Are CD's Pretty Much Worthless Now or Am I Over Obsessing?

The problem with Amoeba is that with some of their buyers there is a disconnect between what something is worth and what they *think* it's worth. Amoeba is supposed to give you (in credit) about half of what they will sell the item for, but I find that some of the buyers really have no clue what stuff is selling for out in the racks, and so they low ball the seller.

If you look at what certain CDs are selling for (at least in SF and Berkeley) at Amoeba, you'll see hard proof that Amoeba certainly does NOT think CDs are worthless!

I now only sell stuff to Amoeba on days when my friend, who is a buyer, is working. I learned my lesson after several bad experiences!

 

I no longer sell CDs or DVDs...I'm too attached.

 

yea, and they'll sell 'em for a buck or less!

 

yea, I do that now and I'm neither.

 

I'm having a collector's outfit appraise the value of my collection BEFORE that happens, Michael!!!

 

Perfectly said...and truthful. I invite anyone to go into any local used record store by their house, look up(we'll use this as an example: The Smiths-The Queen is Dead), used cd's......bet at least 85%- 99% of them, sell them they're for at least $7-$8-$9-$10 bucks a copy..for used?

Or, as them how much a "used" copy of 'The Goth Box" goes for(keep in mind, it's big time OOP aned goes for over $40 used in many places), I bet if you had one, or they did, they wouldnt be selling iot for so cheap.....


Ive had Amoeba buyers give me a very fair deal on stuff, but often times, they don't, and they have no idea what they're pricing, or it's value new/and/or used is.....

 

good idea...as no one will love your collection like you do or have the same attachment...

 

Or laughed at her.

I doubt this lady owned the store.. she was probably just doing what her boss has them do in these situations.

 

This is my plan as we'll be making a cross-country move this summer. I have about 25-30 CDs, mostly first editions of 80s stuff (like U2, Sting, New Order, Arcadia, Sinead) that I've purchased newer versions of and thought about trying to sell off here, but I don't think shipping costs would make it worthwhile for myself or a potential buyer. So my plan is to just donate them to Santa Monica library, which has been a good resource for me for sampling before purchases.

 

Recommend that you have someone qualified appraise your collection before you go back to Amoeba, DJ...if you have a written appraisal in your hand from a recognized authority, they're more likely to listen to your arguments regarding the value of your items!!!

 

Of course, you can always "donate" them" to me.......I'd be more than happy to take them off your hands, as Im a huge 80s fan. Id probably appreciate that stuff moreso than most......

 

I just bought for my brother 300 cds, almost all late 60's to mid 70's music (good stuff), with some collectors types: MFSL-Target, and some Japanese Zappas, etc...$150 at a lady's yard sale. Seemed she just wanted them out of her house. There was 2 autographed to her personally so we went back and gave them to her. She seemed very happy to get those back! Guess she just forgot about them.

That was a really great deal. By in large just regular CDs just aren't worth very much used. At all.

 

That's the good side of the death of CDs. Us collectors are getting way cool stuff for next to nothing.

 

That's great, but also expect next to nothing when you try to sell them. Most stores in Canada don't want used cds, the few that do pay peanuts. Not much better in Florida either.

Don't plan your retirement around your cd or vinyl collection, unless you plan on melting them down for fuel, or eating them.

 

I don't buy stuff to sell it. If I wanted to make money I would have bought real estate.

In one of the 2nd hand shops there's a notice that they don't buy Robbie Williams, Bryan Adams, Alanis Morrisette etc.

 

I did buy real estate, but in Canada not the US, and in cottage country. Doing very well, thank you. Any fool buying cds as an investment is going to get a rude awakening in the future. Might as well be buying buggy whips in 1900.

Those 2nd hand shops are smart, I wouldn't buy any of those either.

 

the bottom has fallen out....

I am seeing CDs going for a song...


Starting to buy them after a decade of not doing so.. they 're just too good to pass up..

 

That is because there are soooo many CDs in existence!

There are billions and billions of CDs everywhere!

When video games first became available they were really expensive. Same as CDs. Then as the years go on the prices dropped. Same with CDs. No used record store, even 20 years ago, would ever pay more than $3 or $4 for a used CD. And those were rare instances. I can remember sometimes overhearing people trying to sell their used CDs and laughing at how little they were offered. I still remember one time when they offered some dude only $1.25 cash or $1.75 store credit for 3 CDs. And that was years ago.

 

Count your blessings, you lucked out getting that much.

 

Why didn't you offer them on the forum or on ebay? Common sense tells you that if you are getting paid by the customer, you're going to make a HUGE percentage more than when you're dealing with a middleman (and possibly several middlemen)

 

It is a buyer's market for CDs now.
The used stores are saturated with CDs. I can find tons of great (perfect too) CDs locally at several stores for $1 /$2 each. (and I get a discount on that)
I have purchsed about 1,400 CDs in the past two years. All 'better' titles of good artists.
So for me, I am filling in my collection for peanuts.

Stores are in a supply/demand market. And right now supply is far bigger than demand.
Also, some store employees may not know what is worth more. If they don't really 'know', they have probably had way too many folks make claims of "My stuff is valuable" to respond to it at all. So the clerk is burned out on that sort of comment AND probably told to ignore it anyway.

One local store, small with only the two owners as employees, still buys CDs for $4 each but ONLY for certain titles they know they can flip in a few weeks. And if they have a copy already, no way are they going to buy another.
But even for them, most CDs they buy they can only offer a buck IF they really can use it.
At the start of the CD boom, LPs were available by the ton. At that point no one would buy Lps either. I also think to market will still drop out further on CDs. But in ten years, they may stabilize. After folks who stuck all thier music on hard drives only to lose it.. come back to having physical media as backup.
I buy CDs just to have something to listen to. So I do not care if they wind up in a landfill after i croak!!

 

I can't find any used CDs, though classical are all I'm looking for. eBay and AM sellers want a whole lot more than "$1 /$2 each," and the few stores here in Pittsburgh where you could theoretically buy them have nothing.

 

Just out of curiosity, what was the disc you valued at $40 and what was the disc you valued at $20+?

 

I've sold thousands of records, and some cds, in the classifieds, so here's my 2 cents:

Everyone seems to be ignoring the "time" aspect of selling something for the best price. If you have a Goth cd box set that you see is going on ebay for $40, and you want to sell it in under a minute at a record store, it's worth $10. If you want to inspect, grade, take photos of, list on ebay, answer questions, gather shipping materials, properly package, stand in line at the Post Office, and hope your buyer is happy and honest, THEN, AND ONLY THEN is it worth $30 or $40.

I used to buy/search for collections on a regular basis, and everyone tended to think that with no effort, they should be able to get ebay prices. It would be like placing an ad to sell a shed, and I get over to your house and you show me a stack of wood and shingles. You think you're going to get $2,000 for your "shed", and have me do all of the work of building it. Not gonna happen!

 

It's a buyer's market depending where you live.

I can't speak for Jay F, but the Pittsburgh/Morgantown, W.Va. area certainly isn't a goldmine for used CDs.

Local FYEs are still selling common/not-in-demand titles for around $10, and the prices at CD Warehouse aren't much cheaper. Even a decent local store such as The Exchange doesn't have that many great deals, though you can occasionally nab a nice find in the $5 cases.

I still buy them, burn to FLAC and generally keep the discs as a backup, but that's going to stop once lossless downloads (finally) become the norm.

Unless you're finding things dirt cheap here/Amazon Marketplace/elsewhere, I just don't think you're getting much value for the money when it comes to CDs. Can't say the same about used vinyl, IMO.