Recent used vinyl price increases: what are the most surprising titles?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by rain_king, Jun 22, 2022.

  1. andy obrien

    andy obrien Forum Resident

    Location:
    watford
    Charity shops in my neck of the woods (SE England) have all upped their prices on vinyl in the last 5 years or so, to where I will often see prices matching record stores or Discogs. Ive no problem buying a correctly graded album from a charity shop, of course - most of the proceeds go to a good cause. BUT. They often dont grade correctly, or they dont understand that a records value DEPENDS on its condition.
     
  2. andy obrien

    andy obrien Forum Resident

    Location:
    watford
    the most surprising one for me was last week, a daft geezer at a car boot sale asking £20 for his old Abba album. Just the one sorry looking dog-eared 'Arrival' lp sitting on the table in the sun, slowly warping away. I bet it will still be there this sunday, having formed a nice bowl shape by now.
     
  3. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Ha! Definitely not in the Bay Area!
     
  4. andy obrien

    andy obrien Forum Resident

    Location:
    watford
    U2 and The Beat, Gabriel lps cannot be got for peanuts round here anymore. Unless those peanuts are £10-15.
     
  5. NettleBed

    NettleBed Forum Transient

    Location:
    new york city
    A subject that possibly deserves its own thread, but some bits of light here are that there are still relative "bargains" (IMO) for buyers/listeners out there for certain genres/styles/labels. I would cite for example much 1970s fusion and jazz.
    Whereas most the classic jazz from the 1950s and 1960s is quite highly priced, plenty of albums just as good - often from the same artists - released in the 1970s is much, much cheaper. And for jazz fusion - obviously you have to be into it to care, but there are plenty of titles by highly regarded bands that are all $10-$20 records in clean shape. And often this kind of music was recorded superbly, so there's that.
    Music on the ECM label is mostly a bargain on vinyl, IMO (which weirdly is kind of the opposite of their CDs, which hold their value much better than many other CDs). Clean ECM records still sell for $10-$20 (and sometimes less) and you're getting some really highly-regarded, classic exploratory jazz and jazz fusion music. But there's only a few ECM titles that can command +$20 prices.
     
  6. Cronverc

    Cronverc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn,NY

    About 6-7 years ago I saw at the local flea market a copy of "Abbey Road", second UK pressing in questionable shape. When I asked about the price - the answer was : - $100, it's a BRITISH PRESSING! I laughed right into seller's face.
    Nowadays, it's even easier - this kind of stuff just never shows up anymore anywhere locally. Any Beatles, even crappy US pressings which I personally don't care for, starts from $20, often regardless of condition. Actually, it goes for almost anything of classic rock or progressive rock.
    So my record shopping days are pretty much done I guess. It was a good run during the last 15-17 years, but everything comes to an end.
     
  7. rain_king

    rain_king Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    California
    Yep. I think what older people may not understand is that zoomers and younger millennials (people in their late teens through early 30s) don't perceive the baggage that was once associated with a lot of "uncool" acts. In the '90s, Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan were seen by hip young people as lame or at best, boring dad music. But the younger generations are so divorced from the original context that they can appreciate this stuff as simply very well-produced music with a particular vibe.

    And your point about playlists and Netflix is important too--if you can find a track that is very evocative or striking and stick it in a playlist or pivotal moment in a streaming series, used vinyl sales from that artist will probably go up. If "Ladyfingers" is used in some show or viral TikTok video next week, Herb Alpert LPs will no longer be relegated to the dollar bin.
     
    sjaca, skisdlimit, pudgym and 7 others like this.
  8. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    Yes, most of that hasn't had an increase in perceived value like 70's classic rock and possibly never will. An exception may be the early Bob James albums like One, that have gone up because of popularity with djs. It doesn't seem to have affected James's later albums though.
     
    NapalmBrain likes this.
  9. Paul Gase

    Paul Gase Everything is cheaper than it looks.

    Location:
    California
    I’m deficient in 70s jazz. Could you throw out some artists that would be worth searching for in the used bins? Whenever I get to used jazz I get totally perplexed.
     
    lazydawg58 likes this.
  10. TheHutt

    TheHutt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    I only have one, but with the best cover design. :)
    I have >25 WAs... :D
     
  11. violarules

    violarules Senior Member

    Location:
    Baltimore, MD
    Of course, the funny thing about the Who's Next Decca is that there are some early MCA copies that use the exact same Doug Sax mastering. I have two of them. These are probably cheaper than the Decca-branded copies, but still not cheap nowadays, I'm guessing.
     
    john lennonist and Spencer R like this.
  12. markreed

    markreed Forum Resident

    Location:
    Imber
    Because Black Sabbath are so damn good. Maybe ;)
     
    phillyal1 likes this.
  13. markreed

    markreed Forum Resident

    Location:
    Imber
    It's a strange one. Some acts - Bowie, Floyd, Depeche, Cure, New Order - could be had for literally £1 each as recently as 2007. I remember picking up an enormous haul of Smiths stuff for £2 each in 2002 - and bands like Depeche etc. were too-new-to-be-retro-and-too-old-to-be-cool in 2002-2010 so were very, very low priced. Nowadays the concept of time, and the age of something, has collapsed to everything being accessible instantly and it's difficult to predict the next rise in prices. The most surprising price rises are in areas I'd never really considered, original Bowies are still expensive - even stuff like the risible Tonight - that sold astonishingly well. If budget is an issue go for a G or VG and there are still bargains to be head. I got an Italian Ryko Hunky Dory expanded LP for £5 a couple of weeks ago, though it looked a little tired.

