Advantages of a Spreadsheet

[wazoo]

Hey everyone,
Well, after about three years of collecting, I finally constructed a spreadsheet about 1.5 months back. I don't know about you, but I find them to be the best tool to stay organized. It allows easy access to my cards and gives me a clear picture of what I have to work with. By creating a spreadsheet, some advantages are:

• It allows you to know what inventory you have.
• It displays specifications and details (ex. Condition, Value, Cost, Place of Purchase, etc.)
• You do not have to be right next to your cards .
• It is easy to update, add to, and delete cells (slots).

These are just some of the great main reasons why to have a spreadsheet. Now this thread is focused on those who are just starting collections, or people who need to find a sense of organization when it comes to their collection. I honestly believe this is the method to work with, regardless of the value and amount of cards in one's collection.

If you have any other reasons why a spreadsheet is advantageous to any collection, please comment too!

I recommend starting one when a collection is in its early stages. I started mine when I had 70+ t206 cards in, with about 10 different categories regarding specifications, which was time consuming but worth it. Regardless, once it is up and operational, and if the owner is consistent when it comes to updating, it really comes in handy. I hope you guys agree too!

[Bocabirdman]

Originally Posted by wazoo

Hey everyone,
Well, after about three years of collecting, I finally constructed a spreadsheet about 1.5 months back. I don't know about you, but I find them to be the best tool to stay organized. It allows easy access to my cards and gives me a clear picture of what I have to work with. By creating a spreadsheet, some advantages are:

• It allows you to know what inventory you have.
• It displays specifications and details (ex. Condition, Value, Cost, Place of Purchase, etc.)
• You do not have to be right next to your cards .
• It is easy to update, add to, and delete cells (slots).

These are just some of the great main reasons why to have a spreadsheet. Now this thread is focused on those who are just starting collections, or people who need to find a sense of organization when it comes to their collection. I honestly believe this is the method to work with, regardless of the value and amount of cards in one's collection.

If you have any other reasons why a spreadsheet is advantageous to any collection, please comment too!

I recommend starting one when a collection is in its early stages. I started mine when I had 70+ t206 cards in, with about 10 different categories regarding specifications, which was time consuming but worth it. Regardless, once it is up and operational, and if the owner is consistent when it comes to updating, it really comes in handy. I hope you guys agree too!

Welcome to the Twenty-First century, Josh

[Paul S]

Originally Posted by wazoo

• You do not have to be right next to your cards .

What?! Forget it!

[frankbmd]

It's even better to have 17 spreadsheets, then you can always find a discrepancy between spreadsheets that look at the data from a different perspective. This results is hours of mindless research to resolve the conflicting data. After a while, once the spreadsheets get large enough, you'll find that you don't need or have time for the cards.

A large trade must be weighed in terms of how much time will be consumed entering the data into your system and making sure there are no conflicts when finished.

I'm seriously considering just keeping my cards and trading spreadsheets instead.

[EvilKing00]

although only 20 or so cards into my T205 set, i created a spread sheet , for each card, front, back, what i spent, what i think its value is, the vairation, and the grade. It deff helps me in not getting dups of a card, as well as giving me a great history of what i payed and what i need. Took about 2 hours do do but very happy with the result

[jefferyepayne]

I've been using spreadsheets for years and years. I've looked at pretty much every card collecting software package out there and cannot find something that I like better. A couple of other great points about using spreadsheets:

1. I download them to my phone so I can take them to shows with me in electronic form. No more carrying around a binder full of paper sheets
2. They are automatically backed up with my backup software so there is no risk I will lose or misplace my lists
3. A large collection can be maintained easily. I put each year on a separate tab with each set of a given year on a different page within a tab
4. You can easily build summary pages that track how many cards you still need across the sets you are building

jeff

[Jlighter]

Is there some way to link cards to their scans? Or would a seperate type of software be needed?

[Wayward99]

Originally Posted by Jlighter

Is there some way to link cards to their scans? Or would a seperate type of software be needed?

There are a couple of ways to do this; easiest is to add a hyperlink to the location in a separate column (you could also hyperlink another field, such as your card name field). The link can point anywhere - your hard drive, thumb drive, web location, etc.

[wazoo]

Exactly. That's the way I'd do it.

[Abravefan11]

Originally Posted by jefferyepayne

I've been using spreadsheets for years and years. I've looked at pretty much every card collecting software package out there and cannot find something that I like better. A couple of other great points about using spreadsheets:

1. I download them to my phone so I can take them to shows with me in electronic form. No more carrying around a binder full of paper sheets
2. They are automatically backed up with my backup software so there is no risk I will lose or misplace my lists
3. A large collection can be maintained easily. I put each year on a separate tab with each set of a given year on a different page within a tab
4. You can easily build summary pages that track how many cards you still need across the sets you are building

jeff

Jeff's post sums up exactly how I use spreadsheets. I haven't found a better way, but to be honest I'm not really looking as this works really well.

[wazoo]

Originally Posted by jefferyepayne

I've been using spreadsheets for years and years. I've looked at pretty much every card collecting software package out there and cannot find something that I like better. A couple of other great points about using spreadsheets:

1. I download them to my phone so I can take them to shows with me in electronic form. No more carrying around a binder full of paper sheets
2. They are automatically backed up with my backup software so there is no risk I will lose or misplace my lists
3. A large collection can be maintained easily. I put each year on a separate tab with each set of a given year on a different page within a tab
4. You can easily build summary pages that track how many cards you still need across the sets you are building

jeff

I use mine through Google Docs, which allows me to make a detailed spreadsheet, as well as access it from my phone and computer.

[aquarius31]

I have been using spreadsheets for years to organize my collection and have found it to be my #1 go to resource. I've also saved it on my phone, and usb stick in case my computer dies on me.

My recommendation (and I'm sure most of you are doing this anyway) is to update the spreadsheet as soon as you receive an item. It is quite a painful task to have to go back through emails, auction sites etc. to figure out the details of a given transaction several months back. That said, if you used Paypal to purchase an item you can typically find the auction description even ones from several years back.

[jefferyepayne]

Originally Posted by aquarius31

My recommendation (and I'm sure most of you are doing this anyway) is to update the spreadsheet as soon as you receive an item. It is quite a painful task to have to go back through emails, auction sites etc. to figure out the details of a given transaction several months back.

Absolutely! And if you go to a show and are digging around in boxes and/or binders looking for cards you need, updating your spreadsheet immediately will make sure you don't purchase the same card several times. One day at a large show I got lazy and didn't do this and ended up purchasing three of the same card! It was only a common but annoying just the same.

jeff