What's the best comic book app to use for your collection? 0

[Danger Haggis]

I'm curious what app people are using to keep track of their collections, their wishlists, and comic book stuff in general.  I came across Key Collector a few months ago and have been using that.  Now that I'm starting to get some of my collection graded, I found that there's a limitation of what it will say what the book is worth (only allows a limited # of grades to update the book worth).

[royaluglydudes]

I use CLZ.  It works great for me.  It allows for the tracking of so many data points that there are many I don't even use, but it's easy to focus on only the data you want to track.  It does cost $20 a year, but it's well worth it.

[batman_fan]

I have been using Excel for decades.  Allows full customization, tracking, graphs, etc.

Attached a couple of graphs.  I have been buying Marvel Masterworks and find it great for being able to see what I already have. 

[Danger Haggis]

Interesting you're using Excel.  I used to use it 25 years ago for tracking everything, but I never kept up with it.  I love that you're running graphs for your collections!  I really only use it now when I'm headed to Comic Con for my main want list items.

[Danger Haggis]

On 1/5/2024 at 9:08 AM, royaluglydudes said:

I use CLZ.  It works great for me.  It allows for the tracking of so many data points that there are many I don't even use, but it's easy to focus on only the data you want to track.  It does cost $20 a year, but it's well worth it.

I haven't heard of that one.  Does it also show what the key book releases are every week?

[Cocomonkey]

I second CLZ. I also use Excel--I was using it before I started with CLZ, and I still keep it up as a backup--but CLZ is just a lot easier to track, add, show missing issues of a title, etc., though it does cost money. It also now has a built-in connection with...something I can't remember that costs extra but adds estimated values to everything (I don't use it, so can't remember what the name is).

[royaluglydudes]

On 1/5/2024 at 10:27 AM, Gavin Crawford said:

I haven't heard of that one.  Does it also show what the key book releases are every week?

It does provide a list of all new releases weekly which you can easily pull from, but I don't believe they mark what they may consider potential key issues on a week to week basis.    I'm attaching an image of the interface for the weekly releases

[royaluglydudes]

On 1/5/2024 at 10:30 AM, Cocomonkey said:

I second CLZ. I also use Excel--I was using it before I started with CLZ, and I still keep it up as a backup--but CLZ is just a lot easier to track, add, show missing issues of a title, etc., though it does cost money. It also now has a built-in connection with...something I can't remember that costs extra but adds estimated values to everything (I don't use it, so can't remember what the name is).

Oh yeah, CovrPrice.  I forgot about that.  I haven't looked too much into that, but it may provide more of what you're looking for in terms of potential keys, @Gavin Crawford. There are different price tiers, and I don't know if it functions as a collection database if it's not linked with CLZ, but it might be worth checking into if you want to track what people are considering key issues on a week to week basis.

[Danger Haggis]

Excellent.  Thanks fellas.  I'll take a look at those to see how it compares with the features from Key Collector I like.

[MAR1979]

My current Excel 2016 xlsx is a distant DNA ancestor of my Lotus 123 sheet I started as a Teen. Imported the .123 to Excel .xls in 1995.

Apologies in advance for this non solicited opinion:  While I understand the desire for a nice tracking app, the only way to ensure 100% protection is to not provide your data to anyone.

 

Edited January 5 by MAR1979

[Sigur Ros]

I like CLZ.  I have the app and desktop versions, and they stay in sync. I like the ease of creating "have" or "need" lists, the images of the books, the ease of adding books.

Only problem I have with it is adding additional info like quantity, etc. A bit of a hassle.  Because of that I've kept looking. 

This is a screenshot from back when I just started adding to the library.

 

[Black Bat]

https://www.collectingcatalog.com

 

[Stefan_W]

Add me to the list of people who just use Excel. Easy to manipulate and a pretty powerful program if you know what you are doing. Most people do not come close to using its full potential. 

The downside, of course, is you cant add scans of your books into it.  

[AceHazard]

I use Comic Book Realm for my collection. I like the way it groups the titles and how easy it is to add bunch of books from a title at once. They don’t have an app, just website. However it is still ease to navigate on my phone. And it’s free. 

[Danger Haggis]

For those that don't use an app, where do you go to see the key books that come out every week?  Or do you just collect certain titles, regardless of what else comes out?

[Doktor]

CLZ. Been using it for about 8-10 years now & it’s just simple. It’s generally crowdsourced for a lot of the info. They don’t make the determination on what a key book is when it’s coming out because they wait for the users to do that. They do have a staff that “updates” their database based on info from the crowdsourced data tho.
 

And it’s pretty simple for adding indie, small-press, or even self-published stuff. And pretty easy to add your own custom scans of your books instead of the stock scan image.
 

Plus, the cloud sync, ability to restore the collection on a new device, and ability to sync over multiple devices easily is pretty rad. I use the iOS & the MacOS versions. 
 

If you have a CovrPrice account, you can sync that to the CLZ to update “values” as well.