Question about the price of used vinyl.

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by Oscillation, Mar 14, 2021.

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  1. Oscillation

    Oscillation Maybe it was the doses? Thread Starter

    I'm trying to be patient but if I can't play the golden road soon I may freak out!
     
  2. Oscillation

    Oscillation Maybe it was the doses? Thread Starter

    Jesus all the original dead albums are insanely priced. Now I feel like I got a bargain on my 1969 Aoxomoxoa for 80 bucks.....I'm definitely waiting, I'll build up my classical collection which is a freaking bargain by comparison.
     
  3. Warand Pain

    Warand Pain Forum Resident

    Location:
    Earth
    All classic rock and good metal stuff is insanely priced nowadays.
     
  4. drbryant

    drbryant Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    I can only marvel at the price increases in vinyl over the past few months. It is across the board - audiophile, jazz, indie, pop. Part of it is older fans in lockdown discovering their old favorites, part of it is wealthy folks, looking for something new in lockdown and finding it in high priced classical and jazz recordings, and part is young collectors, proudly displaying their suitcase record player and colorful collection of 25 vinyls.

    All that new demand is coming up against supply shortages caused by completely overburdened pressing plants. As a result records that are still in print rocket in value as soon as they are out of stock, and you have tons of people waiting for represses. This is affecting all new releases and many standard catalogue items. For anyone scared of inflation, this is how it starts.
     
    Warand Pain likes this.
  5. Quakerism

    Quakerism Lean into what frightens you.

    Location:
    Rural Pennsylvania
    The supply of used vinyl is regional and seasonal in my area. Demand has been constant, not off the charts but reliably consistent with all ages buying. Across the board any piece unless it is trashed from these four - Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Black sabbath and Led Zeppelin...will sell or trade immediately. Sparsely pressed late ‘80s and early ‘90’s vinyl is remaining in good demand.

    As in all transactions, it’s the relationship that matters. Developing a history of honesty and integrity with an asset like vinyl records where condition takes time to determine, is important both to the buyer and seller. I chose to deal mostly with other collectors and record store owners on a personal level and keep online transactions to a minimum.

    If you go into a brick and mortar and they also do online sales, you won’t find their best stuff makes it out very often. Shipping is the wild card. But all in all prices for most used vinyl remain steady or are creeping up. There are exceptions where the prices have skyrocketed. Buying vinyl one piece at a time is the most expensive way to go about it. If you are having it shipped to you, bundle several purchases from one seller to cut the shipping costs. Establish relationships and cut deals for the best value. Buy collections.

    Most of the high end rare stuff is going to be traded privately anyway. Right now there is a lot of windfall money out there that will find its way into the used vinyl market. Competition for nicely preserved examples will be tough. Prices will remain steady or continue to climb this spring and summer. That’s my opinion for what it’s worth.
     
  6. NettleBed

    NettleBed Forum Transient

    Location:
    new york city
    It all varies depending on what titles you're looking for, but I've mostly put buying used items on hold for the past year (due to the price increases, mostly) and have been focusing on new. Not just new titles, but there are many quality reissues out there, depending on what music you're into. The new stuff today costs the same as it did a couple of years ago, so that's where the value is. Especially since new runs are, almost by definition, limited edition and will cost more in a few years.
     
    cwitt1980 likes this.
  7. cwitt1980

    cwitt1980 Senior Member

    Location:
    Carbondale, IL USA
    I would like to point out that most used stores don't have people coming in and just dropping off records for pennies anymore. I'd assume stores have to pay more for their used product so those prices are going to be higher. With the boom in vinyl, it seems a majority of people want the classics. When someone walks into a store and wants to sell something that they know (or think) warrants a high value, I pretty much have to find the pressing on Discogs with them there, tell them the values, and strike a deal with that information. It's kind of a domino effect. Everyone is a dealer now and no one is just getting rid of vinyl in favor of a compact disc.

    I realize this doesn't answer the OP's question but I felt it should be stated as another reason why a lot of classic albums keep getting more expensive (especially in good shape).
     
