How Much is That Used Album Locally?

If for example......I was new to collecting Classic Rock vinyl. I'd probably just buy the reissues that are available and not pay inflated prices for any run of the mill used US pressings in VG condition. Finding mports, unusual pressings or truly mint examples at a fair price is another story.

 

I thought I found a nice copy of Purple Rain for £1.20, but the vinyl was wrecked. Nice sleeve though. Might frame it one day.

 

Personally I'd say that excellent original copies of the first four, the "Black Album" and any of the 1990s ones are all worth at least £20+ on vinyl and getting more difficult to find, I'm just glad I bought them all at the time, the original pressings are generally very nice only beaten by the 12" versions.

 

That’s about right for my neck of the woods (Philly)

 

you can pick up copies of Thiller here for £1 daily

 

Next time I'm at my local I'll check and let you know.

 

I've observed sharp increases in used records over the last four years in the US (no new news here lol) but in my experience it has been pretty consistent across the board. California, Texas, Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania...the highest prices where in Florida. Overall common rock albums remain around $8-$15 while the more popular staples are $20-$25 and way beyond for DSOTM, Thriller, Back In Black, Zeppelin, Sabbath, Tom Petty etc.

Record fair dealers in my city seem to all (rare exceptions aside) place maximum NM- discogs prices on everything including VG/VG+ little to no room to haggle. I have stopped going to every show like I used to.

What would I do if I was pricing? I would place the albums at $5-$10 less than the sold value on discogs including shipping and offer a discount when buying 2 or more albums.

Profit isn't a bad word but gouging leaves a bad taste.

 

It also depends on which local. Some dealers price to go, to create fast turnover. Stereo Jack's near Harvard Square, as of the last time I went in, always were very reasonably priced. Others may charge the highest price they see in an auction price guide. Some sellers are conservative with their grading. Others, not so much.

I was recently in a shop with a copy of The Chi-Lite's greatest hits. I'm not kidding, there was some sort of food, paint, gook, along with some light scratches. He had the price at $10, figuring that after the buyer somehow cleaned it, it would probably be okay.

Checking EBay, with clean copies going for $20-25, with all the work that would be required to remove the stuff on the album, that should have been a $2 record, or the store owner should have cleaned it himself and gotten more money for it. He only had spray alcohol and a cloth to clean records.

 

Somebody will have paid $10 for that record. The market is like that now. Doesn't matter how beat up the record, if the title is desirable then someone will buy it.

 

There was so much crap on the surface, it almost looked like a Jackson Pollack. I would have attempted to clean it with an enzyme cleaner, and then another deep cleaning process. And there'd be no guarantee that it works.

 

One of the few purchases I've made that I'm ashamed of now is Thriller for $20 a few years ago. Just stupid. There are like 20 million copies! Dumb!

 

Bruce $15 Thriller $40+ (and sells within a 1/2 hour , always ) Dark Side $30+ (and sells nearly as fast as Thriller ) Huey $5 , VU $30 , sells fairly quick , Supertramp $7 or so

 

Prince stuff all starts at $30+ and sell as fast as Thriller

 

What I find discouraging in used record stores is not so much the price (it increases regularly) but the fact that there is no turn over in the bins...the flood of constantly guys (or divorced wives) came in a record store to sell a collection is long gone...some years ago, I became nervous if I didn't go to the used records stores in my town two or three times a week..;I thought that I had sure miss something...nowadays I only go two or three time in the month and I don't think I miss something at all...

 

Not necessarily the case around me. But often the choicest stuff is going onto EBay by the store owners. Last year, a store owner bought a collection of Mosaic jazz LP box sets. Wow, I thought!

Unfortunately, they were from a smoking home. Major turnoff. Too much work for me to rid a box and vinyl of the smell.

 

At the used record store I frequent the albums range anywhere from 6-$10 for most single lps...with most around $7. Double/triple albums range anywhere from 8-$12...with the occasional rate pressing that would go for around $20.
Most of there records would grade out at vg++, but I have snagged a few that were nm. If course I look at everyone I'm interested in under a bright light or sunlight for scratches that may be hard to see. Of course if I ask they'll always play the record for me.

 

I was lucky 10 years ago. I scooped up piles of classic rock from the dollar bin. It was all the Breakfast in America you could eat . I got Bernie's Aja. Seger, Springsteen, ELO, Frampton Comes Alive. 80's. The entire Squeeze Catalog, All the right pressings in VG+ or better condition. Dozen's of titles. This was when reissued vinyl was just getting nuts. People were purging their old "outdated" pressings for new ones. I jumped like a leopard at the booty. Zeppelin, Stones and Floyd for $5-10.

Now, all these records are going for 5-10 times that. In far worse condition.

 

Yeah, it’s not just that the prices are rising. It’s that the condition of the records is declining. A lot of what’s for sale for $7-10 and up now would have been in a dollar bin 10 years ago, not because it’s an undesirable title but because of condition. And back then you could find very nice condition records in the dollar bin too.

 

A record in decent condition at my local store typically goes from $7 to $20. There is also the shelf at the front of the store that has $35+ records (I’ve seen records by Kiss, Jimi Hendrix, and Alice Cooper there).

 

I'm assuming you're taking about (comparatively) garden variety reissues of VU and Nico for $20 bucks ... if you're seeing originals here for $20 I would like to know what store I'm missing

 

that has been my experience too

 

yea--the re-issues ...

 

I'm not usually the "I sure miss the good ole days" type of guy. But when it comes to buying used vinyl, I sure as Hell miss the good ole days. I would say some of my best purchases were between 1999 to 2007. Here's some I remember......
Pink Floyd- The Wall, tml stamped US beautiful copy $5
Led Zeppelin II, RL ss on both sides vinyl vg $4
Led Zeppelin I, @GP both sides 1974 issue $4
Yes- The Yes Album, Broadway label $2
Led Zeppelin- Coda, sealed $4
Santana- s/t, columbia 2 eye $3
Fleetwood Mac - s/t (1975) Kendun $3
Pink Floyd- The Dark Side Of The Moon, US Wally cut $4 with poster
Traveling Wilburys- s/t $5
Blue Oyster Cult- found their first nine albums for $2 each
Deep Purple- Machine Head, $2
Allman Brothers- Live At Fillmore, pink Capricorn $4
There are many more, but you get the idea.

 

This is what happens to me, the price is usually equal and it's easier to find info about reissues. So I'm more inclined to buy highly regarded..."Rumours" reissue for $25 than an impulse run of the mill "Rumours" pressing for $20. I dont find record stores here to be very cheap; a highly regarded NM, VG+ album like "Thriller" seems to be almost $15-20 everywhere.

 

Hey Arkoffs, definitely reissues. Sound about right to you? (Hard to average out between Strictly, MadCity, Half Price and PrePlayed...) seemed about what I'd expect to pay for a 70s/80s reissue.