| Author | Message | ||
     Ewan Talisker McEwan Member Username: Ewan_mcewan Post Number: 453 Registered: 02-2008 |
By which I mean the actual dollar value of them...what's the best way to determine the collector's value of an LP or CD? Buying too much, I end up trading a lot of stuff, and always worry that I'm letting some treasure go too cheaply. In fact, I nearly did that with a Jellyfish box set, that's apparently worth a coupla hundred bucks. I tried looking at the Goldmine site, but it's pretty worthless.... Any other ideas? | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1269 Registered: 08-2006 |
I dunno if this would give you a very specific dollar amount, ETM, but checking for similar used items on gemm.com and, to a lesser extent, Amazon would at least give you a sense if something was selling at above-normal prices. Like I said, you may not get an exact valuation, but it might save you from selling something potentially valuable. Just for example, I looked up the Feelies "The Good Earth" and there's an LP version on there selling for $110 (and a CD version selling for $368 - WTF?). That knowledge would certainly stop me from unloading my copy at the local used store for $5. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 1433 Registered: 10-2004 |
Ewan, I think Ebay is probably the best way to go. By looking up items whose auctions have ended, you can see what people are willing to pay for certain items. Prices on Gemm.com are often inflated beyond comprehension, so I wouldn't go by that. Ebay has some of that, too, but at least you can see what people are actually willing to for some of this stuff. Amazon can be good, too, like Rob mentions. Also, popping into your local 2nd hand record stores can sometimes give you an idea of what stuff is selling for. | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 874 Registered: 08-2004 |
Ebay might be a good way of reflecting current trends. But the vagaries of internet auctions can be of little use when 2 people with too much cash end up bidding on the same thing & the rule book goes out the window. Over here we have Record Collector magazine & their huge annual price guides. Unfortunately they mainly feature 99% Uk releases. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 1434 Registered: 10-2004 |
Jerry, it's true about Ebay - sometimes said people with too much cash inflate the true value of some hard-to-find records. But, if you've got a stack of stuff you'd like to sell to your local record shop, you might want to take out that spare CD copy of "Good Earth" or whatever, and sell it on Ebay. It can be helpful simply knowing that people on Ebay *will* pay more for it than the record store would ever give you, even if it's less than the gazillion dollars some yuppie paid for it last week. Sounds shocking, but I know from experience that buyers in record shops often don't realize the worth or scarcity of some of the items that pass under their noses everyday. Every year or so I usually take in a stack of stuff to Amoeba that I don't like or has aged poorly, and I always take a gander on Ebay beforehand, to see if I can get more for some of the rarer records. | ||
| Ewan Talisker McEwan Member Username: Ewan_mcewan Post Number: 454 Registered: 02-2008 |
Helpful info - thank ya'll... I was curious about that, Jeff: Will Amoeba, since they're not scumbags, alert you to things that have higher, "collector values"? Based on your post, I'm guessing not. It'd probaby be too onerous for them to have to keep up with... | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 1223 Registered: 09-2006 |
I'd agree that some buyers in record stores aren't aware of the value of what they're assessing, but I'd say there are still more who over the years have trained themselves to put on a cherubically innocent face while claiming your Beatles butcher cover is worth peanuts. I'd also agree that even though it's a bit more work, selling stuff yourself on eBay (or Half.com or Amazon Shops or...) might be the way to go. Instead of getting the small percentage of the price that they're going to turn around and sell it for, you get all the money. About 8 years ago when I was going through a couple months of unemployment I was able to keep myself afloat very nicely that way. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 1435 Registered: 10-2004 |
Ewan - the knowledge of Amoeba's buyers varies wildly from person to person. Amoeba's buyers have a structure in place ($$ for LPs in great condition, etc... regardless of scarcity) and they only make exceptions for stuff that's really obviously rare and worth something, like the butcher cover. So, if you have something obscure (like a Louis Philippe EP I bought from Amoeba for $4 and sold on Ebay for $50), they're less likely to be aware of the item's worth. So, while they're not scumbags, they're not all super knowledgeable about every single genre. | ||
| Ewan Talisker McEwan Member Username: Ewan_mcewan Post Number: 455 Registered: 02-2008 |
