UK Charity (Thrift) Shop CD Hunting

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by MC Rag, Jan 17, 2016.

  1. AveryKG

    AveryKG Sultan of snacks

    Location:
    west London
    Good grief! That Jessie J mask is just so wrong in so many ways. Good job you didn't buy it… your lovely cat would have run away, never to be seen again.

    Just remembered another UK charity shop staple… Sarah McLachlan. Now I like Sarah but I do sometimes wonder "How the heck did I end up with ten Sarah McLachlan albums in my iTunes?" The answer is I bought all but two of them from charity shops.
     
  2. Nick Dunning

    Nick Dunning Forum Resident

    In my area the charity shops are generally wiped out by dealers or 'experts' before anything gets to the public.

    Some of them come into the collector's record shop I work in to buy stock. true! we undercut them.
     
  3. Gibson67

    Gibson67 Life is a Magical Mystery Tour enjoy the ride

    Location:
    Diss, UK
    I did pick up a copy of Revolver, a first pressing for £8. It's got more scratches than I can count but the jackets ok. I don't risk playing it, but it's a cool thing to own!
     
  4. Gibson67

    Gibson67 Life is a Magical Mystery Tour enjoy the ride

    Location:
    Diss, UK
    Also recently found a Simple Minds "Don't you forget about me" picture disk, I paid £0.50 for it and sold it for £20, nice bit of business.
     
    AlmostHeavenWV likes this.
  5. Alistair

    Alistair Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Yorkshire
    I don't really bother with the Oxfam or BHF shops. I look for the local charity shop, staffed by volunteers. One I go to every Friday afternoon at 2pm. They have a man who comes in a on a Friday morning to price the weeks donations. He checks condition and is quite strict. Some weeks it's all rubbish but sometimes there will be some quality. The most expensive price is £10. No matter what. Last year I bought 4 Bert Jansch albums all original pressings £5 each. He also removes the inner sleeves that are in good condition from the junk he skips, 10 for £1!
    I have visited Oxfam shops etc, they must price by looking on line, however they have no regard for condition. The best days for charity shops have gone, but like everything wait patiently and they will come around again.
    I went to a Donkey sanctuary last weekend, they had a selection of books and records for sale, found a nice Canadian Hunky Dory for £1.
     
  6. Leepal

    Leepal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Swindon, UK
    I have occasionally (not recently though) found albums for 50p or £1 that had a book price of £10 to £20, but a low numbered mono White Album or solid blue triangle DSOTM? Nope, not a chance!
     
  7. minibreakfast

    minibreakfast Forum Resident

    Location:
    Suffolk, UK
    Great blog! I get mostly CDs in charity shops these days, except for Easy Listening and Lounge of which there is no shortage. Most of the vinyl I get comes from car boots: Car Boot Vinyl Diaries
     
  8. billy1

    billy1 Forum Resident

    The number of times I run into this one is spooky - they should have been massive.

    [​IMG]
     
  9. Brummie

    Brummie Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    It will soon be car boot season again now that the weather is changing. Whats the price like at car boots and at least you can haggle unlike at a charity shop unless you have no shame.
     
    JP Christian likes this.
  10. qwerty

    qwerty A resident of the SH_Forums.

    And slightly off-topic: The most common book find in op shops here is "50 Shades of Grey". Was in a Salvos a while ago and they had an entire bookshelf full of them, all appearing to be in mint condition. I read a while ago that many op shops are refusing to accept copies, as they have so many and they don't sell. I would much prefer it they were rare records in mint condition.
     
    domfjbrown and Lost In The Flood like this.
  11. carrolls

    carrolls Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin
    When I go into a charity shop in small Irish towns especially in the west of Ireland, they seem to have a lot of the early CDs. Especially classical.
    I tend to pick up a lot of the chart CDs in charity shops and quite a few original CD's from the 80s, for example, Toto IV, Thriller, Faith, Private Dancer, She's So Unusual, Innocent Man. etc.
    A lot of 80's soundtrack CDs too.
    I picked up a lot of the Polydor Abba CDs this way and they are only too willing to give them away for €0.50 a pop.
    Music-Magpie have cornered that market in the UK, but not in Ireland yet.
     
    Reamonnt likes this.
  12. Alexlotl

    Alexlotl Forum Resident

    Location:
    York, UK
    My local booty is usually £1 per CD for genuine family sellers, 50p per CD from house clearance lots, £2-or-3-for-£5 from semi-traders and £3 on up from proper traders. You can indeed haggle and bundle to your heart's content.

    It's a very happy hunting ground for me, can't wait for the season to start again (April 1st!).
     
    therunner likes this.
  13. Mister President

    Mister President Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I found an original Argentinian copy of Revolver from 1966 for £1 this year. That's my only success.

    I know a couple of people who work one day a week in charity shops, usually sunday's when it's quiet. They pick out the good stuff and sell it for a lot more money at vintage markets...good for them I guess but I personally think it's a tad off.

