn your end at an odd angle to read the very small print to see what record it is and end up with a crink in your neck. Or, you can do what record stores and hippies learned to do a long time ago, and that's place them in a box so you can flip through them. 

 

Me I'm a flipper. As my collection grew I used old packing boxes, wooden crates and regular milk crates.  All those storage vehicles had drawbacks.  The boxes would rip, the wooden crates would split, and the milk crates left the top inch of the record exposed and weren't stackable.

 

So wallah, along comes The Container Store's Superior Crate, perfect for lps. Cheap,  holds about a hundred, is high enough to protect the top of the records, and is stackable.

 

Then, like many loved objects, one day, a couple of years ago, The Container Store stops selling them . Boo!  My collection continues to grow, my space keeps shrinking,  the mounds grow and there's no cheap alternatives.  What's a poor Thebes to do you ask?  Well mostly fume and ponder I reply. But then one day as a tipsy mound of funk and soul finally topples to the floor, I go on what I presume will be another fruitless internet search.

 

But wallah!  Deliverance is at hand.  My faith in American entrepreneurship is renewed. Because there is a site called Milk Crates Direct (no I'm not making this up) and on the site is the Heavy Duty Super Crate, or S-Crates for short.  And, get this,  not only are they a bit larger than their demised Superior crate, they ship in a convenient 4 pack and come in over a dozen colors, thus allowing you to color code your record collection. As an added bonus they are made in America and can, in a pinch, also be used to store milk cartons!

 

Better yet, 10 buckaroos a pop rising to about $15 a piece with shipping. 

 

Well faster than you can say , Paypal, they were on their way to the humble Thebes abode where they will be employed in the Great Re-Filing Undertaking of 2018-2019, due to begin almost any day now. 

 

So how do you trump Superior. Why Super, of course. 

 

Here's a link to the site: https://www.milkcratesdirect.com/super-crates/s-crate-1?gclid=CjwKCAiAuMTfBRAcEiwAV4SDkUmY-rYd3v8Z1TbBB4s6LHx0IzjJAOvxl2M9FVKDLAF0W4PJcWHrlBoCBXAQAvD_BwE

 

That that's Super on the left, Superior on the right.

 

[JohnJ]

Excellent Information @thebes

You Have a Happy Thanksgiving up there alright?

[Schu]

I need some of those... about 15+

that's about the cheapest price Ive seen.

[YK Thom]

Those are perfect!

[thebes]

I do believe that with shipping a four pack cost me just around $60.  You could use the various colors for categories, like Black for Punk, Red for rock and roll, yellow for country, a waste paper basket for the Beatles, green for groovy....

[thebes]

6 hours ago, JohnJ said:

Excellent Information @thebes

You Have a Happy Thanksgiving up there alright?

Thank you my friend and may yours also leave you with a full belly and a need to nod off.

[thebes]

Still time to get some for your beloved record collector for the holidays.

[ODS123]

I like it!  Crates are very convenient.

 

For those wanting something up off the ground  Check this out.  It's on my Christmas wish list this year.  A bit pricey, but attractive and functional.
 

https://www.prathermade.com/shop/morad-unit

 

[red1302]

Thebes, thank you for the information of this item. How many albums will these hold and still be able to have enough "slack" to thumb through them?

I have 600 plus congested in a hall closet.
 

John

[thebes]

Looks to be around 70 a crate.  So 600 divided by seventy equals, er um, forty three crates.

[red1302]

Thank you.

 

[Harleywood]

On 12/16/2018 at 10:23 AM, ODS123 said:

I like it!  Crates are very convenient.

 

For those wanting something up off the ground  Check this out.  It's on my Christmas wish list this year.  A bit pricey, but attractive and functional.
 

https://www.prathermade.com/shop/morad-unit

 

 

This one is pretty nice and a lot cheaper. 

https://www.lpbin.com/lpbin2.html

[ODS123]

51 minutes ago, Harleywood said:

 

This one is pretty nice and a lot cheaper. 

https://www.lpbin.com/lpbin2.html

 

I like it!!  And way less expensive than the Prather Morad.

[Harleywood]

6 hours ago, ODS123 said:

 

I like it!!  And way less expensive than the Prather Morad.

 

Ive been eying it for a while. I'm outgrowing my current storage setup that forces me to store my LP's like a bookcase which I hate since I'm blind and can't read the rib. Thought about going the milk crate route but my knees and back starting giving me fits way before my eyes went south so the elevated rack keeps looking like a smart choice.   

[thebes]

Saw these at the DC Audio Fest and they were well built but $1700 for a unit so way outta my league.  You could put lesser artists like The Beatles and Barry Manilow in the bottom racks to save your back.

 

https://www.symbolaudio.com/vinyl-storage/dovetail-vinyl-storage-cabinet/

 

 

 

[Harleywood]

14 minutes ago, thebes said:

 

14 minutes ago, thebes said:

Saw these at the DC Audio Fest and they were well built but $1700 for a unit so way outta my league.  You could put lesser artists like The Beatles and Barry Manilow in the bottom racks to save your back.

 

https://www.symbolaudio.com/vinyl-storage/dovetail-vinyl-storage-cabinet/

 

 

 

 

 

Wow! That thing is massive and super nice. I really like the drawers. They should make browsing selections a breeze. I may have to rethink my priorities after seeing that one.

[thebes]

They say it holds about 560 records, give or take a few.

[jimjimbo]

Thebes, since you are in the DC area with lots of great wine shops, hit them up for the wooden boxes that some of the better French and American wineries ship their magnums (1.5L) in.  Functional and classy.

[Schu]

I like it, a lot.

I don't know if I like it @ 1700$... if it were $500-$600 I bet they would sell out.

[billybob]

Dang, may have to just use a filing cabinet for my growing selection. Plenty to be had as nobody uses these old school cabs for office duty anymore. Of course, Beatles and Manilow not on my top shelf...