01 Open your invitation
Each collector has their own collection website, such as liz.pscollect.app (example only).
- Open the private invitation link sent directly to you by a collection owner.
- Enter your name and choose a password to activate access.
- Open your collection website and start exploring.
If you already have an account and receive an invitation, sign in with the invited email address.
For regular sign-in, visit your collection website's /login page (for example, https://liz.pscollect.app/login).
Use Safari or Chrome on your phone. PSCollect is a standalone website, not WordPress; the WordPress iOS app does not apply.
02 Add your first item
Sign in and choose Coin quick entry for photos, title, type, quantity, and status in one short form. Coin and Share publicly are selected; uncheck sharing to keep the coin private. Choose Add item for the full editor. You can change the type to Patch, Lapel Pin, or another category.
- Fill in Title, Item type, Quantity, and Status (Collection, Trader, or Wishlist). Quantity starts at 1 and is shown on trader galleries.
- Add any other details you'd like to record.
- Attach a photo from your phone's camera or photo library. HEIC photos are supported.
- Turn Share publicly off if you want the item to stay private.
- Choose Save item.
03 Item type vs. status
Item type answers: What is it?
Shoulder and commemorative patches
Challenge and collectible coins
Pins and similar collectibles
These are the default types. Owners can customize categories and add others.
Status answers: What are you doing with it?
Items you own and are keeping
Items available to trade
Items you hope to obtain
Collection, Traders, and Wishlist also have separate browsing tabs. An extra Savannah Police patch offered for trade would be Patch as its type and Traders as its status.
04 Decide what to share
New coins start with Share publicly checked. Uncheck Share publicly before saving if you want a coin to stay private. Other item types start private. Uploading a photo alone does not publish it.
Saving a shared, published item makes it visible when your collection’s public viewing is enabled. Private notes stay private.
| Status | When shared and published |
|---|---|
| Collection | Appears on your own public collector website. |
| Traders | Eligible to appear in the shared PSCollect trading network. |
| Wishlist | Eligible to appear in the shared PSCollect wishlist network. |
05 Find traders and wishlists
pscollect.app helps people discover shared, published Traders and Wishlist items from connected collections.
This sharing between separate collectors' websites is sometimes called federation. Simply put: everyone keeps their own website, but selected public trading and wishlist items can be found together.
- Open your collector homepage.
- Find Search other collectors.
- Use the Traders/Wishlist selector to choose what you want to look for.
- Choose Search network.
For example, look for a Savannah Police patch among other collectors' public Traders items. Private items aren't available through this search.
06 Keep the conversation going
Collectors: Sign in to your collection website and open the Messages tab. Owners and editors can read inquiries, reply, check unread conversations, and close or reopen a conversation.
Visitors: Send an inquiry about a public Trader or Wishlist item to start a private conversation.
- After sending, choose Open conversation to read and reply.
- Choose Copy private conversation link and keep the full link, including the part after
#. Anyone with this link can read and reply, so do not share it publicly. - Optionally choose Create a Messages account, or sign in to an existing Messages account. Conversations whose private links are saved on this browser are added to that account.
- On another device, visit pscollect.app/messages and sign in to find your saved conversations.
If you open another private link while signed in, choose Save this browser’s conversations to my account to add it. New inquiries started while signed in are saved automatically. Matching an email address alone does not grant access to past conversations.
A Messages account is for visitor conversations. Your collection website still uses its own invitation and sign-in.
07 Invite another person
For owners: Visit your collection's access-management page, select a role, and create a private invitation link. Share that link directly with the person you're inviting.
Creating a link does not automatically send an email. The recipient must open their link within seven days.
| Role | What they can do |
|---|---|
| Owner | Manage sharing, categories, and access |
| Editor | Manage items and inquiries |
| Viewer | Read inventory |
08 Quick troubleshooting
Links expire after seven days. Ask the owner for a new one.
Sign in with the email address that received the invitation.
Uploading a photo isn't enough. The item must be explicitly shared and published.
Check that its status is Traders and that it has been shared and published.
Email notifications are not configured. Check the Messages tab on your collection website, or open your private conversation link.
No. Open your collection website in Safari or Chrome. The WordPress app isn't used.
✓ Your first five minutes
Tick off these steps as you go. This checklist is just for your convenience and does not change anything in your PSCollect collection.
Remember: PSCollect is your private collection first and a trading network second. You decide what other collectors can see.