Standard Catalog

[DaClyde]

How is it that 10 years later, F+W still does not have a serious digital strategy? They've basically lost their sports card periodicals, they are in the process of losing their books, and they STILL don't have a website of consequence. And when I say digital, I don't mean just a PDF copy of a print book or magazine.

SportsCardForum is doing what it can to assemble a decent (free) online catalog with their Inventory Manager, but they are seriously lacking in the programming department, so it's not exactly the world's most user friendly system, but this is being done by hobbyists in their spare time. K+W is a business, with money and actual employees. Or has the SCD property just changed ownership so many times, the actual interest in the content has been lost and it's just being run by investor types like has happened with Beckett?

[buymycards]

It would great to have an easy to search digital version of the Standard Catalog even if there is an annual fee to access it. Any chance that a group of collectors could get together and purchase the rights to the 1980 and earlier content and launch a digital version, complete with scans of the front and back of each type? Old Cardboard has a very limited version for pre-war cards, but I would like to see the entire catalog online.

I don't have any idea of how much it would cost to launch a first class website but someone might be able to make a few bucks from it.

Rick

[mybestbretts]

I downloaded the Standard Catalog through Itunes a few months ago.
It is great, I have it on my Ipad. I would think that would make it
easier for them to update and go forward, maybe not in printed form.

[DaClyde]

Originally Posted by buymycards

It would great to have an easy to search digital version of the Standard Catalog even if there is an annual fee to access it. Any chance that a group of collectors could get together and purchase the rights to the 1980 and earlier content and launch a digital version, complete with scans of the front and back of each type? Old Cardboard has a very limited version for pre-war cards, but I would like to see the entire catalog online.

I don't have any idea of how much it would cost to launch a first class website but someone might be able to make a few bucks from it.

Rick

You wouldn't even need any permission so long as you were just providing the checklists and scans, and weren't completely copying the Standard Catalog's formatting and set descriptions. A list of cards in a set is no more copyrightable than a list of phone numbers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feist_v._Rural). There are already a few sites that could eventually turn into just what you're talking about (zistle.com, baseballcardpedia.com, tradingcarddb.com, etc) they just need the concentrated vision and motivation to actually get there.

[ethicsprof]

with frank w, i sure hope one comes 'round since I really do use mine frequently.
with Rich K, I do see why the economics is 'killing' it. I tend to replace mine only every 2 or 3 years.
best,
barry

[travrosty]

they stopped making encyclopedias in printed form this year, at least some of the co's did, the future is putting it online and letting people download it.

[markf31]

Originally Posted by buymycards

I don't have any idea of how much it would cost to launch a first class website but someone might be able to make a few bucks from it.

Rick

Once the site is setup and running the costs are pretty low, you'd be paying to register the domain name each year and a hosting cost which totaled could run you anywhere from $150 to $500/year

The real cost comes into the developement of the site and the creation/development of the database that contains all the card/set/issue information which can be quite an undertaking. I can't imagine the number of hours this would take and as a result would drive your developement costs up substatially if you chose to have it done by a 3rd party developer.