Sounds like eBay is the way to go...I get hung up on describing the item's condition, though. I take pretty immaculate care of all my discs and assorted media, but, particularly now with all the cheaper packaging which is so prevalent now - cardboard sleeves in lieu of jewel boxes - it's hard to avoid getting the occassional faint, barely visible scratch on the odd disc. How do you finesse that? They're pretty much mint, in excellent condition with the barest of flaws, but not technically perfect...Do you call them "like new", "near mint", or do you wimp out and use the far less appealing, but safer, "acceptable"? | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 1436 Registered: 10-2004 |
Ewan, I'd say "near mint" or "like new." If a CD has the faintest of scratches or scuffs, just stress that it plays fine and you'll refund the buyer if he/she has any problems. I'd only use the term "acceptable" with a CD if it has more obvious scratching, buy still plays fine, and/or if the case/sleeve has kinda seen better days but isn't trashed or anything. I suppose the best way to go is to put everything up on Ebay, and schlep what doesn't sell to Amoeba. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1799 Registered: 03-2005 |
"Very good" is the usual designation for something that's entirely serviceable but is visibly used. I recommend it. "Near mint" or "like new" mean what they say; I wouldn't use those descriptions for anything that has gotten some decent bit of use. "Acceptable" is damning with faint praise. It would mean to most people that it's borderline crap. As an eBay buyer, I don't look for perfection. I want complete and unscrewed-up inserts and art and I want the disc to play perfectly of course. If the jewel case is scuffed (or even cracked as often happens with shipping) I just swap it for a new one. My favorite dealers--but these are a small minority--are the folks who swap out the jewel case for a new one themselves. I've had this happen a couple times in the past half year. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 2679 Registered: 05-2005 |
Its a good question. I suppose the worth of secondhand vinyl, CD's etc, over time, like shares (dare I say it,) can go up or down, probably down then!. It really depends how popular the artist is at the time of sale/purchase.There are some artists who will always remain collectable, but even they will suffer at the hands of remastering/re-releases on CD or any new digital format (I was obsessed by Scott Walker in the 80's, still like him now, but his releases on vinyl sed to go for at least £40-£50 a pop, but when his back cat was rereleased in early 90's, the value of his collectable back catalogue dropped, quite considerably, the album that was worth £50, was nowadays available for £10, I think Scott Walker albums were just really rare, and people were relived to have his stuff so they could hear it, I think same for his CD's, it meant people had complete access to all his material, something that was denied to his fans for a long time). A friend of mine ran a successful record shop years ago, called HQ in the centre of Birmingham, the bedrock of its business was its mail order arm, that had built up over the years, selling/buying to dealers and joe public. Most of what was sold was regular release stuff, but sold fairly cheaply, then there was the 'collectable' stuff. Around say, late 80's, then early to mid 90's, I had often worked the record fairs for HQ, the regular stuff would fly off the stall, most of the rare collectable stuff was usually sold dealer to dealer before the stall had opened. The guage to the potential value of something, I think was probably determined by dealers and owners of indepenedant record shops, and in turn by the magazine - Record Collector. For years this magazine was the bible for collectables, not only records, cd's etc etc etc, but memorabillia. I think it was run by people who loved music, dealers and journalists and who had an interest in the resaleable aspect of things, like antique buyers /sellers I suppose. The auctions/set sale items were placed in categories originally, and by browsing the various lists, you'd be able to see a pricing structure emerging, you know, for say New Wave singles, albums, you'd be able to build up a rough approximation on something's worth by seeing what that item was going for in many lists from many sellers. BAck to the HQ shop. Again, early 90's U2, Prince and Pet Shop boys acetates would be worth small fortunes, I remember acetates going for a tidy sum, sometimes £100-£200 a pop. These guys were really popular then. Now, you probably would only get a third if that for same pet SHop Boys acetate today. So its that in and out of fashion thing that drives the market I guess. The indie market, the lovers of Belle and Sebastian and so on, those releases seem to be very collectable, those artists are definately 'in' at the moment, there are hardcore fans around who WILL PAY TO HAVE THEIR STUFF, then consequently they drive the price up of the back catalogue of the artists that inspired the likes of B&S in the days of youre, such as dare I say it, postcard or the group felt for instance. Wheras prior to B&S being on the scene, Felt's releases never really went for much, apart from the first single/album release, the rest of their back catalogue always went cheaply, but