Collection Inventory Software
 

My wife has expressed some concerns over knowing what to do with my collection when I move on. Does anyone have a recommendation for good software to catalog a collection of cards and memorabilia?

I leave the software to someone else, but think it wise to have a contact for her of someone in the hobby you trust to help her out in the event of a sudden moving on. And any inventory/records you have should include the cost basis of the collection as well as the value

Check with a certified tax advisor, but I thought collectibles, once inherited, gain the current value as the cost basis for the inheritor.

That is the current law but it could change.

As far as software, I put my graded cards in the PSA Registry software. The cards automatically link now to their auction report values. For ungraded, I use an Excel spreadsheet.

I get most of my cards on ebay or other sites like Battersbox and COMC that have good scans of the cards, so when I buy them I copy those pics to a folder.

Ebay and COMC also let you download a historical purchase file that you can convert to Excel.

Normally yes, but not always so straightforward:


Does the couple live in a community property state?

How are the assets/cards shown as owned, just by the husband, just by the wife, jointly, something other than a 50/50 split?

Were the assets/cards all acquired before the couple was married, after the couple was married, part before and part after?

Were the assets/cards part of a collection/investment, or were they part of a dealer inventory?

Were the assets/cards in a trust, and if so, what type of a trust?

Does the state the couple live in have their own state inheritance tax?

And so on......................


As noted above, check with a certified tax advisor in the state you live in. And as another poster noted, there is still a possible change to the estate tax laws that might be getting passed by the current administration, and no one yet knows how that may finally change/effect current federal estate tax laws.

I was really just looking for advice on a software to catalog and document the collection. Not overly concerned with tax implications.

Was really answering the other poster's question, sorry.

Software
 

Great app called “Home Contents”

As an online resource, TradingCardDB.com is a good free option, though it has no export capability.

I don't know that there is a good, go-to card cataloging software since Beckett sued Card Collector out of existence.

I am old school….how about a paper notebook? List all cards on a separate page according to year.
Notes on margin about condition, rarity, approx value …
I just don’t like doing things on the computer and I think that a notebook would be an easier document to retrieve , understand, and use once the time occurs.

Scott

My advice would be whether it's a notebook or a spreadsheet, leave or send an "In case something happens" email. My wife knows I have a valuable collection because she knows what it's insured for, but if someone is just going through boxes one day after my funeral, they probably aren't going to know Mickey Mantle from Mickey Vernon, or a $100 card from a $1,000 card.

Maybe off-topic
 

My ex recently demanded to know what my assets amounted to and where my residence was located because she "needed to know" in order to arrange her schedule in the event of my death. I replied that I had long since made arrangements for what I will do in the event of her death. Have not heard back. Sorry that I can't provide more help.

There was a member here who created several set inventory programs... Lonnie I think his name is?