Second hand vinyl - are prices for classic rock going up, down or flatlining?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by back2vinyl, May 27, 2018.

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  1. willboy

    willboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wales, UK
    I rarely buy used or visit charity shops these days, not just because of the iffy condition and prices they tend to charge, but also due to the latter rarely having stuff I'm interested in.
    That said, the other day whilst on her travels, my wife popped into a charity shop and chanced upon 5 original UK Rory Gallagher albums and 1 German reissue. All in superb condition and for the princely sum of £16. Would have paid at least £120 for that little lot on ebay.
     
  2. sonofjim

    sonofjim Senior Member

    I think you have the right idea for these times. That Blodwyn Pig record (Ahead Rings Out, I assume) is an interesting listen. You inspired me to pull out my copy this morning. I really enjoyed it.
     
  3. slop101

    slop101 Guitar Geek

    Location:
    So. Cal.
    Yeah, now they're pricey. About 15 years ago, I got a great Who's Next vinyl for $5 and Physical Graffiti for $10 - both of them clean '70s pressings. NOW, those would go for way more, even if you account for inflation. That's the point.
     
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  4. Fender Relic

    Fender Relic Forum Resident

    Location:
    PennsylBama
    Half-Price Books is one weird, frustrating store due to inconsistency. Most stuff is over priced by condition or rarity and yet, I've found some amazing deals. 90% of the time I leave talking to myself....why did I waste my time...again? 10% of the time I leave saying....I can't believe I got that deal! I really always feel dirty when I shop in that place especially if I sell them something. They pay next to nothing but I will sell if they're having a promo where you get a 10% off coupon for anything you sell to them.

    I've found the key to doing well in these types of stores is knowing the employees and their vinyl skill set. I am familiar with about 10 employees at one HPB just from being in there as a customer and talking with them or overhearing deals they're making with other customers and mindless chatter they do between themselves as most employees do to combat the boredom of their day. Most of them know next to nothing about vinyl so if you're selling to them they are didactic with their offers. There was one young girl that looked at my records and apparently they trained her to offer 25 cents for everything/anything. I had some nice titles in there that they'd put out for at least $10 so I didn't do a deal. Another day I got an assistant mgr. type guy who had vinyl hipatude and we'd discuss certain titles and he'd price more fairly/accurately. Naturally,I'll look for him at the evaluation desk.

    At another HPB type store, who will also do trades in addition to cash,I make out real well sometimes. In fact, one time I had a rare oddity sports related LP and I told the clerk, who was a hip dude, that it was a rarity so he looked it up on his phone. He expressed interest not only for the store but himself. So he asked me what I came in to purchase and I told him the new Van Morrison box set of It's Too Late To Stop Now which was, IIRC, around $30-40 at the time. He offered to trade almost even up so it was a win for me that day as I paid a quarter for the sports LP at a yard sale.
     
  5. Cronverc

    Cronverc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn,NY
    Funny You should say that. There's a guy at Manhattan's flea market selling records, dirty worn covers, some ripped. Prices 15,20,25 dollars, if you try haggling with him he takes it as personal insult.
     
  6. vinylbeat

    vinylbeat Forum Resident

    Fleamarkets and thrifts used to be great for finding used vinyl cheap. Those days are pretty much over. You're better off shopping at a reputable record store, show or eBay these days........ usually!
     
    Shak Cohen, Cassius and phillyal1 like this.
  7. uzn007

    uzn007 Pack Rat

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    I recently picked up Who By Numbers, Odds & Sods and Who Are You for $4 each. Clean 70s pressings.
     
    aoxomoxoa likes this.
  8. e.s.

    e.s. Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    It doesn't have anything to do with "newbies" clueless or otherwise -- the vast majority of people buying music, regardless of format or how long they've been at it, have very little in common with the average member of this forum.

    More to the point, the resurgence in vinyl sales -- both new and used -- is on a far larger scale than this forum, which is filled with members who don't buy or listen to vinyl.

    Also, speaking of clueless, learn what the word "fad" means. Anything in its 12th year of increasing popularity falls well outside even the broadest definition.
     
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  9. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!"

    Location:
    Canada
    $20 bucks for a Beatles record 'round these parts is just about average, I'd say. On the low end. And sometimes they write "RARE" on the pricetag for a 70's reissue copy.
    Nope, I'm gonna say you nailed it:cheers:
    Bet yer bippy they will. They do.
     
  10. Arkay_East

    Arkay_East Forum Resident

    Location:
    ATX
    HPB is a diggers quagmire. It takes about fifteen minutes to really scour the bins and it’s around the corner from my favorite shop or I wouldn’t even bother. And yet, I found a great copy of Otis Redding’s The Soul Album there a couple weeks ago in VG+/NM condition for $20. A couple weeks before that, I found a sealed Ralph Stanley record from 1971 for $8. Before that, a VG+ copy of Sweet Revenge by John Prine for $7. Otherwise, it’s $20 for Savoy Brown records in VG condition or worse. It gets bizarre.
     
  11. greelywinger

    greelywinger Osmondia

    Location:
    Dayton, Ohio USA
    At HPB, I pay more attention to condition than price.
    If I'm not happy with the condition (vinyl & cover), then I won't bother.
    I don't care if it's $2 or $20. Price also has a lot to do with it.
    Saw a mint copy of this for $20 at HPB.

