Topic: Inventory Taking

[RossRoy]

I know that technically, I shouldn't have to do it, because I enter every DVD I loan out into DVD Profiler. Thing is, I don't always enter them! Hence, inventory taking every once in a while.

I use to do it the hard, and long way. Print a list of titles, check off those I have. The ones that are not checked, I have to track down. It worked, but took forever to do, and was very prone to errors (check right smack on a line, etc.)

Then, I got a barcode scanner. So, I had built an Excel sheet where I would scan in all the UPC, then with formulas and macros, filter out the ones that match my DB, and generate two lists: Scanned UPC Not in Db, UPC in Db but Not Scanned. This allowed me to find quite a few titles with wrong UPC in my DB, but I hated the fact I needed 2 programs, I also needed to export to XML, import that into Excel...

But then, today actually, I have to take inventory, because a friend is coming over on monday, I know he's got a few of my DVD, but they are not entered into my DB as loaned! And I want to tell him to bring them back, but also tell him which titles I'm expecting. I looked around, and turns out tlevel made a great plugin that can be easily used for inventory-ing! UPC Filter. I can scan the UPC, it automatically flag the profile, and all child profiles (which was a big disadvatnage of my Excel solution!) It's insane how much faster it is with tlevel's plugin!

And for once, finally, I can say something positive about that-other-place.

I don't know if you'll read this tlevel... but THANKS A LOT!! 

[DJ Doena]

Still take my advice: Never mention on You Know Where that you loan out your DVDs, you'll be ridiculed for it.

[RossRoy]

Still take my advice: Never mention on You Know Where that you loan out your DVDs, you'll be ridiculed for it.

  Yeah, I know.

This inventory is taking a lot longer than I expected.. But then, I guess that's what happens when you own 2000+ units and they are pretty much spread all over, and that while you take the inventory, you also put back the watched ones in the library, alphabetically, which means a heck of a lot of moving stuff around to fit a movie in the A..

I need to change that, but then, I can't see an better way to order them on shelves...

[RossRoy]

16:54.. I just finished. Everything is accounted for.

Found a few still with wrong UPC, and also a few I bought that had not been entered. oops!

But I'm good for another year at least until i do this again!

[Tom]

I need to change that, but then, I can't see an better way to order them on shelves...

I order them alphabetically per shelf, but move on to the next shelf when one is full. I.e. I don't move all shelves around when a new DVD comes in. I track in DVDProfiler on which shelf a specific DVD is (which doesn't change once assigned). When I look for a DVD, I look in the database on which shelf I will find it and there I will easily find it as there there is an alphabetical order.

[Jimmy]

Absolutly no order for me. I've this habit since the time I was buying music record.
I've tried to order them by label in the beginning, but it didn't last long
The only genre of order that my collection had is that my XXX dvd aren't with the other (they are hidden in the desk my computer is on, don't want them to fall on wrong hand).
But I can find any of my dvd on my wall in a few seconds and I know when one is missing and wich one is

[Dragonfire]

I have my DVDs arranged alphabetically if they are on a shelf.  I have on shelf that is just animated movies plus a few tv show sets.  I have two other shelves that are full.  One has A-L and the other one has M-Z.  The second shelf also has what I call the crappy case section.     I have all the DVDs in that area from Warner Brothers that have cardboard type cases I think they are...and the one end has the plastic piece that snaps down.  I first started to have them mixed in with all the movies, but those cases stick out further on the shelf and it drove me nuts to see cases sticking out like that.  So I put them all in their own little section where all the cases line up...and all the other DVD cases line up.  I seem to be a bit..compulsive about that.     The movies in the crappy case section are in alphabetical order.  On the top of that shelf, I have a few of the movie DVD sets sitting - Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Batman, Superman.  I also have some other movies stacked up there that I can't fit on the shelf.  There are movies stacked up on top of the other shelf too.  I have several tv show sets in one area in my room..along with a few more movie sets - Ultimate Pink Panther set being one.  I have my Simpsons season sets all together along with a few other DVDS on one shelf of this cabinet thing I have.  I have more piled on the top of it...I have some on every shelf of the tv stand..and two other fairly tall stacks on top of a piece of furniture.  The DVDs that are stacked aren't arranged or organized, though I do mostly know where I have put a DVD.  I have one season of a tv show that I got a few months ago that I can't find.  I thought I knew where it was, but it isn't there.  I'm afraid it fell in a trash can and got pitched by accent.

