Sorry if this is a little off topic for this forum but I'm about to sell my CD collection, roughly 1000 CD's, and I'm looking for input on the best way to take this task on. I'm guessing many of you have either done this already or considered it, any thoughts? I'd prefer to do it as a lot rather than one/two at a time, seem doable?
Elizabeth's response is spot on. I have a friend who recently disposed of 1,000 garden variety Blues cds (no MFSL or DCC). A locally well known used cd and vinyl shop owner declined to acquire the collection because it was just too many for him to be interested; however, the shop owner put my friend in touch with an individual collector who ended up buying the collection for $1500, which was a very good outcome for my friend! My friend and I both expected he'd get $1,000 at best.
Selling the CD collection can be really tough as you are finding. On other forums I've seen Jazz CD collections broken down into 4 big lots with the CDs being $5-$6 a piece but the seller said these weren't budget CDs.
I've gone to local CD stores and traded CDs in bulk for credit. If you have that many make an appointment.
One thing I might try is Amazon trade-in. The thing is though you have to key in the upc or sku #s on Amazon after setting up an account and then you get site credit on Amazon after you mail everything in. You would be sending the stuff in bulk though I think.
Maybe you can work out a consignment deal with music sellers here on A'gon?
Look at any rare or audiophile CD's you have and send them to me:) No actually sell those as a singular sale and as mentioned build a list and auction the rest in lots of whatever size of lot you want to deal with. I think you will do better to sell smaller lots than try to sell 800-1000 at once. And if you have many of a single artsist you may try selling those as individual lots. But you are in the right place to do so, no listing fee for music. What do have to lose except your invested time?
Many thanks for all of your thoughts, folks. Interesting comments, I expected them to have a little more value than that but not too much ($4-5 ?). Along with here, I have also thought of listing on Discogs if I were to do them individually. No way I'd sell them all for a couple hundred bucks. I'd box em all up for a rainy day at that number.
I really appreciate the comments. Think it's going to be a project.
Of course, if you've ripped them all to a server, you'd have to delete them from the server as you sell them. Given that, the value for selling them is probably less than their value as a physical back-up.
I am curious as to why thye orginal owner would have to delete them from the server upon sale. What copywrite laws would be infringed upon if I owned them at the time I burned them on the server? Not being sarcastic here, but very curious as I plan to buy a server someday. Although I would keep my collection just in case the server ever crashed.
per elizabeth, the going rate for mainstream, supertramp type cds is a buck or so, and it's probably not worth the exercise of trying to sell 'em individually. however, for more esoteric & obscure stuff (which i surmise is most of your collection), there's still a robust market on ebay, which taps in most broadly on overseas collectors. the other, less granular approach would be hawking them at a record fair (where you'd typically get more focused buyers willing to pay more of a premium). if you send me a list i'll give ya a free opinion. still haven't forgiven you for laura marling, however :)
The going price for average demand used CDs at the only remaining local B&M record/CD shop that deals with them is $6-$7 max. "Budget Bin" titles go for as little as $1.00 up to about $5. Rare still in demand hard to find titles (mostly imports) get more.
Used prices you can get on ebay tend to reflect this I find as well however shipping costs typically $3 postal media rate per CD must be factored in lowering the actual sale price accordingly.
It can be time consuming to maximize the value of selling $1000 CDs . The best approach is to identify any high value CDs up front and sell those individually, then sell the rest in multiple lots at auction as best as possible to keep shipping costs low. But even then, you have to take the time to list our details of each lot to get maximum value. So if you must sell and that is too much work, just take it all to the local used CD store (if there is still any nearby) and let them do the work and make you an offer.
In any case, identifying any rare or high value CDs up front will probably almost always pay off best.
It seems that CD's are closer than ever to becoming obsolete; soon the day will come when they are no longer made. That is the day your CD colletion becomes valuable. Hold on to them or put them in the attic for your kids to discover.
I would suggest assigning a value to them, and donating them to Goodwill, who will give you a receipt. They can then be claimed as a charitable donation. Trying to sell them individually , or as a lot will be more hassle, take a lot of time, and is unlikely to net you enough to be worth the effort. By the way, Goodwill is a great source for records and CDs. Good Luck.
