Gemr – Show Off Your Collection

Collectors. Funatics. Enthusiasts. Hoarders.  Call us what you will – we like collecting things.  For some of us, it is an obsession.. an itch we just can’t seem to scratch enough.

Personally, I’ve been a collector as far back as I can remember.  By age 7, my closet was lined in Star Wars action figures.  By Junior High I was knee-deep in binders of baseball, football & basketball cards.  In high school and college I moved on to concert tees and tickets.  And now, as an “adult,” I’m back to toys – Funko Pop!’s, Mystery Minis, NECA figures, comic books, Mondo posters, TITANS, itty bittys ….

FINDING THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB

People often ask to see my collection, but with limited space at home and a growing collection, the room that houses all of these treasures has transformed into more of a closet, with items stacked 10 high and 3 or 4 deep. I REALLY want to show off some of my awesome collectibles, but how?

I started looking for a service where I could post photos and share with my friends, but I realized that I was starting down a path… accepting a mission really.  If I was going to do this, I needed to do it right, so I started looking for a tool that would allow me to do more than just share photos.

• I needed a service where I could share any of my collectibles, not just one particular company or type.
• I needed to be part of a community, with like-minded collectors and fans.
• I needed to be able to sell or trade items and easily add or remove them from inventory.
• I needed to catalog my “wants” as well as my “haves.”
• I needed a tool that could work from desktop as well as mobile.
• I needed the service to be FREE!

INTRODUCING GEMR

A couple months ago, I was introduced to Gemr.  Gemr is a self-proclaimed “social community for collectors, where you can discover, share, buy, sell, trade & show-off your collectibles & other unique items.”  Having used several other systems, apps & websites in the past, I was a little apprehensive.

I created a personal account, uploaded a few items and began to root around in the system.  It was looking more and more like the tool I wanted and so much more.  The more I used it, the more I wanted to upload.  And as I returned over the next several days, I noticed that the system was changing.  The team at Gemr was updating the platform, adjusting the tools and even created a dashboard for my collection and interactions.  More on that in “What’s Next for Gemr?” (further down)

MORE ABOUT GEMR 

I hinted at several of these items above, but what makes Gemr so cool is the detail and depth they have gone to in creating a community.   Sure – you can upload items, but there is so, so much more.

Collections – Think of these like boxes, where you can group similar items to show off, like ours.  We have collections for Funko Pop!’s, Vinylmation, Comic books, Mystery Minis & more.

Clubs – Want to join a group with people who are collecting the same type of items? That’s a club.  Currently there are clubs for Star Wars, Comic Books, Funko (the biggest group on the site), Classic Gaming, HeroClix and more.  More clubs will be added as users build their collections.  We’re hoping to see Mondo and TShirt collections soon.

Dashboard – Your own area in the site – a hub of all your info.  See your stuff, recent activity, your social network on the site and even your progress in the “Quest.”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR GEMR?

We’ve only really just begun playing with all the options in Gemr and it looks like we are going to be users for a while.  It’s now become a habit to take a photo of our new collectibles for Facebook, Instagram and Twitter then immediately log that same image/item into our Gemr account.  After all, we really want to share the cool stuff that we find.

Skeptics: I know what you’re thinking – “Hey Sully – it can’t be all perfect, all the time.  I’ve used others systems that can’t do _____ or _____.”  Maybe you’ve thought – “Those other sites are missing some things I think are important. Does Gemr have ____?”

You’re right.  Gemr is still fairly new and it doesn’t do everything you might want it to.  For instance:

• The conversations area in clubs is still a bit primitive.  It’s hard to follow the conversation.
• It’s not easy to build a checklist for items that you are looking for.
• There aren’t databases or dropdown lists that let you pick items you are adding to your collection.

I’ve spoken with several Gemr team members and they all say the same thing. “Tell us what you don’t like.  Tell us what you want Gemr to do.  You are the user, so tell us what you want.”  Not only have they said it, they’ve backed it up with changes, like the dashboard, that are popping up as we use the system.  They are listening and responding, quickly!  That might be the single-biggest selling point for this entire system.

JOIN GEMR TODAY – BECOME PART OF THE CLUB(S)

Now what we need is more Gemr friends.  We need readers & friends like you to create an account and start uploading your items.  And, did we mention that this is all FREE.

We need you to build collections and join clubs so that we have more friends to share with and more awesome stuff to see.

Check out Gemr and let us know what you think.  A few of our friends have already started in the comments below.  And don’t forget to friend us on the site.