Import Your Collection
Import Your Sports Memorabilia Collection
Move your collection out of a spreadsheet without starting over.
Already using a spreadsheet? See how importing worksIf you've been collecting for a while, there's a good chance part of your collection lives in Excel, Google Sheets, or a CSV file.
That's how a lot of collections start. Mine did too.
A spreadsheet works well when you're tracking a handful of items. But as the collection grows, so does everything you need to keep with it: photos, authentication details, provenance, purchase information, values, storage locations and supporting documentation.
Relic Roster lets you bring your existing collection data with you so you don't have to rebuild everything one item at a time.
Already have a spreadsheet? That's a good thing.
You've already done a lot of the hard work. Your spreadsheet probably contains information such as:
- Item name or description
- Sport
- Category
- Player or athlete
- Acquisition date
- Purchase price
- Current value
- Authentication information
- Certification number
- Autograph details
- Provenance
- Storage location
- Notes
Instead of throwing that work away, you can use it as the starting point for your Relic Roster collection.
Four Steps
How the Import Process Works
1. Start with your existing collection data
If your collection is already in Excel, Google Sheets or another collection system, save or export it as a CSV file. CSV is the format Relic Roster imports, and almost every spreadsheet app can save one. If it's an Excel workbook, save a CSV copy rather than uploading the .xlsx.
Don't worry if your columns don't perfectly match Relic Roster yet.
The goal is to start with the information you already have.
2. Prepare your file
Before importing, it's worth spending a few minutes cleaning things up. Look for things like:
- Duplicate items
- Different spellings of the same category
- Missing purchase dates
- Values without a date or source
- Authentication numbers stored inside general notes
- Multiple pieces of information combined into one column
I learned pretty quickly that the cleaner the information going into a collection system, the more useful that collection becomes later.
3. Import your collection into Relic Roster
Upload your CSV on the Import page. Relic Roster matches your column headers to its own fields where it recognizes them, and you can change any match or skip a column before anything is saved. If you'd rather start clean, download the Relic Roster CSV template and paste your data into it. Only Item Name is required.
Next you'll see a preview of every row. Rows that need fixing are flagged with the reason, and anything that looks like it's already in your collection is skipped instead of added twice.
Once imported, each item becomes part of your Relic Roster collection with its own RR ID, rather than another row buried inside a spreadsheet. From there, you can continue adding and organizing the information that makes each piece meaningful.
CSV import is available on the Pro and Elite plans. The import and export help article covers formatting details like dates and prices.
4. Build out the complete record over time
Importing your spreadsheet doesn't mean every item has to be perfect on day one. Your existing data gives you the foundation. You can then add things like:
- Item photos
- Authentication and certification details
- Photos of COAs, LOAs and receipts
- Provenance
- Acquisition information
- Collector-maintained values
- Condition
- Storage or display location
- Autograph information
- Notes and history
That's one of the reasons I wanted Relic Roster to work this way.
A collection is rarely documented perfectly all at once. You build the record as the collection grows.
Your Spreadsheet Tracks Rows. Your Collection Is More Than That.
A spreadsheet can tell you that you own an item.
But there's usually much more to the story.
A signed jersey might have a purchase receipt, a COA, a certification number, photographs, an inscription, provenance information and a current value.
A game-used item might have completely different documentation.
And a sports card has its own details: year, set, card number, grading company, grade and cert number.
Relic Roster is designed around the item itself, so the information stays connected to the piece it belongs to.
What Should You Record?
You don't need every field for every item. I'd focus on the information that would matter if you ever needed to identify, value, authenticate, insure, sell or pass the item on.
The basics
- Item name
- Category
- Sport
- Player or athlete
- Description
Acquisition
- Purchase date
- Purchase price
- Seller or source
- Receipt information
Authentication
- Authenticator
- Certification number
- COA or LOA
- Signer
- Inscription
Provenance
- Game used or worn
- Player worn
- Team issued
- Practice used
- Event used
- Other ownership or history information
Value
- Current collector-maintained value
- Date the value was recorded
- Supporting value information
Collection management
- Condition
- Storage location
- Photos
- Documents
- Notes
You don't need to fill everything in immediately.
Start with what you know.