being namechecked by the new indie kids on the block would drive up Felt's value, quite considerably. ebay seems the way to go in order to get a feel of something's worth, as Record Collector has like most publications, lost its place. Everyone's defected to ebay! I think ebay selers, who are rated highly etc, as jeff says, check what something eventually went for and you are on the right lines. The only prob I have witnessed using this type of approach, is that it must depend on who is looking for stuff at that time too. I have bought rare cd's, that went for half their usual collectable price, probably because the collectors were'nt browsing at that ttime! So, a bargain! Other times, that particular CD would go for a lot of cash. There's an element of luck with purchasing on ebay I guess. Amazon does seem to be full of unscroupulous sellers, prepared to set the bar very high, whereas the actual release, if your patient could be bought reasonably priced on ebay, via dealers, collectors or joe public. The other day I found a cd, by Doves, its caled The Sea ep I think, I thought, i don;t want this CD anmore, popped on to ebay and its going or has gone for £30, so that seems to be the bar. Then looking on Amazon, some people have it for sale for £80. Jeez, I'm knackered now, sorry if i ahve ranted, i probably lostthe plot for this thread from the first senetence, much prefer talking round a table in the pub, me! | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 2680 Registered: 05-2005 |
One artefact that was sld by HQ years ago, via mail order auction, was MORRISSEY's typewriter! What he wroteh the first sinles and first Smiths albums on. I actually saw the typewriter andthe letter of authenicity that went with it, type by Mozzer himself. It was a funny letter actually, he wrote it with the potential new owner inmind, making it kinda personal! Then hw ent on to talk about how the owercae a didn't work ver well etc, it was typical dry and funny. The tyepwriter went for I thing over a £1000. This was I think '95. Now Mozzer went off the ball since then, so worth of said typewriter probably fell, then he re-emerged, fatter, with new unfounded commercial success again in 2004, and, I suppose the typewirter is probably, to the right collector.fan, double what it was 10 years earlier. I think there was a t-shirt or a photo in existance of Mozz with typewriter in his arms on sale years ago... | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 876 Registered: 08-2004 |
There's a sliding scale for vinyl & sleeves condition. Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor & Bad. I wouldn't bother selling anything Bad, unless it's a Michael Jackson picture disc. Yeah Spence, the Doves E.P. is a case in point. A lot of those current bands debut E.P.'s were very limited issues, like Elbow, Editors, Coldplay, Keane, Badly Drawn Boy etc etc etc. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 1438 Registered: 10-2004 |
Jerry, yeah, that's more or less the "Goldmine" standard you mention, that a lot of people claim to use but which in reality is open to wild interpretation among on-line sellers. Grading vinyl accurately is a huge problem on Ebay and other sites. These days, I won't buy vinyl from a seller who doesn't have absolutely perfect 100% feedback, and even then there can be problems (I do expect perfection when it comes to vinyl, though, so I'm picky). I've had my share of transactions when an LP advertised as NM or EX turns out to be Good or Fair. And let's face it, any LP advertised as "Good" is going to look like it's been used as a cat scratching post, so the terms we rely on for grading vinyl are often meaningless. Most sellers grade the vinyl visually (probably out of necessity, lack of time, obviously), but vinyl grooves can contain damage not seen by the naked eye. All it takes is for someone to play an LP a few times with a stylus made out of lava rock or something to render it completely unlistenable. Even a seemingly innocuous hairline scratch can result in the most annoying and audible tick every time the needle passes it by. So, I try to be super careful and highly selective when buying vinyl on-line. And as a lot of the records I like get older, it becomes increasingly difficult to find them in near mint or excellent condition. That's especially true of 60s records. I've found that when I do stumble on that elusive 60s copy of a Left Banke or Love or Zombies record, it's invariably thrashed, so in some cases I'm resigned to getting the CD. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 1224 Registered: 09-2006 |
I don't think I ever used those designations when selling my stuff - I just gave a detailed, honest description of the item's condition and then people could decide whether they wanted to go for it or not. | ||
| Ewan Talisker McEwan Member Username: Ewan_mcewan Post Number: 459 Registered: 02-2008 |
Be honest? That way surely madness lies... Seriously, great info. Tanks, all of youse. I'll be forwarding along a cut of the proceedings to everybody... | ||
| Ewan Talisker McEwan Member Username: Ewan_mcewan Post Number: 460 Registered: 02-2008 |
Er, that would be "proceeds"... |