Keeping track of your collection

[grandpahoo]

Have any of you tried to take an "inventory" of your collection? I'm thinking of doing so for insurance purposes, and I've been trying to find some software that will make the process as painless as possible. This is what I've found so far:

www.Mwpsoftware.com
http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/791930
http://www.collectiblessoftware.com/tsmc.html
http://www.sportscardorganizer.com/
http://www.aain.com/cftisLfasttrackinfo.html

None of these seem like a perfect solution. Have any of you done found an "easy" solution solution for keeping track of your stuff?

[metsbats]

Believe or not a simple excel spreadsheet works for me.

I never knew there were even software out there to track collections.

Thanks for the links!

-David

[grandpahoo]

Believe or not a simple excel spreadsheet works for me.

I never knew there were even software out there to track collections.

Thanks for the links!

-David

Glad I could help. I'd go with Excel as well if it weren't for the fact that (1) I have a bunch of cards, which would take forever to catalog, and (2) I'm apparently retarded when it comes to using Excel.

[B1SON]

Glad I could help. I'd go with Excel as well if it weren't for the fact that (1) I have a bunch of cards, which would take forever to catalog, and (2) I'm apparently retarded when it comes to using Excel.

Me too

[gatorcollector]

Beckett.com has a feature where you can keep track of your entire inventory. You'll have to go in initially and tell it which cards you have, but after that it's a piece of cake. You can update the value of your entire collection every time the monthly price guide comes out. You can even sub-divide your collection. For example, my collection is all former Gators. I have it subdivided into NFL, MLB, NBA, and Miscellaneous. When you get new cards, you just add them in. You can search by set or by player name. And it's free!

[grandpahoo]

Beckett.com has a feature where you can keep track of your entire inventory. You'll have to go in initially and tell it which cards you have, but after that it's a piece of cake. You can update the value of your entire collection every time the monthly price guide comes out. You can even sub-divide your collection. For example, my collection is all former Gators. I have it subdivided into NFL, MLB, NBA, and Miscellaneous. When you get new cards, you just add them in. You can search by set or by player name. And it's free!

You, kind sir, are a gentleman and a scholar, not to mention my board hero. Gracias.

[Jags Fan Dan]

While we're talking insurance, I would encourage everyone to check their homeowners policies "Special Limits" section to be sure it does not have any special limits on cards or memorabilia. Some policies do. If you find a special limit of $1,000 or something for sports cards and you need more coverage than that, you can talk to your agent about purchasing a rider. A rider will insure specific items at an agreed value, usually based on an appraisal.

[mvandor]

Yup, I have a special policy covering mine, and its time I update the list from my Excel sheet.

[Birdbats]

I keep track of my bats and jerseys using the Microsoft Works database. I created my own forms and anytime I get a new item, I just click on the next open record and populate it with data and photos. It would take a while to enter a large number of items from scratch, but it's worth it. I know my insurance agent appreciates having copies of my files.

Regarding insurance coverage, I know both Allstate and State Farm will include bats and jerseys in regular contents coverage, as long as your total contents don't exceed the policy limit. When you buy homeowners coverage, your contents automatically are insured for a percentage of the dwelling cost. If the value of all your belongings -- including your memorabilia -- is below the contents limits, you're covered. Do a home inventory, in addition to a memorabilia inventory, and make sure your agent has an updated list what you own. If your contents exceed your policy limits, then you'd need to address that with excess coverage. This doesn't apply to cards -- as Jags Fan Dan wrote, those may be covered for only $1,000. But for bats and jerseys, based on my experience with Allstate (and conversations with a State Farm agent I know), you may be covered under your regular homeowners policy and not need any expensive riders. The key is being able to prove what you own and what it's worth. There's no such thing as "over documentation" when it comes to insurance.

[grandpahoo]

I found a website last night with a program that is free and seems to be easy to use. I'm going to try tracking my memorabilia through this software and my card collection through the program on the Beckett site. And when I say "I'm going to try," I mean "I'm going to think about it obsessively for several days in a row, randomly decide to get started at 2:00 AM on a work night, and immediately determine it's way too much work and forget about it completely."

Anyway, here's the site: http://www.knowyourstuff.org/