Anyone lost count of their collections?

[fishsandwich]

I bought a big lot of NES games at a flea market a while back and finally got around to cataloging them into the Word document I use to keep track of what I have. Most of my collection is in storage so I can't physically check.

I found at least five games that I KNOW I have but are not on my list. Who the hell knows what I've missed? The NES and PSone sections have got to be complete messes.

This happen to anyone else?

[Griking]

Honestly I have absolutely no clue what I have any more. . I tried cataloging things once before but i'd always forget to update it when I'd get home with new stuff I'd found. Finally I realized that I collect and play games for fun and that cataloging and creating inventories is work and kind of defeats the purpose of everything so I basically don't even bother any more.

When I'm out a can kind of remember if I have something or not but I do buy duplicates from time to time. Its not a big deal though as I usually only buy stuff that's in good condition and I can easily resell duplicates down the road when I get motivated.

Perhaps if I found a really simple "click a check box style" program I'd try it again but i doubt I'd keep up.

[bangtango]

I have agreed to sell stuff that I still thought was in my collection. Turns out it was long gone. Fortunately, I never got far enough along in any of these deals where I had to return a payment. Still, it is embarrassing agreeing to a deal with a buyer online then having to tell them you already sold or traded the item somewhere along the line. That crap is the worst. It happened right here on this forum about 12-14 months ago with an unlicensed NES game.

[8Ways2Tuesday]

I don't have that many games compared to many of the people here, but yeah... I've definitely found games that I have no memory of buying and I've ended up with duplicates a few times on accident (though they make lovely gifts to other gamer friends).

I haven't made an actual list in more than a year... It just sounds like too much typing.

[DKTheArcadeRat]

I'm kinda half-way to losing track. I still have to put in a few systems and the games I have for them. And (for those who know or use RFG's tools) have to put in what i have box/manual wise for each game. its going to take a while to play catch up here.

[nationgamesdepot]

I had lost track of mine a long long time ago. Since I have been on a quest to track down boxes and manuals I am caught back up on my lists. It was a PAIN in the arse to do though. But I need 197 manuals and around 80 boxes for a fully CIB NES set.
~~NGD

[Nebagram]

I'm lax in cataloguing all my games, but what I do is I print out a hard copy and write all new acquisitions onto that before updating the excel version. I'm almost obsessive-compulsive in my love of list making and I have a phoenomenal memory, so it'd be hard for me to lose track of it. Sadly. ;)

[Damaramu]

Nope, not here.

I make it a point to enter the game info at my Video Game Rebirth (http://www.vgrebirth.org) profile the day I get it.

[skaar]

Nope, not here.

I make it a point to enter the game info at my Video Game Rebirth profile the day I get it.

I think some people have a lot more time on their hands.

Or they're just more responsible. ;)

(For the record, I have no clue what I have - but I remember everything I've ever loaned out.)

[Damaramu]

How about a third option: Mildly obsessive?

But seriously, there are people here at DP who are far more anal than I. And yeah, if you're collecting videogames, chances are you have some spare time on your hands. :monkey:


I think some people have a lot more time on their hands.

Or they're just more responsible. ;)

(For the record, I have no clue what I have - but I remember everything I've ever loaned out.)

[ubersaurus]

I'm slow to update my lists, but I do get around to it. I think offhand I have about 5 or 6 games to be added.

I use it mostly to keep track of what I have so when I go out, that way I don't rebuy games(most of the time).

[Steve W]

I would like to catalog my collection one of these days, but my stuff is scattered around too much in plastic tubs and in storage for the stuff I don't use too much, and it would be a lot of effort to do. I never have the desire to go through everything after I get off work, so I have the tendency to pick up the occasional duplicate.