    I know a Sue Ryder shop near me and the prices are criminal...cheaper top go to Harrods. Old typewriters for £200????????
     
  14. JP Christian

    JP Christian Forum Resident

    It's been years since I went to a car boot sale - must get back in the habit again!
     
    domfjbrown likes this.
  15. Jim B.

    Jim B. Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
    I've given up.

    There was a good one that closed down, it had a lot of vinyl of I would get some good stuff now and again for pennies.

    But Oxfam are a joke now. I saw a Fall single in their window so went into check it out - they wanted £25 for it! It was probably warped in the sunlight but anyway I could get one off Discogs mint for that price (and it wasn't mint).

    Charity shops used to be fun now it's just like anything - another place to rip you off.
     
    Man at C&A likes this.
  16. Giant Hogweed

    Giant Hogweed Senior Member

    Location:
    Exeter, Devon, UK
    Mostly what I find in charity shops vinyl-wise is Paul Young's 'No Parlez'! I can't be bothered to look through the vinyl anymore so try my luck with the CDs, after trawling through the Oasis, Spice Girls, X-Factor stuff etc I sometimes find a bargain.
    We have a really good tip shop here which is full of crates of CDs for 50p each, recently picked up;

    Macca - Pipes of peace (1993 CD)
    Divine Comedy - Absent Friends (2 disc version)
    Bob Dylan - John Wesley Harding

    so a bit better than the normal fare.

    My best buy was a copy of the Floyds 'Division bell' guitar tab book for 50p, it sells for really silly money on amazon so sold it for £35 - I didn't think anyone was going to realistically pay hundreds for it.
     
  17. Fender Relic

    Fender Relic Forum Resident

    Location:
    PennsylBama
    I've done very well in thrift store vinyl and that in only the past 5 years. It helps that there are a dozen or more stores within a 20 mile radius including two that are within walking distance of my home. There's been a change in the past year or so as a few of the stores have got hip to the vinyl craze but in most cases they don't know much and haven't raised prices. Although, in talking to the manager of the closest store to me she mentioned Blue Notes one day. I asked how she knew about them and she said they were discussed at a managers meeting that week. So,they are on notice about certain things but overall clueless as to condition or titles. The crate digger competition has tripled or maybe more than that. I see folks of all ages hitting the records and surprisingly middle aged women and teen/college hipsters in droves. I miss the old days when it was just a few shabby old farts like myself doing the digging. I still hit thrifts regularly but the finds are dwindling and two of the best stores closed recently and they had the best prices....29 cents per LP and 45's 3 for $1.
     
    Cassius likes this.
  18. OobuJoobu

    OobuJoobu Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yorkshire, UK
    I never seem to be able to find this one in charity shops, can't think why...

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2017
    beccabear67 and Andrew J like this.
  19. Giant Hogweed

    Giant Hogweed Senior Member

    Location:
    Exeter, Devon, UK
    "Hiding in plain sight".....yikes......
     
  20. oxenholme

    oxenholme Senile member

    Location:
    Knoydart
    I have picked up immaculate copies of Rumours (Capitol pressing, superb), Oxygene, Fernando Germani at Selby Abbey (HMV stereo), various Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass (Pye stereo) lps for £1 or at the most £2 at the charity shop in Kendal marketplace, though I think they have transferred records to their Lancaster branch.

    It's pot luck.
     
  21. minibreakfast

    minibreakfast Forum Resident

    Location:
    Suffolk, UK
    This shop got so many copies they built a fort! Charity shop begs women not to return used copies of Fifty Shades of Grey
     
  22. Mister President

    Mister President Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    Saw an original press Bud Powell Blue Note yesterday in a charity shop. I thought I might be on a winner as it was only £4 but then released the record looked like it has been used for target practice, run over my a train then had a party with a pair of scissors.

    Do they not realise that people have to PLAY these things?
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2017
  23. Moray

    Moray Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glasgow, UK
    Just one time I wish it was Spirogyra and not Spyrogyra. Maybe one day.
     
  24. JQW

    JQW Forum Resident

    There's currently at 8 charity shops here, all carrying a selection of CDs, with most also carrying records. I tend to visit two or three of them every week, and visit the rest at least once a month.

    Recent acquisitions all from one shop include several jazz titles for about £1 each, and the first recording of Philip Glass's "Music in 12 Parts" for £3. The same shop can be expensive for other titles - they've currently got the recent Rick Astley CD in their window at £4.99, despite the fact that you can pick up a new one for a penny more from the nearby branch of Sainsbury's!
     
  25. JQW

    JQW Forum Resident

    One local shop recently had the first two Beatles albums under their counter marked at £20 each. I asked to take a look at them, and both were in a really bad shape, badly scratched, torn sleeves, with With The Beatles also missing its inner sleeve.
     

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