Re: Inventory

Pivoting off Bip's mention of leaving behind a great collection, I am using some of my free time to inventory my collection, using the bar code reader function of Discogs.com. (Incidentally, have you noticed that TP now has roll-over links from the discography to their site? I'm a little disappointed they won't pay any sort of commission on traffic so generated, but it's still handy, so I'm ok with it.)

In any case, it's terrifying to see the numbers rack up. but i see a real value in having a portable document of what I have in case of death or sale, whichever comes first.

Anyone else doing (done) that?

I've been working on a personal inventory for years for insurance purposes, as well as adding to Discogs. Please tell me more about this bar code reader function, as I don't see it on the Discogs site.

you have to use the app on your phone. when you click the search icon it brings up a scan icon. super simple

I need to do that, too. Partly for insurance purposes, and partly to quit accidentally buying copies of albums I already have -- or missing out on albums I'm sure I already have, only to find out I passed up a great deal. (I never used to do that ... must be getting old.)

Delvin Wrote:
>partly to quit accidentally buying copies of albums I already have...

God that's happened to me more times than I'd like to admit, even though I started databasing my collection early on. My first version was using Microsoft Works on a Mac SE20, and back then Microsoft Works only existed on a mac because Windows hadn't been invented yet! (Wait, I lied, the very very first version was on a Commodore 64.) When that software phased out it got migrated to Filemaker, and then Filemaker's product Bento, and now finally TapForms. TapForms has an iPhone app that syncs so now my collection listing is always in my pocket.

I am slowly also entering items in Discogs, but as PostPunkMonk mentioned, this isn't always a quick process. So I still like having my separate database with my own comments. I have the purchase price and vendor listed for almost all my records when I started collecting in 1981. I added a field to the database for URL links to the Discogs entry once I have it entered on Discogs, so I can see the exact pressing. But I think I'm only about 20% complete on that part of the project.

mathmandan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Delvin Wrote:
> >partly to quit accidentally buying copies of
> albums I already have...
>
> God that's happened to me more times than I'd like
> to admit, even though I started databasing my
> collection early on. My first version was using
> Microsoft Works on a Mac SE20, and back then
> Microsoft Works only existed on a mac because
> Windows hadn't been invented yet! (Wait, I lied,
> the very very first version was on a Commodore
> 64.) When that software phased out it got migrated
> to Filemaker, and then Filemaker's product Bento,
> and now finally TapForms. TapForms has an iPhone
> app that syncs so now my collection listing is
> always in my pocket.
>
> I am slowly also entering items in Discogs, but as
> PostPunkMonk mentioned, this isn't always a quick
> process. So I still like having my separate
> database with my own comments. I have the purchase
> price and vendor listed for almost all my records
> when I started collecting in 1981. I added a field
> to the database for URL links to the Discogs entry
> once I have it entered on Discogs, so I can see
> the exact pressing. But I think I'm only about 20%
> complete on that part of the project.

Wow! Microsoft Works on a SE20! Takes me back! Maybe too far. I tried the Filemaker thing too, but the big problem with traditional database/spreadsheet is that it TAKES TOO LONG. I had a friend who did Excel for his collection of over 30,000 items!!!!! Twice, since he didn't back up the first time!!! [he was retired at the second time]

I have thousands of releases. If I bought a new record every two weeks, that would be no problem, but my purchase trends are often in high bulk. 20-60 items at a time. Try putting that into a database in less than 4 hours. Takes the wind out of your sails pretty fast! Meanwhile Discogs is about 20-40 seconds per item. As long as you don't care which plant your pressing is from! With folder tagging [i.e. John Foxx goes in the Ultravox folder] and notes [where?/how much?] added. If you need it with you it's viewable on the Discogs mobile app. Or just add the CSV file to your device to be really free, and go from there.

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2020 08:41AM by Post-Punk Monk.

PPM: everything you wrote makes perfect sense! But, I am too invested in my database to let it go.

Also, if Discogs has separate entries for different pressings, I simply must figure out which one I have. I suppose I have some selective OCD.

I've been building my inventory almost at random for 14 years on Discogs.com.

