Troubleshooting Import Issues

Having trouble with your import? Here are solutions for the most common issues.

Many Unmatched Items

Problem: A lot of your comics show as "unmatched" after processing.

Solutions:

1. Add more identifying data — Include publisher, volume number, or start year to help distinguish between series with similar names
2. Use IDs when possible — If you have VerseDB IDs (vdb_id) or ComicVine IDs (cv_id), add them to your CSV for exact matching
3. Check series names — VerseDB may use different naming. For example, "ASM" won't match "The Amazing Spider-Man"
4. Manual matching — On the review page, you can search for series and issues to match items manually

File Won't Upload

Problem: You get an error when trying to upload your file.

Check these:

Headers Not Detected

Problem: VerseDB doesn't detect your column headers correctly.

Solutions:

1. Make sure your first row contains headers, not data
2. Remove any blank rows above your headers
3. Use simple header names without special characters
4. Try saving as CSV with UTF-8 encoding

Import Stuck on Processing

Problem: Your import has been "processing" for a long time.

What to do:

• Small files (under 100 rows) should process within a few minutes
• Larger files may take longer, especially during peak hours
• If stuck for more than 30 minutes, try canceling and re-uploading
• Check your email for a notification — you'll receive one when processing completes

Conflicts During Update

Problem: You're seeing a "resolve conflicts" step when updating existing items.

This is normal. When you choose "Update" for duplicate handling and we find existing items, you'll be asked which values to keep:

• Keep existing — Don't change this field
• Use new — Replace with the imported value
• Skip all — Skip all conflicted items entirely

Wrong Data Imported

Problem: Items were added to the wrong list or with incorrect data.

Solutions:

1. Wrong import type — Delete the import and start over with the correct type (Collection, Wishlist, etc.)
2. Wrong field mapping — Check that you mapped headers correctly. For example, "Purchase Price" should map to price_paid, not notes
3. Date format issues — VerseDB expects dates in YYYY-MM-DD format. Other formats may not import correctly

Special Characters Display Wrong

Problem: Comic names or notes show strange characters like é instead of é.

Solution: Your file isn't using UTF-8 encoding.

1. Open your CSV in a text editor (not Excel)
2. Save As with encoding set to "UTF-8"
3. Re-upload the file

Still Having Trouble?

If you can't resolve your issue, we're happy to help.

Contact us and attach your import file. We'll import it for you directly.