The Deep(er) End Of The Pool - Bulk LP Buy

[Dusty Ol'Man]

After reading the first page of comments, I have two questions for you to consider. First, and most importantly, if he is that close, why not invest a day to see the collection, and put your concerns to the seller? If he is a reasonable man he will see your points and understand your concerns. If he is a gold digger he will blow you off. In the first case you have a possible deal at a more reasonable price. In the second, you've lost a day to the venture.

Second, who told you classical titles aren't desirable? Some of us have rather sizeable classical collections with several different editions of the same pieces. A quality pressing of Sibelius is just as valuable as any rock/jazz/what-have-you LP to many. JMHO

 

[fuzzywobbles]

@Dusty Ol'Man Hey bud, not trying to dis classical LPs, rather just saying there is a smaller market for them than rock and jazz which means from a resale point of view they are less desirable

@Snow B I N G O, that's exactly my concern. But I suppose time is on my side on that issue.

@Slick Willie agreed. But doesn't look like he wants to do the leg work. That's where I come in.

 

[Slick Willie]

After reading the first page of comments, I have two questions for you to consider. First, and most importantly, if he is that close, why not invest a day to see the collection, and put your concerns to the seller? If he is a reasonable man he will see your points and understand your concerns. If he is a gold digger he will blow you off. In the first case you have a possible deal at a more reasonable price. In the second, you've lost a day to the venture.

Second, who told you classical titles aren't desirable? Some of us have rather sizeable classical collections with several different editions of the same pieces. A quality pressing of Sibelius is just as valuable as any rock/jazz/what-have-you LP to many. JMHO

Well, classical is difficult, so easy to find in the wild, limited following and the pressings have to be perfect....and correct. A very demanding audience.

 

[Slick Willie]

@Dusty Ol'Man Hey bud, not trying to dis classical LPs, rather just saying there is a smaller market for them than rock and jazz which means from a resale point of view they are less desirable

@Snow B I N G O, that's exactly my concern. But I suppose time is on my side on that issue.

@Slick Willie agreed. But doesn't look like he wants to do the leg work. That's where I come in.

Well sir, you are paying the price as if he did the work. As I see it, you may have a bunch of $5 lp's.

 

[91r100gs]

What Snow said

 

[fuzzywobbles]

Well sir, you are paying the price as if he did the work. As I see it, you may have a bunch of $5 lp's.

Could very well be. That's why I need to get them for around $1-$1.50 each.

 

[RJolly87]

My major concern is storage method, as someone else mentioned. I see a lot of records stacked on top of more records, not even counting what temperatures are doing in that storage unit, assuming it's not climate controlled.

 

[mistro]

It's a collection once it's categorized, organized and stored correctly, until then it's a commodity. One commands value, the othe commands pricing by the foot and not at $5+ per...

 

[Slick Willie]

Could very well be. That's why I need to get them for around $1-$1.50 each.

And IMHO, that's pushing it!!!

 

[Killer Fox]

If you still want to try to get it for dirt cheap eventually email him and ask a few basic questions. Now you have his email address. Check in occasionally after waiting some time with "follow up" questions. Spread them out over weeks / months. In the course of the slow motion conversation he may realize he's not going get what he thinks. My guess is this is a flipper. Wave cash at the right time.

 

[fuzzywobbles]

My major concern is storage method, as someone else mentioned. I see a lot of records stacked on top of more records, not even counting what temperatures are doing in that storage unit, assuming it's not climate controlled.

Agreed it's a concern, at a minimum a bargaining point and at a maximum a deal breaker if they did warp.

A couple years back I moved from AZ to IL in July. Packed up around 1700 LPs right snug in proper boxes and bounced them the whole way in the back of a moving truck. They sat in storage stacked 3 boxes high for about 2 months during the summer until we bought and moved into our new house. As they were packed properly there were no issues, and if anything a few with playable warps even flattened out. Who knows how this batch is fairing, but it won't necessarily warp them based on my personal experience.

It's a collection once it's categorized, organized and stored correctly, until then it's a commodity. One commands value, the othe commands pricing by the foot and not at $5+ per...

Well said Sir! Permission to quote you on that? You are spot on correct and that is how I intend to approach this guy, assuming I even get that far.

And IMHO, that's pushing it!!!

Yep, that's about as far as I am willing to go. I figure 4000ish re-sellable LPs out of 6000. 90% of which are likely worth $3-$5 with the rest more valuable (400 or so worth $10-$20 with a couple dozen hopefully worth a bit more). By the time I'm done cherry picking and upgrading I think there is still money to be made?

