diff --git a/app/ycode/api/collections/[id]/items/filter/route.ts b/app/ycode/api/collections/[id]/items/filter/route.ts
index 65ae6b44..6aeae66a 100644
--- a/app/ycode/api/collections/[id]/items/filter/route.ts
+++ b/app/ycode/api/collections/[id]/items/filter/route.ts
@@ -537,16 +537,16 @@ export async function POST(
       // then hydrate only the requested page window.
       const sortValueByItem = await getFieldValuesForItems(sortBy, true, matchingIds);
       const sortedIds = [...matchingIds].sort((a, b) => {
-        const aVal = sortValueByItem.get(a) || '';
-        const bVal = sortValueByItem.get(b) || '';
-        const aNum = parseFloat(String(aVal));
-        const bNum = parseFloat(String(bVal));
+        const aStr = String(sortValueByItem.get(a) || '');
+        const bStr = String(sortValueByItem.get(b) || '');
+        const aNum = aStr.trim() !== '' ? Number(aStr) : NaN;
+        const bNum = bStr.trim() !== '' ? Number(bStr) : NaN;
         if (!isNaN(aNum) && !isNaN(bNum)) {
           return sortOrder === 'desc' ? bNum - aNum : aNum - bNum;
         }
         return sortOrder === 'desc'
-          ? String(bVal).localeCompare(String(aVal))
-          : String(aVal).localeCompare(String(bVal));
+          ? bStr.localeCompare(aStr)
+          : aStr.localeCompare(bStr);
       });
       pageItemIds = sortedIds.slice(pageOffset, pageOffset + pageLimit);
       if (pageItemIds.length > 0) {
diff --git a/app/ycode/api/collections/[id]/items/route.ts b/app/ycode/api/collections/[id]/items/route.ts
index 7a1fcc98..d3d0bb90 100644
--- a/app/ycode/api/collections/[id]/items/route.ts
+++ b/app/ycode/api/collections/[id]/items/route.ts
@@ -126,19 +126,17 @@ export async function GET(
       } else {
         // Sort by field value (globally, before pagination)
         items = [...items].sort((a, b) => {
-          const aValue = a.values[sortBy] || '';
-          const bValue = b.values[sortBy] || '';
+          const aStr = String(a.values[sortBy] || '');
+          const bStr = String(b.values[sortBy] || '');
 
-          // Try numeric comparison
-          const aNum = parseFloat(String(aValue));
-          const bNum = parseFloat(String(bValue));
+          const aNum = aStr.trim() !== '' ? Number(aStr) : NaN;
+          const bNum = bStr.trim() !== '' ? Number(bStr) : NaN;
 
           if (!isNaN(aNum) && !isNaN(bNum)) {
             return sortOrder === 'asc' ? aNum - bNum : bNum - aNum;
           }
 
-          // String comparison
-          const comparison = String(aValue).localeCompare(String(bValue));
+          const comparison = aStr.localeCompare(bStr);
           return sortOrder === 'asc' ? comparison : -comparison;
         });
       }
diff --git a/lib/page-fetcher.ts b/lib/page-fetcher.ts
index d911a032..50633b30 100644
--- a/lib/page-fetcher.ts
+++ b/lib/page-fetcher.ts
@@ -1781,14 +1781,16 @@ export async function resolveCollectionLayers(
               sortedItems = items.sort((a, b) => {
                 const aValue = a.values[sortBy] || '';
                 const bValue = b.values[sortBy] || '';
-                const aNum = parseFloat(String(aValue));
-                const bNum = parseFloat(String(bValue));
+                const aStr = String(aValue);
+                const bStr = String(bValue);
+                const aNum = aStr.trim() !== '' ? Number(aStr) : NaN;
+                const bNum = bStr.trim() !== '' ? Number(bStr) : NaN;
 
                 if (!isNaN(aNum) && !isNaN(bNum)) {
                   return sortOrder === 'desc' ? bNum - aNum : aNum - bNum;
                 }
 
-                const comparison = String(aValue).localeCompare(String(bValue));
+                const comparison = aStr.localeCompare(bStr);
                 return sortOrder === 'desc' ? -comparison : comparison;
               });
             }