[BIGMIKE]

i just wanna say it drives me bonkers when i am in the hunt for anything not just games. i'm always losing something. wallet, phone, pen, cables. with this in mind i just did a bit of updating myself last week with the ol toaster set. i get that feeling from time to time of organizing things better, so i finally did it with the NES on sunday. had to add around 15 new titles and some dupes. how did i get three tecmo bowls and bubble bobbles. ohhhhhhhhhh that's right Goodwill rocks. i usually do it a set at a time. although my 'intendo is my largest percent of games. around 250 or so. now all the loose ones are in alphy order. the boxes are just on the shelf. i guess i should arrange those as well.
all the others i could prolly do with ease since most are under 70 ish games , but the genny is up there close to 200 as well. dont find much else round these parts, but the n64 is comin on strong.

[bangtango]

I prefer to spend my spare time playing games, instead of cataloging them. My catalog is in my head. I can remember about everything in my collection, except for a few EA sports games.

[Trebuken]

I have all my games listed in GameCollector.com and still end up with duplicates, which is very frustrating...

[lkermel]

I've always tried to keep my list up to date and nope, this never happened to me. The other way around happened to me though, finding game in my collection that I thought I didn't have...
The only thing I have never catalogued are my duplicates. I know I have a lot, but I don't have a clue of how many...

[Haoie]

I keep a list, always update it with a new entry. So no, I keep good count.

[Hawksmoor]

As a few others have said, I'd like to catalogue all of my games but they are scattered all over the place. I intend to organize and catalogue all of them one day, but I have no idea when I'll feel like tackling such a massive undertaking.

[cyberfluxor]

Ahhh, the good 'ol counting and categorizing of games. I attack this task every now and then, it takes true dedication. It took me over 3hrs just to complete my Saturn spreadsheet and that's just around 80 games. Maybe I put too much effort into the thing but when you complete a consoles library information it feels damn good.

My problem is that there are many things I collect and obscure things I buy and want to keep track of. It's just 100% easier to keep in mind what you own but what if you can't remember it all? The simple solution (which was earlier stated) is to sell your duplicates. This is what I tend to do after there are a lot of extras lying around and there's a need to cash in. But to be blunt, I'd like to have everything stored on spreadsheets and kept up to date, which really is a pain in the ass.

[LAGO]

I have agreed to sell stuff that I still thought was in my collection. Turns out it was long gone.


My catalog is in my head. I can remember about everything in my collection.

... LOL ...

[Aussie2B]

A couple months ago I discovered a NES game that wasn't on my list that I've owned for many years. Now I just keep my fingers crossed that there aren't any others.

I don't bother taking a list with me while I'm shopping, though. I have a very good memory about my games, so other than random sports titles that I don't intentionally buy anyway, I know pretty much immediately if I have a game or not, and I can even remember where and for how much I got most of my games too. I don't even bother typing out details like packaging. That I just keep in my head, but I'm also not really making an effort to complete any of my games. That only comes into play if I find a more complete version of a game I already have at a good price. Then I'll sell off the crummier dupe.

[Lerxstnj]

It's easy to know what you have when you have them ALL!
:-D

[Iron Draggon]

I lost track of everything I have when we lost the collection database here :(

[Jumpman Jr.]

Although I may have figuratively lost count of my collection (in the fact that I have so many games I sometimes people that I have "lost count"), I very much have the knowledge of how many games I have.
I keep hard copy lists of all the US released games for all the consoles that I collect for in a binder. I carry the binder around with me whenever I go looking for games.
I also have lists on the computer of exactly what I'm missing for my collections.

[cyberfluxor]

I lost track of everything I have when we lost the collection database here :(

Same. I'm just lazy and slow with rebuilding my lists... :-/

[bangtango]

... LOL ...

What? :embarrassed: I said I can remember "just about everything" but not ALL of it so I am not at 100%.

I've only "sold" two games in the past couple of years that I thought I still owned. One was a Color Dreams piece of crap on NES and the other was Raging Fighter on Game Boy. Very forgettable titles! I caught those two missing games before the Paypal came in each time :bigmac: Turns out I really took them into an indie game store for trade in about 6 months beforehand, actually got a good amount of store credit incidentally. Then I proceeded to forget all about it. As for my mistaken attempt to sell one of those before checking, there is a forum member here who will tell you all about it *rolls eyes*

[LAGO]

What? :embarrassed: I said I can remember "just about everything" but not ALL of it so I am not at 100%.

