Collecting and the record.

binovy's core promise: every piece carries a permanent record, and the record moves with the piece to the next owner, with its content intact. This guide covers cataloging, the service log, visibility, and what happens on transfer.

Cataloging a piece

Add pieces through the wizard. Every piece gets:

• A category: computers, consoles, games, hi-fi, CRT (professional and broadcast monitors), or cameras. The category decides which structured fields and photo shots apply.
• Photos: each category has a minimum (4 for most; 3 for games), including required shot types such as the serial label. There is no maximum: the community norm on serious lots is 20 or more, and more photos materially help both curation and any future sale.
• A serial number: the piece's identity. It binds the record to the object, not to your account, the same way a VIN or a PSA cert number works. Fill it in even when it isn't required.
• Condition, on two axes: a cosmetic grade (for parts through mint) and a functional grade (working, partially working, not working, or untested). They are independent on purpose: a mint-looking receiver with a dead channel and a battle-worn one that's fully recapped are different pieces of hardware, and the record should say so.
• Specs and attributes: structured fields per category (storage, revision, connectivity, meter status, and so on).

The service log

The log is the living part of the record. Entries have a kind (acquisition, service, repair, upgrade, modification, and more) plus a date, a free-text description of the work, who performed it, an optional cost, and optional photos attached to the entry.

Three things to know before you write:

1. Entries are permanent. You have fifteen minutes to fix a slip; after that the record is append-only: corrections happen by adding a correction entry on top, never by deleting history.
2. Costs ride with the record. If you record what you paid for a repair or for the piece itself, that figure stays in the record and transfers with the piece when it sells. Record costs because they make the record more valuable, but know they are not private to you forever.
3. Who did the work matters. Name the technician or shop. Work done through the technician network files its own entry when the job closes; membership makes that filing mandatory.

Entry labels and the published rubric

Every entry carries a label that says how it got there. The label is derived from the record itself, never typed in, and there are two ways an entry earns a verified one:

• verified · binovy-reviewed: you asked for verification and attached documents, and binovy reviewed them against the published rubric below.
• verified · filed by the shop that did the work: a network technician filed the entry on completing service, and the label names the shop, because good work deserves attribution.

Every other entry reads on record, unverified: visible to everyone, and you decide what weight it carries. Nothing you submit is ever discarded, and verification is free.

The published rubric binovy rules against, verbatim:

a verified · binovy-reviewed label requires: (1) a dated document naming the piece or its serial (receipt, invoice, service order, or original-sale document) from an identifiable source; (2) the document's date and claimed work consistent with the entry; (3) a serial match where the category carries serials and the piece has one on record; (4) legibility (binovy can read what it's ruling on). dated photographs count as documents. failing the rubric never removes the entry · it stays on record, unverified, with a note to the owner.

Anyone holding a physical piece can check its serial against the public record at binovy.com/verify.

Visibility

Three independent switches:

• Piece: public or private. New pieces default to private.
• Collection: public collections appear in browse and on your profile.
• Profile: your profile page itself can be public or private.

Once a piece sells at auction, these are always public: the listing, its results, and the piece's record going forward. binovy is a public-record platform; see the privacy section of Policies and trust.

Transfers: what the buyer inherits

When your piece sells, the new owner inherits the entire record: photos, the full service log including costs, custody events, and sale history. A "sold on binovy" custody event is added automatically. Your authorship of past entries stays in the record; the new owner continues the log from there.

Exporting your collection

From your portfolio, open tools to download your entire collection as a CSV. The columns are chosen to double as an insurance schedule: identity and serials, condition grades, acquisition cost and date, recorded service spend, and realized market comparables where they exist. The same file is the import template.

Importing a catalog

Bring an existing catalog in from a CSV file: binovy's own template, a CLZ export, or a Homebox export. You review every row before anything is created: categories are guessed and correctable per row, likely duplicates are flagged, and photos do not transfer. Imported pieces land private, with purchase price and date recorded as a real acquisition entry.

Applying to sell

There is no minimum collection size to apply. Apply any time, and a curator makes the call. Your readiness score (photos, condition data, catalog depth; the target is ten well-documented pieces) is advisory: it tells the curator how much your catalog already says about you. Deeper, better-documented catalogs get approved faster. See Selling and consigning.