Add items in seconds, with AI​

Cataloguing has always been the slowest part of any collection app — typing out names, years and specs for hundreds of items. v3.0 mostly removes the typing.

Open Add and you'll now see Identify with AI right next to Scan barcode. Snap a photo of the item, and AI recognises it, matches it to the Library, and brings the form back pre-filled. Review what it found, fix anything that's off, and save. For loose hardware with no barcode and no box, it's a huge time-saver.

It pairs with the things that were already there: barcode scanning for boxed games, and autofill from the 36,000-item master catalogue when you'd rather search by name. Whichever route you take, you land on the same item form, so nothing is hidden from you.

AI identifications are quota'd per plan, so it's worth saving them for the items they speed up most. Full walkthrough in Adding items.

RTC Wrapped​

At the end of a year of collecting, it's nice to see what actually happened. RTC Wrapped is a shareable recap — what you added, what it's worth now, your top category, and your biggest finds — wrapped into something you can post or send to a friend.

It's part of the Collector and Enthusiast plans. More in RTC Wrapped.

A cleaner app on mobile​

The mobile app moved to a five-tab bottom bar — Collection, Market, Add, Social and Profile — with the camera, barcode scanner and AI identification sitting under that centre Add tab, one tap from anywhere.

We also went through the app screen by screen fixing the small things that add up: icons that were too small to tap, notifications you couldn't read, toolbars that ran off the edge, and form fields that were sized inconsistently. None of it is glamorous, but the app feels noticeably tidier for it.

Your collection's value, up front​

Your collection is worth something, and v3.0 makes that easier to see. The collection view now leads with a value panel showing your total and how it's changed, and analytics highlights items that are rising in value. Live values, the value-over-time chart and price-drop alerts come with Collector and above — see Prices & values and Analytics.

Want-it alerts and showcase profiles​

Two smaller community additions:

• Want-it alerts — keep a wishlist of the things you're hunting for, and get told when something relevant turns up.
• Showcase profiles — your profile does a better job of showing off the collection behind it, so following someone actually means seeing their shelves.

More in Social.

A note on plans​

Selling on the marketplace is part of the Collector and Enthusiast plans (5% and 2.5% selling fees respectively), and buying and browsing stays open to everyone, including the free Hobbyist plan. The full breakdown is on Plans & billing and Fees & payouts.

What's next​

iOS is in the works, and there's more coming for analytics and the marketplace. As always, the quickest way to shape what's next is to tell us what's missing — there's a Report a bug link in the app, or email support@retrotechcollector.com.

Happy collecting.

— Josh

Marketplace for Everyone (v2.2.5)​

When RetroTechCollector launched, the marketplace was locked behind a paid subscription. That made sense at the time — we needed to cover costs and ensure quality — but it also meant that free users couldn't sell their duplicates or buy that one piece they've been looking for.

As of v2.2.5, every user can browse listings, create listings, make offers, propose trades, and message sellers. No upgrade gate, no interstitial, no "unlock with subscription" buttons.

Tiered Fees​

To keep things fair, marketplace fees now scale with your subscription:

Paid subscribers still benefit from lower fees, higher listing limits, priority listings, and other premium features. But the door is open to everyone now.

What's Changed Since v1.0​

For those who've been following along since launch, here's a summary of everything that's shipped between v1.0 and now. There have been 20+ releases, so I'll group by theme rather than listing every patch.

Redesigned Item Details (v2.0.0)​

The item detail page was completely rebuilt. On desktop, it's a two-column layout with images, photos, tasks, and notes on the left, and item info, specs, and description on the right. On mobile, you get a full-width hero image, six circular quick action buttons, and a tabbed interface (Details, Photos, Tasks, Notes).

New capabilities on every item:

• Maintenance Tasks — track repairs, cleaning, and upkeep with status tracking (To Do, In Progress, On Hold, Complete)
• Timestamped Notes — running log of observations and history with automatic timestamps and clickable URLs
• User Photos — personal photo gallery separate from shared product images, with captions and full-screen viewing

Barcode Scanning (v1.9.0 - v2.0.8)​

Point your camera at a UPC or EAN barcode and the item form fills itself in. If the barcode isn't in our database yet, you can match it to an item so future scans work for everyone. Supports UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN-13, and EAN-8 formats with torch toggle for low-light scanning.

