Deciding How To Inventory A Collection

[Cody_Starbuck]

I restarted comic collecting in 1999. I now have around 400 books and I think that it might be a good idea to start cataloging my collection. However, I can't decide what information would be useful to capture. So far, I have decided on:

 

- Title

- Issue

- Copies

- Cover Price

- Publisher

- Notes

- Box Number (comic box the book is stored in)

 

Other things I could keep track of is:

 

- Year of publication

- If comic was bought new or used

- Writer(s)

- Artist(s)

- Volume Number

- Format (Trade Paperback, Magazine, Comics, Hardback)

- Kind (miniseries, regular, graphic novel)

 

So basically, I am looking for feedback and suggestions from people who have already undertaken this kind of effort. For example, what information do you keep on your collection and what do you know now that you wish you knew before you started your inventory?

 

I know that this is the less exciting part of collecting comics but I feel that it will benefit me to have a listing of my collection. Also, please note that I do not use Windows, so ComicBase is not an option for me.

 

Thanks in advance!

[goldust40]

Don't get bogged down with too much detail. Title, issue number and publisher are enough of a cross reference, along possibly with how much you paid for the item (if it's a back issue). If the books aren't for resale, I would go no further, as anything else is too much of a chore. Besides, Overstreet has all the info you need - that's what guides are for (apparently).

 

If you like a book you'd probably remember the creative team, anyway.

[Timely]

I'd also put the price you paid and price you would sell each item for. For older books I also put the multiple of guide I bought it for and sell multiple... that way I do not buy a comic for 3 times guide and then years later sell it for 40% of guide.

 

I also have a key category for information such as 1st apprearances.

 

West

[DiceX]

I list grades in my DB's.

Comes in handy when you're looking to upgrade books. Just print the sheet and head to the comic shop.

[Stronguy]

Excel works great for this. I create a master list of every issue I want to collect. As I get the book I just "x" out the status column. When it comes time to head to a store/show I just filter out all of the "x"s and print it off.

 

As far as what to capture... you will drive yourself crazy trying to keep too much information. Just stick with the basics. Here's what I have:

Status

Era (Gold, Sliver, Bronze, Modern) -- for an easy filter

Publisher

Title

Issue

Condition

Issue Date

Price Paid

Value -- only for books that guide over $10

[Sharkey]

I list grades in my DB's.

Comes in handy when you're looking to upgrade books. Just print the sheet and head to the comic shop.

 

Definitely add grades and price you originally paid. If you're going to add the grade, and you think at some point you may sell the book, a short description of the flaws is helpful, then you can just cut and past into a future auction description.

[Reno McCoy]

I use the collectorz database. Find it here.

 

It's awesome. It captures images, titles, creators, cost, value, condition, everything. Plus, you can modify the fields so they match exactly what you want.

[Stronguy]

Looks interesting. May have to give it a shot.

[Reno McCoy]

Looks interesting. May have to give it a shot.

I highly recommend it. It's cool too because you can scan the image of your book and have it right there in the database.

 

The only thing it doesn't do, which would be nice to see, is access some sort of price guide and update your values automatically.

[jeff2004]

What I have been doing is I have compiled a simple excel spreadsheet. I have title with issue number, cost, grade, and number of copies. One thing to note, is make sure you include shipping costs or tax in your price. This way you can make sure you accurately keep track of how much money you are making or losing if you decide to sell the comic.

 

Also, since it is Excel format, I can load it into my Palm Pilot and read it using Documents To Go. This way I can always have my list with me no matter where I may go. Could be especially handy if going to conventions or comic book stores.

[skybolt]

What I have been doing is I have compiled a simple excel spreadsheet. I have title with issue number, cost, and number of copies. One thing to note, is make sure you include shipping costs or tax in your price. This way you can make sure you accurately keep track of how much money you are making or losing if you decide to sell the comic.

 

Also, since it is Excel format, I can load it into my Palm Pilot and read it using Documents To Go. This way I can always have my list with me no matter where I may go. Could be especially handy if going to conventions or comic book stores.

 

Excell is nice since you can do summations and averages at the bottom.

[Reno McCoy]

Not to hype up that collectorz thing too much, but there's a function on there called 'statistics' in which you can see the totals for every entry field in the database. It tells you how much you've paid, average cost, total value, average value, # of books by a particular creator, etc...

[jeff2004]

Not to hype up that collectorz thing too much, but there's a function on there called 'statistics' in which you can see the totals for every entry field in the database. It tells you how much you've paid, average cost, total value, average value, # of books by a particular creator, etc...

 

Excel is nice cause it has a lot of features you could implement in a spreadsheet. I am still learning a lot about Excel.

 

One thing, I also forgot to include in my post above, is that I also include the grades in my spreadsheet. For CGC books I will put like CGC 9.8 or for ungraded books I will put like NM/M or whatever I think the grade is.

[Reno McCoy]

One thing, I also forgot to include in my post above, is that I also include the grades in my spreadsheet. For CGC books I will put like CGC 9.8 or for ungraded books I will put like NM/M or whatever I think the grade is.

Sounds like it does just what the collectorz thing does, except the collectorz might just look prettier. Plus, excel is already on most computers and thus free, so that's a huge selling point.

[FlyingDonut]

Definitely put your purchase price on it. You'll ALWAYS want that later.

[whetteon]

Yes but has anyone ever heard anything about collectorz database?

 

[Cody_Starbuck]

Thanks for all the responses. I think that I will keep it basic and go with this:

 

- Title

- Issue

- Copies

- Cover Price

- Publisher

- Notes

- Box Number

 

I like to have the cover price in there as a baseline, even though I will probably never need it. Also, I think that the box number will be handy because when I want to find a book, I won't have to think about where it is.

 

Thanks again.

[Warlord]

Good idea to include the cover price. You might find that there's a good reason for including it when you learn about (and/or start collecting) cover price variants....

[skybolt]

I'd also put the price you paid and price you would sell each item for. For older books I also put the multiple of guide I bought it for and sell multiple... that way I do not buy a comic for 3 times guide and then years later sell it for 40% of guide.

 

I also have a key category for information such as 1st apprearances.

 

West

 

I made a mistake in creating 300-400K files when scanning my CGC collection. Is there a way to reduce the file size to less than 100K without re-scanning the books again?

[Stronguy]

Photoshop can help -- just usethe Save For The Web option. You could also just increase the compression on your jpg's.