jfree580 Posted February 11, 2019 Author Share Posted February 11, 2019 6 minutes ago, WoWitHurts said: I just use excel. You can have as many columns and tabs for whatever information you want to enter. I use color codes too for quick reference. That’s not a half bad idea, just time consuming. There’s probably more to excel than I know, but I’d have to alphabetically organize it in there - adding new comics when they come in. Basically re-go through all of my stash to Re-Organize it. Although, I do like the color coding idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoWitHurts Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 22 minutes ago, jfree580 said: That’s not a half bad idea, just time consuming. There’s probably more to excel than I know, but I’d have to alphabetically organize it in there - adding new comics when they come in. Basically re-go through all of my stash to Re-Organize it. Although, I do like the color coding idea. I have a narrow collecting focus. I maintain a checklist tab that I color code if I have it and whether it is graded or raw. I have a purchase history tab which records what I bought, from who and for how much. And of course you can sort the Data to group titles and numbers etc. I am a database guy and I never found a program that I liked so I just keep it simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfree580 Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 5 hours ago, WoWitHurts said: I have a narrow collecting focus. I maintain a checklist tab that I color code if I have it and whether it is graded or raw. I have a purchase history tab which records what I bought, from who and for how much. And of course you can sort the Data to group titles and numbers etc. I am a database guy and I never found a program that I liked so I just keep it simple. As of now, my focus is on a few main comic series, however, I do have a ton that aren't in those series, and are held in long boxes right now. I do not plan on getting rid of them, but I think these are kind of where the problem lies for me. I could have 15 in one series and 1 in another. There is probably 600 or so comics that I have that I'm not actively collecting. Maybe I will just bite the bullet, and use the Excel system. Which I can probably navigate faster than the Collectorz System. The Collectorz system is cool, and has worked well, but I find it getting kind of complicated with the amount of books I have, and the large amount of series I have. Also, its nice to scan things in, but when I can't scan them in, especially older comics, it is just as much effort, if not more to input them, and that's if they even have the comic in their database. Excel could work better, because then I wouldn't even have to worry about covers, or anything like that. Just purchased price, date, seller, where its stored, and things like that. Like I said, I am no expert by any means with excel though, and I hope it wouldn't take too much work to make a spreadsheet like that. Well I mean, hopefully the learning curve wouldn't be too great to figure this out. I was dreading it, but it would be cheaper overall, and this would give me an opportunity to re-organize all the comics, label them better, and alphabetically sort them better (I know I slacked on a bunch, I was getting worn out). I guess you would know best, how hard would it be to have multiple series (Probably 200+), how would I even sort them in the spread sheet? By series? Alphabetically? Can you make sub spreads (For example, headline would be Fantastic Four, with the comics in a spread underneath? Or would it be easier to make individual spreads for each series? I guess I could also use my phone with the collectorz app, and the computer with the spread sheet, to easily input the information. As all but 2-3 of my comics are on their database. Sorry for all the questions, I'm just kind of intrigued, but kind of overwhelmed with the idea. @WoWitHurts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicginger1789 Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 To store my comics, I have shelves that were purchased at Ikea. There are cloth cube bins that slide into the shelves I have and this keeps them in the dark. Bins are durable and can hold around 150 comics per. The two shelves I have hold 24 bins so I have room for well over 3000 comics (someday may need more but for now, it works great and looks great and the wife thinks they match the basement so shes happy...win win win!). I also just have them all bagged and boarded. As for keeping track of what I have, I use www.comicdb.com. It allows you to sign up and add comics you own. It alphabetizes and also allows you to put notes in. Plus it is free. I can access it anywhere online. I love it! jfree580 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joosh Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 I use Libra Office because it's free. It is like Excel with a shuffled toolbar and can saved and opened as an excel sheet. After all the effort it took to get the initial collection into a spreadsheet, I do not want to do it again. Color coding sounds nice, I may work on that with some rules. jfree580 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bounty_coder Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 Google Spreadsheets. It's free; and you can access it anywhere; any device (platform agnostic). Acts just like Excel, you can search quick, sort, view, filter it from your phone; the whole enchilada. Great way to organize quick and have access to it in a tabular format everywhere. My ..... jfree580 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forbiddenwon Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) have you ever had a Con coming up, and you see a Comic Creator that you would like to have something signed by? but now you have to go through your collection, and hope you have a quick way to see every book that creator was involved with? i like many of you used to use the old excel, but found it lacking... it only had the data in it that i put, and had no way of growing unless i configured it... i tried the free version of Comic Collector from Collectorz.com and wont turn back.... its a DB driven app, that works on both PC, Mobile or over the web, i use both the PC and Mobile versions.... much of the comic info and details is drawn from the central DB (see images for examples) but also lets you add your own personal info, alter any default info to what you want, and allows you to add new fields that might now be in the App... no its not free, but being able to simply search for 'Jim