# very big collection



## glenn w (Sep 27, 2021)

hi could somone help me please i have acquired a huge collection of classical and opera vinyl albums hundreds and hundreds in near mint and mint condition and hundreds of cds all in excellent condition where is the best place to advertise the collection thankyou


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## KevinJS (Sep 24, 2021)

Depends how much effort you are prepared to put in. Discogs could be worth it if you want to enter the info for each album and follow the rules for sellers. That would probably yield the best prices. Otherwise, eBay and the like, selling multiple albums in job lots. That would get rid of them quicker but at a much lower price.


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

As KevinJS pointed out, selling them on eBay as a wholesale lot would ease your burden, although if space were of no issue, I'd hardly call inheriting a classical collection a "burden".  Anyway, try eBay and just see what happens.


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## glenn w (Sep 27, 2021)

thats great thankyou


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

glenn w said:


> hi could somone help me please i have acquired a huge collection of classical and opera vinyl albums hundreds and hundreds in near mint and mint condition and hundreds of cds all in excellent condition where is the best place to advertise the collection thankyou


Why don't you just keep them?


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Most vinyl classical records have no value. But some do. I was quite disappointed some years ago by the value of most of my father's LPs. I would consult a vinyl dealer to identify those that are worth selling - not necessarily in detail but some general guidance. They can also be slow to sell online and expensive to post. Perhaps selling to a dealer is a better option unless you have a lot of time on your hands.

As for CDs, I think you will also find that most are not worth selling. You can check typical prices by entering the barcode of each into Amazon and seeing how much used copies might go for and you can use a similar price or a bit lower on eBay. But if you find very expensive ones on Amazon (£100, £1000!) do not assume that they actually sell for that. These prices usually arise from sellers using automated pricing software (usually linked to Amazon's market) that over-values items that are otherwise not available - set your prices for these much lower (but still quite high) and you may pick up a grateful collector searching for that item.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

KevinJS and Enthusiast offer sound advice.

You might check to see if there is a reputable used record/disc store in your area which would be willing to purchase the lot of the collection. Near-mint condition vinyl on certain labels may prove inviting to such a store. I know I'd be willing to spend a few bucks on well cared-for vinyl at such a store. Current prices for newly pressed vinyl range from around 14 to 50 dollars for single albums. The "old" records can be worth even more, though most will fetch less. Value resides in the wallet of the interested buyer. If there are more than one local record stores, check them all out. Look at the prices they are selling items for and the kind of material they handle. Some record stores don't favor classical music; others do.

Discogs is a great site, and there is active buying and selling going on all the time. But unless you want to turn the selling into a kind of hobby, you'd be better off trying to dump larger lots of the collection with some single buyer, such as a used record store. But here's something you can gain from Discogs: possible price ranges for items. For example, if you have LPs from, say, the Mercury label, or Lyrita, or Mobile Fidelity ... you can look up the album and get an idea of what price the item may sell for. Such will take a little bit of time and effort, and you can research info on-line concerning albums and selling prices, but I mention this because it's possible you may have quite a few of the "highly desired" older discs or even some of the higher priced "new" discs, and if one were to offer you a basic "dollar per disc" you may not be getting the deal you deserve. A dollar a disc is probably a good price for the average allotment of standard old classical records that are not in especially great condition, but I know I wouldn't want to settle for that price for many of my own discs. Still, it will take some work to get the best prices. But fanatic record buyers (folks like me) are not shy about putting out a few bucks for discs they desire, even though they, too, like bargains.

Meanwhile, while you work on passing these off, why not take a listen to a couple of them. You may find you'd rather invest in some good quality playback equipment than sell such a collection.

But pick a handful or so and go to Discogs and look up the disc by catalog number (usually printed on the spine of the LP or CD) and see what you can see. Look for a Marketplace designation on the right hand side of the screen; it will list copies currently for sale and prices. Also, right below Marketplace is Statistics which will provide further price info, including recent selling prices at their low point, median point, and high point, and will give information about how many of the Discogs members are currently interested in owning such a disc.

I have purchased several pieces from Discogs sellers and find them to be reliable. One more reliable merchant on line is a plus for us record buyers.

