[dwk]

I'm not entirely sure this is appropriate for this forum - if not let me know and I can delete/modify.

I finally/sadly sold my 'table yesterday, but the buyer didn't want my vinyl collection and so I'm faced with selling it one way or another. This is a challenge since I haven't looked at vinyl in over a decade and have no sense of pricing. I'm hoping the kind folks here can give me some guidance on pricing so I don't look like a complete fool (on this, anyway....)

The easy question is what is the going rate for 'normal' mass-produced albums in decent playable condition for someone cherry-picking out of the collection? This is mostly college/alt rock type stuff - REM, Talking Heads, Dylan, Tom Waits etc. but there is a smattering of jazz and a few classical and opera sets as well)  I'm thinking something like $3, dropping to $2.50 for 10 or more or something along those lines.  Is that about right? Too high?

The second part is trickier. By pure luck I have a few valuable items and searching around the 'net turns up ridiculous asking prices which I assume nobody actually pays.  I'll probably end up having to sell these over the net, and am uncertain about setting pricing.
 5 sealed MFSL albums :
      Oscar Peterson - Very Tall
      Duke Ellington  - Anatomy of a Murder
      Woody Herman - The Fourth Herd
      Modern Jazz Quartet - At Music Inn (w/Sonny Rollins)
      REM - Murmur
 2 open but mint MFSL albums:
     John Hiatt - Bring the Family
     Joan Baez - Diamonds and Rust
 Sealed copy of Dylan MTV Unplugged - 2LP set

 A couple other sealed things - Blue Train and a couple Sonny Rollins on 180g vinyl which probably fall into the 10-20 range or thereabouts.

 I'm seeing asking prices in the 150+ range for sealed copies (the only Dylan MTV on 'bay has a buy-it-now of $250+). I find that crazy, and am not interested in gouging. I don't want to leave a bunch of money on the table either, though.
 So, I'm thinking something like $60 each for the sealed MFSL, $40 ea for the open but mint MFSL, and $60-80 for the Dylan.  Do people think this is
a) too high
b) about right to sell fairly promptly
c) too low, and giving away free money.

Any feedback is appreciated, as is pointers to pricing resources or guidelines.

[etcarroll]

The rock would go for $1 to $5 used, depending on what shape it's in.

I've picked up aprox. a thousand used classic albums the last 2 years, most a buck a pop, no one wants them. Shame really, I've gotten some great things and felt like I was stealing.

The MoFis at $60 might be a smidge high, but for a title someone wants, it's not outrageous, same for the open ones.

As for the 180gr Jazz, $10 might be a little low for sealed. Heck, I just got Kind of Blue unsealed for $20 on 180g in VG++ condition.

And I'd like to take Blue Train and maybe the Rollins things off your hands.

I have no idea what to say about the Dylan being so high on ebay, other than I wouldn't buy it. But I don't know if $60 is reasonable either, I was never a big Dylan fan.

Gene

[TONEPUB]

The REM is pretty rare.  I'd list it on Ebay and let em fight it out.  I've seen this go as high as $350.  If they want to pay it, why not?

[Wayner]

Almost any LP used guy (that is a dealer) will probably only want to offer you .50 cents to a dollar each, if he buys your record collection as a complete unit. So, if you have 150 records, you might get $150 for it. That certainly doesn't mean that there aren't some to cherry pick, as you have mentioned.

But, ask anyone here about selling records one at a time on eBay and I'm sure most would say what a pain in the ass. My advice is to dump the collection as a single unit to a single buyer and be done with it.

You will be happier in the end, and a lot less hassle, IMHO.

Wayner

[Wayner]

I just saw Jeff's post on the REM LP Murmur. Well, I think it is now been re-released on MOFI, and those high dollar days may be coming to an end too.

But what the hell.

Wayner

[Indiansprings]

Boy, if you cant get rid of them all at once, your going to be a very busy man. Selling 1-2 at a time is a complete waste of time. Just consider that. You will have a lot of time invested to make $3-$10 on a sale. Boxing shipping. My time is valuable to me. Just wanted to throw that out there as a consideration.

[SteveRB]

absolutely -- sell them as a lot. You will be stuck with a bunch of records that you'll probably end up donating or throwing out otherwise.

for some of the more pricy stuff, Discogs is a good alternative to ebay.

[dwk]

A bit slow to follow up, but thanks for the feedback.

The saga has a 'happy' ending in that the person who bought my 'table reconsidered and rather than just cherry-pick through the collection he took the entire thing.  A couple hundred less than I probably could have gotten by working it, but more than made up for with the time savings.

On the other hand, the emotional impact of watching my vinyl go out the door will take a while to get through......

[Letitroll98]

Now that that's done, do you mind saying why you sold the table in the first place?  Or more politely, was it an audio related decision or other considerations?

[Old timer]

I thought this was going to be a thread about the prices of new phono cartridges.

[dwk]

Now that that's done, do you mind saying why you sold the table in the first place?  Or more politely, was it an audio related decision or other considerations?

Just being honest and moving on. We're in the process of getting our house ready to list for sale, and the 'table and vinyl were literally unused during the entire tenure in this house (10.5 years). Plans to record/digitize the vinyl and/or get it integrated into a system never panned out, so I had to be honest with myself and admit that it clearly wasn't important enough to go through the hassle of packing it and storing it and then going through the process all over again in the new place.
 Fortunately, I think it found a good home.

[Minn Mark]

dwk,
I think your post is appropriate and timely. I'm still really into vinyl and am buying new LPs (elusivedisc and acousticsounds, etc) as well as picking up used or sealed LPs I really want from audiogon and ebay. Some of these prices are IMHO outrageous ($20+) , but the market seems to be allowing them.   Seems very recently the offerings on audiogon for used vinyl have taken a real price increase, although I have been able to barter some better costs whwen purchasing in bulk.  What used to go for $3-8 are now $10-20 and beyond.   If you price your LPs realistically I bet they will be gone in a flash.   Best of Luck.

Mark