I was delighted when the high tech issues columnist in the San Francisco Chronicle recommended Recollector from among the software programs available for cataloging collections. After years of procrastination, I was ready to begin making a permanent record of my collection of antique canes and walking sticks. I was resigned to using a spreadsheet, but that wasn't working out. Recollector's many features allow me to accurately record my collection's significant features, include photographs, and place a monetary value on each item. Having to examine and record the various features of my objects has given me new pleasure in the collection that I have assembled over 40 years. Recollector is exactly the right software for anyone looking to catalog their antiques collection for fun, insurance purposes, or posterity. -- Tom Hyland (Alameda, CA)
Recollector is really marvelous and an answer to a long time desire to keep it all in a nice format. The app for the smartphone is in one word; GREAT. And you astonish me with the reaction time to fix any problems. You have created a great tool to keep track of collections and it's a joy to work with it. -- Danny Bosma (The Netherlands)
For 15 years I have meticulously kept track of our growing 400+ piece fine art collection (primarily photography) with Microsoft Excel. Excel is powerful and very flexible but it falls down in the image management department and in simple report generation. I searched for years through many dedicated gallery/museum software packages but all had very high initial cost, onerous ongoing monthly fees, or a lot of features that I would never use. Some were cloud based and I really wanted information to live on my laptop when I am out of wifi range. A collector friend recommended Recollector and it looked like it might be just what we needed. The price ($49.95) was crazy reasonable and the unlimited lifetime support is just unheard of. With the help of an assistant I slowly and carefully tried the transition from Excel to Recollector over a period of about 6 months and re-thought how the new package might better document our collection. In addition to MUCH better image management, we have decided to scan all of the initial invoices, restoration documents, personal artist correspondence, and other related paperwork and link them to each individual record via descriptive hyperlinks in a single DOCUMENTS field. We have recorded individual oral history videos on many of the pieces that have unique stories, and those 5-10 minute videos are also linked (to files on an external hard drive) and accessible in a single click. We have recently added a field for artist/gallery websites as well. I didn’t think I would use the iPhone app much but I use it ALL THE TIME. I love it and for quick information everywhere it is a powerful tool. While there are still things I prefer about Excel, Recollector has won me over and we are now 100% transitioned. Jeremy and the support we have received have been integral to this decision. He has been a phone call away throughout the process and crazy responsive to anything we couldn’t figure out or when we came upon a bug. How many software companies can you call and get THE GUY on the phone who wrote the software? We are just starting to exploit use of the subset feature and I think this is going to be critical as we curate exhibitions and pull groups of pieces from the collection based on various criteria. In my mind there is no better value in the collection software arena than Recollector. I would be happy to discuss our experiences with any other potential users. -- Frank Konhaus (Cassilhaus, Chapel Hill, NC)
I give the highest rating to Recollector, which I have been using for my collection of over 400 vintage photographs. I especially love the iPhone app, which I was constantly showing off at the AIPAD fair -- I think I was more proud of it than of my actual collection! -- Michael Marcus (Boston, MA)
Recollector is a marvelous product for collectors. It is exceptionally flexible, and easily tailored to any type of collection one may have. I have complete control over the fields I create. I especially love being able to create pick lists; very handy for quickly selecting from a list of names, or even just 'yes' or 'no'. Also important to me is the ability to sort the displayed or printed data on any field I wish. Recollector perfectly meets my needs, and is head and shoulders above other programs in its class. My collections are David Winter Cottages, John Hines Studio Castles, Hummel figurines, Barbie Dolls, Disney figurines, Tom Clark gnomes, Hallmark figurines, Thomas Kinkade paintings, Waterford crystal, Danbury Mint miniature automobiles, decorative plates, etc. Oh, I mustn't forget my stamp collection and my coin collection. Beth and I have been collecting for about 40 years, and have quite an accumulation; and quite a variety as you can see. I used Excel spreadsheets for years, but now that I am retired and have more time, I went looking for a proper program with focused fields, useful on-screen displays, and flexible report printing. Hence, your program, with it's flexibility, is perfectly suited for our use. Heaven forbid I should ever get completely organized! I am very pleased to have found you. -- Jim Farmer (Henderson, NV)
