Do others share photo galleries of collections? Or too risky?
 

I’m curious how liberal or cautious other collectors are about sharing albums or photo galleries of their collections?

Another fellow Net54er introduced me to Flickr and now most of my HOF collection is in an album, easy to share, etc

I’m wondering - do others only share their photos with people they know well? I have not been terribly careful about this (I like to show off my stuff!) - maybe no big deal

I was curious how others handled giving “virtual photo tours” of their collection?

Thx for sharing

Jeff

I have a personal website with my current and past collection as well as a few things for sale. I am fine with people looking at it. I doubt I would open up personal pictures for viewing. People would just see a lot of dogs, family and friends...
and a card...or, premium...

There is a pretty good site where collectors can add scans of their cards as well as create folders within to separate into categories. It's been around for quite a few years. You have the ability to also make yours public or private.

https://www.collectorfocus.com/

I am on FlickR, Pinterest as well as Leon's site here and I have zero worries about any of them.
As long as you don't use your own name or give out other personal information in any of those sharing sites, I don't think you have anything to worry about?

With that said, however, my 52 Topps link below was hacked or something a long time ago as I can no longer add or edit anything to it.
I wrote FlickR and they also couldn't help so I opened up a new one but haven't done anything with it yet.
My problem could have been caused by me not knowing enough about computers and updates, but I'll never know.

I use Flicker.
I like using that or any other site that allows me to view peoples collection and for me to view theirs.

I have nothing to hide on the collection and I enjoy the feedback. Often people see something they want on mine or visa a versa and we reach out to each other for trade or sales potentials.

also made some new friends that way as we see we have common interests of questions for each other etc.

Most collectors on here show off their stuff. However, you will notice some people edit out their graded serial numbers. There are scammers who will use known serial numbers and place fake cards in fake holders. Sometimes PSA reaches out to people stating that card XYZ has been identified twice and that they need to verify authenticity of a card. I think that would be something to consider if you are going to publicly share your head cards. I have like 5 graded cards, so I'm not very diligent at it. And I don't use Flickr or anything. When I need to post a picture I really enjoy finding a card and playing with my collection.

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This is an interesting question, and one I have thought about a lot. I use FLickr, and I enjoy the convenience of being able to share quickly. I have a handful of hobby 'friends' that I share a lot of photos with. It's nice to be able to celebrate successes in the hobby with people that share the passion.

I don't have a problem sharing stuff here or on other sites.

Add me to the list of people using Flickr. Definitely some things I don't like about it (URLs aren't based on folders/filenames), but I haven't had too much trouble integrating it with the Access database I use to track my cards and generate ebay listings.

As far as others seeing it, doesn't bother me at all. I'm pretty open about what I collect and what I have. That said, I'm also horrible with keeping it organized.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/x2drich2000/albums

My Flickr account/collection is at the bottom of every one of my net54 posts

Why do we have the cards and join forums if we can’t share with others? They are physically in my possession so I am not worried about someone using the image.

I wonder if the OP is worried about physical theft though?

That was my interpretation. And honestly, it's a risk I worry about.

Interesting. Didn’t even occur to me!! I don’t have my name on my account and certainly not my address, although both can be easily acquired. Plus, everything is insured. That said, I was never worried about physical theft.

If someone comes in, I will aim for the head. Plus my safe is boobie trapped so that if someone tries to break in it immediately kills their mom and little sister

Sharing collection via website
 

I built a site using Wordpress (free option), and have been slowly added my collection along with photos of the players and stats. It's been a fun project.

My collection is raw and well loved, so I'm not worry about theft.

Ha, I like it! Any thief at my place would be locked to death by a beagle and then trip over my clothes before stumbling on a disappointing collection. :)

I would share more, but Judge Landis always gives me his look.

Brian (photo not mine...because of course if it were HE wouldn't want me to share it)

I think most people that own the really expensive cards have them in safety deposit boxes at the bank.

.
I know of a few vintage baseball autograph collectors/dealers that are
unwilling to share images of difficult/scarce signatures they possess.

That does makes it more challenging for collectors to build their own
reference resource of signature exemplars. But also reflects the continuing
issue of bad autographs in the hobby.

I share some of my collection using an imageevent gallery. instagram/Facebook is another option. Joe

I do not.

Would take a tech savvy person 1 minute to figure out my name and another 5 to find my address on the Net. And then another 1 min to find a picture of my house.

All my valuable cards in a bank safe deposit box. Don’t need to otherwise advertise what I have.

Any send mail with a return address?

Much more telling than some random site with photos.

You may just be incentivizing break-ins for a portion of the population!

I have used ImageEvent to share my collection online for years, and I've never had a problem.
I don't post my name and address, so I have little to fear.
If someone were to break into my house looking for my collection, they would be out of luck because it's stored in my bank safe deposit box.

Well, what the specialists say is that theft is from people you know. That's what I worry about. My son will reach middle school in a couple years and then I will worry if any of his friends have sticky fingers.

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Perhaps I'm paranoid, but I don't publicly share my 'good stuff' for the reason of theft concern. I've been through a home invasion once, would rather be a little cautious and reduce the odds of another one.

It's extremely easy to track down someone's home address when you've got a name, or a username/email/identifier that is easily tracked online to their name.

I ain't exactly hard to track down either if someone really wanted too, and tons of people in the hobby have my name and address and more, but it's a primary reason I don't 1) publicly post my name, 2) post information that can easily be used to associate me with someone with a web search, and 3) don't share expensive items almost at all. Publicly, I share interesting items or obscurities that may help research and understanding and cheap cards I enjoy regardless of value. Sharing ones name, address, and images of possessions worth fortunes on the open internet that anyone at any time and anywhere can see seems an unnecessary risk with absolutely no benefit.

Looks like people are mostly comfortable, but those who aren't sharing pictures may still have PSA set registries or other ways to flaunt their collection.
As for images of the cards themselves, they're almost all in VCP and being used to create fake auctions on eBay with. That's gonna happen whether you post them or not.

It's taped to my wall at my office in Belmont, MA
Come and get it

Something to think about:
A couple of years ago, a collector who I am friendly with told me about someone who got in contact with him to see if they could work out a pretty big trade together (on-line). At one point, the guy forwarded him pics of things he had available for trade, some of which were actually downloaded/cropped/rearranged from MY FRIEND'S own Flikr/ImageShack(?) account!!!! Upon seeing them he thought, "These cards look familiar," and checked the cert numbers to find they were indeed his! The pathetic scammer didn't even know that he was trying to scam the very guy whose bucket he raided!!! Right after that, my guy changed his account to private.

I guess the bottom line is, if someone says they have something to trade, make them send you a 'hostage video' where they are holding said cards with today's newspaper (if those exist anymore) to prove they got the goods. :rolleyes:

I share pics.

My house is protected by shotgun 3 nights per week. You guess which 3.