I've only "sold" two games in the past couple of years that I thought I still owned. One was a Color Dreams piece of crap on NES and the other was Raging Fighter on Game Boy. Very forgettable titles! I caught those two missing games before the Paypal came in each time :bigmac: Turns out I really took them into an indie game store for trade in about 6 months beforehand, actually got a good amount of store credit incidentally. Then I proceeded to forget all about it. As for my mistaken attempt to sell one of those before checking, there is a forum member here who will tell you all about it *rolls eyes*

Just giving you a hard time. I've done stuff like that before. I picked up a wrestling game I had been wanting for a while. Got home and was all excited about it. Then noticed I already owned a copy. LOL

[qbertandernie]

i try to keep track by title and price i paid and remove the stickers when i log them in, so i just have a ton of games that have price stickers on em. i often find games on the shelf that have prices on them still, so its kind of the same...i do 'lose' games from time to time.

[j_factor]

I've been maintaining one list for years, and I always keep it updated.

However, there is one SNES game on my list, which I swear I acquired long ago, that I can't find. So I guess I lost track of it.

[Slate]

I lost count when my computer crashed and I lost my list. I'm sure that I have over 800 games, Though.

[MASTERWEEDO]

I try to keep things in alphabetical order so its easier for me to remeber what I have. It does get difficult now that I keep getting systems and games every week. I usually dont buy doubles but when I do I sell them to my friends for a dolllar or 2, or if they buy a system that i have they get a free game. The hard part is keeping track of my movie collection, its like 1,600 VHS tapes and 150 DVD's.

[8Ways2Tuesday]

I was working on a paper list this afternoon and my wrist gave out somewhere close to 400. Where did they all come from? When am I ever going to play them?

[Steven]

As a few others have said, I'd like to catalogue all of my games but they are scattered all over the place. I intend to organize and catalogue all of them one day, but I have no idea when I'll feel like tackling such a massive undertaking.


Do it little by little. Commit yourself to it, like say, devote even just 15-20 minutes a week. Before long, the task will look less and less daunting as you complete bits and pieces of it.


EDIT:

I do it by old fashion pen and paper. I like it as opposed to the computer, which is too cut and dry for my tastes. It's kinda fun going back and reading side stories I recorded with game purchases every now and again. It does take a lot of dedication indeed, and the main key is to start early.

http://www.rvgfanatic.com/mediac/400_0/media/DIR_74601/IMG_2943.JPG

http://www.rvgfanatic.com/mediac/400_0/media/DIR_74601/IMG_2945.JPG

I so wish I did this with my Saturn when I was crazy for it 01-05. Luckily, when I re-started my SNES binge, I had the intent of archiving it from day one, and that definitely helps.

/ramble

[djsquarewave]

I keep track of things online (http://www.vgrebirth.org/community/games.asp?list=1&id=djsquarewave), and also keep everything on my shelves sorted. I can remember very accurately what I already have and what's on my wantlist most of the time. Only dupes I've ever bought are games I've loaned out, got lost, replaced, and had found again.

How it's sorted, though, that changes every few months. Imports sometimes end up sorted by, say, release date or Japanese alphabetical when I feel like giving myself a headache. US releases stay alphabetical, though.

Actually, the biggest problem now is that my collection has outgrown my shelf...almost at 500 titles, which doesn't fit on a single media shelf by a longshot.

[Superman]

I have an Access list for my NES games. All I have to do is check of a game when I get it.

For the rest of my systems, however, I haven't even started making the lists.

It's okay because, in general, have a good memory and the NES games are the only ones that give me problems since there are quite a few games with similar names.

[Three-P]

I did, but I'll count'em up, again.

I'm building a pretty good collection.