How to catalog a card collection: fields and backups
Which details pin down each kind of card, how to photograph a collection as a record, and which card apps let you export your list before you rely on one.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published 8 min read
A good catalog does three jobs: it identifies every card exactly, it proves what you own if something is lost, and it survives when a phone, an app or a box does not. Build it in three layers. First, record each card with the details that set it apart from every similar card. Second, photograph the cards and slabs that matter. Third, keep copies in more than one place, in a file you control. Before you trust a card app with the job, check whether you can get your list back out: of the apps covered here, CollX and Collectr export only on paid plans, Ludex emails paying members a file on request, and TCGplayer’s earlier app kept collections only on the phone.
Our guide to organizing a card collection covers sorting, boxes and location codes.
What makes a card record exact?
A record is exact when nobody could mistake it for a different card. That takes more than a name, because the same character or player appears on many cards in the same year. What pins a card down differs from one kind of card to another.
| Kind of card | Fields that identify it | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Pokémon | Set, card number, printing, language | Most cards since Expedition Base Set (2002) carry the set symbol at the bottom right; Trainer, Energy, GX/EX and promo cards carry it at the bottom left, and older cards in the middle right, below the art |
| Magic: The Gathering | Set, card name, finish, language | Most cards carry the set symbol in the middle right, below the art; promo cards and a few reprint sets are easy to misidentify |
| Yu-Gi-Oh! | Card number, which names the set, region and place in the set | The format is a 2 to 4 character set prefix, a 1 or 2 letter region and a number, usually below the art on the right; Series 1 cards have no number |
| Sports | Year, maker and set, card number, player, parallel, serial number | Ludex’s export lists year, series, set, name, card number and parallel as separate fields |
| Any graded card | Grader, grade and cert number, plus the card’s own fields | The label and the grader’s online record |
Two habits make records easier to use later. Write the set name the way price sites spell it, so a search finds it. And keep printings apart: a holo, a reverse holo and a plain copy of one Pokémon card are separate rows, because Rip.fan’s lookup, for one, names the printing each price is for. Our guides to reading a Pokémon card, sports card parallels and how serial-numbered cards work show where each detail sits. For slabs, the cert number is the one field that ties the record to one holder.
Which columns should the master file have?
Compare what two app exports carry with what a full record needs, and the gaps show where your own file has to do the work.
| Field | TCGplayer’s export of its earlier app | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Card identity | A product ID for each card | Finds the card on price sites and checklists |
| Printing or parallel | Variant (foil, alternate art and so on) | Separates copies that can sell at different prices |
| Language | Yes | Separates English and other printings |
| Condition or grade | Condition | Raw condition or the slab’s grade |
| Quantity | Yes | Counts duplicates |
Ludex’s export carries year, classification, series, set, card name and card number, plus the parallel, the grader, grade value and condition, and the Ludex estimate at export with any price you set. A cert number proves which slab you own, a price gives a dated value, not a guess, a purchase record shows where a card came from and what you paid, and a storage location takes you to the card.
Neither export carries a cert number, a purchase record or a storage location, so a file built only from an export would be missing the fields an insurer or a buyer is most likely to ask about. Add those columns yourself, plus a photo file name and the date you last checked each price.
Which card apps let you export your list?
An app’s database is convenient, but it is not a backup. The Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) says much the same about inventory apps generally: make sure the app developer backs up what you enter and that you know how to get it out when you need it.
| App | How export works | Who gets it | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| CollX | A CSV spreadsheet with your collection, card details, prices and card-image addresses | CollX Pro members, at $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year (October 13, 2026) | Free accounts hold fewer than 500 items in a collection; Pro removes the cap |
| Ludex | Email support with your Account ID and the subject Data Export Request; a CSV comes back by email | Active Lite, Standard and Pro members; free accounts cannot ask | Up to 30 days to arrive, one export every 365 days, text only with no images, and the plan must still be active when the file is sent |
| TCGplayer app | Download My Old Data saves the earlier app’s data to a CSV file, legacy_data.csv | Anyone who used the earlier app | The earlier app stored collections on the phone; deleting it before exporting or moving the data lost them for good |
Collectr PRO members can use “Export your entire collection” in the app, at $7.99 billed monthly or $59.99 billed yearly (October 13, 2026), which Collectr calls a reduced price for a limited time.
