Where would you sell your vinyl collection?

That consignment idea is interesting. I'll check it out! 

That's why I think consignment is an attractive option. The seller does all of the work. If you'll look at www.carolinasoul and watch their weekly auctions (they also have a discogs presence) there stuff gets top dollar.

Thanks mofimadness for that generous offer! I wish I could take you up on it but I'm all the way in NJ. Hopefully someone else reading can take advantage though.

Thanks for the good points don and johnto. It is definitely now evident there's a higher $$$ cut-off in terms of time spent and the potential profit in choosing a price point where selling a single lp even makes sense. Just need to figure out that number for me!

Thanks rjamilla I appreciate you taking the time to provide the purchaser's point of view  - looking at the scenario from the angle of the expectations and thought process of the potential purchaser is a smart idea. Thanks also for your thoughts on valuation. Also specifying US only is a great heads up because I'd definitely want to do that. A hand written note is a nice touch as well. Thanks so much for all the great info.    

Not sure where you are located, but if you are close to Northern Colorado, I have hundreds of proper LP shipping boxes that I would be more than happy to share with you for free.  Some include cardboard flats and/or the small 12x12 bubble wrap for packaging.

This offer is open to any Audiogoner that could come and pick some up.  I have LOTS and LOTS of these.  Most have only been used the once to send to me, so they are in almost brand new shape.

Just PM me if you need any...

Most shipping I see is between $3 and $4 at $5 I would really have to love the lp and it would turn me off to lower price items.

The problem with selling one LP at a time is getting shipping containers, time spent communicating with buyers, and traveling to send into the mail.

The record has to be worth more than $30 or $40  to make it worthwhile to sell IMO.

Very few records are!

For records worth less just give them to someone that will play and enjoy the music.

My view on the selling on-line would be from the buying side. I will look for a specific pressing on Discogs. So, if was looking for an audiophile record like a MoFi, I would list it there. Regarding the valuation, it's data driven based on sales. Most will be accurate, you can check the data. I believe, the valuation is the past 10 sales. A graph will show the data with dates. NM or Mint items will generally be the higher priced ones. This can be verified from the graph by hovering over the sales as grading is shown both there and the table below. Access this by clicking on the last sold date in the statistics.

You would probably get more from an auction, but, it will delay the sales. For NM, this might be the way to go. I would be clear about the grading. Grade exactly to Goldmine and you'll be fine. Make notes on each of the any defects. Go into your settings and add custom Collection fields if the default fields aren't to you liking. You can do most of the grading directed from the collection overview page without going to actual release pages. If you have any questionable issues with your grading, state them. Seam splits, ring wear, edge wear or any other defacing of the jackets should be listed.

For items lower valued records that will get lost in the hundreds of releases for a single album, it might be better to list on eBay. But make sure you have some lower priced items on Discogs and offer discounted shipping for additional items. The most common rate is $5 for the 1st record and additional $0.50 for additional records. So a double album would be $5.50, but so would two single LP albums. Have suggestion in the shipping details to add items to their cart from your store.

If you are going to only sell to US, state that. I don't think I'd want to deal with sending overseas. If you are only going to ship on Saturday, state that, as well and confirm shipping when you post the invoice. Check the status of the buyer. They are checking yours as a seller. If they have excellent ratings, try to ship as soon as possible. Then maybe add a note with the record. I throw away flyers, but, I'll always read a hand written note.

You are most welcome. Glad I could help. The basic 6 ft table at the shows I did were $40 or $50 per table. U can get a free account at Square Reader also to take credit cards. I did not think the Square seller transaction fees were prohibitive either. I am in the southeast and was surprised at the distance some sellers came to sell in the shows. 

Thanks moofoo that is my thought exactly - price it according to the market as best as I can ascertain through research and getting a relatively fair price. I hadn't even considered the records conventions. That's another great idea especially to connect with the target audience and avoid all the steps involved in online sales, as you mentioned. I tookl a look and it turns out between NJ, NY and PA there are a bunch. I'm so glad I came onto this site and posted this thread -there has been so much insightful input it has well exceeded my expectations. Thanks everybody.    