    [​IMG]

    Might have considered it for $8-10 (but not $20).

    Darryl
     
  12. Arkay_East

    Arkay_East Forum Resident

    Location:
    ATX
    I hear you. I think my expectations in general just tend to be lower at HPB. It is unusual for anyone on staff to really understand record pricing. Much less grading correctly and the relationship between the two.
     
  13. vinylbeat

    vinylbeat Forum Resident

    HPB's lack of pricing/grading knowledge kind of worked for me when I found a VG++ Led Zeppelin II Robert Ludwig pressing priced at $14.99. That was 5 years ago however, so I don't know if that would happen too frequently these days.
     
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  14. Sear

    Sear Dad rocker

    Location:
    Tarragona (Spain)
    A lot of clueless sellers they think they have the Holy Grial or something and they're selling stuff at outrageous prices just because it's vinyl
     
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  15. n.phelge

    n.phelge Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas
    Last year at one of our HPBs, they had a note on a price sticker stating "Rare RL Cut" for $30, and it wasn't even an RL. It is truly hit-or-miss with HPB.
     
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  16. Exit Flagger

    Exit Flagger Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    I may have seen the same guy at Brooklyn Flea last summer. Rows and rows of records that looked like they were kept in a garage for decades. Pulled out a copy the Cure's Faith with a torn back cover. Inside the record had a huge gouge across side two. Price? $15! At another stall the dealer let people try out records before buying with an ancient, dirty cheap portable record player. Yikes.

    Like someone said above, I still browse thrifts and garage and estate sales but only buy rare records that I find cheap. In the past month I picked up John Martyn's London Conversation in mono on Island for $1 (!) and Bridget St. John's Ask Me No Questions for $2. And these were in picked over stacks at estate sales and thrift stores after people left clutching their scratched up copies of Led Zeppelin IV.
     
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  17. uzn007

    uzn007 Pack Rat

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    There's a record dealer at an antiques mall near me who had a little portable turntable to check the records on and it wouldn't even sit flat on the table he was using, i.e., I could never get more than three of the four "feet" to touch the table at one time, and I even tried moving it around a little.

    Yeah, it's still usually worth checking, even if the pickings are slim... at the place I mentioned, most of the stock is like Capitol Beatles LPs that look like they were used to play hockey ($10 - $15 each) but I also found a nice clean copy of Some Girls with one of the original covers for $10.
     
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  18. greelywinger

    greelywinger Osmondia

    Location:
    Dayton, Ohio USA
    I rarely check out thrift stores anymore because I'm almost always disappointed by the condition of vinyl/covers.
    Last one I found in great shape that Iadded to my collection was this one...

    [​IMG]

    Darryl
     
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  19. Escalon

    Escalon Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Germany
    As others have said, in the UK prices have been going through the roof with no end in sight. Including in charity shops for the good stuff - even when it's in terrible condition (look no further than a famous charity's shop in Glasgow - they must be kidding with their prices for some VG condition, at best, lps)
     
    Shak Cohen likes this.
  20. It's Felix

    It's Felix It's not really me

    Yes - I agree. 4 years ago Oxfam in Marlow were selling most LPs for 2.99 - The Cure, Cocteaus, NY etc etc. Now they are regularly up to 15£ Even old Billy Bragg LPs were in there this week at £9.... joke pricing. It is a shame - the flow through has dried up and the pricing has gone bananas
     
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  21. norliss

    norliss Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cardiff, Wales
    I really envy our North American friends and their thrift stores. Here, the "charity" shops are absolutely dire. It's usually like someone has flung the entirety of the late aunt Doris' record cabinet into the corner of a shop. Or occasionally, you get a shop that has a few titles of potential interest but the condition is woeful and the pricing (based on that condition) is a joke. Knackered copies of widely-available 80s albums for £10GBP. Honestly, looking for vinyl in charity shops round here is almost completely pointless.

    Books are not so bad. I picked up a 1978 edition of Stephen King's "The Shining" for 20pence recently. It even appears to have flecks of blood (I kid you not) in the first few pages and at random intervals throughout....
     
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2018
  22. jicerswine

    jicerswine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Got a feeling it'll be a long time before that starts...
     
  23. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    It's not much better here. That ship had sailed some years back....similar situation to what you had written.

    What's interesting is that I'll lightly scan the vinyl section today (as I've basically given up now) and focus more on the used CD's.
     
    Tommyboy likes this.
  24. jicerswine

    jicerswine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Obviously higher demand has driven prices up, but I also wonder if the new "revival" has caused many people to keep their collections that they probably would have otherwise sold by now? Either hoping the value rises even more or just excited by the re-emergence and wanting to actually play their records again?

    Either way: in my experience, and coming from a smaller city as opposed to expensive places like NYC or LA, best way to grab cheap vinyl is just patience. Once in a blue moon you'll find a well-preserved, sought-after pressing in a dollar bin; sometimes that might mean sacrificing w/ a torn up cover or something but worth it for the music itself
     
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  25. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    You get the same garbage over here too. Nothing to envy
     
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