For the most part, I know right where all my movies are.  The ones on the actual shelves, I know right where they are.  For the ones stacked up here and there...I know the general stack they are in, though I have to search through them to find a particular movie at times.  I think I have my movies organized fairly well..though I really do want more shelves.  I just don't know where I put them right now.

It did take me a while when I got the second shelf set up..I have several stacks on top of the first shelf to deal with too. 

[Achim]

 

Mine are alphabetical. Few exceptions are series where the naming was inconsistent; e.g. I place Road Warrior next to Mad Max. Also The Criterion Collection is kept separate, sorted by spine numbers. As of this point Blu-rays are also still on their own shelf. TV series are also kept separate from the movies.

[DJ Doena]

I keep my TV shows separate from my movies. And then I grouped my movies into "genres" (not really genres, more generalizations) so that no genre takes up more than two or three shelves.

My categories are

Fantasy (Potter, X-Men, Underworld)
Sword movies (everything with swords in it: Gladiator, Lord of the Rings, Last Samurai, Zorro)
Animation
Western
Romance, Comedy and RomCom
Science-Fiction
Military (from A Few Good Man to Rambo)
Bud Spence/Terrence Hill
Hacker
Martial Arts (from 36th Chamber of Shaolin to Rocky)
The Rest

And within each category I sort alphabetically. I rarely have a problem to find a title with some exceptions like MIB, but then I have to look only on two places max and not my entire "M" collection

[addicted2dvd]

I have mine alphabetically in three sections...

- Theatrical/Direct to Video Movies
- TV Series/Miniseries/TV Movies
- Movie Serials

[Kathy]

Mine are alphabetical. Few exceptions are series where the naming was inconsistent; e.g. I place Road Warrior next to Mad Max.

This is me! I used to keep TV series separate but not anymore. I've been doing inventory the last couple of weeks too. Its a pain in the butt but I found out that without a computer I forgot to put in many new DVDs. I'm in the "B"s right now and have added 23 DVDs to DVDP!

[Achim]

Sword movies (everything with swords in it: Gladiator, Lord of the Rings, Last Samurai, Zorro)

Kill Bill...?

[DJ Doena]

Sword movies (everything with swords in it: Gladiator, Lord of the Rings, Last Samurai, Zorro)

Kill Bill...?

OK, I also have a special shelf with four categories: Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarantino, Star Wars, Star Trek.

[goodguy]

OK, I also have a special shelf with four categories: Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarantino, Star Wars, Star Trek.

Ok, Star Trek I get - that's quite a bunch of DVDs with all its various incarnations. But Star Wars? That's 6 movies, right? And Tarantino, that's 6 movies too? Don't know how many Kevin Smith has made.

[DJ Doena]

OK, I also have a special shelf with four categories: Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarantino, Star Wars, Star Trek.

Ok, Star Trek I get - that's quite a bunch of DVDs with all its various incarnations. But Star Wars? That's 6 movies, right? And Tarantino, that's 6 movies too? Don't know how many Kevin Smith has made.

Star Wars: I've got the OT twice = 9
Star Trek: I'be got 4 and 6 twice = 12
Smith: Chasing Amy, Clerks, Clerks II (2x), Dogma, Jay & Silent Bob, Jersey Girl, Mallrats, Zack & Miri = 9
Tarantino: Death Proof, From Dusk Till Dawn, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol 1 (2x), Kill Bill Vol 2, Planet Terror, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs = 9