Why You Should Photograph Your Blu-ray Collections, Books, Games, Comics and More

Photographing the physical objects of his collections to be able to easily find them after an unfortunate incident is a habit.

Having physical media content, whatever it is, has its advantages, especially in this era of streaming and digital distribution, but it is not without risks – losses, various damages, theft. It is for this reason that it is wise to keep a full description of your collections in case something happens. The easiest way is to take a photo of the serial number of each item. This is a common practice among collectors, but it applies to everyone.

Take pictures of physical objects in your collections

Chances are that the most expensive items you own, such as a car or some appliances, have special warranties or insurance policies, but your collection of Nintendo games, iconic Blu-rays, or vinyl records may not. And if you can actually take out special insurance, it’s not necessary, unless you have coins of very high value.

Keeping detailed photos of the serial numbers of every item in your collection – or at least the rarest items – can help you in case you run into trouble when you call your insurance after a fire or other.

Similarly, if someone enters your home and leaves with your collection, you can use this list to claim your items if you see them reappear here or there. This will also allow you to settle any issues with moving agencies in the event of damage during transit.

to be able to easily find them after an unfortunate incident

No need for professional quality photos; just take some photos of the serial numbers of the products and save them on your phone, back them up on your computer and in the cloud and make sure you have multiple copies. All physical products have a serial or identification number. Be it video games, Blu-rays, CDs, vinyls, books, graphic novels or even computers, tablets, smartphones or even game consoles.

You can, of course, take your documentation further by creating spreadsheets with the title, serial number, photo, and other important information. There are even complete apps to keep track of your collections, some of which offer barcode scanning and work across platforms. But the minimum is to take pictures of the most important items in your collection so that you can return to them if necessary.

The most important thing is to make sure you keep the correct number. Serial numbers and other identification codes can be written anywhere: on the spine of a book or CD, in a user’s manual, or even on the back of a video game cartridge. A quick Internet search will tell you where to look.

Obviously, finding, photographing, and preserving a large collection of any kind is not easy, but even if you only do it for the items that are most important to you, you’ll be glad you took the time to do so. should have happened.