 

[johnebravo]

My major concern is storage method, as someone else mentioned. I see a lot of records stacked on top of more records, not even counting what temperatures are doing in that storage unit, assuming it's not climate controlled.

This, this, this. If they've been sitting there like that for an extended period of time, the pressure on the boxes on the bottom is really problematic. I would never, ever stack boxes of my records like that for any length of time. I don't see how you're going to check to see if records have been getting warped without actually taking them out individually and putting them on a turntable. A subtle warp is not going to be easy to see otherwise, but it probably makes the record worthless.

Moreover, if they've been in a storage shed, well, I spent 4 years in northern Illinois, and the summer heat in the midwest is not going to be good for boxes of records . . .

While there are some rare classical titles that are worth something, I think that the bulk of the classical listening community has moved on to CDs (perfect in the surface noise department), and it wasn't a huge community to begin with. I see tons of classical LPs going for next to nothing all the time at second hand record stores and thrifts, and no one really looking very closely at them. Beware of buying many of those unless you really know what you're doing.

I would say if you look them all over and they look like desirable titles and appear in excellent condition, $1 a piece in bulk is more than reasonable. (It's probably too generous, really.) But you're going to spend a lot of your own time and labor trying to sort, clean, and sell thousands of LPs.

Oh, and bring a strong back. I remember the last time I had to move my LPs there must've been at least 50 liquor store boxes of maybe 50-60 LPs a piece, and it was a ballbuster.

 

[Imanoldee]

Thinking oh this and seeing the photo.
I don't think this is the original 'collector'.
A lover of LP's would not put them into a storage locker.
Unless they were just moving and needed to do so for a very short time.
Someone pointed out the stacking of the boxes.
That leads me to think that again a serious collector would not store/ stack them that way.
The photo shows there is still space in there for smaller stacks.
Something is off with this collector.
More likely a family member.
Or a flipper that got them for a song some how.

You need to see them in person to assess the story.
I could think a serious collector and collection would be in poly outer and or inside sleeves at least.
At least on the more value, or cherished, LP's.
A collector should have put them in some kind of order as well.
Alpha, artist, genre and very likely with labeled separators. Something.
It they are random or semi-randomized box lots you need to find out why.

It looks more and more like some family member's problem, or a flipper's problem.

 

[hammr7]

I'm not as worried about condition as price. The storage locker could be in a building or otherwise climate controlled. Good packing boxes filled with with vertical albums can protect for quite a while, even if stacked two or three high. Its only when the boxes aren't full, or actually begin to fall apart that you get warp problems.

Given that the boxes are numbered, there should be some rhyme to the collection or some sort of master list. If there is no master list then you are definitely dealing with a flipper (or someone who got this collection cheaply).

I think you are optimistic about so many albums at $3 to $4 each. Just look at Barter Town, where so many popular albums go for that amount or less. And these are albums that have been cleaned, organized, and described for sale. And you get to choose which ones you want (and which ones you don't). Selling a large collection as singles takes a really long time. I have never been able to clean 50 albums in a day, and have never played even 20 in a day, so a collection this size might take a year or more to properly prepare for sale as singles.

I can see as many as 90 albums per box, or up to ~ 7,500 total. But I can't see ofering more than $1 each unless someone can show me an inventory, and maybe less than half of that if I wade in and find a bad mix of genres or lower grade albums.

 

[Slick Willie]

Agreed it's a concern, at a minimum a bargaining point and at a maximum a deal breaker if they did warp.

A couple years back I moved from AZ to IL in July. Packed up around 1700 LPs right snug in proper boxes and bounced them the whole way in the back of a moving truck. They sat in storage stacked 3 boxes high for about 2 months during the summer until we bought and moved into our new house. As they were packed properly there were no issues, and if anything a few with playable warps even flattened out. Who knows how this batch is fairing, but it won't necessarily warp them based on my personal experience.



Well said Sir! Permission to quote you on that? You are spot on correct and that is how I intend to approach this guy, assuming I even get that far.



Yep, that's about as far as I am willing to go. I figure 4000ish re-sellable LPs out of 6000. 90% of which are likely worth $3-$5 with the rest more valuable (400 or so worth $10-$20 with a couple dozen hopefully worth a bit more). By the time I'm done cherry picking and upgrading I think there is still money to be made?

