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. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!"

    Location:
    Canada
    Yep. Probably the best "deals" I've found on used Beatles vinyl in the stores were the $3 Canadian mono original Yesterday And Today I found on my honeymoon (the LP itself was at least VG+ condition but the bottom of the cover needed a bit of sellotape) and the $12 original Love Songs LP I found at my local a while back that they knocked down the price of because of one insignificant scratch on one of the sides (you can't even hear the scratch). Best online deal I've found was a $10 "lot" on eBay consisting of original mono US Rubber Soul, Something New, Beatles '65 and Sgt Pepper- the records themselves were in excellent shape, but again, the covers needed some taping up.

    I think I got lucky with those ones, though. Sure as hell you don't come across bargains like that with Beatles LPs every day these days.
     
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  2. Giorgio

    Giorgio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Varese Italy
    Ah. same in Italy!
    Lucky you US guys...
     
  3. telepicker97

    telepicker97 Got Any Gum?

    Location:
    Midwest
    Fyp
     
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  4. CCrider92

    CCrider92 Senior Member

    Location:
    Cape Cod, MA
    Prices at record shows and in the stores have risen dramatically in the past few years. Just reporting, not complaining.
     
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  5. vinylbeat

    vinylbeat Forum Resident

    You got some nice deals there. But I'm pretty much done purchasing any US Beatles vinyl. Unless it's a very rare item that I can re-sell or use for trade, I usually pass. Original UK, German or Japanese pressings are what I collect......and it's not getting any easier or more affordable to add those type of Beatles records to my collection, that's for sure!
     
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  6. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    Vinyl is what these stores are making money on right now. Prices are still going up from what I’ve seen...no matter what the quality is. CD’s are being outsold by cassette at one of my main local shops...that’s how pathetic CD sales are.
     
  7. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!"

    Location:
    Canada
    Yeah, I'm starting to think that my parents called it right back in 1985 when they said, "Oh, CD's aren't gonna last...":laugh:
     
  8. MrSka57

    MrSka57 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse, New York
    A couple of years ago I paid $27 for a NM/E orig Capitol stereo Sgt Pepper at a local store.
    A couple of weeks ago the same store had a fairly trashed copy for $28.
     
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  9. Uglyversal

    Uglyversal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney
    It's a mixed bag. May are probably going down because so many re-issues but if you are ordering online because postage just keeps going up and up it might remain the same or cost more in total. I know I rarely buy from the US these days as most US sellers on ebay are asking me from US26 to 40 to send a single LP that may cost 20 or less. It no longer makes financial sense for me to pay that, it has to be something I want badly.

    To put it in a different way for me cheap LP's in total cost have gone up by a lot. Expensive LP's depends, there's up and down.
     
  10. Easy-E

    Easy-E Forum Resident

    What you need is a US 'agent' to get stuff sent to and when there is enough send a bigger shipment over
     
  11. Jack

    Jack Senior Member

    I’m trading in a big stack of albums (Stones, Beatles etc) and hope to get some good store credit at my local b&m. People will pounce on them I hope.
     
  12. Uglyversal

    Uglyversal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney
    I thought about it and I even used a service of the kind once but I am not sure how much of a saving I get (my understanding) is that often within the US postage could be nearly 10 by the time I repaid the re-shipper and take into consideration that I might not know whether some of the records are dud or not and the window to lodge a complain may pass I am not sure is worth it the extra step. I am currently buying mainly from Japan and it has worked better, there are some records were I would prefer a US pressing but it is just becoming too costly.
     
  13. Aftermath

    Aftermath Senior Member

    I saw a copy of Something New at my local brick and mortar for $125. So I don't think prices are going down in this neck of the woods.
     
  14. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    I do the same. You're right...the shipping is terrible. But since I live about $10 in gas there and back to my local used stores, I factor that into the cost. Then I justify the rest through convenience!
     
  15. nosliw

    nosliw Delivering parcels throughout Teyvat! Meow~!

    Location:
    Ottawa, ON, Canada
    Here in Ottawa, prices for the usual suspects for classic rock is generally around $20 used on average, usually on the VG+ or so. I distinctly remember Judas Priest records going for $6-8 at one of my local record shops about ten years ago, which now go for $15-$20 beyond Ottawa. And most classic metal records tend to disappear extremely fast, irrespective of price and condition.

    And buying used records online is very expensive as well due to shipping costs.
     
  16. vinylbeat

    vinylbeat Forum Resident

    That seems high even for a NM mono copy! But I haven't been up on what American Beatles records are going for in over 10 years.
     
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  17. I think there are at least three different worlds:

    1.Record Stores: Floyd, Zep, Sabbath are the big three that can command $15-$25 for common used or new, Beatles are hit and miss, many other things common or rare to the rock era don't necessarily sell thru walk in traffic, but need either Discogs, Amazon or eBay

    2. Discogs: Great cross section reduces prices on common stuff, and inflates truly rare

    3. Ebay/Amazon: Isolation can lead to overpaying
     
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  18. Scroller

    Scroller Hair Metal, Smooth Jazz, New Age...it's all good

    I think it's fine and dandy that the used shops are capitalizing on this wave of interest in vinyl. What disturbs me though, is that condition does not seem to be factored in as much when determining the price. Shop owners, employees and record collectors/sellers should know better and it bothers me. Just yesterday I saw a used copy of Hotel California for $19.99. I didn't check the condition of the record but the jacket was barely VG-. The only conclusion I can draw is that people are actually paying these prices for this stuff!
     
