Add photos and read box labels

Let a clear photo of the box label fill in the details for you.

Step by step

Choose + Add → One item, or open an item and choose Edit.
Tick Fill in the details from the first photo, then choose your photos. Put the label photo first.
Wait for the suggestions to appear, then check the maker, catalog number, road name, road number, type, scale, serial number and title.
Fix anything it got wrong. Condition, value and where it's stored are yours to fill in.
Save the item. For a photo that's already on an item, open Photo options under it and choose Read this photo, check the suggestions, and save.

Taking a label photo that reads well

Get the whole label in, hold the camera steady, and avoid glare. A close, sharp photo of the maker and catalog number does better than a wide shot of a shelf of boxes.

Photos on an item

The first photo is the main photo: it's shown large on the item page, with the others small under it, and it's the one in your list. Extra photos can show the other side, the underside or the box. Under each photo, Photo options lets you make it the main photo, make a post card, read it, or remove it. Remove this photo hides a photo rather than deleting it: it's listed under Hidden photos on the item, where you can bring it back.

Readings and uploads

The page shows how many label readings you have left; they're counted separately from value estimates. If an upload stalls, keep the page open while it retries. Phone photos are shrunk before they're sent, so even large ones go up quickly.

Not sure what it is?

Open the item. If it has a photo but no maker or catalog number, choose What is it?: we look at the photo and suggest up to three things it could be, with what we saw. Use this one fills in the empty boxes for you to check, and nothing is saved until you choose Save. Still not sure? Ask other collectors posts it in the forum's Identify this topic. Each look uses one photo reading.