Selling vinyl to a used record store... what do you consider a rip off?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by Dave Thompson, Apr 11, 2019.

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  1. Dave Thompson

    Dave Thompson Forum Resident Thread Starter

  2. Joshua Hudson

    Joshua Hudson Forum Resident

    Whatever the market will bear.
     
  3. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Of course it is all about their own profit and maintaining (at the very least but hopefully way more) their minimum required markup.
    They have NO duty in regards price offered and they can choose to risk burning off future purchase opportunities with you.
     
  4. Phil Tate

    Phil Tate Miss you Indy x

    Location:
    South Shields
    "Altogether, about 400 items.........Then made his offer. $40 for the lot.........A quick calculation. That’s one cent per disc."

    Erm....
     
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  5. Fortysomething

    Fortysomething Forum Resident

    Location:
    Californ-i-a
    There's a lot of factors that go into buying. I get it.

    When I've asked about the particulars of an offer, I most often hear that either they already have copies of it, or the title isn't something that would sell to their customers. Fair enough.

    I have a few somewhat high value LPs now that I'm trying to decide whether I should take to a store. I know they might give me 25 percent of what I could get on Discogs, but do I do that and get guaranteed store credit/cash, or do I post on Discogs and wait for months or years until a buyer comes along?

    All that being said, there will always be cheapo buyers. They tend to buy everything (and their stock looks it, too) but offer almost nothing. Not a fan of those places in general, because it's questionable pickings on the other end, too.
     
  6. onlyconnect

    onlyconnect The prose and the passion

    Location:
    Winchester, UK
    A guy made a bad deal perhaps. His choice. He could have negotiated. He could have walked away. If there were a big instant profit there for the store, the offer would have been improved.

    In general though, people tend to overestimate what their records are worth to a dealer/store. A common mistake is to look at the value for mint, and reckon yours are worth that or nearly that. Even when far from mint. Another common mistake is not to be aware that buyers are after the first press, or the gatefold, or the poster and stickers, and yours is the wrong one.

    Second, dealers need a big margin. Holding stock is expensive. Carting it around is expensive and tiring. Some items may never sell. Some may sell and be returned leaving the dealer out of pocket for postage. Second hand stock is more risky than new stock, where you have some comeback against a supplier.

    Tim
     
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  7. It used to be 50-60% book value, but eBay and now Discogs has changed all that.

    Can't really go by eBay and Discogs valuations, at best Discogs median value can give an indication.
     
  8. onlyconnect

    onlyconnect The prose and the passion

    Location:
    Winchester, UK
    I do think there are ethical considerations with highly collectable items if the owner is unaware (same with antiques).

    Oddly enough, most of us here are delighted with a rare find in a charity shop or online that is priced way under what it could have been sold at.

    But if a dealer does this it strikes me as a bit different since the seller expects them to be professional.

    I doubt there is any comeback in law though. Say I go into a shop with my pile of old records including a near-mint copy of Bowie's self-titled album on Philips, and an original UK Island of Pink Moon by Nick Drake, but not knowing anything about them (perhaps they belonged to a deceased parent).

    If the dealer knows what they are and says, "not much call for these unfortunately" and offers £10 for the lot, is there any recourse?

    Tim
     
  9. Dave Thompson

    Dave Thompson Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I noticed that!
     
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  10. crispi

    crispi Vinyl Archaeologist

    Location:
    Berlin
    Maybe he should have spent a little bit more time on that quick calculation :)
     
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  11. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Guessing there's a "per" missing in there. ;)
     
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  12. Dave Thompson

    Dave Thompson Forum Resident Thread Starter

    That's where I draw the line. The part of the article I found most interesting (if it's accurate) is the description of the dealer simply flicking through the vinyl... so your earlier comment doesn't seem to enter the equation.

    If the dealer didn't at least look at each record individually, but just went by the titles, who knows what was in there? Presumably we could say the same for the singles and CDs, to which he apparently paid less attention.

    This is completely hypothetical. But let's say the store was busy, the dealer gave the collection a cursory glance, made an offer, and only later discovered he had seriously under-estimated its worth. The seller was apparently back in the store on at least a couple of occasions after. Should the dealer have pulled him aside, apologized and given him more credit? Or - as you also said...

