Yeah, you probably right. I have a friend who looks up some of my records on EBAY and such and tells me what they're going for. I have no idea what to do with my records when I kick the bucket. I guess I'm gonna depend on my local audio friends to coach my heir. Maybe some of you dudes. Wonder if she could get a big tax deduction if she gave em to The Smithsonian or even if they would want them. Any ideas you all have is appreciated. Very much.
This is a subject I'm not fond of contemplating, but avoidance doesn't give any answers.
I would guess the Smithsonian isn't looking for modern records, and that your heir or whoever's organizing this sale, would make out better on Audiogon. Take a look at used record prices there. I've also seen batches of records listed in the turntable section which could be much easier to deal with. Selling records individually is a lot of work. Keeping track of payments, packing and shipping can be time consuming and if an individual customer is disappointed, that might have to be dealt with. Selling in batches should avoid this if just one record is a little noisy or whatever.
On the other hand, some records are valuable and should be sold individually if you (she) want to get the most from the sale. I'm serious about rare record prices. Some are astronomical and I would guess that yours could be advertised as RCM cleaned, in audiophile sleeves etc.
I hope we're talking about long range planning rather than an immanent situation. Check with the Man upstairs, but I doubt if you're done around here, at least I hope not.
neo