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Tips for selling vinyl records

T

TunSalat

New Member
Hi
I'm about to sell a stack of 100 vinyl records I'm not gonna use
Very mixed music style. I think it's pretty basic stuff.. nothing exceptional or rare

What would be the best/easiest way to sell it?
Just one big list of titles and "buy it all for $500 or make an offer"?
That would be much easier and it would probably sell faster all in all (maybe)
Or should I look into what each album is really worth, writing down exact info about each record.. catalogue number, year, country, pressing, and list each album separately?
That would take long time and effort to do, and I could end up still having most of the records if nobody buys them
 
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I took about 400 albums to a record store and got $250 for them. Some albums are worth more than others.
 
I guess times have changed a bit. Maybe about 8 years ago I sold a bunch of albums for $50. They were nothing I really wanted, though playable. Classical, pop, jazz, and miscellaneous. Probably 100 to 175. They went in a day or two on CL. The more you want, and the more detail you provide, the longer it can take.
 
I feel like if you're going to sell them all together, you need to price them pretty low. A lot of folks aren't going to want to buy a bulk just to get a few titles they really want. Maybe pull out the ones that you feel are the most desirable titles, in the best condition and price them on the low side of what they go for on Discogs. The rest of them you can bring to a record store and see what you get. I imagine that you'd probably make more selling them individually even if you only sell a small portion of the lot...
 
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Ok. I think I will gather what seems to be the best (most wanted) albums and sell those separately at a bit higher but decent price.
Then I sell the rest as a stack for a low total price
 
What do you want? To sell them quick, or to get max cash? Max cash would be to clean each one, post it on Disogs and wait. Quick and dirty would be to take them to a record store.

IMHO, unless you have some special stuff, no one will give you $500 for 100 assorted records. Most people will want maybe a dozen from them, they will sell the rest. A true reseller will low ball you.
 
Mike_S said:
What do you want? To sell them quick, or to get max cash? Max cash would be to clean each one, post it on Disogs and wait. Quick and dirty would be to take them to a record store.

IMHO, unless you have some special stuff, no one will give you $500 for 100 assorted records. Most people will want maybe a dozen from them, they will sell the rest. A true reseller will low ball you.
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Yeah, $500 is a lot, particularly if they're mostly more common, less desirable titles and in less than great condition. I look for bargains, but I'm pretty picky about what I buy and even in these days of super inflated prices, I still manage to puck up lots of LPs for $5 and less (always in very good shape, because I don't likes listening to scratches and pops) and I never have to buy some big bulk for the privilege, where I'd be stuck getting rid of lots of records that I don't want and probably not recouping my investment.
 
Be smart and research what you have. Many albums are out of print. Clean copies of popular albums are becoming scarce. Try Barter Town here on AK. I occasionally buy from there, it has to be scratch free and excellent player though. My local second hand store has been getting what I dont sell or need any longer, they sell them for a dollar. If I want to work, I can make more money for the time involved, doing so many other things.
 
TunSalat said:
I picked out a few of the best and selling those a bit higher price, the rest goes for $100 total. Seems cheap and fair all in all
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Usually happens this way. Most know what they want, and they "hen-pick".

The "unwanted" go to the Goodwills...but even some of them won't accept as they know the Game.

I had round 250-300 45's (on a store swivel case) along with 200 or so LP's and received $300 from a record store. I left some better choices for them to take a look at...and they were in a hurry. Time is money for them when open.

However, I did keep the 45's that were of value. You might want to do the same in the way of "keepers"...just a few.


Q
 
Unless you feel confident in your grading abilities, sell in person so the buyer can judge for themselves.

I'm not confident, so I rented a booth in an antique/flea store. Every record I put in is cleaned on the Record Doctor and at least one song per side listened to and the Goldmine guide consulted before I decided on a price.

My average price is $5 for rock/pop records from between 1965 and 1990. The other sellers in the store ask $3 for undesirable things like Mantovani or Christmas records. One other guy has about a milk crate worth of rock albums (Springsteen, Zeppelin, Cars, Beatles). His prices range from $45-$300. Amazingly, he's sold some of them at those prices.

When my uncle died, my dad checked into selling his 5000 lp collection to a reseller and was offered $500. These were a mix of jazz and classical with maybe 70% jazz.

As others have mentioned, work goes into getting a reasonable amount, much less top dollar.
 
Not knowing your location or titles selling for one money is the easiest way.

You don't want to be stuck with the hard sellers after the cream is sold off.

Post and see what or if offers come. Don't be any hurry wait and see. Christmas is just around the corner and this is a good time of year for selling LP's.
 
stereofanboy said:
Unless you feel confident in your grading abilities, sell in person so the buyer can judge for themselves.

I'm not confident, so I rented a booth in an antique/flea store. Every record I put in is cleaned on the Record Doctor and at least one song per side listened to and the Goldmine guide consulted before I decided on a price.

My average price is $5 for rock/pop records from between 1965 and 1990. The other sellers in the store ask $3 for undesirable things like Mantovani or Christmas records. One other guy has about a milk crate worth of rock albums (Springsteen, Zeppelin, Cars, Beatles). His prices range from $45-$300. Amazingly, he's sold some of them at those prices.

When my uncle died, my dad checked into selling his 5000 lp collection to a reseller and was offered $500. These were a mix of jazz and classical with maybe 70% jazz.

As others have mentioned, work goes into getting a reasonable amount, much less top dollar.
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Montovani and Christmas records, as well as 101 Strings, Kenny Loggins, Barbara Streisand, etc records (and I'm not saying this as a judgment of musical worth) are worth exactly zero, as these are kinds of things that are difficult to give away... and I've seen many of the same in the free bins by the door of many used record shops.

I've seen those kind of classic rock albums going for crazy prices as well, which is extra-crazy when I think about how not so many years ago, those were the kinds of things that were rarely more than $10 and often much less. I have most of the classic rock titles that I'd ever want, but if there's any one that's I feel like I really need, I just wait until I find if for a good price and I usually do because those records are so damn common. It seems wrong to pay that much for anything that there are so many of in the world.

Your uncle's jazz records though, could be worth a lot, at least in today's market. If there were that many, surely a lot of them must have been rarer more desirable titles and those can go for big money. Most of the really old, really desirable jazz titles I have on LP are reissues, not rare original editions. The first pressings of lots of that stuff are really sought after...
 
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IMHO.....Always, always, always check the price of sold albums. There are some that you will look at like "Who is that!" that are obscure and worth a small ransom. I found out the hard way selling off older video games. Person bought my posting of 11 games and a like new PS1 with all the fixings. He messaged me after winning the auction to just ship him one game and keep the rest of the stuff. The one game was worth 10 times his bid. I did not do my homework. Not saying you will be able to retire on the sale....but do not overlook the extra $$$ you can put in your pocket.
 
If you have a record store near, that's a good option. My local store will take crappy ones for free to keep them out of the waste stream.
 
HB3 said:
I took about 400 albums to a record store and got $250 for them. Some albums are worth more than others.
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I intentionally did this for years. Flipping the money stuff on Ebay, or keeping it for myself. The OP needs to find a good local record shop. If I took those to Soundgarden in Baltimore that price sounds about right for what the OP is describing in clean condition. Assuming they are not the all Jim Nabors records. (I actually found a full shopping cart of nothing but Jim Nabors records once in a thrift)
The OP sounds like he doesn't know which contradicts the assessment made in the second sentence of the post.......
 
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