TCGplayer’s current app keeps collections in the cloud, so they follow your account across devices. It holds up to 5,000 cards in a collection, splitting a larger one into numbered parts, and very long collection names may be cut to fit a 24-character limit. Future updates might add more export features, so check the app’s menu for what it offers today. Our comparison of card scanner apps covers how each app identifies and prices cards.
How should you photograph a collection for your records?
Triple-I’s home inventory advice translates well to cards. Photograph important single items and whole rooms, closets or drawers, and label each photo with what it shows and where you bought it. A walk-through video, describing what each box holds as you film, also counts. For a card collection, that suggests a simple routine:
- Your best raw cards. The front and back of each, in good light, so the condition on the day is on record. Our guide to photographing cards to sell covers lighting and glare.
- Every slab. The front and back, with the label and cert number readable.
- The rest. A photo or short video of each box and binder, with its label in shot.
Name each photo file after the row it belongs to, so the picture and the record stay paired when you copy them. For graded cards, the grader’s own images are part of the record too. CGC images every card in high resolution after it is sealed in its holder, and the images in TAG’s online report show the card as it arrived. Look those up by cert number and note where to find them.
Where should the copies live?
Somewhere other than the phone and the house that hold the cards. Triple-I suggests a copy outside the home, such as at a relative’s or friend’s home or in a safe deposit box, at least one further backup kept separately, and a copy on an external drive or an online storage account. TCGplayer’s backup advice for its app data adds a few habits:
- Put the date in each file name, for example the collection name followed by the year, month and day.
- Open every export in a spreadsheet to confirm it works before you rely on it.
- Keep copies in several places, such as the device, cloud storage and email.
- Export again from time to time, and again after your data moves to a new app version, then compare the old and new files to see that nothing was lost.
The lesson from TCGplayer’s earlier app applies to every app: export before you delete, switch or stop paying for one. With Ludex, the plan has to stay active until the file arrives.
How do you keep the catalog current?
Add each card when it arrives, while the details and receipt are at hand. Triple-I suggests making that a habit, and says an inventory is only useful if it is accurate. If the backlog is daunting, start with one contained area, such as a single box, or with recent purchases, and work back. Triple-I’s view that an incomplete inventory beats none holds for cards too.
Prices go stale fast, so store each one with the date you checked it. For English Pokémon cards, Rip.fan’s card price lookup finds a card by its name, set or number and shows the NM market price along with the printing it applies to, and the Pokémon card price pages list each set’s cards in one table, which doubles as a checklist. For sports cards, see how to value a sports card, and for the difference between asking and sold prices, market, listed and sold prices.
What does a catalog do at insurance time?
Triple-I says an up-to-date inventory helps settle a claim faster and helps you buy the right amount of cover. It also notes that collectibles may need cover separate from a standard homeowners policy, and that items in a self-storage unit belong in the inventory too. Keep receipts and appraisals with the list. Our guide to insuring a card collection compares the policy types, and storing graded cards covers the records worth keeping for slabs.
Frequently asked questions
Can CollX record where each card is stored?
Yes, with a CollX Pro membership, which unlocks a feature for adding locations to cards. Pro also unlocks a set view that marks owned and missing cards and prints a checklist of the set.
How much price history does Collectr keep?
More than 5 years of detailed price history on raw and graded cards, for Collectr PRO members. PRO also saves every search you make and adds advanced filters.
How do I back up a paper card list?
Photograph each page with your smartphone. Triple-I names that as an easy route to a digital backup of a paper inventory.
Can my family share one CollX Pro account?
On iOS, yes. A CollX Pro account can be shared with every member of your family through iOS Family Sharing, though the CollX Gold plan does not include it.