Also of note, I was not so much concerned with getting top dollar for each item, just getting a relatively fair price for it, and passing it on to someone who really wants it. My overall goal is to start downsizing my collection- which is really not large at all. 

I have been collecting for a long time. A couple of years ago I went through my stuff and decided what I was willing to part with. Boxed it up and went to 3 different ‘mostly used’ record stores. I refused what they offered me. So I went to Discogs, Agon, ebay, Prime, and some online dealers and priced my stuff about $3-8 less than average. Got a business card printed up, contacted some folks who coordinate Record Conventions, Shows in my geographical area and did two shows last year. Did pretty good for a rookie and way, way much better than a bulk sale. Gonna do at least 2 shows this year. I did not want to be posting online, tracking, packing and shipping, dealing with returns, seller ratings,  etc. and the folks coming to these shows, most are serious buyers and music lovers just like us. They are collectors who know what they want. Plus it was loads of fun talking to vinyl folks. Sold more CDs than I expected too. If you have a free Saturday or Sunday and close by record shows this may be an option.

Thanks tomic I hear you and agree about mint. Glad to hear your take on the audiophile garage sale is as enthusiastic as mine. I’ve had several people who’ve viewed this thread and checked out the Discogs list contact me for pricing. I’m grateful for it so I’d like to vet them and give them first dibs and if it doesn’t work out I’m going to give the audio club garage sale route a shot before getting into an Ebay / Discogs itemized sell-off. And if you’ve got some G. Loomis rods I’m coming to your garage sale.

Thanks so much uberwaltz getting your first-hand perspective on the pros and cons of each of the two sites is really insightful. Particularly regarding the specificity demanded on Discogs and your thoughts in your last paragraph regarding the Ebay best offer option. Great info! Thank you for taking the time.

a word of caution, new pressing quality rarely deserves a mint rating...IMO
thanks for your discogs ID, I will have a look
I agree with general assessment of ebay vs discogs and selling the lot will be difficult at anything approaching a fair yield. Adjusting for your time is a calculus you and only you can do.
the audiophile garage sale w clubs is pure genius.
I hope somebody tells my wife that when I croak....odd mix it will be flyrods and Vinyl....oh well....

Had no time today to comment as real busy at work but here goes my 3 cents.
As a very long time seller/buyer on eBay and relatively fresh Discogs seller/buyer I feel I have a little perspective on both.

From what I have seen, Discogs gets a slightly better audience than eBay and you are likely to reap higher prices but the wait may be longer and you better describe it and the exact copy etc to the tee!

Ebay obviously has a massive audience so good exposure  and if you price it fairly and competitively it is likely to move more quickly. However eBay is also more likely to suffer more potential problems vis refunds/returns as it is all about buyer protection. Like Elvis seller protection has left the building!

On both I would advise listing with best offer option but not for the reasons others have already mentioned. By giving the best offer option, the majority of buyers are going to take that route. That gives YOU, the seller , the opportunity to research THEM, the buyer, check their feedback etc and if anything looks suspicious then decline their offer and never have to deal with them or their potential problems. This has worked well for myself over the last 20 years.
Good luck out there, its a cruel world...lol

out on highway 61 - Bob Dylan

Thanks so much slaw I'll check them out!

Another option is consignment. These guys seem to do a great job. 
www.carolinasoul.com 

Thanks so much for all the insight I really appreciate it! I’ll check out Popsike as well I had never heard of that site before. Yeah I was amazed by how many versions so I matched catalogue numbers with all run-off groove etchings. It took forever. 

To add to what Bill said:  Both E-Bay and Discogs have a "make offer" tab.  Start a little high on price, but put in the make offer button.

Also, on Discogs, be REALLY careful as to which copy you choose.  Some have LOTS of different versions, so be sure to list the correct one.

Thanks for your Discogs ID!

