Happy Birthday! Hope you got some vinyl ! A friend of mine recently said to me “You need to think what you do with all these records because sometime they could be a major problem for whoever inherits them.”. I think he’s right. As someone else commented, it’s necessary to have a plan.
Yes , thanks for the birthday wishes . Correct on both fronts , it is a major problem and you do need a plan whether you leave it it children or friends or even a charity !
It really depends on the single, all the EMI America stuff is still dirt cheap. For the RCA stuff it really depends on the single, usually the older the single the more scarce and expensive it is. As a general rule everything pre Young Americans era is difficult to track down and can be pricy depending on condition. Post YA singles like Fame, Golden Years, Ashes To Ashes and Fashion are fairly easy to track down, anything else can be a bit more tricky.
Thanks for taking the trouble. It seems that the Diamond Dogs, Young Americans, Heroes & Let’s Dance LPs have done better than the 45s I guess I blew that one. Also Should have bought eBay stock back in the ‘90s
You are right in many cases but they is an anality ( if thats a word) of the pleasure ( and pain ) of record collecting by getting that copy that has no clicks/pops let alone scratches and skips and you will always upgrade to the next copy, I have been chasing a first issue Genesis Trespass copy on the Pink scroll label , nigh on impossible, and I have received 4 copies all mint (supposedly) bought off ebay and all sent back. All these records cost around £100 so now I will stick with my 2nd Issue Mad Hatter label which is virtually silent As for Cds there are some brickwall issues I know but I bought 4 Roxy Music Virgin reissues HDCD and all for around £36 !
The most expensive Bowie single seems to be Changes , pre fame Bowie I suppose , another expensive one is the Sax John Im only Dancing version and Life on Mars pic sleeve , the others if your lucky £5 each, forget Arnold Corns and definitely any Pre RCA a few hundred pounds for each one at least , first single Liza Jane , thousands !!!
It is quite different in Japan. The Ziggy, AS and Diamond Dogs era singles are not at all hard to get. Same with the RCA Space Oddity. Then from YA to Lodger it gets difficult and expensive before going back to "common" for "It's No Game (Part 1)/Fashion. The promo Ashes to Ashes is another story! So weird that RCA Japan chose not to releases Ashes to Ashes!
Plus - on eBay a few days ago there were over 500 of the HMV 1921 anniversary limited editions being advertised by profiteers and about 400 in the recently sold listings. Kate Bush's HoL currently has several ads asking upwards of £150! I know that the market is a fact of life but this is surely the moment when that bubble bursts given the economic tidal waves of inflation and recession that are now breaking. I sincerely doubt that the new vinyl market in the UK, or HMV on the High Street, will look the same in 12 months' time.
I noticed a significant jump in prices at one of the high-volume record booths in our local antique mall. Things that were $6-10 just months ago are now approaching $20. When the guy first set up the booth years ago he had one of those bins with a locked plexiglass lid with the difficult to browse fingerhole where he kept all the psych, garage, bootlegs and minty stuff, but it disappeared when his online shop took off. It has now returned and is full of Fleetwood Mac and Eagles records approaching $30 each. His bins appear to be at capacity and he never runs sales anymore, so we appear to be at a stalemate.
Very true - its easy to be carried away with hyperbole, but I can see a lot of UK high streets being all but emptied over the next 12 months, and vinyl sellers retreating from bricks and mortar shops to online. Ive noticed a lot of new dealers at car boots this summer - £12 to set up your stall for the morning, and the lps are shop/Discogs prices, but with no P&P. And some of them are using card-reading machines for payment!
I see the only bargains now searching for near mint records as some locals don’t price at premium above say vg plus but these are getting much harder to find. If I find a near mint record I am willing to pay a bit more but they still seem like a bargain. Harder to find but seem to still be reasonably priced when you do find them. Jim
I've found that a lot of good (and bad) jazz records have had their prices declining. Stores are getting smarter but due to the nature of the music it doesn't mask the groove wear and scratches like a lot of pop and rock records did at the time, so a lot of people have been weary about buying them.
I've been buying a lot of inexpensive Jazz records lately, both from fellow collectors and online. But most are either pre-Bop era or 70s to 80s era. The Hard Bop, Bop and AG seems to continue to command high prices, with some exceptions. As to damage it's been a mixed bag, with a lot in amazing condition but some visually NM-VG+ but upon playing VG to VG-. It's always a crap shoot.
That’s depressing, but I can imagine you are right. What I find more weird are shops like HMV, and the bigger independents. Piccadilly Records in Manchester, Rough Trade east London, etc. they carry so many new records on vinyl, who is buying them at those super high prices??They never seem that busy when I go. Mid sized like Windows in Newcastle, Drift in Totnes, Truck in Oxford They are also mainly new vinyl sellers, but maybe of a better mid range size to weather the storms.
Also do many people go to car boot sales, I have never been, so have no idea. But if the vinyl is discog priced, maybe there is no point anyway. However if I decide to sell my collection, maybe that is the answer…
Because there's not many of them left in that condition, and they were and remain a classic, high demand act.
Honestly, the guys sat there with outdoor stalls with records in plastic marked up over a tenner, aren't moving much at all, observed it many times. Besides, a lot of the younger people coming in with Smiths represses and sub £100 players aren't even up out of bed at that time of day. Tried to knock down a Steely Dan record at one last year, wouldn't budge, but when went to walk away, suddenly the price came tumbling down. Looked desperate to sell, and not heave everything back into the car As for online, depends what you're into doesn't it? I still find lesser known, unusual stuff within reason, even factoring in postage all the time, and assuming, certainly domestically, the condition won't be amazing.
That is similar to our record shows here in the US. I like to arrive in the last couple of hours of the show. The circuit they run takes them to one city on Saturday and the one I go to on Sunday. So they have been packing and unpacking all weekend. They are often more agreeable to negotiating on price when it means making a little more money before they go, and hauling a little less back home.
My local car boot - the biggest in our area North of London - was very busy last summer. A lot of people go to buy clothes - for themselves and their kids - and it can be a bit of an eye-opener to see a newly arrived car surrounded by people before its been unpacked. You get the odd box of lps for £1 each still, but overall prices have crept up over the last few years. Still exciting to have a rummage though!