Move your collection from a spreadsheet

Keep your cards in a spreadsheet? Save a copy as CSV with a header row, then check how its rows match before saving. An Excel workbook, PDF or image is not a CSV; export the sheet rather than changing its filename extension.

Tracker or spreadsheet for your Pokémon collection

A spreadsheet is a good place to start. It is free, you can sort it any way you like, and one row per card is easy to read. It tends to strain in three places:

• Printings: a row that says “Pikachu 25” does not say whether you hold the normal, holo or reverse holo copy, and a spreadsheet will not warn you that a printing does not exist.
• Set completion: you have to count by hand what is missing from a set, including cards numbered above the printed total.
• Duplicates: the same card entered twice as two rows is easy to miss, so totals drift.

A tracker checks each row against the card catalog, so the number and printing have to fit a real card, and it shows what is missing from every set. If you want to compare tools first, see how to track your collection and the pages for moving from other apps. You can keep the spreadsheet as a backup: the account page downloads your collection in the same columns.

The columns the importer accepts

Use these header names, in any order. Every column is optional, but each row needs a Card ID, or a Set and Card Number, so the card can be found.

CSV columns and what goes in them

Column	What to put in it
Card ID, Set, Card Number, Name	Which card the row is. Card ID alone is enough; otherwise give Set and Card Number.
Printing, 1st Edition, Language	Normal, Holofoil or Reverse Holofoil; Yes or No; English, Japanese or a code like ja.
Condition, Grading Company, Grade, Cert Number	Raw condition like NM or LP, or the grader, grade and cert number for a slab.
Quantity, For Trade Quantity	Copies in the row; blank means one. Trade quantities are kept for reference.
Purchase Price, Fees, Currency, Date Added	What you paid per copy, any extra costs for the row, the currency and the date you got it.
Folder, Notes	The binder name (becomes a binder on import) and anything you want to keep.
Sealed Product, Stamp, Print Run, Size, Foil Pattern	Sealed products and special printings. Leave blank for regular cards.

The import template, available after you sign in, is a CSV with every column and two example rows to overwrite; it opens in Excel or Google Sheets. To move a sheet over, rename your headers to match, save it as CSV and use the free import preview to see how the first 200 rows match before you sign up.

Check a sample before signing up

The free import preview matches the first 200 rows against our English Pokémon catalog without an account. For a larger file, it checks only that first group. You can also paste a small card list or use the tool’s sample to see an example without selecting a file.

CSV uploads can be up to 2 MB, and the decoded text must also fit within 2,000,000 bytes when encoded as UTF-8. Use up to 5,000 rows. Pasted lists can contain up to 200,000 characters and 5,000 nonblank lines.

Keep this tab open when continuing: the original source and review choices are stored temporarily in this tab, then the complete file or list gets a fresh account-aware review after sign-in. Nothing is saved to your collection without confirmation. If the draft is unavailable, open the signed-in importer and reselect the original CSV or paste your list again. With browser storage blocked, keep that importer tab open too: reloading requires the source again. The preview explains the limited catalog lookup and temporary storage before you start.

A minimal CSV example

Here is a small layout the importer can read: a header row, then one line per card and printing. The first card uses a Card ID; the second uses Set, Card Number and Name.

Each table row is one line in the CSV file

Card ID	Set	Card Number	Name	Printing	Quantity
base1-4				Holofoil	2
	151	25	Pikachu	Reverse Holofoil	1

Scroll sideways for the full comparison.

Quantity is copies in that row. If the same card and printing appears on two lines, the preview keeps them as separate rows with their own quantities, so check your totals rather than assuming they were merged. These two cards are an illustration of the format; the signed-in template uses the same two cards with more fields filled in. The Charizard row may show Check printing because the edition and print run are not specified; inspect your copy before choosing.

What the preview tells you

Each row gets its own result, and nothing is saved from the preview.