For any out of print album, the price will not only be a reflection of condition, but timing of the market (which changes, sometimes drastically over the course of a decade), totally apart from outliers-- somebody could have just overspent on something, have had the hots for it, it could have been some WLP with a misprint signed by X, who knows?
Best way to gauge prices is probably to look at current listings on Discogs to start if Mint-; also look at Popsike which will still have outliers, but they also graph rise and fall in price historically. I know a number of instances where a record was worth several hundred at one time and is now worth less than 50 bucks; conversely, there are some that increase in value steadily. Impossible to generalize, though I just did.
PS: fastest way to sell it is to underprice it a bit once you’ve done your due diligence on pricing for a particular album. And if you don’t have feedback on Discogs, perhaps say you are liquidating your vinyl collection, and the records are pristine except where noted (if that’s the case); that you are a new seller but are grading conservatively. If you are play grading, that’s a plus. (more time/effort on your part).

Unfortunately inna I really do need some money. Sure no problem mofimadness the Discogs ID is jdm15 if you want to check out the list. I haven’t graded them yet because I want to be really thorough because I anticipate what uberwaltz alluded to in terms of buyers finding a problem no matter how exacting your grading is. But the actual reality is they’re almost all in excellent shape. I’m hoping the buyers will be honest as well and not just try to arbitrarily downgrade to get more money off. whart thanks so much for taking the time for that thorough response. That’s a lot of really good information to incorporate moving forward. So it sounds like a wise strategy might be to contact the NJ and Philly groups to gauge interest and / or consider sales through Discogs and EBay. I understand the concept is the trade off for the best financial potential is the hassle of dealing with each item individually. I can live with that.

 Do you guys know how accurate the Discogs values are when you enter your collection? So one example: Bill Evans - Some Other Time: The Lost Sessions from the Black Forest. I entered it in Discogs. For item value it says: Min $120 Med $208.54 Max $303.06. That’s a pretty huge range. So that item is pristine vinyl. I’m sure you could find a couple minor blemishes on the sleeve. If you were in my position what would you make of that in terms of considering what a fair price might be? 

If you have the time and willing to put in the effort, either eBay or Discogs will likely net the highest return.
But that involves listing one at a time and potential returns, complaints etc ( does not matter how honestly you describe there will always be some issue somewhere).

Best of luck and sorry to see you leaving the vinyl world!

Unless you need money badly don't sell your favorite records, or any records that you listen to.  Don't let others feed on you.

@dgarretson - I know those guys- total record hounds. Friendly with Ken G. who is quite a collector, not so much of 'audiophile' stuff, but more obscure jazz and prog. We've been trading notes for several years on records. good suggestion. 
Agree that any sale of the entire collection is going to yield pennies on the dollar. That's the nature of the business. 
The Hoffman forum has a very active classified section for members, but you have to have at least 50 posts to even access it. They are big on classic rock and audiophile stuff. 
I buy pretty frequently from E-Bay and Discogs, as well as private dealer sites. (obviously the latter doesn't really help you unless you have a web presence). There's also a fair amount of trade on Instagram, if I'm not mistaken, but I don't use it. Any approach which yields maximum dollars involves your time to post, deal w/ bidders, payment, shipping and issues that come up. 
I got rid of a ton of records via a guy in Woodstock, NY who was willing to pick them up, post them on sites, collect the money, handle shipping and send me a 50% check periodically. I trusted him and most of what I was getting rid of wasn't particularly valuable, it was voluminous though. (thousands and thousands of records over the course of a few years in anticipation of a move). I think Dgarretson's suggestion is excellent, particularly given where you live. That Philly crew is pretty serious!

Can you provide a link to your Discogs sales?  I'd like to look through what you have.

Thanks so much dgarretson I never heard of either I’ll look them up. I really appreciate the info! 

Contact the Presidents of the Philadelphia Area Audio Group and the New Jersey Audio Society and invite their memberships to a garage sale.  Princeton Record Exchange will give you only pennies on the dollar.