Lee' and find every comic you own that he was a part of does wonders when planning your next trip to the Con.... no im not part or in any was affiliated with the vendor, but i strongly believe in the product.... ask anyone else that uses it too.... Edited February 19, 2019 by forbiddenwon jfree580 and mister_not_so_nice 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfree580 Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) 12 hours ago, forbiddenwon said: have you ever had a Con coming up, and you see a Comic Creator that you would like to have something signed by? but now you have to go through your collection, and hope you have a quick way to see every book that creator was involved with? i like many of you used to use the old excel, but found it lacking... it only had the data in it that i put, and had no way of growing unless i configured it... i tried the free version of Comic Collector from Collectorz.com and wont turn back.... its a DB driven app, that works on both PC, Mobile or over the web, i use both the PC and Mobile versions.... much of the comic info and details is drawn from the central DB (see images for examples) but also lets you add your own personal info, alter any default info to what you want, and allows you to add new fields that might now be in the App... no its not free, but being able to simply search for 'Jim Lee' and find every comic you own that he was a part of does wonders when planning your next trip to the Con.... no im not part or in any was affiliated with the vendor, but i strongly believe in the product.... ask anyone else that uses it too.... Great review of their service - I am all using this now, just taking interest in what everyone else is using. It’s also awesome to see what everyone is using that they developed themselves. I will probably continue to use them to be honest. I was looking at what I have, and just dread putting it all in a spread sheet, I just hate being dependent on them for my collection. We know how technology is, it’s great until it fails or glitches. That’s what scares me. Although, I didn’t even think about the search function as I haven’t used that part yet. I really just need to sit down and play with their system more to see all of the different functions, and scan in some comics they don’t have in their database. I probably just need to suck it up, and input where and I’m what box each comic is, as this in the long term, will drastically cut down on my “searching for one specific comic” time. I hope this thread can be beneficial to all new comers, and old timers alike. Everyone has inputted such great ideas of what to use! I appreciate everyone’s feedback and for the reason they use it. Actually now now that I think about it, someone mentioned color coding, which I might start color coding by box, and possibly if I get more time, add dividers and color coordinate those as well. But who knows I always say something then change my mind. Edited February 19, 2019 by jfree580 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forbiddenwon Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) with the desktop verion the DB is saved to your computer, so you dont have to worry about their site being down, you can also make backups, and even export the DB into a number of different formats, like xml, csv, and even delimited text, that will also include all the fields from the DB or select ones, so you can move to a different platform or just have that backup for piece of mind readily at your disposal... i also saw questions about storing and purchase cost and date info, there's a tab for that too... you could, depending on the lvl you wanted to go with this, make up your own barcode system, add the BC to each bag, or maybe just for the ones that are too old for the UPC to be in the DB, for ease of tracking once in the App DB, using the user defined fields... its got loads of possibilites Edited February 19, 2019 by forbiddenwon add image Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveGleason Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 On 8/27/2018 at 4:08 PM, jfree580 said: So I’ve recently switched from collecting video games for 15 years, to comics. I came across a bunch at an estate sale a few months ago, and ever since I have been obsessed. I do have about 2000 comics currently, and will continue to increase my collection, but I have no accurate way of keeping inventory. I’d like to be able to input my purchase price of the comic, and see which comics I need to complete a collection. Along with what storage box they are kept in, and features like that. I’ve heard of comicbase and collectorz, but I have no experience with either. What are your thoughts and opinions on the different inventory services, and which brand would you choose? Thank you in advance! If you're familiar with Filemaker, I have made and used a file for keeping track of mine. It has the usual- writer, illustrator, cost, value, etc. I recently added a spot for location so I can easily find my copy if need be. If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to share a template. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kon_Jelly Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 19 hours ago, DaveGleason said: If you're familiar with Filemaker, I have made and used a file for keeping track of mine. It has the usual- writer, illustrator, cost, value, etc. I recently added a spot for location so I can easily find my copy if need be. If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to share a template. I'd love to get a copy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfree580 Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 On 3/28/2019 at 12:41 AM, DaveGleason said: If you're familiar with Filemaker, I have made and used a file for keeping track of mine. It has the usual- writer, illustrator, cost, value, etc. I recently added a spot for location so I can easily find my copy if need be. If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to share a template. Me as well! I am not familiar with it, but this could be very handy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandflea Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 Comic Collector for Windows v19.3.1: Automatic comic values powered by GoCollect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liza761 Posted August 10, 2019 Share Posted August 10, 2019 mycomicrealm is still free to use and easy to see (once you've inputted all your comics into the fields req) all your comics in an easy to read format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