I’ve been using Recollector for a number of years for my collection of now over 1,700 documents, etchings and books on the history of my home city, Leuven in Belgium. I really love the program: easy to use, very flexible, allowing all kinds of adaptations, and providing an impressive range of possibilities to export and import files and create reports on the whole collection or on subsets. I am very, very impressed by the support in case of problems. I once had a problem with generating printed reports, and decided to contact the helpdesk. Jeremy immediately replied to me. It turned out to be an unusual but quite complicated bug, and it took a number of emails back and forth, test runs and updates to the program to get the problem fixed. The way this was done was extremely efficient, friendly and swift, and it was very clear that Jeremy never even considered giving up. I must honestly say I have never experienced such impeccable online support in all my life! -- Stephan Claes (Leuven, Belgium)
I thought that you may be interested to see what has happened since last week when I ‘discovered’ Recollector on the Internet. I tried the demo and then paid my $49 and boy oh boy!! I am so pleased. I must really compliment you on a superb product and from looking at the forum and other data on the internet, you certainly keep your finger on the pulse.-- Anthony Sweatman (collector of die-cast models, Coventry, United Kingdom)
Recollector is the best! I have been a mineral collector for 25 years and have always trudged along with a rudimentary card catalog system (though certainly not an updated one). I found your program online and decided to get out of the stone age and give it a try. After 5 entries I was pretty impressed. After 20 entries I was completely hooked. This program drives me to want to continually catalog my collection. I am able to witness my collection value grow with each entry thanks to the Summary window, and I am able to view each specimen thanks to the image upload. I am several hundred entries into cataloging a small portion of my mineral collection and I cannot stop. It is nearly effortless to input data and the variations are endless. I create my own Fields. I create my own Subsets. I choose which direction the collection is developed. I am in control of the entire process. Brilliant! Thank you for helping me to realize the true value of my collection through this software, and giving me the freedom to see it from several different points of view. -- Jake Harper (West Point, CA)
Recollector has great flexibility in defining custom fields, adding images, and creating reports & lists. Any collector who uses Recollector will find it to be a great tool for enjoying their chosen hobby. -- Leigh Lockwood (Doylestown, PA)
I have used Recollector for my map collection for many years and I really like it. Moreover I use the same system, easily adjusted, to record our Contemporary Art Collection as well. On my smartphone, I have all details available within seconds, wherever I am. A great product. -- Christer Ragnar (Stockholm, Sweden)
As a long-time user of Recollector, I have found it to be a useful, reliable, and extremely flexible program. With its ability to change, add, and delete both 'data fields' and 'picklist' items on-the-fly, it is simple to maintain an ever-changing up-to-date collection. The ability to add audio/video clips, makes it valuable for insurance purposes. -- Bernard Eck (gem collector, Oak Harbor, WA)
Setting up my collection with Recollector was easy. I have over 300 maps in my collection and updating the collection, when I get new maps, is easy, too. The program provides several different ways to access my collection, and the Recollector App lets me access the collection on my iPhone. -- Cal Welch (Scotia, NY)
Recollector is well thought out and flexible, with tremendous "bang for the buck." Perhaps equally important are the features that help the user understand and get the most out of the program. -- William Ginsberg (New York, NY)
I had been searching for a long while for a suitable programme to catalogue my whistle collection, I was not able to find anything that would work efficiently until I came across Recollector. It is totally flexible and great for customising, and the after sales support is second to none. -- Leif Bailey (Surrey, United Kingdom)
I am a longtime user of the software. I searched for years for a user friendly but sophisticated software that would allow me to add all of the required and desired fields that I needed. It truly does everything I need and generates reports in any fashion that I need. I recently had a question about a summary that I needed, and I called the support number listed on the website. The creator and owner, Jeremy, answered. He was so nice and what started with one question ended up with many. I strongly recommend this software for any collector. -- Leslie Abell (political button collector, Los Angeles, CA)
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TESTIMONIALS
Recollector helps collectors organize and enjoy their collections. Some Recollector customers share their thoughts.
In December, 2014, Old World Auctions, an online auction house, reviewed Recollector and a competing product (that costs three times more than Recollector). The reviews can be seen by following this link.