How Do You Manage / Track Your Collection?

[ejharrington]

I am a collector of Pre WW2 vintage who recently has started collecting modern cards of some of my favorite players.

In some cases, players have over 10,000 cards and counting with all the variants.

I would appreciate any advice on how people track their collections, especially when new cards are always coming out.

Thanks,
Eric

[dboll20]

During my time off around Thanksgiving I created a google spread sheet that contains every card I own. I have a sheet for each decade (a pre 1940 sheet for everything older). I have each sheet sorted Numerically by year and list the player name, card, grade if applicable, purchase price and purchase date. I have a column for value of the card, but with how much everything fluctuates I doubt I keep up with that information.

I also recently began and purchase sheet with all incoming items that I can transfer into the decade sheet when it arrives. I also have a sheet for sales to track profit and what not to be better equipped for taxes now that I am selling more.

[chris_ac]

Excel spreadsheets with a tab for each product year.

Quantity, set name, serial # if any, card type like RC/mem/auto etc., graded or raw, and of course a rough value.

As for new cards, take it month by month and when a new checklist is available (I use cardboardconnection mostly) take count of what cards you maybe interested in out of that product. Keep a wantlist of sorts in a separate spreadsheet or tab if it helps. I have to see the card live before I actually decide it's a must-buy.

[dashcol]

I’m with the others, I have a Google Docs spreadsheet for each of my PCs, 3 total sheets for now, and I list each card by player in alphabetical order by last name, then the card, date purchased, price paid and current value.

It then totals up for me what I have paid in total for everything and what it is worth and tells me whether I am in the red or black.

As far as cards I have in my trade box, all I do is put a yellow sticky on back of the top loader with how much I paid for it, and the date I got it. That makes it easy to know if I am willing to accept an offer, or the minimum I am willing to trade/sell it for.

[xTri]

I use tcdb.com to record my card.

[REGGIE206]

When I buy a card, I put it on my iPhone notes. When I get a tracking info link, I then put the link on my iPhone notes too. I then type in the expected delivery date in. I watch it but clicking on the tracking link here & there.

[UCCF]

When I buy a card, I put it on my iPhone notes. When I get a tracking info link, I then put the link on my iPhone notes too. I then type in the expected delivery date in. I watch it but clicking on the tracking link here & there.

I have a separate page in my todo list software for pending deliveries - every time I buy something, I make an entry on that page and note that the package is outstanding. When it gets delivered, I check it off.

If you're buying more than just a few things, you have to keep track. It's nearly impossible to mentally catalog everything that's outstanding, particularly given the shipping delays that might mean it's weeks between order and delivery.

[salas1991]

Spreadsheet tracking is def a good idea, as a backup at the very least, though I'm a child of the 70s so as a set collector I still rely mostly on my handy wire-bound checklist notebook, much easier to handle at shows and shops.

[Seitas]

When I buy a card, I put it on my iPhone notes. When I get a tracking info link, I then put the link on my iPhone notes too. I then type in the expected delivery date in. I watch it but clicking on the tracking link here & there.

I do something similar for incoming purchases. But I also photograph every PC Card and log it into an Apple notes document. I can pull out my iPad anytime and go through high res pics of my PC. It’s awesome.

[mfw13]

Excel spreadsheet.

Tabs for:

Autos
Complete sets
Unopened Wax/Racks/Cellos
singles for each sport (Baseball, Football, Hockey, Basketball, Soccer)

I generally only log stuff worth more than $25.....would be too much work to track everything.

[TimBuckTwo]

Gray matter. The ones that survived my vodka shots.

[fulltritty]

Beckett's organize. I just wish they were better at adding Topps Now and the other online offerings.

[Drew3000]

Pad and pen

[Hollywood42]

I built my own website. Excel sheets work but didn't quite have all the functionality I wanted. So I did it myself :)

[discodanman45]

I am now using tcdb.com to update my collection. It is a pretty decent checklist for my Smits PC and most things are on there. I organize all my cards per year. If a card is deemed in good enough condition it finds a penny sleeve and new toploader. If it isn't in good enough condition I just keep it in a penny sleeve until I find a replacement. I really recommend trying to use tcdb.com for a little bit and see if you like it.