Once I started writing a blog in 2010, I began documenting my purchases for the first time since 1993, when I fell off the wagon. I had previously kept a notebook with what I bought/where/how much I paid from about '83-'93 but went off music purchases for about a year there as expenses went elsewhere. Having the blog meant I now had a repository for this info and why not? I love the page on my blog that is just a grid of every cover of each release I've bought in the last decade. Every time I look at that page I get a warm feeling inside. of course, the Discogs grid is bigger, but doesn't scroll.

It says I have 6151 items now and it still feels about 70% complete. I dream of taking two weeks off and only doing database entry but in the 14 years I've been on Discogs.com, the data has gotten almost too granular. When you want to enter your album in the collection, you now have to look up what plant the LP might have been pressed at in the 1960s by reading the matrix numbers! Tedious! But having my physical collection complete and accurate to my Discogs collection is a holy grail kind of thing for me. Not that I'll ever have the time for that.

I never really used the UPC code function since it's only relevant to modern, post 1984 releases with them. Most of what I buy, even in the last 30 years, is usually from before that. As stated the insurance function is worth its weight in gold, should disaster strike. But the bar code function is in the Discogs app for one's smartphone/tablet. It's not accessible from the web interface.

True fact: I spend 90-120 minutes a day on Discogs. Easily. What did I do with my life before that site?

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2020 11:46AM by Post-Punk Monk.

Good to know where to find the barcode thing.

It might be my best option, since there's no way I'm going to look at the run-out groove to find the right pressing plant or any of that crap. I imagine half of my Discogs inventory is purchases, so I assume those are accurate. I don't give a tinker's damn what pressing plant pressed it, though, as long as it's a good copy and sounds fine.

Ugh....I feel rather Neanderthal by comparison. About five or six years ago I started an Excel file where I logged my records. I did it in excel because I knew I could alphabetize them. Sadly all I listed was artist, title, format and genre. Lately started listing where I got them. No mention of price paid or value (how could I remember what I paid for all these records).
I’ve been good about updating it. I email the file to myself so I can view it on my phone when out browsing.

Like Delvin, buying titles twice or passing on things I was CERTAIN I HAD (but didnt) drove me to start doing it. Plus I knew I should keep SOME kind of library of it.

This Discogs idea appeals to me, though I don’t see myself tracking release numbers, etc. but I suppose that’s the only way you can determine value. Will have to look into the scanning feature?

I’d love to catalogue all my “Readers Digest world’s greatest melodies” albums.

I still have my Google Sheets file going - I just haven't added to it in a while, due to laziness.

(Oh, and the discogs-links in the reviews section discography are terrific. This is the only site I’ve ever seen get actually better with a redesign. So nice to be here!)

The beauty of building your collection in Discogs is that it is downloadable as a CSV file compatible with any spreadsheet. And since the database is crowdsourced, the data it contains can be VOLUMINOUS. All I need to do it click on the correct release to add it to my collection and then all of the data on that release will be in my collection CSV file without me having to type as much as a character. An incredible time saver! I really love Discogs. I get so much from it. I don't feel exploited in contributing to the database. And their business model is pretty non user hostile. They make $$$ from fees in their store if you sell. More modest fees than evilbay, too. They don't double-dip with shipping fees like evilbay, either. Selling there is the easiest of any platform, too. Click release. Set pricing/condition. Boom. Done in seconds. I sound like an ad for Discogs. Well, I am sort of a Discogs poster child; it's true.

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/04/2020 04:06AM by Post-Punk Monk.

So, I downloaded the app and started scanning some CDs I had laying around to see how it works. For most, there was one entry and one only. Easy enough, add that to my collection. But when I scanned "Songs from the Big Chair," a bunch of entries popped up. I matched the number (558 106-2) to multiple entries from different countries. The number was the same for Brazil and Argentina, for example I didn't feel like digging much deeper other than finding a number that matched for that album. Does it really matter if all you want is to catalog your collection?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/2020 09:24AM by zoo.

If all I want to know is that it was the [fill in year] pressing of [title] in [format] from [country]? Naaaah. I only sweat the details for valuable things. You could go BLIND figuring out which "Songs From the Big Chair" you may have! Life's too short!

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/2020 12:43PM by Post-Punk Monk.