    My tip is this : original 12" singles are often quite affordable these days, and they have a far smaller chance of being repressed. Some acts - Erasure, for example - are still very accessible at £2-5 each. But they aren't as cool as some of their Mute labelmates.
     
    caravan70 and Lars Medley like this.
  14. jimod99

    jimod99 Daddy or chips?

    Location:
    Ottawa, ON
    I paid €60 for a copy of Music For 18 Musicians in a store here two weeks ago!
     
  15. NettleBed

    NettleBed Forum Transient

    Location:
    new york city
    Wow - I got that in perfect shape 3 years ago for $25. But that is one of the titles that is priced higher.
     
  16. danielkov86

    danielkov86 Playing Devil's Avocado Since 1986

    I've been steadily going through my collection (500+) lately and adding them to Discogs. I've been surprised at some of the prices of records I bought years ago that are so high/valuable now I shake my head and count my lucky stars I got into this hobby a long time ago (mid 2000s) when people were practically giving LPs away.

    Some recent shocks:
    Joy Division Unknown Pleasures US 1st pressing - got it for $30 back in the day, now tripled
    Radiohead OK Computer UK 1st pressing - $30 years ago, $100+ now
    The Cure Disintegration original - same deal as above

    But I think the biggest shock recently was seeing the price of A Perfect Circle's Mer De Noms. I got the Capitol Vaults copy awhile ago for list and they're well well above $100 now, sometimes in the $200s. Wtf.
     
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  17. Spencer R

    Spencer R Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oxford, MS
    There was never a US pressing of Unknown Pleasures or Closer back in 1979/80, was there? Without looking it up on Discogs, I only remember seeing those albums, and the Transmission, Love Will Tear Us Apart, and Atmosphere 12” singles, as UK imports here in the US.
     
  18. danielkov86

    danielkov86 Playing Devil's Avocado Since 1986

    My copy is from 1980, the first year the US released it. It sounds glorious, not to derail this thread or anything.
     
  19. Spencer R

    Spencer R Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oxford, MS
    Collectors hoarding multiple copies of desirable records, is, as I noted above, another huge factor in the scarcity of even “common” vinyl LPs. If there are a million mint original pressings of the White Album left out there, that doesn’t mean a million different people own a mint copy. I own 7 or 8 collector-quality copies of that record, you own 25+, and so on. I have doubles or triples, or, in a few cases, even more copies of pretty much every original US and UK Beatles and Stones record, but, despite forever meaning to cull the herd and sell off my “weaker” copies, I never do it. I have two original UK pressings of Let It Be, one with the Apple logo on the back of the sleeve and one with the Parlophone logo on the back of the sleeve, and keep them both out of completism. But that means one less first UK press of that album in circulation.
     
    Cronverc likes this.
  20. Spencer R

    Spencer R Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oxford, MS
    Gotcha. I remember the “FACTUS” label, but didn’t think that started until that first New Order EP compilation. As I said above, I remember seeing (and buying) all of the major Joy Division records as UK imports circa 1983, when I bought Power, Corruption and Lies and started working my way backwards.
     
    danielkov86 likes this.
  21. lazydawg58

    lazydawg58 Know enough to know how much I don't know

    Location:
    Lillington NC
    And Jazz from the 20s-40s, obviously compilations from 78s, are usually dirt cheap. I was just listening to King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band with Louis Armstrong. A VG+ LP that I recently got on line for $4.
     
    caravan70 and john lennonist like this.
  22. mikemoon

    mikemoon Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    I've become very discouraged by buying used vinyl in the last few years. Luckily, the 10 years prior I purchased a lot of what I wanted/needed.

    Almost any lp that I want now is $50+ on Discogs in VG+ to NM condition, I prefer the latter as they grading isn't as ambiguous. Locally, I can sometimes find things $20-$50.

    Lately, I have been on the R.E.M. hunt and NM copies of some of the early albums are $75+. I thought these were $20, they likely were when I was actively on the hunt a few years ago.

    These days I much prefer a well done reissue for many reasons. I still love certain original pressings though, when it's the right one (Meddle UK, London Calling UK, LZII RL, etc.). Certain originals, can't be beat.
     
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  23. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    Do you know any jazz? Assuming you don't, some suggestions:

    - Check into Miles Davis's records. If you like one, find other albums featuring the people who played with him on it.
    - Labels like ECM, Blue Note, Impulse, or, if you like more avant garde music, Arista/Freedom or Black Saint are usually good. Or CTI, if you like smoother/funkier music. Often the bigger labels like Columbia and Atlantic too, although they released some commercial duds.
    - If you like the cover art, it's likely (but not certain) you'll find the record worth hearing.
     
  24. TheHutt

    TheHutt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    Less of a relevance in the 80s vinyl market where the number of local difference between records pressed has already been greatly reduced. Which was not the case at WA's time where every country had their own locally-cut version with different sound characteristics, for example.
    (almost all of my WAs are different pressings from several countries)
     
    john lennonist likes this.
  25. rain_king

    rain_king Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    California
    This is a good breakdown of the dynamics of online vs. brick-and-mortar buying. Almost everything I buy in stores is in really excellent shape either visually or play-tested, because I simply pass on things that have issues unless it's something really desirable or it's a great bargain. Online I tend to buy more VG+ and even VG depending on the seller, description, pics, etc. because often they end up being cheaper than the same thing would be in local stores even with shipping included. A properly graded VG+ is usually good enough for me, since it really should mean almost no surface noise audible above the music. And if there are serious issues with grading, you can always request a refund and/or open a PayPal case.

    Then again, I do still see a fair amount of bargains both locally in online, and a fair amount of unbelievably high prices as well. Sometimes there doesn't seem to be any logic to it at all.
     

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