Start a Database of your Collection Early

This is a great tip that I am guilty of not following myself. Many people keep very good track of their collections.

There are several Databases managers out there that do an excellent job of tracking chips and can be used as a checklist to make sure you know what chips your missing. The one I am most familiar with and seems to be one of the most popular is Terry Shaffer's "Collectors Assistant".

Although I don’t use the program myself I hear nothing but rave reviews about this tracking system and it can be found in any of Terry's posts or at the following link http://www.happychipper.com/

There are a lot of other tracking programs out there on the market as well.

I have also seen many other methods of keeping track of your collection. Some people who collect just Nevada chips a guide book like the Chip rack as a checklist and mark on it what chips they have. The same can be code with guide books on Florida Chips, California Chips, Illegal Chips, Tokens, Slotcards or just about anything else that has a book published.

I have also seen some pretty ingenious ways that people keep track of their collections at the convention as I have seen several people bring their laptop computers with them where they have scans of everything they own. Others use color
copies made into books. I have even seen several collections on ipods and even iphones though I cant even imagine how much work it took to get everything scanned in to them……

Bottom line is, the better you can track your collection, the better chance you have of not coming home from the convention with stacks of chips you find out you already own. This is something that seems to happen to me every year.

At least I keep my traders fully stocked with all those chips I thought I didn’t have !!!!!!!!!!

Keep your eyes and ears peeled for more Tips of the day coming tomorrow.

Happy chipping to all

Doug