I've got more records than I want to keep, and I'm coming off a major surgery and could use some cash.
I don't want to turn pricing/selling records into a full-time job, but I also don't want to sell $20 records for $5. I know I'll have to grade them, but I'd rather not spend a ton of time researching pricing in addition to the time it'll take to do the grading.
So, what's the easiest effective to way to get real-world pricing on records? Something faster than going to ebay and looking at the last 10 sales.
I think Elizabeth nailed it, as far as record shows go. I go to a local show, in Springfield, NJ, each quarter, and usually pay between $1 and $3 for decent condition LPs. IIRC, tables at this show cost $60 each. It is well attended, but the dealers do not leave with empty milk crates. The ones that sell cheap move the most records, of course, but I see the same guys with the same LPs there year after year. Even for a buck, there are some LPs that people just don't want. IMHO, the hiring a kid to sell LPs on Ebay idea is the best idea. People without access to record stores or shows will pay up for vinyl.
If your idea about the stall at a record fair doesn't work maybe selling your records online and mailing them out won't be so bad if you can get a Media Mail rate from the USPS website. Sending books, CDs, records etc via Media mail is a lot cheaper than USPS 1st class but it is slower. Also I believe the USPS also has pick up that you can arrange too.
Take actusreus suggestion. In the metro NYC area there are a few dealers that will show up and give a bulk price. Often that is no more then $1 a record. These dealers randomly pick about five records, look at jacket and surface condition and give a price. They pickup, pay cash and leave you feeling 'empty', which is a good thing. An alternate is to hire a senior high school kid who will put them on ebay. A fair arrangement would pay s/he $15 per hour and give them 40% of the net sales price after all fees and shipping is deducted. With all the latter effort, you may get an average of $1.50 a record. Must go now, the GoodWill store is calling to arrange another pickup of my 'stuff'.
Sorry to hear your medical problems force this on you but you are in the classic quandary of the person who is asked if they want their purchase to be made well, cheaply, or quickly? You know, they can pick any two of those but not all three. I suspect there is no quick or cheap answer for pricing LPs which is why we see such volatility in the market. Those who want to shift stuff in bulk fast, price accordingly and sell those $20 items for a lot less. To get the $20 bucks, or whatever your desired price is, sellers need to give buyers info and assurances, putting in all the effort required to satisfy the small market for such goods at top price (you know, grading, photos, individual shipping etc.) or find someone locally who knows and wants these items. Frankly, I wonder sometimes how folks on ebay have the patience to sell and ship some LPs that go for $5 unless it IS their full-time job!
That said, a practical technique might be to cluster your collection into very broad categories: " rare", "not so rare but desirable", and "garden-variety" based on your own intuitions and experience. Cherry pick a few of the items from each and get a feel for their price on Discogs or Ebay. Then consider that a mean price for each category and price the lot accordingly. As you suspect, anyone interested in buying the lot will drive the unit price down. Despite all the love many here have for old LPs, most people do not share it and hauling a collection around is a far from attractive proposition. Even priced fairly, there's a bit more involved in making a sale happen for this type of item than just saying "come and get 'em". As others note, the typical price you get for a record collection is usually far less than most audiophiles think it is worth.
I know the owner of my local record store goes to people's houses to evaluate their collections. You could try that route if you have a used record store in town. If you don't like what he's offering, you'd at least have a ballpark how much the records would be priced at on the market by adding the profit margin.
As a consumer I tend to visit local stores even more often than finding something on ebay or any online record store cuz I simply don't want to pay extra $4 for shipping. Shipping charges destroy this kinda business even for CDs. I'd try to place adds locally on craigslist.
The vast majority of popular records are going to be in the $5 to $10 price range in near mint condition. If you think you may have some records that are worth more, your best bet is to consult a book like the Goldmine price guides. Determining which ones are the rare ones will be quicker with a price guide than with the eBay method.
You could always auction them on ebay to th highest bidder, and let the market decide what is a fair price. You can save a few bucks by setting an initial first bid at say $10 instead of using a reserve price. Also, list them all at the same time so you only have to make 1 trip to the post office. Send them via media mail which is $4. Boxes for records are very cheap-just google cheap boxes for lps. Cheers.
I guess it would depend on the genre's of music. I've seen bulk record listings for pristine classical music records go for a buck a piece to up to $3 a piece. Like Marakanetz said donating these records to the Salvation Army or Goodwill could get you a better savings on your tax bill. I realize that doesn't give you money now but it could next year.
Maybe for pricing try oldies.com? I get their catalog periodically and they have all sorts of genre's of music on vinyl.
Broadway albums may go box set for a buck as an example. Ending up in Salvation Army may end up in better tax savings half-way towards the end of year.
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