Question about selling vinyl to record stores?

I have often traded in secondhand LPs to record stores not expecting to get much for much for them and usually not getting much for them. They give higher rates for exchange rather than cash!

Recently I got this notion about selling a lot of LPs that I practically never play, most of them are what I would call in 'played once' condition, sleeves are as new, a couple are sealed. I'm talking about 50 LPs. Should I expect to get a bit more for these? Opinions!!!

JG

 

Well, that's just condition. They're opened and played; near mint. But are they desirable titles?

Whether they were played once, twice, three times -- as long as they were played with care, it's not going to change the value as long as the record has been unsealed.

Now, if you were going to sell a rarer record on EBay, say, and said it had only been played once, that would attract a more fervent bidding, I would think. Imagine a 1st press UK Harvest of Dark Side Of The Moon which has only been played once.

 

Firstly, I am not a trader and I just want to 'cull' my collection to make more room for LPs. I am not interested in selling on E-Bay, never have. Here is an example of what I am talking about...

Lynyrd Skynyrd Pronounced... (Music on Vinyl)
Weezer - Make Believe
Lenny Kravitz - Lenny
Green Day - Shenanigans
Rob Halford - Resurrection
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication (recent reissue)

JG

 

They are in the business to make a profit and have a lot of overhead, as such they can only offer very little. It may be a way over time to cultivate a "relationship" though - maybe you can get first crack at some desirable albums or they will hold them back for your consideration, if you keep feeding them good 'bums.

 

I agree with you totally, as I said I have traded in secondhand LPs for years and generally get a 'fair' price for them, these Lps were all bought in the last year and probably played once. Should I expect a bit more than I normally get?

JG

 

I think it depends on how many local shops you have and therefore how many choices you have, here there are lots of shops so you can play them off against each other and assuming you are talking about recent reissues of good titles in near mint condition I'd expect you to get around 50% of what the shop will sell them for so £4-£5 each as a rough ballpark, obviously if you only have one or two options you won't do so well, although that may mean the shops can charge more so who knows. One essential thing to do is to know a figure you want, make it reasonable and have some room for negotiation, but you will absolutely get more if you know what you want and tell them rather than letting them make you an offer, also remember you can always take them home rather than accepting a low ball offer.

 

Well, as an example, recently I traded in some secondhand stuff and I got roughly €4.50 for them and the following week they had them out on the racks for on average €13.99-16.99! I think you could be right about the amount of record stores, there are only 3 that buy secondhand LPs.

JG

 

I assume you don't have VAT on used goods in Ireland, in which case I think they can afford to pay you 7-8 Euros each if they are titles that will turnover quickly, like I said, ask for 8-9 Euros and see what they say, but don't accept 5 or less, that's too little.

 

Well, yeah, that's how it works. The shop has to pay employees, rent, etc.

I would expect a good offer on some of those newer presses, but if not just put it on Discogs or ebay if you are not happy with the offer, If you don'tlike the shop's offer, and you don't want to use ebay etc, then I dunno what to tell you. Craigslist maybe?

 

No VAT doesn't apply here! I wish I was a 'haggler', I would probably get more. I know the stores know the stuff I sell is of a good standard and sells, because they have never handed anything back to me and said they didn't want it.

JG

 

Check out the value of your items on Discogs - and then remember that value is the same for the shop.
They should offer you approximately half of that value to take them off your hands - dependent on their current stock situation.

 

I appreciate what you are saying, I'm just trying to gauge what members on the forum would be prepared to accept for stuff they sell off to record stores only.

JG

 

In the 70s, 80s and 90s I bought sold and traded thousands of LPs. Mine were near mint. I would get a dollar cash, $1.50 trade for almost any title. It if it were really collectable, I'd be lucky to get $3-$5. A typical used record sold for $3-$4 retail. It is typical to expect 25%-33% of the retail price for your records from a dealer.

Ha, I remember when these stores started to carry CDs. CDs sold for $15.98-$19.98 new. So the used stores sold them for about $9.99 new, and would give you $3.00 for them. (perfect sound forever, ya know). Now you are luck to get 50 cents for a CD from a used record store.

 

there is no certain %.
However, my shop offers me 50% more in Store credit than if he gives me cash. Other than that, he just makes up the price every time I bring in a box

 

Going on what you are saying I am definitely not getting between 25%-33% for any LPs I sell.

JG

 

Yeah, it is similar here, record stores give me a price for 'exchange' or 'cash', if I go for a mix of exchange and cash, one record store will give me the difference in cash, the other record store will give me a credit note.

JG

 

If you were in England I'd ask you for a list as if the titles are decent I could pay you £5 each plus shipping and still make enough on top from local shops to make it worth the effort. Do you have Gumtree and things like that, local ads, I imagine you don't want the hassle of selling 50 one at a time, but perhaps break them into 10-15 related lots and price at the equivalent of 8-9 Euros each, I reckon they will fly out as Christmas presents. The other approach would be do you know anyone with a shop where they could stick a box on their counter at 10-12 Euros each so you could pay them 25-30% of any sales.

 

LOL, what else do you want to get rid of? shoot me a PM if ya want.

 

I visited a sort of flea market/community vintage items show in Montreal on Sunday, a large event held in a big church basement. I was amazed at the top dollars the guys at the stalls with odd little stacks of LPs were making! We're talking here masking taped copies of Brian Adams records and "A Trick of the Tail" (domestic pressing), all of which can be found in thrift shops for a buck... A total head scratcher to me...

I guess location is key here.

 

The going rate here (Australia), is about $2.00 if you're selling second hand vinyl to a used record store, less if they are marked or scuffed! The store will sell them for $10 - $60 depending on what the "collectability" of the album is. Sadly, most people think they will get eBay prices for them at a used record store.
New vinyl retails here for about $35 -$40, and people think a beat up copy of Living In The Seventies with a torn cover and a disc that got used as a drink coaster/ashtray/frisbee at their 21st all those years ago is going to pay off their mortgage.

Me, I tend to pay between $5 -$30 for used vinyl at markets and garage sales. Op Shops, (goodwill stores), used to charge a $1 for an album, now they too will charge $10 or more dollars if they think they can get it, (and they usually do).

The U.S. sounds like a much better place to buy and sell vinyl.

 

Yeah, we have Gumtree and another called Done Deal, I actually never thought of that! I might try that! But really all I want to do is walk into the record store and do a deal there and then and be rid of them. I have got 'cuter' over the years... I usually bring in about a dozen LPs and tell them I have some more at home. Once or twice I brought in about 40 LPs and the record store just cherry picked through them.

JG

 

I totally agree with you, the amount of people who come into record stores when I am browsing and think they are sitting on a 'goldmine' until the record store owner brings them back down to earth!

Strangely enough, I was at a record fair here in Dublin and there was one seller who had a lot of new vinyl and his prices were on average about €5 dearer than the bricks and mortar stores. I was going to mention it to him, but I didn't want to get a box in the jaw for my troubles (ha!).

JG

 

Then you have to accept a low price, you are getting the dealer to do all the work. There's a strong effort/reward correlation here.

Tim

 

I never checked prices on E-Bay or Discogs before, but I just checked Rob Halford's Resurrection LP on Discogs and the seller is looking for €80!

As I have said already I am not into making money of the LPs I sell, just trying to gauge what forum members opinions are on this!

JG

 

If it is a business, they will give you 10-12% of resale. And, here's the tough part—if the records are rare and worth something, they probably won't recognize it. If they are in good condition but common, the condition won't add much value.

My best success comes from knowing what the shop sells and bringing them those records. If they cherry pick (don't take the whole buy) you might get better trade-in value.