oh yeah, i won't mess with ebay at all at this point. discogs is the place to be.
What's it worth to you?
Some of the values along with titles/artist here are surprising
These Are the Highest-Valued Vinyl Records of Our Century (luxandlush.com)
Maybe some you have a few?
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I know, I have my limits and I'm well off. I sold a terrible sounding MOFI disc, Lorin Maazel conducts Respighi for $295 when I saw a half dozen available for $350 to $550 (now Ebay has four for $200 to $471). I paid a buck for it in a collection. Yuck sound. The DGG LP probably sounds better and sells for $12. I sold a Ry Cooder Jazz MFSL Japanese Pressing LP Sealed for $350 to a dealer 20 years ago that I also paid a buck for as a discontinued item in the early 90s. Four are currently listed on Ebay at $600 to $1000. Sheesh! I stick to my 3X per year restriction and sold a few expensive LPs. Too bad I didn't buy all those sealed MSFLs when they were available so cheap. |
@tablejockey On popsike the highest paid last year was $300. Otherwise, under $70 for many sales. The Discogs listing is an outlier. Sorry.
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I have this very pressing, paid somewhere between $15-20 years back Dorothy Ashby – The Rubáiyát Of Dorothy Ashby (1970, Vinyl) - Discog Probably play grade a+ with the minor scuffs on the cover. I guess that makes it discounted @$975.00? Absolutely nuts value! |
of the records on the list i’ve sold two OG kind of blues and a pristine OG of The Freewheelin (not the one with different tracks there are only 30 of - the updated one). i’ve had a fair number of records that are worth a good amount of money but almost none of them stay (or will stay) with me forever. as more and more great, previously lesser known stuff gets the quality reissue treatment, it just doesn’t make sense to me to hang on to OGs just because they’re rare. at the end of the day i just love music. i do enjoy having out-of-the-way records you can’t get easily but there’s some ego involved there - it ultimately has nothing to do with the love of music. & really, if some sweaty pale obsessive collector wants to give me $400 for an obscure 45 i can now re-buy for $20, who am i to say no? |
and 7,000 CDs and 7,000 78s. I have a storage room adjacent to my custom built listening room which holds 18,500 LPs and 78s and the nearly all the CDs. I have about 250 CDs in a rack in the corner of my listening room. The LPs are arranged by genre, alphabetically. 2/3rds are on word perfect files by genre, LP, 78 and CD. The rest of the LPs are located in a storage shed (5,000) in two garage walls (2,000) and another 3,000+ in another storage off site (mostly opera & vocal-inherited of which I have 70% already, sometimes twice from another inherited collection). I do not have my records insured under my personal articles policy. They wouldn't take it. However, I do have all my audio equipment and furnishings above $250 (about $180,000) in it. I do have a Nationwide Private Client HO5+ policy which is not the common policy HO3 and my agent said that my records would be covered. After purchasing my home for $1,350,000 in 2019, my homeowner's insurance is now $2,450,000 plus a 200% bonus to replace/repair so $4,900,000. That's so that the company could increase the premium (more than doubled). My most precious recordings are in my house storage room. I've sold over 18,000 records in the past 30 years. I have a rule, if I don't potentially want to hear a recording three times annually, out it goes. I could not replace my 78s or 1/3 of my CDs and LPs as they are rare or limited issues (500 to1000 each). E.g. Marston, Romophone and Biddulph 1000 pressings with the Marston on a subscription basis. 750+ CDs on those three labels. |
28,500....that is QUITE an impressive vinyl collection! It must be stunning to look at. Out of curiosity, how many do you display at any given time and how many do you keep in storage? Do you have them arranged alphabetically or by music genre -- or both -- and on an Excel spreadsheet or database of some kind?
I thought keeping up with and storing 3,500 to 4,000 vinyl releases was a chore, but my Lord, you have more inventory than some Used Record Stores I've visited! I hope you have them all documented and insured by a Personal Articles Policy -- separate from your Homeowner's Insurance Policy which provides VERY LIMITED coverage for collectibles.
My best! |
Among my 28,500 LPs, I have several dozen $300 to $500 (maybe more now) classical records of the Better Records variety. An example is Backhaus plays Brahms on the original Decca versus the London and London STS later releases, a Japanese Decca and a CD release. The original Decca has the best sound. It sold a dozen times for $400 to $800. I paid $1 back in late 1980s. I would never have paid more than $35 for it. It is not 35X better than the other versions. Same with Reiner's early Also Sprach Zarathustra (original NM RCA). No way over $35, now sells for $400-$700. Better records chooses the best pressing at a high cost for their number of LPs they had to purchase to find it, cleaning, listening time and labor. Tom has brought over a few of his hot stampers decades ago when my system was in it's infancy and those LPs slaughtered my copies. My best friend has a rare jazz collection. 100s of his LPs are worth $100s-$500. He paid $5 to $50, mostly $15-$25 back in the 2000s. He is so glad to have those great LPs although now his digital copies are sounding very close to them at a fraction of the cost. No streaming for any of my friends, it's LPs and/or CDs. |
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I have some records I value very highly, but which aren’t worth a lot monetarily. Capitol Records released "Caroline, No" as a single, credited to Brian Wilson alone. The song was included on the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album that was released a few months later. I took the 7" 45 RPM single along with me to the record release signing event for Brian’s first solo album, held at Tower Records in Hollywood. I handed Brian both his new album and the 45 to sign, and when he saw the single he froze, staring at the record as a look of wistful longing crossed his face. I had to hold back my tears. All Brian’s "hanger-ons" were there, including Dr. Eugene Landy and writer David Leaf. They and all the others left poor Brian alone on the dais, shaking like a leaf, as they busied themselves making deals with the industry people present. The music business is full of those kind of guys. |
IF I had a VERY wide wallet, I WOULD be that guy buying some those albums. The difference would be, I’d actually play them on my uber setup. I have a thing about playing the very best period press of whatever the "legacy" release -stereo/mono. No interest in "super reissues" of albums. The BEST available period press played on the BEST assembled rig is what it’s about for me.
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I for one buy vinyl to listen to and have zero interest in "collecting" it for any other reason. Long ago stopped buying used LP's as the percentage that are pristine is so low. Just one man's opinion. But if it brings you pleasure to "own" some rare LP, fill your boots. As the adage goes, you can't take it with you. 😁 |
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Record collecting and being an Audiophile are two different hobbies. Yes, there is a common link but many are not both. I don’t consider myself a collector but an Audiophile. Would I pay $1k for an original VG + Blue Note? Absolutely not! A record collector might consider a $1k power cord "snake oil". There are plenty of great recordings in performance/SQ under $25. Put the money in your system, yes that includes room/power treatment ect. |