Collection Management

Your collection is the heart of RTC Collector. This is where you catalog, organize, and track all your retro technology items.

Adding Items to Your Collection

Quick Add

1. Tap the + button in the bottom navigation (or click Add Item on desktop)
2. Select the category: Computer, Console, Handheld, Game, Accessory, or Other
3. Fill in the details about your item
4. Upload photos (optional but recommended)
5. Click Save

You can add as many items as your subscription allows. Hobbyist accounts get a limited number of items, while Collector and Enthusiast tiers have higher limits.

Barcode Scanning

The fastest way to add items:

1. On the category selection screen, tap Scan Barcode to Add Item
2. Point your camera at the UPC or EAN barcode
3. If recognised, you're taken to the correct add form with details pre-filled from the master database
4. If the barcode isn't in the database, you can match it to an item — search by name and link it so future scans work for everyone

The scanner supports UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN-13, and EAN-8 formats. Toggle the torch for low-light scanning, and the screen stays awake while scanning.

After selecting a category, you'll see a form tailored to that item type:

Using Master Item Autofill

When adding an item, you can search our master item database to automatically fill in details. This database includes information from Wikipedia about thousands of retro technology items.

1. Start typing the item name in the search field
2. Select a matching master item from the suggestions
3. Details like manufacturer, year, and specifications will be filled automatically
4. You can edit any of the auto-filled information to match your specific item

This saves you typing and ensures consistency across your collection.

Item Categories

Computer: Desktop computers, laptops, single-board computers, and workstations. Examples: Commodore 64, Apple II, IBM PC.

Console: Home gaming consoles and plug-and-play devices. Examples: NES, PlayStation, Sega Genesis.

Handheld: Portable gaming devices and PDAs. Examples: Game Boy, Nintendo DS, Palm Pilot.

Game: Video games, cartridges, discs, and digital titles. You can link games to their compatible consoles or computers.

Accessory: Controllers, cables, power supplies, memory cards, and peripherals.

Other: Anything that doesn't fit the above categories. Calculators, electronic toys, development hardware, etc.

Item Details

Every item in your collection can have detailed information to help you track and manage your collection effectively.

Basic Information

• Name: What you call the item
• Manufacturer: Who made it (searchable from our database)
• Year: When it was made or released
• Serial Number: If your item has one
• Model Number: Specific model identifier

Condition & Status

Condition:

Label	Description
New	Factory sealed, never opened
Like New	Opened but looks brand new
Very Good	Light wear, fully functional
Good	Moderate wear, works as expected
Fair	Heavy wear or minor cosmetic issues
Poor	Significant wear or issues
Needs Repair	Not fully functional, requires repair

Valuation Conditions:

For market pricing, items are valued based on completeness:

Condition	Description
Loose	Item only, no box or manual
CIB	Complete in Box — item with original box and manual
New	Factory sealed, never opened
Box Only	Just the original box
Manual Only	Just the manual

See Price Tracking for details on market pricing via PriceCharting.

Ownership Status:

• Owned: You have it
• Wishlist: You want to get it
• Sold: You used to have it
• Loaned: You lent it to someone

Financial Tracking

• Purchase Price: What you paid for it
• Purchase Date: When you got it
• Current Value: What it's worth now
• Value Source: Where you got the valuation (eBay, Price Charting, etc.)

The system will track how your collection's value changes over time in the Analytics section.

Storage & Location

• Primary Location: Where you keep the item
• Additional Locations: Other places parts of it might be stored
• Storage Notes: Specific shelf, box, or container information

You can create custom locations like "Office Closet", "Garage Shelf 3", or "Storage Unit A".

