Background: From ~1978 to 1991 I collected many100s of vinyl records. At least 50% were classical; the rest jazz, R&B, World music, reggae, gospel--maybe 1200 records total. A few of the classical LPs are likely collectable/valuable, but most fall below that threshold. I’ve had these LPs stored in boxes since 1991. It’s becoming obvious I'll never again have a TT set up to hear these records. BTW, I live in Goshen, NY.
Can anyone suggest a way for me to responsibly dispose of these LPs?
FYI, I’d be happy to give to a store or reseller for estimated value, or donate them for a charity write-off. Money isn't my biggest concern & I have no appetite for trying to sell them on my own.
I also have a ton of old/good audio gear in the same problematic state (stored by never to be used again)...but that’s another story for another day.
You aren’t too far from New Paltz, correct? I would call a place like Rhino Records there and see if they are interested. They may even come get them from you.
Otherwise I’m sure you have CraigsList you could offer them in bulk. Someone may be interested.
The last thing I would do is ‘trash them’, there are many, as I, who would be more than happy to take them off your hands. Unfortunately I’m in Cleveland.
Someone or a few, would be happy to pay for shipping and handling.
You could divide them into smaller boxes go to the UPS, FED X, ask what it cost to pack and ship the one. Ballpark it a little high. The folks will take them off your hands. Just don't let everyone nitpick the bundles to death.. Take it or leave it, type stuff..
Check with your local college/public/independent radio stations; many have record fairs as fundraisers and are looking for donations. WFMU might be a good place to start.
You have to check popsike.com for each release to make sure if there are any rare records. As you might know some rare records cost over $100 each (and to infinity).
Then you have to check discogs.com for each release and you will see how many available for sale now and what’s the price, past statistics also available. Maybe you will notice your records are $3 each.
If you want to sell the whole collection you will get much less, but you can call to the dealers like Craig Moerer: recordsbymail.com
I will tell you again, if there is one rare record in your collection, this record alone can cost more than entire collection. Jazz, Gospel, R&B from the 70's (originals) can be rare today if it's not a mainstream. Worth to check by titles on popsike.com where you will see all finals of ebay auctions.
Try "Half-Price Books" if you have one in your area. You may not get much, but they hand you money and then you are done with it. If not, follow the advice above and try to sell them to a used-record store.
Chak i got the impression that the op had little interest in the extremely time consuming effort to go through them all laboriously one by one and just wants out of sight.
Try a ad on local Craigslist , Vinyl is a hot commodity right now and someone will surely come and take them all of your hands. Sell all or nothing though, don’t allow any cherry pickers. Good luck.
Thanks to all who replied. Some very good suggestions here.
@uberwaltz is correct--I'm not into cataloguing all these LPs or even looking through them for valuable ones (how would I know that except by checking out dozens/hundreds online?). I'd rather do an all-or-none transfer to an interested party.
Is than new for living in America person that almost every record store can buy collection of vintage Jazz, R'n'B... records (not sure about classical music), they will pay almost nothing, but they will come and buy if they will see any interesting in a bunch of records. They often come when the owner passed away, but they can come earlier if you will call them.
@chakster I don't know about every record store, but the ones I've seen typically pay around a dollar per album, more if it's a more valuable record. It's just like anything else, they have to buy for much lower than their sale price to cover their costs of stocking inventory, paying rent, utilities, advertising, employees, insurance, etc. etc.
What they sell for is a different story. One record store near me typically sells good quality used records that aren't rarre for $4 - $6 and about 80% of discogs prices for higher value items. They turn over stock very quickly. Another store I know sells the same records for $15-$20 each and some sit in their inventory for years. They do have a much larger selection since they don't turn over inventory as quickly as the other place.
Email the Audiophiliac, Steve Guttenberg, try a google search.
Anyway, have Guttenberg hold a contest. Young people could submit an essay on why they love music, wearing masks, whatever it is. He could then select finalists and they could be interviewed on Guttenberg's youtube show about why they think vinyl is cool, etc. Then the winner wins all the albums AFTER performing 100 hours of service to the community. The tri-state area needs young people doing good rather than the alternative right?
Getting young people into music is really the finest gift we can give. Much better than another tax writeoff.
Your second option is to ship them all to me postage paid! Be well and Peace.
At most, possibly split them into genre groups. Example: I buy Jazz & Classical. I'd pay X-amount. If I had to take all , I'd figure in 0-amount extra for the rest.
Most ethical sellers will give you half of the resale value but will be very discriminating about what they take. Call a local record shop and have them come by, state they will have to take the good with the bad. Best wishes!
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