Acquiring used vinyl...is it worth hunting anymore?

I get what the original poster is saying... it's hard to compete with the pros who are in it for the money. I'm in it for the love of listening and discovering so I have backed away from getting to any sale near opening and take my luck at mid to end of day.

Folks also seem more likely to make a better deal later in the day and if its in the cards you will still find fun stuff. I find taking any competition out of the mix has added to the enjoyment of a regular good old fashioned hobby.

Hit a regular garage sale today, she was selling some for a friend, kept them out of the heat, inside, maybe some folks never saw them and walked away, I asked and there was still some great funk and soul for .75 a record. Hit another sale there were 3 boxes of broadway show tunes... most folks might have skipped the search, I found two Lennon, 3 mcartney and 1 harrison wedged in there.... Great fun.

 

M- Absolutely!!

 

I have done well at garage sales, but I also still have many basic catalog items to fill out in my collection. Over time I have noticed my desire to become more discerning and pay a bit more attention to what I am buying as the collection fills.

 

I remember back in the 80s/90s spending hours upon hours pouring over the vinyl at every garage sale, thrift store & flea market I came across.
Of course back then I was younger and single. Don't have as much time to do any crate digging.
When I find a good place for vinyl I do enjoy it as much. Especially when I have some good finds.
It's also good to be armed with the knowledge I've acquired over the years.

Darryl

 

Triple bummer. I had a feeling I should get over to the thrift shop today and check the records. But I had a busy morning at work and was unable to get out and over to the place until just before noon. At the record section I spotted a new box was out, but just a smattering of records in it, all clean from the 50s and 60s. I picked out 4 nothing special ones and went to the counter to pay for them (a dollar each). I mentioned to the checkout lady how I thought I might have been late to the shop, as I had a feeling someone had already been through the new box. She said "Yeah, some guy was in and just bought 71 records!"

I left feeling hollow and a bit depressed.

 

It's usually the scraps they left behind that I actually enjoy, Roxette, Simple Minds etc.
I left a 1986 Police-Every breath You Take (The Singles) and a Sting-Turtles, 1985 behind yesterday (both in gorgeous condition) for 5 each. Someone will appreciate them more than I, I hope. Unfortunately the damn re-bayers with probably snag em...

 

It's all about the hunt. I turn down more records because of the condition or price.
I love watching YT vinyl videos.
Although a lot of them are not to concerned about condition.
My favorite videos are the record convention ones. Like this one...



Darryl

 

IMO, of course, pickings are slim in Portland, OR over the past year. Prices are up too. That $8 VG 'All Things Must Pass' I got a few years ago is now $20 or more.

 

My tastes run the gamut, so I still find what I consider gems or interesting items to try without going bankrupt. Were I trying to find some of the most discussed items here in great condition for a steal, it might be a different story.

 

like the local store that wanted $35 for a vintage copy of Devo's "Q: Are We Not Men?" that was a solid VG+ all around. yeah sure, guys.

 

And it's not just the younger generation, either. I made most of my living for decades by selling used items, and have come to the conclusion that there are fewer and fewer people who want to own things, period. Yes, there are concentrated areas like here and some record shows where there are people who are interested and excited, but even there, there are an awful lot of folks in museum mode who just like to look and say "oh, that's cool" and walk on. Get out of those areas and put stuff out at general flea markets or tony antique fairs, and it gets worse - even when price is in no way an issue. I dumped literally tens of thousands of items (some of which were records) which I had bought to sell for pennies on the dollar in the past few years once I saw this coming, and feel better for it - especially when I talk to my friends in the various bizzes involved who have not yet dumped theirs. I used to keep listing stuff online forever on the long tail theory, but more and more I think the long tail is an illusion. The number of people who want to take it home (whatever "it" is) is shrinking.

 

Even the cities of Africa have been scoured of collectible records so while there will be scattered finds the cost benefit is going down rapidly. I have talked about this with a few record dealers of world music and they are losing motivation to travel to these places. When they do find a few collectibles the person whips out their mobile and quotes a retail price for them to buy it.

It might be worthwhile if you have tastes other than what is commercially hot currently.

 

there are some great deals to be had on Discogs, especially if you can play G-VG acceptably. To find somebody that does flat shipping and has a steady flow of material coming in, there are several I use that I regularly get a per LP price of 1-3 dollars if you spread the shipping over ten records.
If you figure the gas in for driving around, you cant beat that. Of course your not gonna find a first press butcher beatles, but then I don't believe too many of the stories of folks finding those in the wild anyway

 

In terms of looking in actual record stores, I find awesome records all the time. I found a Tony Allen record called Black Voices that was pressed years ago in France, with the bonus 12" for $11. This was maybe a couple months ago. I assume someone misread Discogs because that record should be expensive. Not astronomical but at least $30-$40. That's just the example that comes to mind but it happens to me a lot. Not grails necessarily, but really cool records that I want priced under market value.

 

Crazy. I got a NM- copy of that a couple years for like $10 and thought that was high for such a common album.

 

You do realize what board you're on, right?

Many people here won't accept records in that kind of shape, unless they are very old LPs that are quite hard to find in any condition. I know I personally have no use for common classic rock fodder in such shape. Even though I have a backup cart that can play those records while cutting down on surface noise in many cases, I still don't want them.

 

getting a VG plus or better copy fron the USA is gonna cost 50 or more on discogs, the 35 is now cheap if its a first press

 

I'm no Devo superfan. I'll have to check my copy to see how early it is. I do know that the album was pressed up A LOT after Devo had their big MTV hit - you can see how many versions are on Discogs and that may not even be comprehensive. I'm fine with a clean 2nd/3rd/whatever pressing.

Here is the one I'm pretty sure I have:

Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!

Median is $21 (High $40), which is more than what I'd personally pay for that album. Lots of price inflation on Discogs.

 

If they stink really bad like mildew or mold...stay away.
I have a local flea market seller who sells good clean glossy records for 50 cents each...none of them smell funny.
I say this because stinky records are a major turn-off.
The Record Connection in Niles, Ohio (McKinley Heights) has super-clean records for decent prices.

 

yea, finding mint records in the dollar bin is a long gone fantasy

 

A couple of dealers said to me recently that it is getting harder and harder to get good used vinyl because people are not parting with their vinyl like they used to. It was on the tip of my tongue to say ''ye don't offer much for them, that's why".
JG

 

yea, but keep in mind the median is backwards looking so when a record gets more popular its not gonna show up in the median until a lot of them have been sold at the higher price

 

If you are seriously looking for 8-tracks, our local store still has probably 30 or so titles, still sealed, from when his dad ran the store. I'm sure he'd let them go cheap. Except for the Marshal Tucker. He wants $8.00 for that.

 

The people who were going to dump their collections have mostly already done so. Now you've got to wait for someone to die, as morbid as that sounds.