Does anyone here keep a "running tab"?

[Steven]

My friend does this and very recently I decided to start one. Basically "running tab" means writing down the game(s) you buy when you do, where you bought it, how much, any interesting side stories, etc.

I really regret I didn't do this with Saturn. At one point I owned as many as 340 games. Would have loved to go back through a 50 page journal or something and read when I got what, how much, from whom, and any back stories. Sure it's in the ole noggin... but it's not the same as having it down on paper.

Though I don't want to venture to guess how much I've spent (my family would say wasted! LOL) on Saturn, OTOH I do have a curiosity to know.

Anywho, 2nd chances are great. I'm keeping a log on SNES/GEN games I buy, and so far, it's been great. It'll be great fun to look back at it 5, 10 years from now. Even 2 years.

Anyway, maybe this idea sounds interesting to you and maybe you'll do it for your own pleasure, who knows.

If you already do it, give us a little taste (i.e. how much $$ total have you spent on video games, etc.)

Again, I think it's a hell of an idea that all diehard collectors should employ, if they haven't already.

Thoughts?

[keiblerfan69]

Nope but I'm gonna start one right now. :)

[Nez]

I keep recipts. Its interesting to see how much I've spent on cirtain games. And were and when I got them.

[johno590]

Nope, but I wish I would have from the beginning. But now it's kinda late to start doing it... Oh well.

[chrisbid]

i use my DP blog to do this

[PapaStu]

Kinda sorta. I'll mark on my personal list how much I spent on it, but other than that I don't note down anything about it (besides what I track on my personal lists which is alot). I've got the kind of memory that remembers the little stories (on the rare occasion there is one) and regurgitate it if its needed, which is just as rare.

[wrldstrman]

nope I would probally sit down and cry if I knew how much ive spent :(

[Steven]

Nope, but I wish I would have from the beginning. But now it's kinda late to start doing it... Oh well.

yeah that'd be sweet. It is too late now for the stuff you already own, but you can always start a quick simple log on every game you buy from this day forth. It won't be as cool as if you started it way back when, but better late than never. I'm lucky in the (sad) sense that I just got back in the 16-bit groove, and this logging thing shall serve as a great archive of memories... I'm basically where I was at in 2001 when I first started going crazy on all things Saturn... but now have the wherewiththou's (sound it out, lol) to keep a log, knowing how much I regret not keeping on during my crazy Saturn spree of January 2001-August 2005.

Cheers

[Haoie]

All I have is a list of what I own, I also recorded the order in which I bought them with my big stack of manuals. The prices, well, I can sometimes remember.

[NiNtEnDoNuT1983]

i use my webpage to keep and update on my collection..check it out!!!

[Bronty-2]

I do this with my sealed stuff. It's hard to be 100% accurate when stuff you have more than one of gets sold (credit the average price or?) or if you trade something, etc etc but I have a pretty good ballpark. Well worth doing with the more collectable stuff anyway... I find I spend less with that figure (of what I've already spent) in the back of my mind.

[Toandirte]

I make it a point to keep my reciepts, especially for the older things I buy. I have'nt added them up but I will some day. Actually no I won't it would prabably scare me. LOL @_@

[DigitalSpace]

I have a log of every game I've purchased going all the way back to February 2004. It's nice to look back and remember when I got certain games.

I don't list prices, though. I used to, but now I don't care to think of how much I've spent.

[dreamcaster]

I have complete and multiple databases for my games, accessories and systems. Complete totals, locations and prices dating back to August 1997 (when I stopped selling anything I had).

I keep every receipt I get and I have data and statistics recorded on paper and on computer.

[nationgamesdepot]

I use my webpage to do this as well. Several months back, my site crashed, and I lost tons of the info forever. I make backups now. I somehow still remember what I paid for most of my games, and where I got them. If I knew how much money I have spent, I would prob. want to cry myself to sleep every night.
~~NGD

[McBacon]

Hmm, maybe I'll start a journal that I can read when I'm older.

Thanks for the idea!

[vahn401]

Like alot of people have said, I also keep my receipts, and have been since I think 2000. For all the ps1 game receipts, I usually tuck them in the cd case underneath where the cd goes, and all the dvd-sized cases, i shove the receipt in the middle of the instruction booklet. As for everything cartridge based, I've got a shoebox full of receipts for those, hehe.

And I actually started my journal the first of the year, keeping track of game, price, and a little memo if its a sweet find or 2-for-1 at eb/gamestop. The girlfriend claimed I spend entirely to much on games, and suggested the idea of this journal for a new years resolution for this year. So far its working.

[fishsandwich]

nope I would probally sit down and cry if I knew how much ive spent :(

No kidding! I could have bought a bigger loft with the $$$ I've spent over the years. Seriously.

[jajaja]

No, but its a good idea :) I've thought about doing it for things I sell. Like how much I bought it for and how much I sold it for, but I'm so lazy that I havnt started hehe :(

[Truffle]

I keep a book devided into console sections. I keep track of when, where I got a game so I can keep track of the order i get my games in. Sometimes I do write a little blurb in if there was a good story behind my find or something...
I also keep it updated consistantly.Oh yeah, everything in my collection is in there not just the games themselves.
Promo stuff, soundtracks, loose boxes, flyers...etc. -_-

Ive been doing this for 4 years or so...

Judge me if you will! If I dont write this stuff down I will forget forever!!!!

I also keep my reciepts and crap.

I would rather have my lists on hand-I just dont trust computers for the long term.
It really is worthwhile.