I currently have over 6300 discs catalogued at Discogs (probably 2/3 to 3/4 of my full collection), consisting of classical, pop/rock, and jazz, but mostly classical, and the website tells me that the current Median value of the collection (according to sale prices of the same discs previously at Discogs) is about $66,300 -- which seemingly works out to approx. $10.50 per disc. But that number is rather untrue, since many of the pieces listed are box sets and at least half of the collection consists of discs which have never sold on Discogs so do not have a price figure associated with them. (I like to think that if I double that Median price I am closer to a true value.) -- One of the box sets I have catalogued on the Discogs site is a mint, still in shrinkwrap _The Beatles In Mono_, a 14 vinyl disc set on Apple Records - 5099963379716. There are currently 25 of these box sets For Sale ranging from $1,170 to $4,600. Statistics tells us there are 5652 members who have this set and 2102 who want it (and may be willing to purchase it on Discogs). A copy of this box Last Sold on Aug 30, 2021; the highest selling price thus far for this set on Discogs is $1,757.76. I bought two sets of this box set in 2015 -- one I opened and play quite regularly, the other I kept sealed. Each box cost me about $268, including tax. Were I to sell my box set for $300 I would make a profit. The lowest price one sold on Discogs is $600, and that was probably a couple years ago. More likely than sell the discs, one of my grandkids may end up with the set as a Christmas present one of these years -- whichever one, if any, shows some interest in the Beatles. -- But this shows how Discogs can work for you to evaluate a price possibility.

Classical discs generally won't do as well as a mint box set of Beatles Mono discs, but there are some nice prices being asked for classical discs. A "Very Good" condition 1958 vinyl copy of Mercury Living Presence - SR90054, the Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture disc with the bells and cannons from Antal Dorati and the Minneapolis Symphony is currently listed for $33.33. I bought mine for $1.00 back in the late 1960s and played it almost to death. But I'd take $2.00 for it easily, if I were willing to sell. I consider the disc a treasure (and over the years I've added a few other copies of the same album, including a CD format version, to my collection). A copy of the 1995 released CD version of this disc sold for $7.00 on Discogs.

I envy you this recent acquisition. Personally, I would be more interested in spinning the discs than hawking them. But I wish you the best in your pursuit. May it prove profitable.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Just for laughs, one hopes that whatever record dealer you deal with, he'll have the integrity of John Cusack in High Fidelity. **Language Warning**


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

Sid James said:


> Just for laughs, one hopes that whatever record dealer you deal with, he'll have the integrity of John Cusack in High Fidelity. **Language Warning**


That character didn't like Classical Music


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

^ I think you may be thinking of Barry, the music snob. This argument about top 5's was one of the most memorable scenes. Barry (Jack Black) trashes the choices made by Rob (John Cusack).
_"Couldn't you be more obvious than that? How about The Beatles? How about **** Beethoven, track one side one of the fifth symphony. How can someone who has no interest in music own a record store?"_ "*Language Warning**




But we digress.


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## glenn w (Sep 27, 2021)

*brillian*



SONNET CLV said:


> KevinJS and Enthusiast offer sound advice.
> 
> You might check to see if there is a reputable used record/disc store in your area which would be willing to purchase the lot of the collection. Near-mint condition vinyl on certain labels may prove inviting to such a store. I know I'd be willing to spend a few bucks on well cared-for vinyl at such a store. Current prices for newly pressed vinyl range from around 14 to 50 dollars for single albums. The "old" records can be worth even more, though most will fetch less. Value resides in the wallet of the interested buyer. If there are more than one local record stores, check them all out. Look at the prices they are selling items for and the kind of material they handle. Some record stores don't favor classical music; others do.
> 
> ...


thankyou so much for taking the time very interesting


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## progmatist (Apr 3, 2021)

As I've stated before, selling a collection piecemeal on one's own is more trouble than it's worth. Say you sell a record for $5. If it took about an hour to photograph it, write the description, post it, print the shipping and postage, package it, and take it to the post office...you've just made $5 an hour. That's $2.25 below the federal minimum wage. Even further below the minimum wage in some states. Then subtract from that the Ebay/Discogs listing, and PayPal transaction fees. If you "NEED" money, get a part time job flipping burgers at McDonald's. It pays better.


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