[UCCF]

I built my own website. Excel sheets work but didn't quite have all the functionality I wanted. So I did it myself :)

Your site's amazing. I'd kill to have that level of organization for my own PC. I've got a tracking spreadsheet, but converting it into a searchable database of photos and wish lists, that's terrific.

[HarryLime]

Damn, you guys are organized.

I simply have an image library of everything in my collection. I have a folder for each sport or niche, then within each of those I'll have a folder for any set that I have either worked on or ripped enough that putting everything in one folder makes the most sense. Then I have all of my graded cards sorted chronologically after those folders.

I back everything up to an external hard drive and get to look at high res scans of any part of my collection whenever I want. It also makes selling much easier and more profitable when I can just upload high-res scans of the front and back of a card with a few clicks.

I really ought to keep track of purchase price, seller, buy date, things like that, but I'm lazy. Oddly enough, I do have a complete spreadsheet for my unopened collection with all of that data so I'll always know the provenance on stuff, even though most of it is modern and I can authenticate it myself and be done with it.

Arthur

[Hollywood42]

Thank you! It took a LOT of time to get set up, between entering card info, taking pictures and cropping/resizing, not to mention coding everything together, but it was well worth it! In 2021 I'm hoping to release an update that will make it all work together even better

Your site's amazing. I'd kill to have that level of organization for my own PC. I've got a tracking spreadsheet, but converting it into a searchable database of photos and wish lists, that's terrific.

[clsports]

Excel spreadsheet.

Tabs for:

Autos
Complete sets
Unopened Wax/Racks/Cellos
singles for each sport (Baseball, Football, Hockey, Basketball, Soccer)

I generally only log stuff worth more than $25.....would be too much work to track everything.

I do exactly this as well.

[STLtoMN]

Beckett's organize. I just wish they were better at adding Topps Now and the other online offerings.

ditto and agree!

[VandyCards]

I just have a bunch of boxes that are just sorta sitting there with various organizational methods and I forget which box is sorted which way.


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[WizardofOz1982]

I use an Excel spreadsheet for my PC guys since they span multiple years. It also allows me the freedom to combine checklists since we all know Beckett doesn't necessarily list everything and neither does SCF or TCDB. I also have them on my website so I can check something easily on the run as well as getting the word out there a bit.

With set builds I'm more old school-ish. I build the checklist in a word document that I copy onto my website. It makes editing the list on the web really easy since I can just update the list in Word and then copy and paste the updated list to my page.

To track PC cards I have a column in their respective Excel tab that indicates storage location, either binder, PC box, or Pending. That way I know where to go looking for it if I need to put hands on it. If pending I put the tracking number next to it if I have it or PWE if I don't. I use Package Buddy to keep track of incoming and outgoing shipments. I also mark incoming cards with an asterisk on my website to show they're pending until I have them in hand. I remove the asterisk after I take a pic of the card (if PC) or it is in its set binder (for set builds). That little asterisk motivates me more to get off my lazy butt and sort and organize more than just about anything else.

[ejharrington]

Thanks everyone for the ideas.

[ngs428]

Raw cards: TCDB.com
PSA Cards: PSA Registry + Excel

[DC44]

Raw cards: TCDB.com
PSA Cards: PSA Registry + Excel

Your scanner guide link is awesome! Very useful. A+

[BlowoutBuzz]

Poorly.

It's everywhere. Even the good stuff is not concisely organized.

[ngs428]

Your scanner guide link is awesome! Very useful. A+

Thanks! Glad you were able to use it!

[creasecollector]

I created my own website which makes it easy to track what I have / still need. It's also great to display my collection online.

creasecollector.weebly.com

[base set]

It’s all in my mind
So don’t be unkind

[dodgerfanjohn]

Sets in binders, by brand or product line and then by year, vintage unopened on one shelf, some stuff on display, some good stuff in a fireproof safe.