Inventory--- what a drag!!

At least you've started your inventory.  For me it's become a thorn in my side.  My wife keeps telling me "if anything ever happens to you I'd have no idea where to start with your trains".  She's right as always.  Non of our kids or grand kids have any interest in them.  Maybe I'll make it my "ONLY" New Year Resolution.  Oh wait ....that was last year's resolution.

I agree guys. Nothing worse than not having any idea what you may have purchased for your collection over a lifetime.

If anything, if you have a substantial collection, it may help others liquidate. 

For me, I started over 25 years ago using a simple spreadsheet that has been enhanced over the years. I record the item number, road name and number and year of manufacture. I do add the price but only as a guide as we know a toy train is not a good investment for the future.

I always take a few minutes and add any new purchases to the list as soon as I get home. My wife also enjoys the hobby so I never have to worry about "sneaking in" with an orange and blue box under my arm.

Donald

I feel your pain.  I've been pretty good over the years about entering each item in a spreadsheet as I go (though I did find things I had forgotten to enter during the process I describe below), but as a collector with some things in boxes for storage, it became evident a few years ago I hadn't done a good job of indicating the "where" most items were.

I started trying to create a system for this shortcoming.  As I went through things, I labeled boxes with codes based on where they were stored and an assigned alphanumeric combination for the box and then added that to my spreadsheet.

That in itself was/is a big task.  I can't imagine starting from nothing at all!  (I also can't imagine the additional time involved for doing the pictures of each thing, including graphics for road names, etc... but whatever works for you is what is best for you!)

-Dave

Everyone should have a inventory with pictures. The main reason , for insurance.

inventory program to the left; MTH product locator on the right so I can cut and paste in everything that MTH has about the engine in the program, photos, catalog location, etc.

Jim, Good point about the pictures.  We had a water leak that damaged a Mike's operating Sinclair gasoline station and an RK Northern along with a few non-electronic items.  I gave my insurance company the factory numbers and prices I paid.  I recommended listing the two mentioned on the OGR For Sale Forum describing the damage as best I could.  They sold within a day.  I shared the SOLD price with my insurance company and they sent me a check for the balance up to a depreciated amount.   John in Lansing, ILL

We started "in the beginning" using a WORD list, then graduated to Acesss .. finally converting to EXCEL.   The only downside is finding out how many pieces one really does have stashed under the tables, in closets, etc.  WAY TOO MANY, as the wife points out with glee.  But she's hooked on them now too, so all is well.  Except the treaty clearly states no more purchases .... for a while.

never kept inventory when in HO.  after loosing what I had in a divorce when I got back into O, I keep track of everything on an excel program.

I know this has been discussed before but it would be fantastic if there was a bar code based inventory program with a database for O scale so that users only needed to scan the barcode on the box for items in their collections. Perhaps even a user based inventory that could grow as the program's users entered barcoded items that were without prior descriptions.

After bring things home from a show that already started inventories of all aspects of my toy train world on Excel.

PRRronbh posted:

After bring things home from a show that already started inventories of all aspects of my toy train world on Excel.

I do the same thing.

-Greg 

Wow this thread sure takes the fun out of model trains  

I always wrote a description, the number, and what I paid. No intention of ever trying to put it on a computer.

I started buying in 1983 and went way overboard with it for years.

I added it up awhile ago, due to a lot of selling and not neat records it is not real accurate but I could buy a new Accord with what I have spent.

Mines on an excel spreadsheet. I keep it on a flash drive with info on the other hobbies so if anything happens to me my family has some idea...

I have started my inventory, at least 3 times. I get about 1/2 way and then it gets to the hard part. The stuff that's is packed away and needs pulling out. That's where it ends lol. 

Pretty sure Yard Office was one I tried a few years ago and I thought it was a pretty good program. Was one of my more favorite ones and I tried all I could find. I ended up with Filemaker database that I hacked from one of their included samples. It works pretty good, but I kind of over complicated it a bit. It needs some slimming down.

I finally have everything entered into it, but I need to take some more pictures of some items. I am now doing as others said above and entering anything new either when ordered or when received. I have a data field for pre-orders and such, 'ordered/have/want etc.' and I change it's status when something is received.

I end up picking up cars to log them, and running them instead 

"Inventories" stopped getting finished at about 100 pieces  

Plain old counting stopped at 180  

clem k posted:

Wow this thread sure takes the fun out of model trains  

why do you say that?

I have fun putting them into a program.

just like posting here.

and

I have a lot of fun letting the wife know she already got a car when I input one already there.

fun is what you make of life.

I started an Excel spreadsheet in the late 90s when I realized writing it down on a legal pad in longhand would NOT work..  It has grown by leap and bounds, as they say.  Now, when I acquire something new, it is photographed, it's details are entered into the Excel spreadsheet and total piece count, approx. value are updated.  The pics taken are listed on two separate files.  The first is a file of pics on computer per a numbering system according to order of acquisition and that number is entered onto the Excel spreadsheet for each item.  A second file for pics has items in order of manufacturer with numerical order of individual item number, Lionel is divided into Prewar, Post War and Modern.  All this is constantly updated as needed and stored in laptop as well as a dedicated thumb drive and new cd copy made every so often, as needed, also.  CD is kept in locked safe with all other important papers, etc.

Works for me, and the effort I put into it is a good peace of mind.

Jesse   TCA   12-68275

And, what a game tonight in this World Series!