A compromise way of selling them, after pulling any "audiophile gems," might be in lots of 10 or so, organized by lots of artist, genre, etc. I've bought this way, and I'm guessing the yield might go as high as 5-6$ a disc, for the interesting stuff.
The donation/tax deduction route might be attractive; I'm guessing you could claim, on average, more than you could sell for, and "fair value" times your effective rate might make an attractive proposition. You'd want to know the cutoff after which a donation of goods must be be professionally assessed; I'm guessing 5k, but don't quote me.
On the topic of ripping and reselling, I'm uncomfortable. Not because of loss (I have a duplicate hard drive "off site" at work), but because I feel a little ethically uncomfortable. Not sure what the right thing to say is.
I do have the following rule of thumb: I'm reluctant to let people rip my discs if I suspect that the artist makes less than I do. This counsels against sharing for many of the sort of artists I (and you) like; a fact that, unfortunately, says more about the music biz than my earning power. Doesn't much help with the rip and resell question, though.
I like Channel Orange, btw, though it won't make it into heavy rotation.
I have sold over 10k cd's on ebay . thay are worth more than what you are being told. Large lots (100 or more) of classic rock on ebay sell for between $1 -$1.50 . Individually you should get between 2.5 and up to 6 . Depending on titles . pop music is the bad sellers . Lots of hours listing ans trips to the post office thouh . Low shipping and 1 cent starts is the best method for selling there.
After reading all these responses, which more or less indicate that you could expect to clear MAYBE $1000 if you sell as a lot, why not just keep them ?
No work, no hassle and you don't give away your collection.
Even a 1000 cds don't take up much space.
Putting stuff on eBay with the expectation of maybe $2-5 each ? It is just not worth the effort.
I would publish a list on AGON and see if music afficianados might pay $5 or $6 for some titles. The rest I would put on EBAY with a $1 or $2 reserve price. I often buy cds off of Amazon cheaper than the bidside on EBAY.
Guys, thanks so much for all of your thoughts, experience etc. Sorry that I have not responded sooner, been in the midst of a troubling time that has kept me away. I lost my dog Elvis yesterday. He'd been very ill. Nothing means more to me than my dog's. Not my gear, music, wife (sorry hon)...nothing. That makes this so very hard, I'm sure there are some of you that understand this. Anyway, that is part of what led up to this as I thought it was a decent way to raise some cash to cover some of the related expense. I did not want to get into selling off my system but sure would be fine losing the discs.
Lot's of great comments. Maplegrovemusic in particular given the extent of his experience, but really all of the input is helpful. I think as I get my head back together I may test the Ebay waters. I also need to compile a list for those who did inquire about the lot. Without a list it is impossible to explain.
Vicks7 - there are not too many jazz albums and no classical so this may not be for you. I'd guess maybe 50 jazz titles if that.
Loomis - C'mon man! Seriously, give her another chance. The chick is brilliant:) In fact, I recently hooked my DTV box u to the web so I could watch YouTube on my big boy rig. There is a full Laura Marling concert on YouTube with good sound and video. I loved it!
A special thanks to Madfloyd and Jax2 for all your support lately. Just shows how this forum/hobby can be a much bigger part of life than just our gear.
Sincere regrets and sympathy on your loss. In so many ways they are superior creatures to us. We've experienced our own losses in that regard. We understand. Hope your time of grief passes quickly. For us, it has been uncanny how much and in how many ways our next furry beast has exhibited the traits and behaviors of our earlier companion. When you are ready....
Oh, on the topic of your CDs? f'em all...just keep 'em (as some have suggested) until CDs become like vinyl. We aren't evolving you know...more devolving. "We are not men, we are Devo". Very much have appreciated your very informed, non-mainstream music recommendations.
PS- Apologies, Richard. I didn't read carefully enough to realize you were thinking about selling the CDs to cover expenses related to Elvis. Think you've gotten some decent advice on the plus side in that regard. Hope things work out very well for you.
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