Access to browse, view and export checklist data for all available sets will always be free for any registered user at OpenChecklist.com.
What does registration involve?
Basic registration, which includes the ability to browse, view and export all checklist data, is completely free. We only require a valid email address, name, country, age (for legal purposes only) and agreement to standard data protection statements - including the option to keep all your details completely private.
No private or financial information will ever be asked for as part of basic registration.
Are there different registration options?
Currently, only the basic registration option is available. In the future, we plan to offer tools for inventory management, advanced searching and trading with other collectors that may require a monthly or per-use subscription fee.
The basic registration option will always be free.
Can I delete my account?
You can request to delete your account at any time. It may take up to 48 hours to completely remove your account from the system.
Will you ever delete my account?
If a basic account has not been accessed for 6 months, we will send a notification to the registered email address stating that if the account is not accessed in the next 14 days, it will be deleted.
If the account is logged into during the 14-day grace period, the account will remain active. If the account is not used in that time, it will be deleted.
OpenChecklist.com Tools
What tools will be available through OpenChecklist.com?
Tools to provide the following functionality will be available with the initial release of the OpenChecklist platform:
Checklist Browser - provides the ability to browse and perform simple searches on data for all types of trading cards.
Collector Profile - allows a collector to register and list their personal collecting interests. Search for other collectors by region or area of interest.
Collector Want List - allows a collector to take any checklist item and add it to their "Want List" which appears on their main collector page and can be linked to from anywhere.
Collector Inventory - a simple inventory system that shows cards you have available to trade.
Automated Trade Manager - matches cards between the want lists and inventory of all registered users.
Collector Feedback System - a "one-stop shop" to list your accounts and feedback with other online auction and trading sites so you can take your trading credibility with you. Linked with your Profile, Want List and Inventory and the Automated Trade Manager, this will quickly become the most powerful trading tool on the Internet.
What tools are planned for the near future?
Integrated PC Inventory Manager - PC software to track your inventory and manage incoming/outgoing cards. Integrated with your online Profile at OpenChecklist.com so your Want List and Inventory can be updated at the touch of a button.
Integrated Trade Facility - Online system to discuss, enter into and complete trades with other collectors, based on checklist data. Integrated to update your Want List and Inventory once the trade is complete.
Can I create additional tools?
Yes, we are interested in growing OpenChecklist with the addition of experienced technical architects and developers in multiple languages. We are particularly interested in creating a suite of collector tools that integrate with the OpenChecklist database and facilities. Previous experience in open source projects, data warehousing and ERP projects preferred.
Content
What types of checklists are available at OpenChecklist?
OpenChecklist currently has an emphasis toward baseball cards. However, the database has grown to include cards from most other sports (e.g., basketball, football and hockey), entertainment (e.g., Star Wars and novelty cards) and vintage cards (e.g., cigarette cards and early trade advertisements).
In the future, we plan to include data for any type of trading card or related item that can be collected and openly traded, purchased or sold.
What are your sources for checklist data?
Through established industry contacts, we attempt to acquire checklist data directly from the manufacturer or checklists distributed with the product.
When that data is not available from the manufacturer or with the product, we perform research through various published guides and through networks of collectors that have performed time-consuming and tedious research. Often, their work is then published online for the benefit of other collectors.
It is because of the dedication of these communities that we want to ensure that we will always have checklist information available free of charge at all time for all collectors.
What do you do with checklists once you find them?
Once a checklist is found from any source, there is a substantial effort required before the data can be loaded into the OpenChecklist database. Checklists come in a variety of formats and often do not contain all the information that is often used for searches or categorization.
Therefore, each checklist must be verified against other sources, cleansed, reformatted, aligned with existing reference and metadata, assigned unique identifiers and finally released in a format that can be loaded into the OpenChecklist database.
What if I find missing or incorrect data?
When using the OpenChecklist database, it is possible that you will not find the particular items you are looking for or you might find the items, but with incorrect data.
Each item available on OpenChecklist.com includes a link for registered users to submit updates and corrections. When you find something you dont think is right, please use the link on the item. If you think something is missing, use the link from the item closest to where you think your item should be to report the missing data.
We at OpenChecklist will take your feedback seriously and try to incorporate your corrections as soon as possible. As more and more collectors use the system, the data can only improve.
How can I help with content?
We are always looking for additional content editors to research, proofread and assist in formatting the data in a consistent way. We encourage all users to first use the provided feedback mechanism to report any missing or incorrect data.
As OpenChecklist grows, we plan to assemble a "content team" of researchers.
Price/Value Data
How much are my cards worth?
This is probably one of the most frequently asked questions in card collecting. The answer is always the same:
Your cards are worth the estimated price they would fetch in an open market based on supply and demand, plus any additional sentimental value you have for them.
That is not a good answer, can you elaborate?
Many collectors acquire items from their favorite sports team, athlete they look up to as a hero, popular movie franchise or items from a certain era because the items represent something that makes them feel good about themselves - something very difficult to put a price on because it is relative to the amount of resources the individual has available to spend on their collection. If you are one of these collectors, you know what we are talking about.
If you have one of these items and are interested in knowing how much you can get for it, the only way to truly judge is to research recent transactions, current asking prices and current offers for similar items. The condition of the items compared to yours also plays a large factor because many collectors will pay a premium for something that is in "mint" or untouched condition.
Some organizations publish price guides in book form or through web sites that estimate current value on items and give a reference price on how much you should bid for or offer to sell your item at.
When will I see price data on OpenChecklist?
We do not think prices listed in the major guides are that accurate for many items. If you compare the prices listed in the guides with the price the identical items average closing price on popular auction websites like eBay, you will find the prices listed in the guide are often inflated.
Therefore, OpenChecklist has plans to form partnerships with and integrate our checklist data with leading merchants, trading and auction sites. Once the data is integrated, it will be simple for a collector to research an item through OpenChecklist and find the recent price history, current bids and current offers for any item in various conditions. That, we believe, is the most accurate way to put a monetary value on any collectible.
Integration with the OpenChecklist Database
Can I integrate my website or applications with the OpenChecklist database?
Yes.
The OpenChecklist team is developing a simple API that will return XML-formatted checklist data for common requests and searches. Sample XSLT layouts will also be provided to easily convert the XML data into useful HTML tables so requests can be easily added to any website.
How do I use the API?
To use the OpenChecklist API, you must be a registered user of OpenChecklist and also apply for an API key that must be submitted with all requests.
When the API is delivered, you will be given a link to our documentation and sample code.
How much will the integration cost?
For development use and personal use limited to a certain volume of transactions, integration with the API is free. Transaction volumes for each API key will be closely monitored.
For integrations that involve a large volume of transactions, a subscription or nominal per-transaction fee may apply. This will be reviewed on a per-client basis.
What are your policies on redistributing data?
We encourage the display and reuse of checklist data from OpenChecklist.com for personal collecting use only.
Republishing any portion of OpenChecklist.com data as part of a commercial product without the explicit agreement of OpenChecklist LLC is prohibited.
