Cataloging your Collection

Information on shipping, storing and repairing your art, plus your reviews on products for art collecting, making, storing, etc..
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mfwit
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Sun Dec 16, 2012 6:25 pm

How does everyone catalog their collection? EB, spreadsheet, database?

I used EB for a little while but wanted some additional functionality and flexibility so I moved to a spreadsheet. Now I'm not happy with the spreadsheet and thinking about building a database of some sort.

I'm curious to hear how you guys keep track of everything.
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SurfingJeff
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Sun Dec 16, 2012 6:27 pm

I use both EB and a spreadsheet. My spreadsheet is pretty fancy, and uses pivot tables to calculate how many pieces I have by a given artist along with the total price paid, total value, etc. It still requires a ton of manual entry though.
T.H.C.
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churdiales
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Sun Dec 16, 2012 6:28 pm

SurfingJeff wrote:I use both EB and a spreadsheet. My spreadsheet is pretty fancy, and uses pivot tables to calculate how many pieces I have by a given artist along with the total price paid, total value, etc. It still requires a ton of manual entry though.
EB database can be as fancy as what you are describing if you use the tabs on the left and plug in the info when you add it to your collection.

Screen Shot 2012-12-16 at 5.29.31 PM.png
Last edited by churdiales on Sun Dec 16, 2012 6:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
krisjay wrote:I find this post odd.
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SurfingJeff
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Sun Dec 16, 2012 6:31 pm

churdiales wrote:
SurfingJeff wrote:I use both EB and a spreadsheet. My spreadsheet is pretty fancy, and uses pivot tables to calculate how many pieces I have by a given artist along with the total price paid, total value, etc. It still requires a ton of manual entry though.
EB database is as fancy as what you are describing here.
It seems like EB is good for getting information about an individual print, but there's no summary page that will show you totals across your entire collection. Am I just missing something?
T.H.C.
jamel-d
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Sun Dec 16, 2012 6:31 pm

EB All the info I need to collect fits neatly. Plus, it's all acid-free and UV protected.
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churdiales
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Sun Dec 16, 2012 6:34 pm

SurfingJeff wrote: It seems like EB is good for getting information about an individual print, but there's no summary page that will show you totals across your entire collection. Am I just missing something?
Totals by artist? Use this tab on left...
Screen Shot 2012-12-16 at 5.29.31 PM.png
krisjay wrote:I find this post odd.
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xN3rDx
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Sun Dec 16, 2012 6:37 pm

SurfingJeff wrote:
churdiales wrote:
SurfingJeff wrote:I use both EB and a spreadsheet. My spreadsheet is pretty fancy, and uses pivot tables to calculate how many pieces I have by a given artist along with the total price paid, total value, etc. It still requires a ton of manual entry though.
EB database is as fancy as what you are describing here.
It seems like EB is good for getting information about an individual print, but there's no summary page that will show you totals across your entire collection. Am I just missing something?
SurfingJeff would you be willing to send out the basic sheet you use? That way any one interested could plug-in their data without having to be an excel master.
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churdiales
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Sun Dec 16, 2012 6:38 pm

On this one you can plug in what you paid for (ouch) and in the "Note(s)" box you can enter how its value has decreased over time.
Screen Shot 2012-12-16 at 5.30.07 PM.png
Price Paid: $450
Acquired from: heathunter
Note: *Note to self, never buy immediately off of ebay after the missed drop. !@@#@$@##%^^$@#!
krisjay wrote:I find this post odd.
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treweman
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Sun Dec 16, 2012 6:41 pm

EB all the way. Couldn't be easier, and the search function is helpful.
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SurfingJeff
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Sun Dec 16, 2012 7:06 pm

xN3rDx wrote:
SurfingJeff wrote:
churdiales wrote:
SurfingJeff wrote:I use both EB and a spreadsheet. My spreadsheet is pretty fancy, and uses pivot tables to calculate how many pieces I have by a given artist along with the total price paid, total value, etc. It still requires a ton of manual entry though.
EB database is as fancy as what you are describing here.
It seems like EB is good for getting information about an individual print, but there's no summary page that will show you totals across your entire collection. Am I just missing something?
SurfingJeff would you be willing to send out the basic sheet you use? That way any one interested could plug-in their data without having to be an excel master.
Ok, so here's an example of what I'm talking about from my spreadsheet (changed all the numbers from the real thing):

Image

For each artist, you can see how much you've spent on them, what the original cost was, how many items you have, what the sum of the current value (although you have to populate this yourself), how much you've spent on framing, how much markup you paid, etc. I have a separate summary page based on the art type (e.g. movie posters vs gig posters vs art prints). Not sure if it's always useful, but kind of fun to see (just don't let your spouse near it!).

I've cleared all my data out of the spreadsheet and put together a copy for those that want try. Be warned it is super geeky. You do data entry on the page labeled "catalog". It's pretty much the same as putting something into EB. You can also do basic searching here. Go to the "summary" tab to see stats on your entire collection. Go to "Artist Summary" to see the data above, and "Category Summary" to see art type stats. The summary tabs don't update automatically, so you'll have to highlight the table and go to "Options -> Refresh" to update the data once in a while.
T.H.C.
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redbrew
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Sun Dec 16, 2012 7:09 pm

Spreadsheets are great, in fact it is my understanding EB started from a simple spreadsheet.
Edit: spelling and generally incorrect words


I am not a gamer
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binky79
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Sun Dec 16, 2012 7:15 pm

EB, spreadsheet, and a folder with an image (jpg) of each poster. I sync the folder with my iPad/iPhone so that I always have the images with me.
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rhythmgtr5
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Mon Dec 24, 2012 5:25 pm

EB and spreadsheet. Seeing the total $$$ spent on prints is a bit shocking but it's worth it :clap:
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mindtrick33
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Tue Apr 16, 2013 11:38 pm

Would be nice if you could export your personal data out of EB.
Good luck on future drops
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evilpresence
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Wed Apr 17, 2013 12:40 am

Is 'My Page' and 'Save Collection' on the left side not what you are looking for?
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