Do You Keep Track of Your Collection?

[vintagebrett]

Just wondering what the rest of my fellow collectors do in terms of keeping track of their collections. I think we may have had this discussion at some point but here it is again. At this time, I'm using an Excel spreadsheet that I created with drop down menus, etc. I also started adding links to pictures I have hosted on the web. It's a continuous project but I like doing it as it allows me to track different things within my collection. What do you the rest of you do (if anything)?

[ebbets55]

I'm an Excel guy. I have tracked every statistic and every glove I have ever owned since I started in 1994ish. It's quite elaborate now. It tracks total price, total value, average price, average value, price by era, basis, etc. I have always wanted to post links to the glove pictures but now since they are mostly on the website, I haven't. I can do searches and sorts and know who I sold or traded a glove to (in case I ever want to get it back).

I'm very curious to see what everyone else does.

JD

[nygiants]

Since I collect mostly NY Giants endorsed gloves, I keep photos of each player's glove in a folder with player's photos and bios. I also have screensavers for each era (McGraw, Terry, Ott, Durocher & Rigney & even a wish list ) which show gloves, photos and stats. I use a screensaver changer that cycles the screensavers (including the wish list)during the day. It's like having all your gloves on display.

I'm not really concerned with the monetary value as I hope they will be passed down to my grandsons. Although I do just jot down in a notebook my cost.

[Studboy]

I can only dream about starting over & tracking stuff. I'm a hoarder by nature but never aquired a book keeping gene. I can, however, look through my stuff & I know where I got it & about what I gave for almost all of the gloves/stuff. Mabey that would be a nice weekend project before I get much older, always looking for an excuse to get stuff out!

[Centerfield]

I wish I had kept track in the past, but I didn’t. Who thinks if stuff like that when all you’re interested in is picking up as many gloves as possible! Also, though I had a computer in the late 80’s, I don’t think I knew what a spreadsheet or data base was! Thankfully I have digital photos of almost all of what I used to have, but wish I maintained records of where gloves came from, what they cost in dollars or trade, and ultimately, who they were sold or traded to. Now that I’m having my second go around in the hobby, I’m noting everything I can about every transaction as well as things that don’t involve me directly. It’s best to have information and never need it than go into something and not know or remember details. That said, though I don’t recall the prices or the people involved, the gloves are unforgettable! It’s occurred numerous times in recent months where gloves I used to own have resurfaced. You remember your babies, not the stork that delivered them!

[oldreliable]

Sadly, my collection is so small that I needn't do anything special to keep track of it. I have five gloves, all of which I use in games. There is something really cool about trying out different gloves in real game conditions. Maybe I should pay attention to this topic though, and if I ever am allowed to build my collection (you know what I mean), then maybe I will use Excel or the like.

Thanks.

John,
Ithaca, NY

[stockbuddy]

Olereliable, I used to be like you in that my collection was pretty small. I had a few gloves and then I got the glove bug and now, thanks to JD, (ebbets) I have my gloves on excel. I have my 100 gloves on the listing in a similar fashion to JD's. I think it is a good if a person makes the listing gradually as the collection grows, rather than to have to try and tackle it all at once. Of course, that has a bit of my hindsight in it from my experience.

My memory does not work as well as it used to and it seems the list does help one to know what they had in the glove. Plus, you can know pretty quickly who the maker of the glove is and the condition and the endorsements (if any) without having to physically get the ladder out to get the glove down from the top shelf of a glove loft that is near the 9 foot ceiling .

Dave

[jackwhale]

I've tried to limit my collection to LHT Rawlings first base mitts. I have about 30 dating back to the 40's. They are stored on several higher shelves in the video cabinet. These shelves used to be filled with electronic stuff but with miniaturization the shelves are empty. My wife insists that the mitts not be visible to everyone who comes over so they are back in the shelf where they are not easily seen. They're arranged chronicologically so I can grab the one I want to play catch with. Also have pictures and whatever descriptive words I know about each glove.

I recently become interested in older 1B mitts prior to the 40's but the prices have been much higher and I don't want to start out buying before I learn more. I'

Other makers and other glove styles are kept in a box with a list of each glove's description and info.

[Cowboy7130]

I am really glad I followed this thread, because I was inspired to do something I have been meaning to do. I just sat here and catalogued my gloves in an Excel spreadsheet. Three dozen gloves, more or less, depending on which ones my sons are claiming at the time.

At this point in my collecting career, it was pretty simple. I sat here and remembered all the gloves in the house. My spreadsheet has five headings: Manufacturer, type of glove including model number if known, Righty or Lefty (I have a lefty son and some lefty gloves, so I want to keep up with this in the future as my collection grows), "owner" (does it belong to me, my oldest son, or youngest son? and that designation may be fluid and changing), and special notes. So far, it's a pretty clean little spreadsheet. But seeing it in black and white somehow makes my collection "official," and makes me more proud of my little collection!

Soon, I will add pictures.

[robin_buckeye]

I have a very simple spreadsheet tracking all mine as well. I only have about 25 (including my two sons' gloves). Like some others I thought it would be worthwhile to have some records for the future and also for insurance purposes.

[spedrunr]

i track all of my gloves with date purchased, date sold, cost + shipping, ebay/paypal fees, model number, condition (1-10), who i bought it from (real name and ebay handle), pictures from ebay and actual when i get it, pictures if i recondition/relace it. profit/loss and %profit on excel. my goal is to sell enough to keep a few "freebies".

on a side note: i've also done the same for many of the USA hoh's, USA a2000's, Japan Mizuno's, USA MacGregors, USA Spaldings that many of you have bought and sold on ebay.

[Mike_2007]

I have this green hardcover ledger type notebook that contains important notes like passwords, transactions, etc... I have about 3 pages of notes on gloves bought and sold and secret stuff laike the Rawlings BLACKHORSE code

[BretMan]

Man, you guys are way ahead of me when it comes to tracking your collections!

Here's my current system: See that big, blue, plastic storage tub over there in the corner? It's full of baseball gloves! And so is the one on top of it, and the one on top of that, and the two over in the other corner, and those cardboard boxes stacked up next to them...

Then there's the fifty-or-so on display on shelving in my family room, and another ten or twelve next to those either in various stages of being restored or recently aquired and not put away yet.

The spread sheet thing seems like the way to go...maybe someday!