I currently store my unused cards on a box, but each card is inside an anti-static bag. So far, it has worked fine for me.

Anti-static bags is a must, and just use cardboard between them.

Filing cabinets... and of course anti-static bags.

I wonder how much anti-static bags actually matter for cards that are just lying there instead of being shipped/handled/etc. At least it'll prevent components from catching on one another.

I finally got organised a couple of years ago. Everything is now boxed up, except for hard drives and PSUs, as I still haven't found suitable boxes for those.

Oetker wrote on 2020-06-13, 06:38:

I wonder how much anti-static bags actually matter for cards that are just lying there instead of being shipped/handled/etc. At least it'll prevent components from catching on one another.

I assume that environmental conditions can have an impact. E.g. if you are in a high humidity area. Having things wrapped in anti-static bags will protect it somewhat from this.

It doesn't have to be pile, they can still be stored in a box but vertically in antistatic bags. This way you don't have the weigh of the pile, the cards don't touch and you can retrieve the last one without removing everything from the box

just having a simple layer between the cards (as much as a simple antistatic bag) can prevent such damage, because parts will "slide" past each other instead of corners bumping into things bending legs like this for example.

cards below around 20cm I store upright, long cards I usually store on their longer side and I avoid stacking parts on top of each other.

Errius wrote on 2020-06-13, 08:11:

I finally got organised a couple of years ago. Everything is now boxed up, except for hard drives and PSUs, as I still haven't found suitable boxes for those.

that is super neat 😁

I usually put all my old cards in their original boxes. 😁

Mine are vertically in antistatic bags and then inside boxes for each type (GPU, NIC, etc...) I cannot stand the thought of PCBs rubbing/scratching eachother. Too easy to wipe out the leg of an IC or take a trace out.

Errius wrote on 2020-06-13, 08:11:

I finally got organised a couple of years ago. Everything is now boxed up, except for hard drives and PSUs, as I still haven't f […]
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I finally got organised a couple of years ago. Everything is now boxed up, except for hard drives and PSUs, as I still haven't found suitable boxes for those.

I like this idea; 100 cardboard boxes in the right size costs 22 euros, so I'm going for the same approach!

The small brown boxes are C5 size and can hold a typical expansion card. The large brown ones are C4 and can hold all but the longest ISA cards. Longer/thicker cards, along with motherboards, go in the large white boxes. Slot 1 CPUs with heatsinks fit two apiece in the small white boxes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_size#C_series

I've started doing that myself since january
This works incredibely well 😁

if only I could find boxes that can hold full size ATX boards x3

all the available cheap options are 350x250x50, and it's just barely not enough for the IO connectors on full size ATX boards... if only they were 350x260x50 😁

babtras wrote on 2020-06-13, 03:32:

I'm busy organizing my inventory. Working on expansion cards in particular, and would like a much better way of storing them tha […]
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I'm busy organizing my inventory. Working on expansion cards in particular, and would like a much better way of storing them than just in a pile in a box.

I have noticed a couple of instances of damage caused by storing them this way, mostly mild, but could make the difference between a working and DOA card.

Anyone want to share their storage solutions to give me ideas?

Attachment is example of mild but potentially catastrophic damage if I powered it up without spotting it first, on an ATI TV Wonder

Here are some threads with some examples, including some of mine
How do you store your computer parts?
How do you organise / sort / store all your retro gear?
Lets all share tips of how we organize our collection of retro computer stuff :)
Storing your pc parts.

There's some pics of how I've stored my stuff in this thread Re: post up pics of your "computing area"
My attic doesn't look exactly like this anymore, but in short I went 3D and got me some of those storage closets dunnotheirenglishname and lots of kiwi boxes 😁
I also got heaps of ESD bags and I would recommend you do the same. Try to prevent stacking PCBs too high or don't stack them at all if avoidable.
To a certain degree you can stack PCBs (like of course memory modules and small cards like older PCI VGA cards like Virges (individually packed in an ESD bag of course)).

Try to not store motherboards with their batteries installed or newer boards (like Pentium 4 and A64) with their often large heatsink mounted as over time this can warp the board. I use motherboard boxes to store them, they are just perfect for them. You can use sheets of cardboard to prevent PCBs from scratching into eachother when you have to move a box or something and this is very cheap as well.

I've also used old shoe boxes for stuff like Slot 1 CPUs, but these boxes themselves are not very stackable.

But your main issues will be to prevent scratching and warping of PCBs while also preventing damage by ESD and by accidents (like don't store a box full of CPUs on the edge of a table etc).

Once I'm done with my attic I can make some pics and share them to give some ideas. Particularly things like for instance CPUs can be a challenge to store properly and efficiently if you don't have stacks of CPU trays available.

I just got done organizing my stuff after moving into a new apartment. I have a stack of those plastic bin drawers in a closet which hold all my computer parts plus cables and things.