Documentation

• Description: Free-form notes about the item
• Working Condition: Is it functional?
• Completeness: Original box, manuals, cables, etc.
• Modifications: Any repairs or upgrades you've made
• History: Provenance, where you got it, interesting backstory

Images

• Upload multiple photos of your item
• First image becomes the primary thumbnail
• Images are automatically optimized and compressed
• Supports JPG, PNG, WebP formats
• Maximum 10MB per image (auto-compressed to ~1MB)

Technical Specifications

Depending on category, you can record:

• CPU, RAM, storage specs
• Screen size and resolution
• Ports and connectivity
• Battery type
• Dimensions and weight

Gaming-Specific Fields

For game items, additional fields are available:

• Developer: Who developed the game
• Publisher: Who published it
• Genre: Game genre (RPG, Platformer, Shooter, etc.)
• ESRB Rating: E, E10+, T, M, AO, RP
• Max Players: Multiplayer support
• Completion Status: Not Started, In Progress, Completed, 100%
• Play Time: Track hours played
• Platforms: Which systems it works on

This data can be auto-filled from the master item database, which pulls game metadata from LaunchBox, Giant Bomb, and IGDB.

Redesigned Item Detail Page

The item detail page uses a modern layout designed for quick access to all your item information:

Desktop Layout:

• Two-column design with images, photos, tasks, and notes on the left, and item info, specs, and description on the right
• Icon toolbar for quick access to favourite, share, edit, and jump-to-section shortcuts

Mobile Layout:

• Full-width hero image at the top
• Six circular quick action buttons for the most common actions
• Tabbed interface with four tabs: Details, Photos, Tasks, and Notes

Maintenance Tasks

Track repairs, cleaning, and upkeep for any item:

1. Open an item and go to the Tasks tab
2. Tap Add Task to create a new maintenance task
3. Each task has a name, optional description, status, and due date
4. Set status: To Do, In Progress, On Hold, or Complete
5. Completed tasks are hidden by default to keep your task list focused

Use tasks for things like "Replace capacitors", "Clean cartridge contacts", "Test power supply", or "Source replacement cable".

Timestamped Notes

Keep a running log of observations, history, or anything you want to remember:

1. Open an item and go to the Notes tab
2. Tap Add Note to write a timestamped entry
3. Each note records the date and time it was created
4. URLs pasted into notes become clickable automatically
5. Your existing description field is shown as a pinned entry at the top

User Photos

Upload photos specific to your item, separate from the shared product images in the master database:

1. Open an item and go to the Photos tab
2. Tap Add Photo to upload from your gallery or take a photo with your camera
3. Add a caption to each photo (up to 200 characters) to describe what it shows
4. Tap any photo to view it full-screen with keyboard navigation between images
5. Photos are stored separately from marketplace listing photos

Item Relationships

Link related items together to show how they work as a system.

Relationship Types

Peripherals: Controllers, keyboards, mice, joysticks that work with a computer or console.

Games: Link game cartridges or discs to the consoles or computers they run on.

Accessories: Link accessories like cables, memory cards, or carrying cases to their parent device.

Bundles: Items that came together as a set.

Related: General connections between items.

Creating Relationships

1. Open an item's detail page
2. Scroll to the Related Items section
3. Click Add Relationship
4. Choose the relationship type
5. Select items from your collection
6. Add optional notes about the relationship

Relationships are bidirectional - if you link a controller to a console, both items will show the connection.

Device Explorer View

Switch to Device Explorer view to see your collection organized by device families. This shows computers and consoles with all their linked peripherals, games, and accessories in a hierarchical tree structure.

Viewing Your Collection

View Modes

Grid View: See items as visual cards in a grid. Shows item name, image, category, and condition at a glance.

List View: Compact table layout with details side by side. Fits more items on screen and is great for large collections.

Device Explorer: Hierarchical view showing systems with their linked games, peripherals, and accessories in a tree structure.

Switch between views using the buttons at the top of your collection page.

Sorting

Sort your collection by:

• Date Added (newest or oldest first)
• Name (A-Z or Z-A)
• Year (oldest or newest)
• Condition (best to worst)
• Manufacturer (alphabetical)
• Value (highest or lowest)

Filtering

Use the search bar and filters to find specific items:

Quick Search: Type to search item names, manufacturers, or descriptions.

Category Filter: Show only computers, consoles, games, etc.

Manufacturer Filter: Filter by specific manufacturers.

Condition Filter: Show only items in certain conditions.

Status Filter: Owned, wishlist, sold, etc.

Advanced Filters:

• Year range (e.g., only 1980s items)
• Value range
• Specific locations
• Tags
• Has images or not
• Is working or not
• Has notes or not

You can save frequently-used filter combinations and give them names like "Wishlist under £50" or "Broken items needing repair".