    ... maybe private collections are a smart dealer's own version of the charity shop!
     
    onlyconnect likes this.
  13. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    I've been pricing items to sell at the record shows I've done (two so far). I use Discogs and eBay (sold items only) as a guide but I often discount those prices. I find that what people are getting online doesn't always translate to what people are willing to pay in person and to get a better price you have to be willing to sit on stock until that guy who will pay $25 shows up. If you want to move items fast & still get a decent amount on them you have to price a bit lower than online.

    With both Discogs and eBay you really need to look at the details of the sales like condition. Some Discogs prices make no sense; NM copy sells for $100, then another VG+ copy sells for $110. You have to look at the details and make allowances for weirdness IMO.
     
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  14. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    Yeah, saying "no, thanks" and moving on to another store.
     
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  15. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Natural no brainer
     
    Dave likes this.
  16. Dave S

    Dave S Forum Resident

    10 cents per disc.
     
    PM 1331 likes this.
  17. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    In Nashville, they used some website, and checked each album individually. I rarely ever walked out with less than a check for $100.00 or more. The one time I've sold a pile here, the woman looked them over, and after about 10 minutes, offered me a fair price, which I accepted. I found the difference interesting.
     
  18. sennj

    sennj I'm slower than I look...

    Location:
    Muskegon, Michigan
    I managed a record store for a few years while in grad school and I always tried to give a fair price. We wanted desirable titles in the store and were willing to pay extra for them. By and large, I found people were quite happy in dealing with us. The worst folks to have come in were the ones who hauled in a bunch of **** titles hoping to cash in on the "vinyls" revival only to be told to take their moldy, smelly poorly maintained wax back out to their car. Most thought they had a goldmine on their hands and were generally pretty upset to be told otherwise.
     
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  19. ArpMoog

    ArpMoog Forum Resident

    Location:
    Detroit
    A couple of stores around these parts could have been the store in this story.
     
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  20. mobility

    mobility Member

    Location:
    philadelphia
    i have many of my dad's, grand dads, my wife grandparents classics music and was offered next to nothing. knowing full well what they are worth. most buyers / sellers haven't a clue. don't act needy for fast cash. network with friends even non friends to see what what you have is a financial plus. do not take it personal if you are offered less then you think you should get.. it is not personal. that guy / girl whoever you want to sell to has an agenda. to make money on the low ball. don't be offended. that's what they are supposed to do. reach out to the in the know to find WHAT ! is worth WHAT! do your homework. i'm not the sharpest tool in the shed. i might be stupid but i ain't dumb. never overpay. family my wife passed away so i'm just venting.
     
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  21. samthesham

    samthesham Forum Resident

    Location:
    Moorhead MN
    Bottom line is you will never get a fair deal with any Brick & Mortar...

    I have been buying , selling , trading & serious collecting for 55 years & have never crossed paths with a store that gives fair prices on any buys...

    As a rule I don't buy anything that I won't keep & if I were to sell , it would be to individuals on line...

    Just my rules of the trade
     
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  22. Dennis Metz

    Dennis Metz Born In A Motor City south of Detroit

    Location:
    Fonthill, Ontario
    I’ve been trying to price some vinyl for a friend using Discogs. How do they arrive at the high and low prices? Are they using historic sales? In most cases the low end seems quite a bit lower than the lowest current lowest listing. He’s been selling off his record collection to a store and they’ve been giving him 50% of the low valuation.
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2019
  23. Dave S

    Dave S Forum Resident

    As far as know, they use historic sales. There are a number of things you must bare in mind:

    1) condition
    2) trends - are there upward or downward trends in the value of the item
    3) number of sales - sometimes there are so few sales, the high and low prices don't mean much

    If you are a discogs member, then you can look at past sales to get some idea of current value for said item. You have to remember stores aren't usually online sellers (unless the item is perhaps rare) and many of them want items to move quickly.
     
  24. Dennis Metz

    Dennis Metz Born In A Motor City south of Detroit

    Location:
    Fonthill, Ontario
    Thanks very much
     
  25. Raunchnroll

    Raunchnroll Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Many times I've watched customers come into a store with a couple boxes of million seller classic rock LPs - every one a bit ring worn + typical scuffs on the well loved records. And their shock at the offer. Not because its a ripoff offer at .25 cents a piece but because of their perception that on line they go for $15 to $30 a piece. Oblivious to the condition aspect.
     
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