  8. fretter

    fretter Forum Resident

    Location:
    PA
    The bargain bins at independent stores still have some nice used listening copies. The drawback for me is that it's the same stuff they had 20-30 years ago, when I bought what I liked. I'm in the same boat as the OP. If you're looking for something specific, especially a record that didn't go platinum, it's going to be in the pricier sections. Even there, however, listening copies can be found for the price of a new record, which is still cheaper than collectors' prices. Out-of-print reissues from this century already demand collectors' prices.
     
  9. Brian Lux

    Brian Lux One in the Crowd

    Location:
    Placerville, CA
    That works well for eBay, but on Discogs it's not so easy. For example, look at this Ziggy listing:
    David Bowie – The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (1972, Vinyl)
    It shows:
    73 For Sale from $34.23
    But then when you look at the for sale listings, the lowest is £24.99
    David Bowie - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (Vinyl, UK, 1972) For Sale | Discogs
    And the lowest U.S. is $117.25
    David Bowie - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (Vinyl, UK, 1972) For Sale | Discogs

    So when I see that I have to ask, OK, how accurate is the sales history? And is the lowest, medium, and highest really USD? Or pounds? Or Yen?

    :shrug:
     
  10. Warand Pain

    Warand Pain Forum Resident

    Location:
    Earth
    This. Really it exploded. I was thinking 5-10 years ago, soon i will buy all the missing common records like Judas Priest and Black Sabbath, because can get them for 5-15 like usually, but then this happens. I wont pay the overpriced stuff, it is not about the money but principle. "this is British Steel and i paid 35 bucks for it..:" NO NO and NO.
     
    fretter likes this.
  11. drbryant

    drbryant Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    OK, so maybe you were wondering who in the world bought that used $2 copy of Jackson Browne’s Lawyers in Love, or that beat up $1 copy of Jefferson Starship’s Earth that was in the bargain bin?

    I found the answer. PS - no hate. I love the fact that this young woman is enthusiastic about going to used record stores and having fun with vinyls.

     
    Warand Pain likes this.
  12. Warand Pain

    Warand Pain Forum Resident

    Location:
    Earth
    The starting point of those new "vinyl" people is so much different...
     
  13. Echoes Myron

    Echoes Myron Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I bought a used copy of Led Zeppelin I a while back for $20.

    Under the price sticker was an old sticker from the same store with date. The date was blurred but it was late circa 90s/early 2000s (I used to shop there).

    The twenty-years-ago price? $1.
     
    Dave S, Veronica Mars and Brian Lux like this.
  14. greelywinger

    greelywinger Osmondia

    Location:
    Dayton, Ohio USA
    Asking the seller a question can be revealing how how the transaction will go.
    I asked a seller new to me about a promo 45 my usual ? for my first transaction
    Any writing or stickers on the label.
    Now I don't expect it to be perfect (It's graded VG+),
    but this will give me an idea whether they will include this type of information in their listings.
    I will also help with future purchases from said seller.
    I got a response back that due to their volume of business they do not play grade.
    I wasn't asking them to play grade.
    I just want to know if there is writing or stickers on the label.
    Takes about 2 seconds to look.

    Darryl
     
  15. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I have a Near Mint rarely played UK British Steel on ruby red vinyl - original CBS pressing. It must be worth over $100 now. Always kept in polybag, so it's super clean. Asking prices are getting out of hand. But it is mostly because people trash their records. Things are not so common anymore because folks do not know how to take care. There used to be all these nice clean NM copies on the used market, and now it's harder to find them and the condition is VG+ more often.
     
  16. Warand Pain

    Warand Pain Forum Resident

    Location:
    Earth
    I paid about 7€ + postage for mine, same 80s red vinyl version. In around year 2015. Edit: It is actually Killing Machine album, i always mixed those two. In last two years, been too much demand and LP prices going crazy.
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2021
  17. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Yes, "Killing Machine" is correct for UK. I collect colored vinyl. So I saved some copies still sealed. Rush Hemispheres on Red vinyl from Canada I have with stickered shrink sealed. That is a 1978 limited pressing. The same thing, when I do the big sell-off of the nicer things, prices are going to be really high. Nothing under a hundred for these types of items because they never got any play.

    What is 7€ in US dollars about?
     