Not sure if you have B&M or going web. Either way there are costs associated that must be accounted for.
Packaging/shipping/PP fees/Discogs & E bay fees/returns.
Also time to grade/list/take pics/type our descriptions/post/package/take to post..
Then with a B&M, those costs shoot way up!

 

[4-2-7]

Second, who told you classical titles aren't desirable? Some of us have rather sizeable classical collections with several different editions of the same pieces. A quality pressing of Sibelius is just as valuable as any rock/jazz/what-have-you LP to many. JMHO

And the record store would turn you away if you wanted to sell them, If the store is really big like Amoeba, they might pay .10 a title. Of course this is for the 95% of the titles not being worth much and hopefully they see some titles that are a bit more rare. But anyway the point was also made about supply and demand, there is a whole shit ton of classical cheap to buy and not many buyers.

 

[fuzzywobbles]

Thank you all for your thoughts and comments. Likely any offer I will make would be too low for it to get any traction given his asking price and the issues discussed so far. Regardless, your responses are appreciated. Keep em coming if you have more to add.

The seller says he's out of town through 9/19 so I will likely try and set up a time to see the stash of LPs in person shortly thereafter and will bear in mind much of the advise you all posted should I determine to make an offer and pursue them further.

Cheers,

Fuzz

 

[fuzzywobbles]

Not sure if you have B&M or going web. Either way there are costs associated that must be accounted for.
Packaging/shipping/PP fees/Discogs & E bay fees/returns.
Also time to grade/list/take pics/type our descriptions/post/package/take to post..
Then with a B&M, those costs shoot way up!

I would likely go on line sales here and on Discogs. The small town I'm from has zero places to buy vinyl or any music, so it always struck me as an opportunity to start a B&M shop with LPs, vintage gear and musical instruments but not sure I'm ready for that ATM. The closet places to buy music are about an hour away unless you count occasional finds at an antique mall. This would provide a bunch of inventory though.

 

[4-2-7]

That leads me to think that again a serious collector would not store/ stack them that way.

More likely a family member.
Or a flipper that got them for a song some how.

And they don't know the value of them or how to find the value. This can be good and bad knowing how high records are starting to go online. Start to pull out $200 U2 records pressed in the 90s-2000s at $175-$200 a pop, Speaking of POP that one just jumped in price, I have a few that I was buying a couple years ago for around $10
U2 - Pop (Island Records - 314-524 334-1) 2xLP, Album 1997 Uncategorized about 1 year ago $59.99 $90.00 $125.00

U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind(Island Records,Universal - U212, 524 653-1) LP, Album 2000 Uncategorized about 1 year ago $59.92 $119.85 $209.73

U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb(Island Records,Island Records,Island Records - U2 14, 986 817-2, U 214/986 817-2) LP, Album 2004 Uncategorized about 1 year ago $53.87 $95.98 $241.72

U2 - The Best Of 1980-1990 (Island Records, Island Records - U211, 524 613-1) 2xLP, Comp, RM 1998 Uncategorized about 1 year ago $45.98 $202.44 $326.31

U2 - The Best Of 1990-2000 (Island Records, Island Records, Island Records - 063 361-1, U2 13, U213/063 361-1) 2xLP, Comp, RM 2002 Uncategorized about 1 year ago $83.40 $110.61 $154.89



Looking at the open box we have A-Y so they are all mixed up. Seeing they are on pallets I think they were put on them like that for moving around and the boxes a pretty old. The numbers are on all sides so that the count can be see no matter how they where arranged. A one weekend estate sale wouldn't have done that numbering. These all could have been in a storage unit for a long time that someone bought, maybe the family is selling because the owner passed and they now have to clean out the storage unit

Ok Im a collector and as I said I get records pretty cheap and I buy many many dups when they are clean, always thinking someone else needs it and I'll start selling. Well that doesn't happen much and not compared to how many I keep buying. So my record libraries are all Alphabetized but I have boxes and boxes that are all random as I bring them home. This is a staging point to see if it's a better or unusual copy, pull stickers and clean, bag and file. But I still buy more than I can get to or have room for. This is an addiction and I keep buying but at least I own them and there here in the house....

 

[4-2-7]

More Images

David Bowie ‎– Low
Label:
RCA Victor ‎– CPL1-2030
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album
Country:
US
Released:
1977
Genre:
Electronic, Rock
Style:
Art Rock, Experimental, Ambient

• Lowest:
  $16.05
• Median:
  $33.50
• Highest:
  $50.00

Here's the sales page which has higher sales pricing with 35 copies
https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/59734?ev=rb