Managing Items

Editing Items

1. Click on an item to open its detail page
2. Click the Edit button
3. Make your changes
4. Click Save

All changes are saved immediately. If you're offline, changes will be queued and synced when you're back online.

Deleting Items

1. Open the item's detail page
2. Click the Delete button
3. Confirm the deletion

Deleted items are permanently removed. If the item has an active marketplace listing, you'll need to cancel that first.

Hiding Items

If you want to keep an item in your collection but hide it from view (for example, items you've sold but want to keep records of):

1. Go to Settings
2. Select "Hidden Items" under Data Management
3. Choose items to hide
4. They'll be removed from your main collection view but remain in your account

You can unhide items at any time from the same settings page.

Bulk Operations

Select multiple items by clicking the checkboxes in grid view, then:

• Delete selected items
• Change category
• Update condition
• Modify locations
• Add tags
• Export selected items

Master Item Database

Our master item database contains thousands of retro technology items with verified information from Wikipedia, Wikidata, PriceCharting, LaunchBox, Giant Bomb, IGDB, and community contributions. See Library & Master Item Database for the full browsing experience.

Browsing Master Items

Access the master item browser from the Add Item flow or through the main menu:

1. Search by name, manufacturer, or category
2. Filter by year range
3. Browse by category

Each master item includes:

• Official name and model
• Manufacturer
• Release year
• Technical specifications
• Description from Wikipedia
• Official images (where available)

Using Master Items

When adding items to your collection, selecting a master item:

• Fills in manufacturer, year, and specifications automatically
• Links to the master item record for reference
• Helps maintain consistency across your collection
• Provides a connection to Wikipedia for more information

You can still customize any details to match your specific item. The master item is just a starting point.

Tags

Tags are custom labels you create to organize your collection your way.

Creating Tags

Tags are created on-the-fly when adding or editing items:

1. Start typing in the Tags field
2. Select an existing tag or type a new one
3. Press Enter to add it

Tag Ideas

• Condition: "mint in box", "tested working", "for parts"
• Status: "on display", "in storage", "needs cleaning"
• Projects: "restoration project", "for modding"
• Collections: "childhood collection", "recent acquisitions"
• Special: "rare variant", "signed", "prototype"

Using Tags

Filter your collection by tags to quickly find related items. You can combine tags with other filters for powerful searches like "all Nintendo items tagged 'needs repair'".

Pull-to-Refresh

On mobile devices, pull down on your collection page to refresh the data. This checks for updates from the server and syncs any offline changes.

Offline Access

Your collection is cached on your device, so you can view items even when offline. When you're offline:

• You can browse your collection
• View item details and images
• Search and filter works with cached data
• You cannot add, edit, or delete items
• Changes made by others won't sync until you're online

When you reconnect, any new items or changes from other devices will sync automatically.

Collection Stats

At the top of your collection page, you'll see quick stats:

• Total items
• Total value
• Items by category
• Completion percentage (for games)

Click View Analytics for detailed insights about your collection including value trends, acquisition history, and recommendations.

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Cmd/Ctrl + K: Open command palette to quickly navigate or search
• Arrow Keys: Navigate between items in grid view
• Enter: Open selected item
• Delete/Backspace: Delete selected item (with confirmation)

Tips for Building Your Collection

Start Small: Don't feel pressured to add everything at once. Add items as you handle them.

Take Photos: Photos make your collection more enjoyable to browse and increase resale value if you list items later.

Be Detailed: The more information you add now, the more useful your collection database will be. Serial numbers, purchase dates, and condition notes are especially valuable.

Use Locations: Recording where items are stored saves time when you need to find something.

Link Relationships: Connecting games to consoles and peripherals to systems makes your collection easier to understand and browse.

Track Wishlist Items: Add items you don't own yet to your wishlist. It helps you avoid buying duplicates and track what you're looking for.

Regular Updates: When you acquire new items, add them right away. When you sell or trade items, update their status promptly.

Backup Your Data: Periodically export your collection (see Import/Export docs) to have a backup outside of RTC Collector.