TrophyShelf as a hobbyDB alternative
These two are the closest things to each other on this site. Both catalogue collectibles across many categories, and both give you something to show for it. They differ on where a record comes from: hobbyDB is a database you find your item in, and TrophyShelf is a camera that reads the item you are holding. That one difference decides which of them suits your shelf.
The short answer
Choose hobbyDB if you want price history and a marketplace attached to your collection. hobbyDB has a large price guide and somewhere to actually buy and sell, and neither of those exists here.
Choose TrophyShelf if you collect things a database has not catalogued — a custom, a prototype, a convention exclusive, a signed piece — or you want typed fields per category rather than one generic entry, and a shelf that is just a link.
Side by side
| hobbyDB | TrophyShelf | |
|---|---|---|
| How a record starts | Search the database, or scan a barcode, then mark it owned | Photograph the item; AI fills the fields that type declares |
| Items not in any database | No entry to claim until one is created | Catalogued the same way as anything else |
| Fields per collectible | Whatever the database entry carries | A schema per type — card number and rarity for a card, scale and articulation for a figure |
| Price data | A large price guide across many brands | Catalogue prices for Pokémon, Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh only |
| Marketplace | Yes, buy, sell and trade | None |
| Showing a collection | Showcase pages on hobbyDB | A public link that opens in any browser, with no app and no account |
| Free tier | Free to use, paid tier to sell | Unlimited collections and unlimited collectibles, free |
| Platforms | iOS, Android and web | Android, free on Google Play |
Where hobbyDB is better
Any comparison that finds nothing good to say about the other tool is a comparison worth distrusting. These are real, and they are the reasons to stay.
- A real price guide. Millions of data points across thousands of brands. TrophyShelf reads catalogue prices for three trading-card games and nothing else.
- A marketplace. You can list and sell without leaving. There is nothing equivalent here and none is planned.
- Years of community cataloguing. If your item is in there, claiming it is faster and the data is better than anything a photograph produces.
- Barcode scanning for boxed items still in shrink.
Where TrophyShelf is better
- Nothing has to exist first. A custom, a prototype, a one-off or a piece nobody has catalogued still gets a complete record, because the record comes from your photograph.
- Typed fields, not one generic form. 56 schemas, each asking what that kind of collectible actually has.
- Your photographs, not stock images. Up to ten per collectible, and the condition your copy is actually in.
- A shelf that is a URL. No account needed at the other end, which is what makes it postable to a Discord.
Database-first, photo-first
hobbyDB starts from a catalogue. You find the entry that matches what you own and mark it yours, and because that entry was written and corrected by people rather than guessed from an image, its data is better than anything a camera produces — whenever the entry exists.
TrophyShelf starts from the object. You photograph what is in front of you, and the app resolves the type first — a Pokémon card, an action figure, a watch, one of 56 — then fills only the fields that type actually declares. A card gets a card number and a rarity. A figure gets a scale and an articulation count. Nothing has to exist in a database beforehand, which is exactly why it reaches items a catalogue never will.
Neither approach wins outright. They are better at different halves of a collection, and knowing which half yours is decides this for you.
Moving across
There is no importer either way, so this is a decision about where new records go rather than a migration. Plenty of collectors will reasonably keep both: hobbyDB for the pieces with real price history behind them, TrophyShelf for the shelf as it actually stands, photographed. Nothing here needs you to stop using it.
Common questions
Does TrophyShelf have a price guide?
Only for Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh, which have free public catalogues behind them. For everything else there is no price data, and hobbyDB is much stronger on this.
Can I sell through TrophyShelf?
No. There is no marketplace and none is planned. hobbyDB is the better tool if selling matters.
What happens if my item is not in any database?
It is catalogued exactly like everything else. The record is built from your photograph rather than looked up, so nothing needs to exist beforehand.
Can people see my collection without an account?
Yes. A shared collection is a public web page that opens in any browser with nothing installed.
See it on your own shelf
Free on Google Play · Unlimited collections · 15 AI autofills a month · No credit card.
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