Thanks to the guys who answered me previously to help me with my project. I'm still looking for further options and advice on how to inventory and PRICE my collection. I have been looking to Ebay for prices, and printing them out. I'm looking at feedback sections to find past prices for cars that aren't on currently, but there's no way I'll find all I need. And that's got to be a pretty tall order for 2,500-3,000+ cars anyway, starting from scratch! Also, I need a really good reference for all brands, on-line if possible, and one that is on Excel already that I could copy and paste would be awesome. I have a lot of the guides already - Dan Esposito's, Howard Johannsen's, Bob Beers's, Tom Graham's - those would be my alternative sources. I want to have columns for makes, models, part#s, variations, conditions, comments for other info, and current and actual purchase prices. Any other columns that others suggest would be a help also.

If any of the bigger collectors out there have a template of a spreadsheet that you use for your stuff that I can use, I'd appreciate any help you can give me. I don't know if anyone would be able or willing to leave your models and part #s, variations, etc on it, so I can either manipulate it to conform to my collection, delete what I don't have or just have a checklist that I can use for future reference, but I would appreciate it if that is possible. I also would understand if you're not willing to leave that info on it. This is for my personal use only, to get a handle on the size and scope of my collection, as well as a ballpark or better dollar figure.

My collection is not as big as the major hitters, guys like Joe Corea, Mario and Mike Pisano, Bob Beers, and others, but I do have all types of Aurora cars and parts, Tyco S through current Tyco, Atlas cars and parts, Faller cars and parts, Bachmann, Eldon, MM, Lionel, Life like, Tomy, Japanese A/FX and Tyco, Amrac, Russell, JL/AW, HOD, RRR, customs, Rotofast, Bandai, Carrera, various TCR brands, AJ's, Minic and others, literature, counter displays, hop-up kits, vintage AW and Aurora decals, etc, etc...

Thanks for the read - I appreciate any and all help! :thumbsup:

Gene

I bought software off ebay for logging collections. It cost 10 bucks and works pretty well. I have a collection very simular in variety and size as yours and you're right... it won't be an easy task. I have to manually type in all the info for each car and link it to the right pics. I'm only about a third of the way through my collection. If you find better software, please let us know.

good luck

Just make sure whichever way you go as far as the inventory program, back it up regularly. Have a friend (cough, cough) collector of slots who built his little database with all these little tidbits of information on his collection of about 400 cars. Few weeks after he entered his info on latest find, his drive took a hit from a surge and he couldn't recover it one way or the other. :freak: rr

So much so, it's a downright burden that one man simply should not have to bear alone. May I suggest breaking them up into more manageable quantities amongst the fellas here on the board? We'll help ya wrassle this demon into submission. I'll handle all the Aurora "M" cars for you... ( Mako, Mangusta, Mach I, both McLarens, Maseratti, etc. ).... We're always here for ya Gene! ;)

nd

Just make sure whichever way you go as far as the inventory program, back it up regularly.

Definitely makes sense to back up your data of course, but you can also use an online based system like the free Google Docs and Spreadsheets to keep your data online where it is backed up regularly by the hosting site. Having it online also allows you to edit it from any computer with Internet access, say from work while on lunch break. The Google online programs also allow you to import and export to/from MS Office formats, so you are not captive to the site.

You could also use a free online database program like this, designed for non programmers: http://creator.zoho.com/ . There's an online video that explains how it works. It's free and allows you to pull down your data in MS Office formats to your local machine.

Or if you prefer, use a database program that runs on your local computer. I'm a big fan of the free Open Office suite, which includes a database program as part of its office suite. The idiom "you get what you pay for" does not apply to the Open Office suite compared to MS Office, even the gaudy new Office 2007. This will require some design work but the included templates and wizards will get you there without programming. See http://why.openoffice.org/ , available for free on Wintel, Mac, and Linux. Totally free, totally works, MS file format compatible.

I'd recommend a database for storing and accessing your data. A spreadsheet would work okay, but it gets clunky with thousands of records and there is no real query capability beyond simple text based searches. With a database you could search for all Aurora cars for example, or all Mustangs, or all red Camaros, or all cars released between 1976 and 1986, for example. Much more powerful.

I'm in the same boat as you thunderjetgene looking for some way to inventory a collection. I was thinking a while back of making a website for collectors to use but I don't think enough people would use it to make it worth the programming / data entry efforts. (I'm also guessing this is why AW's checklist link from their site doesn't work.)