Best way to sell a record collection

After I retired I went through my collectiion, about 2,000 and pulled about 400 lps. Took the best 100 to 3 of my favorite used shops and sold a few to one shop. The low ball offers I got resulted in me keeping them. No ebay, no Discogs- too much work. So I decided to sell them myself in local record shows. I did 2 in my town and 1 each in towns close to me. Great results and fun. Meeting true vinyl and music lovers. Other vendors were buyers also. Just search for records shows in your area, contact the coordinator of the show, price your lps (I used slightly less than Discogs mid price. I want to move ‘em - not pay bills with proceeds). I never sell a record I would not buy myself or play on my system. I have not done another show in a couple years - but will and have a couple hundred left, boxed and ready. Vendor entry fees are about 50-60 for an 8 foot table. Just need to re-price them against the current market. Plus helping others with music knowlege is always fun. For example, many younger buyers tell me they like jazz but dont know what to buy. Serious collectors attend these shows and they buy. Some vendors specialize in genres- soul, rock, etc. some specialize in imports. Some vendors have physical stores. 

@czarivey  I hate the ebay fees. 13% or so, and the same fee on the shipping which I is not income. I have sold 0 on discogs though, and many on ebay, so I don't know how discog works. 

dill

2,429 posts

04-30-2024 at 07:27pm 

Sold my vinyl gear and am in the process of selling my albums now. I use eBay, ordered cardboard record mailers and ship USPS Media Mail. Sold about 350 so far in less than a year and a half and have about 150 to go. I get good prices and the process is easy.

That is one of the reason why ebay would not make sense. Discogs a-bit better, because not spending as much time of listing. Listing 1000 records on ebay may take a couple of weeks of full time labor 40 hours per week. In addition they have draconic fees.

I never had any complaints either. And I only sent back one album, I realized it's not worth the hassle for $10. Most buyers are sellers as well, they know the nature of the game. I think the trick is to describe them correctly, and ship them the next day, which I try. 

I did this a few years ago. I bought the proper shippers and inserts, maybe 50 or whatever was pretty small. I listed carefully on eBay which was the time consuming part. I just listed the most valuable records and then made a few packs of 4/5 (whatever fit in the shippers) and sold those too. Then the remainder I gave away. Mailing is pretty easy via media mail USPS and eBay basically can generate the labels. It certainly takes time to do this.

Thanks for all of the info and advice. Sounds like I need to get some cardboard media sleeves and get to work. Maybe it’ll be an evening with a stack of cd’s, a bottle of Orin Swift, and a tape gun…

" However it’s time consuming, and be prepared to deal with disgruntled customers on the other end.  Some people get angry if the record has normal surface noise, and then there is the real possibility that it might be damaged by the shipping company "

- after 350 records sold, I have not had either problem. As long as one uses a actual cardboard record mailer with a filler piece of cardboard inside with the album / albums, they ship just fine. I just do a visual inspection of the both surfaces, using the Goldmine chart and photos of both sides.

The trade off is money vs convenience.  You will make more doing it piecemeal, particularly if discogs has told you some of them are worth something.  If you send them have value.  However it’s time consuming, and be prepared to deal with disgruntled customers on the other end.  Some people get angry if the record has normal surface noise, and then there is the real possibility that it might be damaged by the shipping company 

Share your Discogs list and look for offers on the collection. 

"it’s pretty painful to list them and mail them one by one at the post office"

- nah, I print the shipping labels though the eBay system and just give them to my mailman.

"So selling one at a time and dealing with shipping is hassle free and worth it?"

- yes, I think so, I buy the cardboard mailers from sellers on eBay, 50 at a time, under $1.00 each. I add the cost of the shipping, ebay's cut and the shipping cost to the "Buy it Now" price.

One of my listings

USPS media is $4.50 in the lower 48. I posted about 30 albums for a best offer on ebay and it sells at around the rate of one a month. I like the idea that you sell the best ones individually. You can also sell them as a lot and set your price. It may take 6 months but you will get offers 

Most value and least painful are two competing goals.  

Pick out the most expensive or in demand records, purchase a 20 pack of record mailers, and try to sell them on eBay or discogs to get a feel for how much fun or a pain the process is. If you have no history and thus no seller feedback/rating, it might be difficult at first.  Keep in mind after listing fees and paypal fees you're going to take about a 16-20% hit on the final transaction proceeds.  

If you're actively a CD buyer, your best value might be to get trade in (store credit) from your local record store. If they don't have your desired CD in stock, I'm sure they'd be happy to special order for you. Best to bring in a couple dozen at a time, rather than your whole collection, since you're likely to get a better deal that way.

USPS media mail is very inexpensive...it's a choice between ease of sale and getting more money...I sold maybe 20 individually and the rest in larger groups...

So selling one at a time and dealing with shipping is hassle free and worth it? What do you guys find the best method for handling the shipping cost and packing material costs? Is it to include it in the price of the record or as a separate charge?

it's pretty painful to list them and mail them one by one at the post office. When I realize I won't listen to an album again, I take it to my local record shop. (Usually 10 at a time.) He would pay me half of what he would then sell it for. 

Sold my vinyl gear and am in the process of selling my albums now. I use eBay, ordered cardboard record mailers and ship USPS Media Mail. Sold about 350 so far in less than a year and a half and have about 150 to go. I get good prices and the process is easy.

If you want to get maximum value for any of your records, you have to go the Discogs/eBay route and try to find a collector; you certainly won't get the best value from a retailer who has to turn around and re-sell it again. There isn't really a painless way; just check out various YouTube videos about selling record collections.

I sold my valuable records singly, and the rest as a collection, typically by genre...I was just selling records I didn't want anymore, probably 500 ...