Hi there, Let’s say you found a couple of reasonably rare R2R tapes at your grandma’s when she asked you to clear your grandfather’s “old audio stuff”. Both show up on Discogs, but with only very few people having them, quite a few with them on their wantlists, but no tracked sales. eBay comes up empty too. How could you go about figuring out how much these would be worth and how would you sell them? Thanks
I can’t imagine them being collector’s items fetching high prices. If the boxes and tapes are like new, try listing them on Discogs at $35 each plus shipping and add make offer. My reasoning is if they were collectible at all, some sales record could be found on line. Reel to reel tapes are not that widely collected, likely due to their fragility and the limited number of collectors who have working tape machines.
Maybe consult Pre-Recorded Reel to Reel Tapes For Sale ? I sold him an amazing collection of prerecorded reel-to-reel tapes this past year and he seems to know his stuff. Otherwise just list on eBay with a low starting bid and let the marketplace decide.
Tell us what they are and maybe we can help you. Rare doesn't always mean valuable. But those who say that there aren't very many reel collectors and values reflect that are wrong. There's PLENTY of demand for rare and desirable pre-recorded reel tapes. If you are only selling a couple of titles, you definitely do NOT need to sell them to a third-party reseller. You can probably realize a lot more money selling them yourself.
There IS quite a market for jazz and classic rock reel-to-reel tapes (think same titles where original vinyl copies go for $$$) but if you don't have a machine to test them, you will get significantly less than someone who has play graded them and will vouch for the condition and quality. As @kwadguy said, we might be able to help if you tell us the titles.
I do have a machine - I guess I need to learn how to grade these. Indeed! Have read plenty, but I have more to learn.
Thanks for the pics. If the reels are in good shape (not crinkled or repaired, play fine all the way through) you should be able to get good money for all three of those. If you have the time and the machine, play grade them (look and listen for defects). I'd sell them at auction on eBay. I'd expect the Beatles and Carpenters Golden Prize to do especially well. And you'll get a lot more money if you take good pics and can speak to whether the tapes are in good shape both physically and aurally. I see that your grandfather (or someone) wrote their name on theses, which will affect their value. But they're scarce enough that that shouldn't keep them from bringing a high price anyway. Are these part of a larger collection of reels, or did your grandfather just randomly only have these three?
Yeah, it was him. He did the same to the obi strips on the other two. It’s all done with pencil, so there may be a way of removing them that doesn’t involve an eraser? There were only a couple more pre-recorded tapes, and then a few he taped himself. He was always a lot more interested in gear than in music (you know the type).
Definitely auction those on ebay. Reels are highly collectible and those being Japan with Obi would make them even more rare. I’ve made some really good money on reels over the years on ebay. Sold a Kiss Reel collection a couple years back and those fetched $200-$300 each. Even basic crap like kenny loggins and herb alpert can get $30+ I don’t have a way to play test them myself, but I just take good pictures. Never had one returned yet. As long as the tape doesn’t look too crinkled I think they’re mostly safe to sell. But be prepared to take a return anyways.
