Anyone got any good recommendations? I want to start cataloging my comic collection for insurance purposes now that I own some pretty rare items. I don't want to go down the whole CGC route but it would be good to store everything I have in an electronic database preferably by barcode ISBN. I downloaded Comic collector on a free trial and while it recognises my US comics it has limited support for UK variants. To add insult to injury you have to pay extra to download a phone barcode application to link it to your database instead of just using a webcam. I have some 400+ comics and don't really want to enter them all in by hand.
Make your own database is cheapest. You could go for Excel, Access or even something custom in PHP. You should be able to find pre-made checklists, certainly. If your collection is all old (pre 1998), then you could get an old copy of Duncan McAlpine's Comic Book Price Guide for Great Britain, or just use Overstreet instead. Duncan's site has a paid option to see values and stuff - not sure if it has checklists, too: http://www.comicpriceguide.co.uk/ *EDIT* Obviously, I meant import custom lists into Excel or your DB, by the way heh. Don't assume your household insurance will cover collections, though. My Dad was an insurance agent and he said if your company wants to say a list is no proof you had these items of that value, they will. If you want anything valuable insured, you have to declare it... and that usually puts your premium up. *EDIT 2* Apparently there are free solutions, now! http://www.stashmycomics.com/ http://www.comicbookdb.com/ I knew about the pay stuff, e.g.: http://www.comicbase.com/mycb/default.aspx http://www.collectorz.com/comic/ They have a free version/trial.
I might just do that. I may even go overboard and build my own dedicated collectors app for iOS and Android (for my UK Sonic Comics as it were) seeing as information is scant and they get ignored by the US market. I'm thinking of getting a few CGC graded as well, not just to lock down the value but also to add some unknown titles to the world database.
Just a quick bump to ask: How the hell do you get something CGC graded if you live in the UK? All the "authorised retailers" listed on the CGC website claim they can't do it or don't even know why they're on the website in the first place. I'm going around in circles.
Don't bother. It's a complete waste of time and money. You'd need to send it to that bunch of crooks. Comics should breathe, not be sealed up. With the majority of comic bags, you should actually replace them every few years. Read the damn things, don't use them as a display item!
Entering 400 comics by hand doesn't sound very hard... why does everyone want to have a database software for everything of which they have more 10 items? wtf