Major UI/UX Overhaul (v2.2.0)​

Every page was reviewed for dark mode consistency, mobile responsiveness, and accessibility:

• Flawless dark mode using DaisyUI semantic tokens throughout
• Redesigned settings page (mobile vertical list, desktop sidebar layout)
• Advanced search redesigned (full-screen slide-up on mobile, two-column on desktop)
• Form progress indicators on multi-step flows
• Focus-visible indicators, ARIA labels for icon-only buttons, toast notifications with aria-live regions
• Master item autofill now warns before overwriting your form data

Disputes, Sent Offers & Blocked Users (v2.1.0)​

• File disputes directly from the transaction page with 5 problem categories
• View your sent offers in a dedicated Sent sub-tab
• Block and manage blocked users from settings
• Disputes tab accessible from mobile Activity navigation

Social Features (v1.7.0)​

• Follow other collectors
• Create and share posts with your collection
• Like and comment on posts
• Social feed for staying connected with the community

Live Market Prices (v1.8.0)​

Items now show real market values from PriceCharting. Track price history and watch your collection value change over time. Valuation conditions include Loose, CIB, New, Box Only, and Manual Only.

Library & Wishlist (v1.3.0 - v1.3.1)​

A browsable library with four tabs: Platforms, Games, Wishlist, and History. Browse master items, see device variants, save items to your wishlist, and mark them as owned when you acquire them. Compact list view shows 10+ items at once.

Interactive History (v1.4.0)​

Browse the history of retro technology through visual timelines, articles, and quizzes. Timelines grouped by era with zoom controls and minimap navigation. Five quiz types with leaderboards and point tracking.

Native Android App (v1.5.0 - v1.6.1)​

RetroTechCollector is on the Google Play Store. Built with Capacitor 8, it includes biometric login, app shortcuts, a branded splash screen, and improved offline caching compared to the PWA.

Sign in with Google (v1.8.4)​

One-tap sign-up and sign-in with your Google account. Usernames are now required for all new accounts.

PWA Improvements (v1.4.10 - v1.4.11)​

• Automatic update detection with one-click updates
• App shortcuts from the home screen
• Offline fallback page with auto-reconnect
• Manual update checking in Settings > About
• Improved mobile navigation labels ("Collection" instead of "Home", "Browse" instead of "Library")

Offline Mode (v1.1.11)​

Browse your entire collection without internet. View item details, images, and use search/filter with cached data. Smart automatic caching as you browse, with clear sync status indicators.

Everything Else​

Across 20+ releases, there have been hundreds of smaller fixes: mobile input fields that no longer extend off-screen, password reset emails that link to the correct page, dropdown menus that open correctly on mobile, quiz improvements that show correct answers, and performance improvements throughout.

What's Next​

More features are in the pipeline. API access for Enthusiast subscribers is high on the list, along with bulk image uploading and continued improvements based on user feedback.

If you haven't tried the marketplace yet, now's a good time — there's no subscription required.

Happy Collecting!

— Josh

Social Feed​

The biggest addition in this release cycle is a full social feed. Collectors can now share posts with up to 10 images, use hashtags and @mentions, tag collection items directly in posts, and engage through likes and comments. The feed includes a follow system (with public and private account options), trending hashtags, user verification badges, content warnings, and a search/discovery section.

This sits alongside the existing friends system — you can still send friend requests, share collections, and view friend wishlists as before.

Read the full documentation: Social Features

History & Learning​

A new Library section introduces interactive history content:

• Timelines: Browse the history of platforms and manufacturers through interactive, zoomable timelines with era markers and event cards
• Articles: In-depth historical articles with image galleries and cited sources from Wikipedia, official archives, and published books
• Quizzes: Test your retro technology knowledge with multiple choice, true/false, image identification, year matching, and chronology ordering questions across Easy, Medium, and Hard difficulties, complete with leaderboards

Read the full documentation: History & Learning

PriceCharting Integration​

Market pricing is now integrated directly into RetroTechCollector. Items linked to the master database can display current market prices across multiple conditions (Loose, CIB, New, Box Only, Manual Only), with interactive price history charts showing trends over time. Price data feeds into collection analytics to show total collection value and value trends. Price tracking is available on all subscription tiers.