  18. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Record dealers can be very bitter and rude. I was told that this is due to several factors. Record junkies in general are not the most socially skilled folks you could meet. But the main reason is that if you worked it at used stores and swap meets buying up items, you could turn around and make 400% profit monthly. And about 14 years ago, those avenues dried up. The cheap buys were hard to come by, these guys no longer could make $3,000 a month flipping used records with little to no overhead. They turned bitter, and hate answering questions, and never had good salesmanship skills to begin with. Socially they were duds anyway.

    So I have always tried to be extra helpful, and friendly when answering potential buyer's questions. Once in a while I have said, no thanks, I don't need your business nor the hassle I can see coming. There are buyers who will drive a seller nuts over a $3.00 LP that is already well described.
     
  19. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    But does she really love the music, and the way it SOUNDS on vinyl?

    Btw, the forum majority detests the use of the term "vinyls" as it is improper. You don't want to come off as the newbie in this video (which I think I watched a while back).
    PS - no hate.
     
  20. Nephrodoc

    Nephrodoc Forum Resident

    I frequent 3 local stores, and 2 of them give me 20% off without even asking. I usually buy a handful of stuff every visit and have been going since they opened up.
    Yes, prices are up quite a bit compared to pre-pandemic but nowhere near what discogs and eBay lists stuff for. It does seem to be slowing down, and my stores shelves were bursting at the seams.
     
  21. drbryant

    drbryant Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Exactly the point of my post since people are discussing the rising prices of used records. She doesn’t know who Jackson Browne is, will never listen to the records but bought used copies of Late for the Sky and Lawyers in Love.

    I’ll be careful not to say vinyls. Oh damn, I said it again!

    It’s like the stoning scene in Life of Brian.
     
  22. Warand Pain

    Warand Pain Forum Resident

    Location:
    Earth
    About 9 USD. In the past there was so much cheap metal stuff in the US. Table is turned and now all the last drops of affordable stuff is in the mainland Europe and UK. In the 90s Heavy Metal was dead in the US. I know guys who literally picked up 1$ copies of Seven Churches and US-pressing of Iron Maiden stuff almost every day. I used to buy from the US in the 90s and beginning of the 2000s. It was cheap even with the postage cost. Is there more heavy metal guys now? No. In my opinion it is the old guys with lots of money, who want back what they had in the 80s, and then all the hipsters and youngsters. Not so good equation. But its their choice.

    This is the worst time to buy vinyl records, the best time for CDs.
     
  23. Joseph.McClure

    Joseph.McClure Forum Resident

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    I'm selling all of those $1 used records I bought in the late 80's and 90's for $40 or $50 apiece now. Crazy!
     
  24. greelywinger

    greelywinger Osmondia

    Location:
    Dayton, Ohio USA
    All it take is a good attitude when answering a question for a potential buyer.
    The buyer may have their eye on other things you are selling.
    I asked a question about color printing on a promo record I was interested in.
    The first 5 words of his response was... 'Thank you for your message'
    This projected a positive message.
    I ended up getting the promo 45 I asked about & 4 other 45s.

    Darryl
     
  25. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I used to sell a lot of vinyl in the classicfieds here. I had tons of $2, $4, and $6 LPs and some higher mixed in to keep it interesting. UK imports and vintage originals. It was really great condition stuff but not top of the line titles. I sold $500 to $600 of LPs with each list. Very fun and I had hundreds of records to list.

    Anyway, near the end of it a member asked me about two LPs. One of them was a stone MINT copy of Big Brother Holding Co. w/ Janis Cheap Thrills. Crisp clean perfect Mint cover and vinyl for $4 or $6, it was low for a 70s pressing in this condition. The guy asked about any blemishes and I answered back no, none on eaither LP. Then he stated that he has limited funds and can't really spend much. OK, then asked for pictures of both LPs front and backs. He was spending less than $10. I felt that dragging me through pictures after I confirmed the condition was exactly as stated, was a bridge too far. I told him he would do well shopping elsewhere. I sold one or two more things from that list, and closed up shop on SH forums. He told me I was the rudest person he'd ever dealt with. :agree:
     
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