What programs do people use for cataloging?

[Sinnertwin]

I tried Shmax out. Easy enough for somebody who is technologically challenged as i am, but the tedious entry after entry... I suppose starting from scratch isnt going to be easy

[DELTAprime]

I might give shmax a go, since I have everything already cataloged it should be easy enough to re-enter everything into shmax. I just hope I don't get half way through and find they don't have something in my collection.

[UltraMarginal]

is it wrong to not catalogue my transformers??

Asks the person whose signature block has a catalogue of their Transformers?

Took the words right out of my fingures.

I might give shmax a go, since I have everything already cataloged it should be easy enough to re-enter everything into shmax. I just hope I don't get half way through and find they don't have something in my collection.

surely if they didn't you could add it yourself or get them to include it?


I've never seriously tried to catalogue my transformers, and i don't think I ever will now, the collection count has got to be over 1000. I have too many other things to do with my time like opening more...

If I were going to catalogue, an online solution like schmax is a very attractive alternative, though I think I'd learn a Database program and manage it from home myself, that would allow inclusion of photos and my own fields/labelling.

[BigTransformerTrev]

I've never seriously tried to catalogue my transformers, and i don't think I ever will now, the collection count has got to be over 1000. I have too many other things to do with my time like opening more...

If I were going to catalogue, an online solution like schmax is a very attractive alternative, though I think I'd learn a Database program and manage it from home myself, that would allow inclusion of photos and my own fields/labelling.

Heh - well said UM


I'm plowing through putting all mine into Excel at the moment, finding it to be much better that what I had previously. The good thing with something like schmax is that as its online its accessible anywhere and cant be destroyed. That's why periodically I email my catalog lists to myself, and am trying to keep a photographic record of my latest figures in albums on facebook. I'd like to get a photographic record of all my older figures but have only gotten through maybe a couple of hundred. Will get around to it when I build my Transformatorim shed and they are finally all easily accessible again.

[Paulbot]

i can tell you that i have hardley touched the surface with that Shmax thing, i started it and it became a tedious process and i gave up. Every 12 months i might get excited and add 5 figures and get annoyed at it, My Shmax thingy is verrrry far from accurate or up to date

I have my spreadsheet but didn't update it for 18 months or so, because it's the last thing I think about either. But being able to look a list is a nice to have, particularly as I have no TFs on display.

I might give shmax a go, since I have everything already cataloged it should be easy enough to re-enter everything into shmax. I just hope I don't get half way through and find they don't have something in my collection.

Try http://iTFDB.com first is my recommendation. View 100 items from a series on screen at a time, click the ones you own. Save and you're done. Much easier than Shmax in my opinion.

If I were going to catalogue, an online solution like schmax is a very attractive alternative, though I think I'd learn a Database program and manage it from home myself, that would allow inclusion of photos and my own fields/labelling.

I agree, a proper database solution is ideal, rather than using a Spreadsheet as a pseudo-database. Depends how much you really want to know about your collection, and how you might want to filter/sort/refine and cross reference.

[jaydisc]

Thanks for the mention, Paulbot!

Hey all, I made iTFDB a few years ago, but alas, have been a bit slack in maintaining it, although, the entire purpose was that it be self-maintaining. I guess what I mean is that I haven't been updating it with new features, but I still use it nearly every day for my own collection, and I find it invaluable for managing what I'm selling or have sold as well, so you might too.

I built iTFDB due to a similar discussion that started here years ago. Like many of you, I used a spreadsheet to maintain my collection, and I started to think how silly it was, for every single one of us who wanted to do that to have to type, "Classics Deluxe Starscream" when we all meant the same thing. Wouldn't it be better if the first person entered it, and then everyone else could choose it from a list, so I built a website that could do just that.

The principle idea was that there be a master "Library" and that users could add items from the Library as "Pieces" in their "Collection". However, I didn't want myself, or anyone for that matter, to have to maintain that Library, so I made it user-editable, a la Wikipedia. So, if you don't see what you're looking for in the Library, you can add it! Alternatively, if you see a mistake, after you add a piece to your collection, you click the padlock next to the piece's information, and you can unlock and edit it. Once you make your changes, those changes are applied to your collection. Additionally, other collectors with that piece in their collection have the option of Accepting or Rejecting those changes. If a few other collectors agree, those changes get pushed to the database.

I haven't checked in to what Shmax has been doing in a while, but as I recall from the last time I did, Shmax's library takes things to a more complex level. It breaks down parts and regions. So, if you need those features, you're totally better off going there. But, for day-to-day collection management, searching, sorting, organizing your wish lists, what you're selling in a quick and easy way, give iTFDB a try. I'd like to think it's a bit simpler and more efficient for most collectors' needs.

I'll subscribe to this thread, so feel free to ask me any questions here, or even directly on twitter @itfdb.

[jaydisc]

A couple of extra notes about iTFDB

1. In the preferences, you can turn off the "Official Toys Only" option and manage your third-party collection side-by-side with your official toys.

2. You can add as many of your own photos as you'd like to any piece in your collection, and optionally allow others to use your photo for their collection pieces too. You can easily reuse your photos across your collection without re-uploading them too.

3. There are five lists you can keep things in:

Acquired
Ordered (know what's coming!)
Desired
Selling
Sold

I personally find the Selling list to be hugely helpful for managing sales. You can know your buy vs. selling price, who has something on hold, and of course, you can historically look at anything you've ever Sold.

4. There's a bulk editor. Select a few pieces in any list, and change many common fields at once. For example, select those 8 items that you thought were going to arrive from HLJ next week in your Ordered list, change their acquired date to today, their status to Acquired, and their condition to Opened! Woo hoo!

5. You can sort by multiple parameters. It remembers the last 3 things you sorted by. So if you sort by Name, and then by Class, and then by Line, for each line, everything will be sub-sorted by class, and for each class, everything will be sub-sorder by Name. The sort arrows grow lighter in color to show the order.

[jaydisc]

Here's a quick walkthrough.

First, you'll notice the tabs that refer to your five lists: Acquired, Ordered, Desired, Selling and Sold. On the right, there's also the Chooser and Settings. Below those is the search filter. Currently, I'm filtering by Takara Tomy and Henkei, so I'm only seeing the Henkei pieces from my collection:



Next, I choose to "Add a new figure to my Acquired List". This would be the same as clicking the Chooser tab. This then brings up all of the toys in the Library. Note that any search filter stays in effect, so I'm only looking at Henkei toys in the Library. Just choose "Show All" to clear any filter.



I choose Ghost Starscream from the list, and choose "Add the Selected Figure to my Collection". I then get the Piece detail screen, where I can add information about that piece specific to me, when I got it, it's condition, my rating, some notes, etc.



When I'm done, I choose Save.

Alternatively, when choosing figures to add to my collection, I can choose to add multiple figures at the same time. When doing so, an area slides down for me to enter any information common to the entire selection:



Lastly, you can go to the Status page to get an overview of how much you've spent, made, or are about to spend at any time. Some of you might not like this screen



Additionally, any suggested updates are offered here if you wish to participate in database approvals.

Hopefully, that's enough to give you a quick start

[UltraMarginal]

That's a great rundown Jaydisc, thanks.
it looks like a really well organised database. Wy resolve to not bother is gradualy diminishing.

[lancalot]

That a pretty cool data base Jaydisc
It alot simpler now that you explained how to use it
doing my collection now ... but my one a small one anyways...