How do I keep track of which cards we have?
This is a question that comes up more often than you might think.
How do you actually keep control of:
- What cards do you have?
- What cards are missing?
- and last but not least: which cards do you have duplicates of?
I can share how I solved this – because honestly, it started with the exact same questions.
It all started when my little one and I started collecting together. And as often happens:
Who became the finance minister, warehouse manager, marketing manager and handyman?
And who got the important but significantly easier job of just opening packages?
Yep. We probably ended up in the same roles that many people recognize themselves in.
The need for control
I quickly found myself in a situation where I needed to get a better overview.
Not just for our own sake, but to be able to trade cards with others without having to browse through piles of duplicates every time.
The solution was twofold:
- one digital solution
- and one more manual, but very visual solution
Solution 1: Excel (the digital overview)
I started by creating one Excel sheet for each series we collected.
In each sheet I put:
- player name
- card number
- team
- card type
In front of each row, I added two checkboxes:
- Have card
- Duplicate
When we got a new card:
- I checked off Have card
- if we got an extra copy, I also checked Duplicate
👉 This way I got a quick overview of what we had and what we were missing.
Automation for faster trades
To make it even easier when trading and selling, I created a small script that used the data from the Excel sheet and generated two types of lists:
- one sorted by team
- one comma-separated list
This made it much faster to compare collections with others.
Solution 2: The binders (the visual check)
However, I noticed one thing:
I couldn't always trust the duplicate list 100%.
Had I remembered to uncheck Duplicate after the last copy was sold?
Not always.
So I made it simple:
- one separate binder for duplicates, set up in the same way as the main binder
Then I could quickly check what we actually had physically , without a doubt.
But... we're a bit of the type that some would call crazy .
That means a lot of duplicates.
The result?
An extra binder – for duplicates of duplicates .
The result
When someone asks what we have available for trade or sale, I can now:
- quickly check duplicate folder
- compare with their list
- answer precisely, without rummaging through piles
Would you like to do the same?
I will post a copy of the Excel sheets I use, so you can create your own version and gain better control over your collection – without having to flip through binders or check checklists every time.