For more on what to capture, see how to catalog sports memorabilia and COAs, LOAs and third-party authentication.
Before You Import: A Quick Checklist
Remove obvious duplicates.
You don't want to discover later that the same item was imported twice.
Separate important information into its own fields.
If authentication numbers, purchase prices and provenance are all sitting inside one Notes column, separate them where you can.
Keep your original spreadsheet.
Never overwrite your only copy. Keep the original as a backup.
Don't guess at missing information.
If you don't know something, leave it blank and come back to it later.
Start with the collection you actually have.
It doesn't need to be perfectly organized before you begin.
From Spreadsheet to Collection Record
The biggest difference isn't really the import itself.
It's what happens afterward.
Instead of having something like this:
Spreadsheet row
Wayne Gretzky Signed Jersey
$1,200
PSA
Basement
Four cells. Everything else lives somewhere else.
Relic Roster item record
- Photos of the item
- Authenticator and certification number
- Photo of the COA
- Purchase date, price and seller
- Provenance and ownership history
- Estimated value, source and date
- Storage location
- Its own RR ID
You can build a proper item record containing the photographs, authentication information, acquisition history, provenance, value information and documentation connected to that specific piece.
That makes the collection easier to understand today, and a lot easier for someone else to understand someday.
If insurance is part of why you're documenting, the insurance inventory guide walks through what to record.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. If you already keep your collection in a spreadsheet, save it as a CSV file and import it into Relic Roster on the Pro or Elite plan. That becomes the starting point for your Relic Roster collection, and you build from there.
Not the Excel file itself. Relic Roster imports CSV files, so save a copy of your workbook as CSV first. In Excel that's File > Save As > CSV UTF-8. In Google Sheets it's File > Download > Comma-separated values (.csv), and in Numbers it's File > Export To > CSV. Then upload that CSV. Files can be up to 5 MB.
That's normal. Collectors organize spreadsheets in all kinds of ways. When you upload your file, Relic Roster matches the column names it recognizes, including common ones like Player, Cost, Purchase Date and Cert #. You can change any of those matches, pick a field for the rest, or skip a column entirely. If a column doesn't fit any field, you may need to move or rename that information first, or put it in Notes.
No. Item Name is the only required column. I'd import the useful information you already have and improve individual item records over time.
Leave it blank. It's better to have an incomplete record than information you aren't confident is correct. Blank cells import as empty fields you can fill in later.
Yes. A CSV only carries text, so photos aren't part of the import. Once your items are in, you can open any of them and add photos of the piece, photos of the COA or receipt, and any other details.
Yes. Each item has fields for the authenticator, certification number, verification link and the type of documentation you have, like a COA, LOA, hologram or receipt. Those can come in through the import. You can then add photos of the paperwork to the same item so the documentation stays with the piece it belongs to.
Yes. Cards and memorabilia live in the same collection. Cards get grading fields like grading company, grade and cert number, and memorabilia gets authentication, autograph and provenance fields. Both can be imported from the same CSV.
Yes. Every imported item gets its own new RR ID, the same as an item you add by hand. You can't assign RR IDs through an import. If your file came from a Relic Roster export and still has an RR ID column, those IDs are only used to recognize items already in your collection so they aren't added twice.
CSV import is part of the Pro and Elite plans. The Free plan holds up to 10 items, which is enough to try Relic Roster by adding a few pieces by hand first. Pro holds up to 100 items and Elite has no item limit, so it's worth matching the plan to the size of your spreadsheet. CSV export is included on every plan.
More questions? Visit the Help Center
I Built Relic Roster for Collections Like This
I'm a collector too.
Relic Roster started because I wanted a better way to keep the important information about my collection together, not scattered between spreadsheets, folders of photos, emails, COAs and notes.
If you already have years of collection information sitting in a spreadsheet, you shouldn't have to throw it away and start again.
Bring what you already have.
Then keep building from there.
Track the value. Protect the legacy.
More on the thinking behind it: sports memorabilia collection management, inventory software, and tracking sports cards.
Get Started
Ready to bring your collection into Relic Roster?
Create your free account and look around first. When you're ready to import your spreadsheet, CSV import is on the Pro and Elite plans.
No credit card required.