General Forum

Hi Everyone,

After a two year break I am back to collecting and I was happy to see this site is still going strong.

So....
I build sets up to 1993, and collect all active yankees from 1994 and on, and all Reggies. My current collection is at 105k with (an ungodly amount of wants)..
I have 125k cards for trade with 40k left to sort though.
They all cover over 4300 different sets.

So what is the easiest way to get them into TCDB? Is one at a time my only option?

Sorry if this has been asked in the past.

Thanks,
Moises
 

Moises, What's worked best for me is to get the cards in sets and start entering. I find it's faster to enter despite them being out of order, and then you can file them in order if you wish. I've done it by getting them in order first and it seemed to be slower. But basically that's how I'd do it. Just go by the set with the most cards and you'll get those out of the way. For multiple sets I try to get them in year order at least. Then just have the sets by year page and start clicking and adding.

No matter which system you use it'll be tedious and time-consuming, but well worth it in the end.

I am also a set collector. My inventory is also sorted that way. Similar to Joshua, I start by sorting by brand, then I sort by year and then I put them in card number order. I use the "Add multiple" feature to add cards to the database. 

It is a tedious process, there's no way around that. However, the portion of my inventory that is organized like this is well inventoried & managed and makes trading EASY. It is super easy to find and pull cards.

Thanks Joshua. All my cards are in a database so I can print out the list so at least I dont have to take them out of the boxes.

Pecking away I will go.....

Moises, first off I am happy to see that you will be entering your collecction on TCDB.  Yes it is a tedious process but you will reap the benefits once done and even before then as you will get trade offers as your lists match up to others lists.

I have my whole collection on here, both players and sets.  It took time to do so but as I went I learned a few tricks to save time.  But even before you start I recommend you make two piles (or in your case, if doing it off a database, mark each set as entered once done). 

For sets, go one set at a time - those cards you have, then the traders and finally the wants.  If you have most of the set, it is easier to enter the whole set into your collection (use the drop down menu of available actions) and then remove those you don't have.  In a set of 792 cards, if you only need less than 100 cards, this is faster.  Then go back in and enter your traders.  This is one at a time.  I only enter one for trade of any one card even if I have multiples.  Yes you may lose a few trades because someone wants every single card possible of a particular player or team even when they already have ten of that card (I used to be that way - not anymore) but for the most part, a single one entered for trade will attract the ones who need the card.  The from the drop down menu of actions, select all cards missing in this set to your want list. Once that set is entered, put it in a separate pile from the ones still to be entered.  This includes your traders which shoul have a pile of their own.

Set by set, you will find that they will get all entered in the database relatively quickly.

For players, a similar operation but do it from the player page.  A bit of a pain now that in every single year, there are hundreds of cards put out for each individual player including the HoF.  But using the filters, you can find the card you own relatively quicker than scrolling page  after page.  I usually have two tabs open when doing this just to go faster.

The biggest things are organization, patience and persistence.  You can see how big my collection is - it has been on the database within the first year of my being on this great site.  Now that it is in, keeping it up-to-date is easy as I receive trades or buy lots.  But you have to keep it updated or else you will find yourself starting over which will demoralize you towards the fun of the hobby.

Look at it this way, in entering your collection, you will be able to look at your cards all over again - that is if you use the cards.  Have fun.  Hope this helps.

I have no choice but to shortcut Joshua and Bruno's system a bit. Let's say I have a 1988 Donruss set entered, but I also have 5 monster boxes in inventory or maybe a partial set. I just add another set. Yes my numbers are skewed a bit. Yes, a trader just might want a card I've listed as a T/S item. Oops, I just politely message that the card is no longer available. Somewhat rare but does happen. With 4 rooms and all the cards, I have can easily find replacements that the trader is thrilled with....even toss in a bonus. It does save time, and I just go back and remove any cards that I don't have later. Not perfect but works.

I don't know about that short cut, Bob. You and I had a trade where both of us screwed up on what the other agreed to send. It was a mess to say the least. I wouldn't want to go through that again.

Extrapolate that to a bigger context, if everyone did it that way. It's not the way it's supposed to be. It bothered me that I made mistakes like that on other trades since I've been living/traveling in Texas and New Jersey over the past year. It's not fair to the other party, no matter if I've made it up to the partner by offering other cards. In some cases they'd accept the substitution, but in many cases they'd show mercy and say it was okay. I'd prefer giving assurances that I have everything pulled rather than believing I have everything and not have it. It's given me more of a headache than anything when I trade with someone here.

I find using the add duplicates option saves a lot of time. Just make sure you select for dale/trade at the top before you start if that’s where you want them to go. Add a whole set is easy if you use that option in the drop down menu. Also if you go to an individual card in the drop down menu you can add “from here” and a bunch at once if you have a large block in your collection.  Please don’t use Bobs method. I would encourage everyone to make their list as accurate as possible if you’re going to trade. 

Sometimes if you have most of a set it is easier to add the whole set and remove the cards you don't have.

Yeah, Isn't thats what I said? Add the set remove the cards. You guys must be celebrating NYE early. lol. I Got to do it, I have had many successful trades, without too many issues. I'd be dead and buried if I had to add 4+ rooms of cards 1 by 1. Commish buddy, you really have no room to talk, just sayin'.

Hey, if it doesn't work for you, don't trade. Just like the forum, if you don't like the post, don't read it. How simple is that.

Just like Miss T's pitching coach says, " speed 1st, we'll develop accuracy later". So if you hit a few girls, just say sorry and move on. Simple basics.

Happy New Year, ~Bob~