ComicBase

abysslord · Post by **abysslord** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:56 am

How many people here use this? Right now I use a very simple Excel spreadsheet and Comicbookrealm.com's database to store my collection, but ComicBase looks pretty cool.

My only concern now is I have to pay $50 to really try it out as the free version limits things like cover images and stuff. So I don't know if it's worth it yet but I like all the reports you can generate, as well as some other stuff.

But then of course, using three things to keep track starts becoming tiresome.

Paul Nolan · Post by **Paul Nolan** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:06 am

I used to use Comicbase, but it just got too expensive. You had to buy a version a year to continue getting the price file and cover updates.

I might be biased because I am a mod over there. But ComicBookRealm is the best value for money you can get.

It'd just be nice if more of the 15,000 members could update details for the issues.

abysslord · Post by **abysslord** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 12:14 pm

They don't have a discount for previous version owners? And I didn't even realize you had to keep paying for those services.

I do like the comicbookrealm's database but the reports from comicbase look much more professional. But just quickly seeing what I have, CBR is pretty easy.

Paul Nolan · Post by **Paul Nolan** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 1:15 pm

yes they do give a discount for a few months after the new version release. But its still $80 ish dollars per year

Trev · Post by **Trev** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 1:16 pm

I've used comicbase for about 4 years and think it's the best product available. I'd love to see something just as robust but more current on technology.

comicm · Post by **comicm** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:03 pm

It is the best. If you get it be sure to get the scanner so you can scan you books into the database

comicm · Post by **comicm** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:05 pm

The reports can also be hosted so if you have an iPad you can view them from the comic shop or con

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 12:14 am

comicm wrote:It is the best. If you get it be sure to get the scanner so you can scan you books into the database

I've also been using ComicBase for years and the scanner comes in handy for new books with barcodes (well, actually, my sainted wife does all the data entry for me).

It's definitely not the cheapest solution, but for my 60,000 book collection, I think it's the best. We have custom fields set up to track some things I care about that are not in the general release and like that it's on my computer and not a web-hosted Db. (I'd be terrified on a web-hosted solution that the company would go out of business or something and then I'd be hosed. PLUS, I can access my info any time I boot up the laptop I host it on.

Also, since I have so many books in ComicBase, I'm kind of locked in. If other solutions want to prey on current ComicBase customers and get them to switch, they need to be able to import a ComicBase database.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 12:18 am

Paul Nolan wrote: I might be biased because I am a mod over there. But ComicBookRealm is the best value for money you can get.

How is performance on using the database? I notice that just posting messages or trying to send PMs over on ComicBookRealm can be very slow with noticeable lag-time. That would be very frustrating of the same lags were apparent in using the database.

abysslord · Post by **abysslord** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 7:24 am

BobBretall wrote:
Paul Nolan wrote: I might be biased because I am a mod over there. But ComicBookRealm is the best value for money you can get.
How is performance on using the database? I notice that just posting messages or trying to send PMs over on ComicBookRealm can be very slow with noticeable lag-time. That would be very frustrating of the same lags were apparent in using the database.

What browser do you use, and do you have a Cooliris plugin?

I use Mozilla, had a Cooliris plugin, and everything was SLOW on that site. I mean, it would take a minute or so sometimes to open a thread in the forum. I finally asked and dough boy mentioned turning off that plugin. I did and now it's super fast again.

So unless you have something going on like that, the site is very fast. I don't have 60,000 books but I would think as long as you separated them into piles of even 5,000 it wouldn't be slow. Of course, you would never want to spend the time entering them unless there was an import option, like you said.

For comicbase, I really like the sound of it but I'd have to use the professional edition and I don't want to spend $129 on that, AND have to renew every year, especially when I do use comicbookrealm and it works fine, as well as my own spreadsheet.

Maybe some day.

Paul Nolan · Post by **Paul Nolan** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 7:29 am

There is the odd bit of lag here and there. but I think its mainly caused by the ads. And you have to have the ads to keep the site free.

one guy "dough boy" has built the site, maintains the site and the servers.

No mean feat when you consider the number of comic covers hosted.

Paul Nolan · Post by **Paul Nolan** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 7:32 am

abysslord wrote:
What browser do you use, and do you have a Cooliris plugin?

I use Mozilla, had a Cooliris plugin, and everything was SLOW on that site. I mean, it would take a minute or so sometimes to open a thread in the forum. I finally asked and dough boy mentioned turning off that plugin. I did and now it's super fast again.

a lot of plug ins that are around nowadays have that effect, its always a good thing to try a site without any plug-ins to see if they do cause any problems.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 9:43 am

abysslord wrote: What browser do you use, and do you have a Cooliris plugin?

I use Mozilla, had a Cooliris plugin, and everything was SLOW on that site. I mean, it would take a minute or so sometimes to open a thread in the forum. I finally asked and dough boy mentioned turning off that plugin. I did and now it's super fast again.

Yes, I DO have Cooliris...... I'll turn it off......

WOW! The site now runs blazing fast. May be a good idea for the FAQ or welcome note tell people "Don't use Cooliris with Firefox if you want to use this site and have it perform decently."

Kind of weird that ComicBookRealm was the only site that seemed to run slow for me.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 9:57 am

Paul Nolan wrote:There is the odd bit of lag here and there. but I think its mainly caused by the ads. And you have to have the ads to keep the site free.

one guy "dough boy" has built the site, maintains the site and the servers.

No mean feat when you consider the number of comic covers hosted.

I think it's great to have free sites like that. Perfect solution for folks really strapped for cash an/or casual collectors with relatively small collections.

A comment: I'm poking around over there and it's REALLY not obvious on how to use the site as a Db to track your collection.....

abysslord · Post by **abysslord** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 11:56 am

BobBretall wrote:
Paul Nolan wrote:There is the odd bit of lag here and there. but I think its mainly caused by the ads. And you have to have the ads to keep the site free.

one guy "dough boy" has built the site, maintains the site and the servers.

No mean feat when you consider the number of comic covers hosted.
I think it's great to have free sites like that. Perfect solution for folks really strapped for cash an/or casual collectors with relatively small collections.

A comment: I'm poking around over there and it's REALLY not obvious on how to use the site as a Db to track your collection.....

I think I had that problem when I first used it too. You just have to search for a title in the upper left, then when you get to the issues you check which ones you have and use the drop down "Add to my collection".

There IS a new issue report where you can easily add issues that came out this week but I just still search for each title and add it that way.

I also sent dough boy a note about the cooliris thing.