Over the years, different collectible companies have emerged with the goal of helping the collector community. One of the coolest parts about being a part of this community, is that you get to know the people and teams behind many of the awesome platforms created to serve the different needs of the collector. Yesterday was a sad day for the collecting community as one of the largest players, Gemr, is shutting its doors. Although some people may have seen Gemr and hobbyDB as competition, we actually complimented each other perfectly in terms of what we each can offer the collecting community. Gemr was created to offer collectors the ability to come together and share their collections and passions. As a natural alternative to Facebook, the Gemr community was a space for like-minded collectors to connect and chat about their new finds and coveted grails.
A graphic used by Gemr to explain what their website is all about
hobbyDB, on the other hand, was built to give collectors the tools that they need to research, track, value, add to their collections and ultimately show it off (with our new Showcase feature).
We want to say a huge thank you Brannen, Brian, Carlee, Tim, Tom and the rest of the Gemr team for giving us a shout out in this sad time. As collectors ourselves, we really respect what they have built both in features and community. We know from experience how hard it can be to continue to fundraise and we so appreciate them for suggesting us as an alternative. As I mentioned, we’re a tad bit different in what we offer, but also the same in that we are here to serve the collector. If you’re a Gemr user that is looking for a new home for your collection, we would be lucky to have you come aboard. It’s free to register for a hobbyDB account where you will get all the tools that you need to power your collecting journey. If you need help setting up your collection, or want to ask us some questions about who we are and why we exist, feel free to reach out to us, we’re here to help.
The Gemr Good-by Email
PS: Here is Tim’s take on the end of Gemr
Sad to see them go, but the end was inevitable unfortunately. They went far too broad and did not have a value proposition strong enough to make significant revenue. Satisfying the wants of eclectic collectors is very difficult. Time will tell if hobbyDB reaches the same fate.
Hi Brian,
All is possible but I like to point out that we have avoided any marketing spend and that hobbyDB is focused 100% on building a database to drive our business, one segment at a time. You can find much more about this (and how we like to be owned by our users) here https://wefunder.com/hobbydb
Are there any tools available to convert Gemr collections into HobbyDB database items. (I hope Gemr gave their users some tie to download all their collections before shutting down.) Maybe for privacy issues, you can’t do a wholesale copy, so maybe it’s too hard to automate anything for individual users.
Nope, they got nothing (we asked and will ask again but I guess they were too worried about data protection).
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