    Last edited: May 28, 2018
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  19. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!"

    Location:
    Canada
    My local record shop is about three blocks from my house, but ever since I discovered Discogs whenever I find an LP I'm looking for at the store, if it's not an obvious deal I always ask myself: "Is it cheaper than if I were to buy it on Discogs?" and that's factoring the $15 or so for shipping. And the hell of it is, a lot of the time I end coming down on the side of Discogs. Being able to walk into the used record stores here (not as many as there used to be) and finding a bunch of LPs usually for about $5 or, at most, $10 each was a long time ago now...those were the days!:D
     
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  20. Fender Relic

    Fender Relic Forum Resident

    Location:
    PennsylBama
    What you described really disturbs me too. There are jack-holes all over the place over-pricing without a clue of condition. Sometimes you have to get in their face about it and if they're reasonable they'll give a more realistic price. Just this week I asked for the manager at a B&M and explained what I thought was an over-price on a used LP and he agreed and gave me 50% correction. That's the kind of store I'll revisit and support if they're willing to listen to reason and negotiation on used inventory per condition.

    If real estate is location, location,location then vinyl should be condition, condition,condition.
     
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  21. Yes, indeed, Condition is Everything!

    Yesterday, I went to a store that I hadn't visited in a while, because mostly the condition of the vinyl is usually meh. This visit the vinyl was better, but the prices of the better were $15- $25, but related copies in good to fair had risen to an average of $10 -$12. I realize for this small retailer his prices were relative to what he is getting in, and what sells.
     
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  22. nosliw

    nosliw Delivering parcels throughout Teyvat! Meow~!

    Location:
    Ottawa, ON, Canada
    From my experience and the records I'm looking for, I buy a lot more used records at whatever shops I visit locally or elsewhere than through Discogs. If anything, I use eBay a lot more for records than Discogs.

    But what you mentioned, doing a price comparison between a record store and Discogs, after shipping, is a good idea.
     
    ohnothimagen likes this.
  23. Prices for classic rock Lps are on the rise. A few years ago you could get many common records for $1.00 or less in good condition. I've built most of my collection at the cost of $.60 to $2.00 each, on ocassion maybe paying $3 - $5 for certain titles, but generally under $2.00. Now you're lucky to find anything that isn't trashed for $5 or less! I rarely purchase records anymore, but yeah some of the artists mentioned like The Cars and Hall & Oates were always easily found in good condition for $1.00 at all the record stores in the tri-state area.
     
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  24. Raunchnroll

    Raunchnroll Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Railing at the economy or market is like railing at cloud formations. A waste of energy. The market does what it does. If a VG- record is priced at whatever and sells..... its not overpriced. I sometime buy rarities in Fair or Poor condition. Sometimes the record still sounds great; sometimes the cover, inner sleeve, or inserts are good and help complete a nice condition copy. Theres a thousand reasons to buy records that dont look good.

    Factor general inflation into the picture. Prices of almost everything rise every year, so its relative. Todays $6 record is yesterdays $3 record. All classic rock titles are now 40+ years old. They were handled (or mishandled) back in the day. Most underwent a disinterest-storage phase where they were not taken care of. While a million copies of Fleetwood Mac's Mystery To Me may have sold back in the day, truly clean ones are suprisingly scarce. Maybe 1 in 50? And its still a popular album. Every shop seems to know of the younger music fan who comes in looking for that cool song that goes "....you got me hypnotized...."

    Records are like good books, posters / prints, etc. The iconic and legendary - especially if in pristine condition - will continue to fetch higher and higher prices because their numbers are dwindling, and all it takes is one or two people (out of the worlds billions) who want it. You can get a copy of a classic in paperback at the local used book store, but if you want a NM 1st edition with a NM dust jacket, get in line and pay.
     
  25. Six String

    Six String Senior Member

    Like most collectables prices depend on many factors though supply and demand are usually at the top of the heap. It's also very regional dependent as well, sometimes due to local cost of living (San Francisco vs. Sacramento for example. Jazz lps typically sell for less in Sacramento vs San Francisco, expecially artists who are less known or of the edgier variety. Original, i.e. first pressings of classic rock albums in great shape, especially with posters, booklets that came with them drives prices up quite a bit. I've noticed that Zeppelin albums have come down a lot since the reissues unless they are first pressings in great shape, same with Floyd. I'm one of the old geezers with a large collection so I'm not competing for these classic rock records but I look sometimes just to see what the market is doing.

    Another factor I have noticed since the resurgence is new stores are selling at higher prices than older well established stores, especially if there isn't much competition. These new store owners can sometimes be paying higher rents and other costs associated with starting a new business and there may be a few that think selling used vinyl is the new goldrush. I visited a town north of San Francisco to check out an old established store and while there learned there was a new store in town. It was in a popular part of the old downtown with lots of trendy shops and while the selection was decent, the prices were out of line imo. The old established shop had a deep selection with better prices. Guess where I spent my money? The same is true where I live. The older stores have very good prices and the new shops are in areas with higher rents so the prices are up and selection is not as good. Some shops price to sell, some are priced for that big payday. The problem is that if your customer base isn't flush with cash you aren't going to move as much product on a daily basis and you have daily expenses whether you sell one record or fifty.
     
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