• Matched: one catalog card and printing fit.
• Check printing: several cards or printings fit, the printing you named does not exist for that card, or only its name matched. Choose one, or leave it unmatched.
• No match: the card is not in the catalog, the name or set did not line up, or the Language is not English. Non-English rows stay in the preview as unmatched and are not imported.
• Unreadable: the row has a problem, such as a negative quantity.

If your file has more than 200 rows, only the first 200 are checked in the public preview; the rest are reviewed after you sign in. When rows don’t match, fix the CSV (or choose a printing) and try the preview again, or continue to the signed-in importer, where you can choose columns and review everything before saving.

Start from the template

The quickest way is the import template in the signed-in importer. It has every column we read and two example rows to show the format. Delete the examples, add your cards, and save it as CSV.

Already have a spreadsheet? You don’t have to start over. Rename your headers to match the columns below where you can. We also recognize common alternatives, like Qty, Card Name, Binder or Price Paid.

Tell us which card it is

Each row needs enough to find the card. Use one of these:

• Card ID, the card’s catalog id, like base1-4 for Base Set Charizard.
• Set and Card Number, like “151” and “25”. Add the Name too, which helps when a set name is ambiguous.

For numbers with letters, like TG01, type them as printed. See how to read a card’s number.

The other columns

All of these are optional. Leave a cell blank when you don’t know.

• Printing: Normal, Holofoil or Reverse Holofoil. Leave it blank and cards with more than one fitting printing need a Check so you can pick.
• 1st Edition: Yes or No.
• Language: English, Japanese and so on, or a two-letter code like ja. Blank picks the English printing. Our catalog is English for now, so rows in other languages show in the preview but aren’t imported yet.
• Condition: Near Mint, Lightly Played, Moderately Played, Heavily Played or Damaged, or NM, LP, MP, HP or DMG. See card conditions explained.
• Grading Company, Grade and Cert Number: for slabs, like PSA, 10 and the number on the label.
• Quantity: how many copies. Blank means one.
• Purchase Price and Currency: what you paid per copy, like 12.50 and USD. These are your own costs; House of Holos does not provide market prices.
• Fees: shipping or other costs on top of the price, for the whole row, like 3.50.
• Date Added: when you got it, as 2024-05-01 or 5/1/2024.
• Folder: a binder name. Each folder can become a binder when you import.
• Notes: anything else you want to keep with the card.

Sealed Product, Stamp, Print Run, Size and Foil Pattern pick out sealed products and special printings, like stamped promos or jumbo cards. Leave them blank for regular cards.

Import it

1. Sign in, open Import from My collection and choose Upload a file.

2. Pick your CSV, or continue the temporary draft from the public preview. CSV text can contain up to 5,000 rows and 2,000,000 bytes when encoded as UTF-8. The public preview also limits the original upload to 2 MB; split a larger sheet into smaller CSVs.

3. Check the preview. Rows marked Check need a printing or a pick, and cards already in your collection start unticked.

4. Leave Make a binder for each folder on if you used Folder, then press Import. Any import can be undone from the same page.

Round trip: what comes back

Your account page has a download of your collection in these same columns, so it doubles as a backup you can import again. Importing it brings back:

• Every card with its printing, language, condition and quantity.
• Slabs, with their grader, grade and cert number.
• What you paid per copy, any fees, and the date you first added each card.
• Your binders, with cards in the same order they sat in. To get back each binder’s page size, the empty pockets you left and cards kept in two binders, import the binders download after the collection file.
• Your wishlist, if you import the wishlist download too. Wanted Quantity identifies the current wishlist format and keeps remaining copies wanted. Older files with target prices and no quantities are also recognized as wishlists.

A few things don’t come back:

• Verified marks: a slab’s Verified with PSA mark doesn’t carry over. Its cert number does, so it can be looked up again.
• History: the transactions download is your record of every buy, sale and change. Import the collection file, not that one; importing starts each card’s history fresh.
• Trade offers: collection downloads record offered quantities for your reference. Importing does not turn new offers on or increase existing offered quantities.