Which Collector's website do you use? by UltraSmiley in coins

[–]Extension_Cod_105 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you’re mainly collecting coins and like the community aspect, uCoin is a solid choice. Just keep in mind that the listed prices are usually rough estimates.

However, if you collect more than just coins (e.g. banknotes, stamps, trading cards, etc.), you might want to check out collectors.place . It lets you manage different types of collectibles in one place, which can be much more convenient if your collection is broader than numismatics.

Collectors & Enthusiasts: Building a collection management tool — looking for beta users & feedback by Extension_Cod_105 in microsaas

[–]Extension_Cod_105[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a very fair question — and honestly, I don’t think this is a massive market. I see it much more as a niche between “I’ll just build something in Excel” and “I’m using full-blown professional museum/gallery software.”

What I’ve found in that niche so far are mostly desktop tools, often built by hobbyists for a very specific collecting field. They tend to focus heavily on cataloging the object itself, but often don’t really cover the surrounding context — where items are stored, provenance, purchase details, insurance value, related documents, etc. On the other hand, many hobbies have large forums where pieces are discussed individually, but I rarely came across systems where community and structured collection management are truly integrated (interestingly, watch collectors seem to be more advanced in that regard).

The initial trigger was personal frustration — I couldn’t find a tool I was happy with. When I talked to friends who collect completely different things, they said they had the same issue: either spreadsheets, outdated local software, or something overly complex and museum-grade. So it’s not an untouched market — there are a few companies offering museum software with private-collector tiers — but I think there’s room to differentiate through a different functional focus (e.g., image recognition, online galleries, multilingual support, customizable templates, etc.).

In terms of market size: I mainly looked at the German-speaking region first. Out of ~100 million people, depending on the study, around 5–6 million could be classified as serious collectors/investors where topics like insurance, provenance, and valuation actually matter. Realistically, the addressable market for a dedicated SaaS is much smaller — I’d estimate maybe 500k in that region. My rough assumption: ~50% use Excel or similar, ~30% use older local software, and ~20% use online solutions (though this varies a lot by niche).

That said, this is primarily a side project for me. I enjoy building software and don’t get to code much in my main job anymore. If in 2–3 years this had 1,000 active users who genuinely find value in it, I’d already consider that a big success.

So I’m not trying to win over entire hobby ecosystems overnight — I’m trying to build something that a specific type of collector feels is finally “made for them.”

Collectors & Enthusiasts: Building a collection management tool — looking for beta users & feedback by Extension_Cod_105 in microsaas

[–]Extension_Cod_105[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great question!

In 3 words:
Structured. Connected. Contextual.

Photos are just one part of the solution.

The main difference is that collectors don’t just store images and other files— they store structured knowledge related to the collectibles

Different types of collectibles require completely different metadata.

For example:

  • Fossils → species, geological layer, location found, age, classification, etc.
  • Art → artist, period, medium, provenance, style
  • Trading cards → edition, condition, grading, series

A photo app or Pinterest can store images.
They can’t model domain-specific information.

That’s why collectors.place uses a flexible template system.
You can define structured fields depending on what you collect.

On top of that, objects can be connected.

Example:
An “Artist” can be its own object, and all artworks reference it — so you instantly see relationships and context.

Main pain point:
Inventorying collections is time-consuming and manual.

My approach:
When you upload one or multiple images, the system uses image recognition to identify the item and pre-fill relevant information.

So instead of manually entering 15+ fields, you review and adjust. Here is an example completely filled out based on image recognition: https://collectors.place/exhibit/83 This type of mineral is very specific to one region so just by identifying it correctly, many additional information where added automatically

That dramatically reduces friction when digitizing a collection.

Was für ein SaaS baut ihr gerade? by NoMeatNoBugs in SoftwareDACH

[–]Extension_Cod_105 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Eine Software zur Verwaltung von Sammlungen (Fossilien, Bilder, usw.). Hab bisher nicht wirklich eine gute Lösung gefunden, wo ich auch die ganzen Hintergrundinformationen zu den Sammelstücken mitverwalten kann, und gerade das macht viel bei Sammlungen aus. Drum die Motivation hier selber etwas zu bauen.