The master item database has also been expanded with data from LaunchBox, Giant Bomb, and IGDB for game-specific metadata (developer, publisher, genre, ESRB rating, and more).

Read the full documentation: Price Tracking | Library & Master Database

Native Mobile Apps​

RetroTechCollector is now available as native Android and iOS apps built with Capacitor 8. The native apps provide:

• Built-in camera with photo editor for item photography
• Biometric authentication (Face ID, Touch ID, fingerprint)
• Native push notifications via Firebase Cloud Messaging and Apple Push Notification service
• Haptic feedback, file system access, and app shortcuts
• Offline support with automatic sync when reconnected

The PWA remains available for those who prefer the browser-based experience.

Read the full documentation: Mobile Features

Additional Improvements​

• Google OAuth: Sign in with your Google account alongside email/password and WebAuthn
• Cloudflare Turnstile: Invisible bot protection on registration and login forms
• Discount Codes: Apply promotional codes during subscription checkout
• Gaming Fields: Expanded item metadata for games including developer, publisher, genre, ESRB rating, max players, play time, and completion status
• Condition Scale: Updated to a 1-10 numeric scale for more precise condition tracking
• Valuation Conditions: Items can be valued as Loose, CIB, New, Box Only, or Manual Only

What's Next​

We're continuing to work on the public API for Enthusiast tier users, collection insurance integrations, and additional import tools. As always, if you have feature requests or feedback, reach out at support@retrotechcollector.com.

Why I Built This​

A few years ago, I started RetroTechCollection, a wiki documenting vintage computers, consoles, and gaming hardware. What began as a personal reference grew into something that hundreds of people use when researching old tech.

But I kept running into the same problem: I had no good way to track my own collection. I tried spreadsheets, note-taking apps, and a few collection management tools, but nothing felt right. Spreadsheets became messy. General-purpose apps weren't designed for this. And the existing collection tools either looked like they were built in 2005 or cost more than some of the items I was cataloging.

So I built RetroTechCollector to solve that problem.

What It Does​

RetroTechCollector helps you catalog and manage retro technology. You can track computers, consoles, handhelds, games, accessories, and anything else that doesn't fit neatly into a category.

For each item, you can record details like manufacturer, year, serial number, condition, purchase price, current value, and storage location. Upload photos. Add notes. Link related items together (like matching a game to its console or a controller to a computer).

The app also includes a marketplace where you can buy, sell, or trade items with other collectors. Payments go through Stripe, so there's no awkward money handling. You can make offers, counter-offers, track shipments, and leave ratings after transactions.

If you're on a paid plan, you get access to analytics that show your collection's total value, acquisition trends, and category breakdowns. There's also a friends system so you can connect with other collectors and view their collections (if they've made them public).

What's Free, What's Not​

The basic tier is free. You get up to 50 items, basic features, and limited marketplace access. It's enough to get started and see if the app works for you.

If you want more, paid plans start at £5/month. The Collector tier gives you 150 items, full marketplace access, analytics, and more features. The Enthusiast tier at £15/month removes item limits entirely and includes priority marketplace listings and advanced analytics.

Also, there's a special offer for RTC Forum users

Full pricing details are on the Plans page.

What's Next​

This is v1.0, which means it's (hopefully!) stable and ready to use. But I have more features planned:

• Import from other collection management tools
• Custom fields for specialized collections
• Collection insurance documentation
• Mobile apps (iOS and Android)
• More marketplace features based on user feedback

I'm also planning to integrate more closely with RetroTechCollection, so you can pull in detailed specs and historical information directly from the wiki when adding items to your collection.

Try It Out​

If you collect retro tech and need a better way to manage it, sign up and give it a try. The free tier is genuinely free, no credit card required.

If you run into bugs, have feature requests, or just want to share feedback, you can reach me at support@retrotechcollector.com or reach out on the RTC Forum.

Happy Collecting!

— Josh