Colnect
Encyclopedia
Colnect Collectors Club Community, is a website
containing wiki
-like collectables catalogs. It allows collectors to manage their personal collection
using these catalogs and automatically match their swap/wish-lists with those of other collectors.
Colnect's phone cards catalog is the biggest in the world .
and coins
are supported in addition to phone cards. In the mean time, 14 types of collectables are represented. Here is an overview:
(updated: 18 November 2011)
All users can see the catalog information (issue dates, print runs, pictures, etc.). Registered users can additionally manage their personal collection by marking each item as belonging to their collection, swap list or wish list while browsing through the catalogs.
These users automatically can match their swap list with a wish list of another user and vice versa.
Users can purchase a membership with Premium features. Contributors get it for free.
On December 31, 2009 Colnect was a close runner up on the TechAviv Peer Awards startup companies competition. It has lost to 5min by a single vote.
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
containing wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
-like collectables catalogs. It allows collectors to manage their personal collection
Collecting
The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world...
using these catalogs and automatically match their swap/wish-lists with those of other collectors.
Colnect's phone cards catalog is the biggest in the world .
History
Colnect was founded in 2002 as Islands Phonecards Database with the aim to create a catalog of all phonecards. Since autumn 2008, stampsPostage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
and coins
COinS
ContextObjects in Spans, commonly abbreviated COinS, is a method to embed bibliographic metadata in the HTML code of web pages. This allows bibliographic software to publish machine-readable bibliographic items and client reference management software to retrieve bibliographic metadata. The...
are supported in addition to phone cards. In the mean time, 14 types of collectables are represented. Here is an overview:
| Collectable | Added on | Number of items | Link to catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phonecards Telephone card A telephone card, calling card or phone card for short, is a small plastic card, sized and shaped like a credit card, used to pay for telephone services. It is not necessary to have the physical card except with a stored-value system; knowledge of the access telephone number to dial and the PIN is... |
April 2002 | 323,000 | Phonecard catalog |
| Stamps Postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side... |
September 2008 | 207,000 | Stamp catalog |
| Coin Coin A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory.... s |
September 2008 | 27,000 | Coin catalog |
| Banknote Banknote A banknote is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and in many jurisdictions is legal tender. In addition to coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern fiat money... s |
May 2009 | 34,500 | Banknote catalog |
| Bottle cap Bottle cap Bottle caps are a type of closure used to seal the openings of bottles of many types. They can be small circular pieces of metal, usually steel, with plastic backings, and for plastic bottles a plastic cap is used instead. A bottle cap is typically colorfully decorated with the logo of the brand... s |
May 2009 | 13,000 | Bottle cap catalog |
| Tea bag Tea bag A tea bag is a small, porous sealed bag containing tea leaves and used for brewing tea. Tea bags are commonly made of paper, silk or plastic. The bag contains the tea leaves while the tea is brewed, making it easier to dispose of the leaves, and performs the same function as a tea infuser... s |
August 2009 | 14,000 | Tea bag catalog |
| Bank card Bank card A bank card is a plastic card issued by a bank to its clients that may perform one or more of the following services:* ATM card, card used for transactions at automatic teller machines* Debit card, card linked to a bank account and used for making purchases... s |
November 2009 | 4,500 | Bank card catalog |
| Transportation Public transport Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams... tickets |
November 2009 | 4,500 | Transportation ticket catalog |
| Hotel Hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms... key cards |
November 2009 | 15,500 | Hotel key card catalog |
| Postcard Postcard A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope.... s |
December 2009 | 10,000 | Postcard catalog |
| Gift card Gift card A gift card is a restricted monetary equivalent or scrip that is issued byretailers or banks to be used as an alternative to a non-monetary gift.... s |
June 2010 | 13,750 | Gift card catalog |
| Casino Casino In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions... cards |
June 2010 | 700 | Casino card catalog |
| Beer Coasters | January 2011 | 20,000 | Beer Coasters catalog |
| Sugar Sugar Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet... Packets |
November 2011 | To be introduced | [Sugar Packets catalog] |
(updated: 18 November 2011)
Features
The collectables catalogs on Colnect are created by collectors using the site. New items are added by contributors and verified by volunteering editors. Though any collector may add their comments on a catalog item, actual changes are done only by site-trusted editors.All users can see the catalog information (issue dates, print runs, pictures, etc.). Registered users can additionally manage their personal collection by marking each item as belonging to their collection, swap list or wish list while browsing through the catalogs.
These users automatically can match their swap list with a wish list of another user and vice versa.
Users can purchase a membership with Premium features. Contributors get it for free.
Statistics
The site reports it caters for collectors from 113 countries. Lots of them are helping the site voluntary including the translators who translated Colnect into 50 languages. Still, the result may be so poor as to be barely understandable.Rewards
On April 25, 2009 Colnect was announced as the winner in the European Startup 2.0 competition, out of about 200 competing companies and 11 finalists .On December 31, 2009 Colnect was a close runner up on the TechAviv Peer Awards startup companies competition. It has lost to 5min by a single vote.