[Aussie2B]

I also recorded the order in which I bought them with my big stack of manuals.

Heh, I used to do that too, but it's gone to hell now that I have so many games.

I don't have any documents keeping track of anything besides what games I own, but I'm surprised at just how good my memory is on my purchases. Pick a random game from my collection and I could probably tell you where I bought it, roughly how much it was, and possibly when it was as well (not down to the exact date, but who cares :P ).

[Mr.Faxanadu]

Absolutely!

My rule is that I spend only what I make on eBay. I don't want to put any of my savings into this hobby.

My total after inputting my last win:

Spent $2,117.93
Sold $1,872.01
TOTAL -$245.92
Est Worth $3,444.00

So I've cunrrently spent $245 on my collection :)

[NESaholic]

I thought about it but most of the time i remember for how much i bought it and if i don't it wasn't that high in price to remember,i'm a bit lazy hehe i hate administration work.
I keep them all clean though and care for them but not like writing everything down i guess and memories i keep in mind.

[jhd7]

I've tracked my transactions with a Word doc... title, seller (or buyer), and amount. The NES doc is up to 58 pages. I also have dox for TG16 & SNES. For whatever reason, they all have a different layout. Some entries have dates, but not all. The CV "transaction document" is a couple of sheets of paper. Still don't know why I didn't use Word or Notepad.

I also have a spreadsheet for each system that tracks what I have and need, including columns for box, cart, manual, map, and rarity.

jeff d

[izret101]

I keep recipts. Its interesting to see how much I've spent on cirtain games. And were and when I got them.

Same here.

Unfortunately my recipts are starting to fade for no reason at all.
Freaking shitty paper/ink!


I think my fathest back recipt is 10-12 years for Goldeneye from Blockbuster and i payed 20something dollars.
I payed the bulk of the cost and my bro pitched in 5 or so $ plus the tax.
A few years later i payed him that back so i could have full ownership of he game.
LOL

[snes_collector]

I also recorded the order in which I bought them with my big stack of manuals.

Heh, I used to do that too, but it's gone to hell now that I have so many games.

I don't have any documents keeping track of anything besides what games I own, but I'm surprised at just how good my memory is on my purchases. Pick a random game from my collection and I could probably tell you where I bought it, roughly how much it was, and possibly when it was as well (not down to the exact date, but who cares :P ).

Same here, it's kinda that you can remember. I keep all my recipts, but when I my house got robbed, I lost a lot of them, and sone of my older ones are starting to fade. Another thing is I decent chunk of my games have come from GameStop(new stuff and old stuff) and since I never take the stickers off(I even keep them on my SNES carts) I know!

[christhegamer]

my dad says that's good for insurance porpuses, but I only keep track of a few things (like, say, 90%)

[Fighter17]

Yeah, I do that with my Genesis/Megadrive collection.

[erehwon]

I'm going to start keeping track. I'm working on a access database for this and have made a crude data access page. Data access page sceenshot (http://img350.imageshack.us/img350/7240/spendingpagepic8bz.jpg) I still got some more work to do. Right now, I'm waiting for a 2003 Access Bible I got on hold from the library. I need some more info on the page thing.

[mezrabad]

I once added up how much I'd spent during the previous year and shared the amount with my wife. ($1500, including a new computer so, not a whole hell of a lot). She was shocked and outraged and said "we could've spent that on a vacation!!"

Of course, if we had spent it on a vacation then during the vacation, I would've been thinking "crap, I could've spent this on videogames . . . at least I'd have something to resell."

[Jumpman Jr.]

I actually have a very good recollection of where/how/from whom I bought most of my games from.
I'm quite sure, that if I chose a game at random out of my collection (of 1500 games) I could tell you a back story to it.

[Steven]

I keep a book devided into console sections. I keep track of when, where I got a game so I can keep track of the order i get my games in. Sometimes I do write a little blurb in if there was a good story behind my find or something...

I would rather have my lists on hand-I just dont trust computers for the long term.
It really is worthwhile.

I hear that. Mine is in a journal as well. It's like holding a game magazine vs. reading a game article ONLINE. The magazine part is just so pure and sweet. The same to logging game stuff by hand or by PC IMHO.

And to the guy who spent only $245 on gaming -- wow those are some crazy fun statistics! Rock on!

[Charlesaway]

I had been keeping a running tab, with my purchase price, who I bought from, where, etc. Most of that information was lost in my last computer crash unfortunately. It was all inputted in Cart Commander, using the provided fields. Before I lost the database, I had spent close to $6000.00 in about 4 years.

I started keeping track again this January; I've spent over $150 so far, although most of that was for component/optical audio cables to hook up the modern systems to my christmas present (7 way switch).

I always thought the journal idea definitely had merit, and have wanted to do it. I guess it's just one of those things you have to start doing. :)

[Mr Mort]

I use GameCollector to keep track of my collection. Whenever I buy a game, I immediately enter it into my collection database inputting the store it was baught from, price, special notes, etc.

I've also kept my receipts as far back as 1994 and entered all those receipts into my database too.

I have a good record of what I've spent so far :(

[Steven]

I always thought the journal idea definitely had merit, and have wanted to do it. I guess it's just one of those things you have to start doing. :)

exactly, like many/most things in life, it's all about cracking down and getting STARTED. Once you fall behind, forget about it. Just like college and course readings. You miss the first 2 readings you may think Ah no biggie.

next thing you know, you barely read the book you paid 80.00 for all semester long...