How to Earn Money Selling Old Vinyl and CDs
Flea market, purchase portals, record shops, car boot sales (look for car boot sales near me): There are many ways to sell old vinyl records or CDs. High revenues are rather the exception. But they happen again and again. You should pay attention to this.
Was one stands carelessly in the cellar or on the shelf, makes the heart beat faster in another. If old records or CDs change hands, it can be a win for both sides. Sometimes you can find real treasures among the good pieces – and there are a few possibilities for a sale.
“Just go to the nearest record store and offer your possessions for sale,” says Berlin record connoisseur and collector Mario Luesse, who works for a major record label.
But record stores take – of course! – by no means is everything. They examine what is offered according to how likely it is that they will be able to resell it.
Exotic vinyl records arrive
“In principle, individual pieces are just as suitable for purchase as entire collections,” explains Ralf Brendgens, owner of the record store “Hitsville” in Düsseldorf. Rock music from the 1960s, funk soul, and modern jazz are currently in demand.
However, owners of old records or CDs should have no illusions. If a sale comes about, there are usually a few cents per piece or an amount in the single-digit euro range.
“Only with top rarities can it be more, in rare cases even up to several thousand euros,” says Luesse. What are these discs? “It’s all about exotic pressings,” explains Brendgens.
Among other things, Beatles records in original pressing from the first weeks of the year in which they came on the market can bring a lot of money. The same applies to records by bands such as Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones or Fleetwood Mac, and Bob Dylan.
Also of great value: original first pressings on the jazz label Blue Note Records. Indications as to whether a plate could be an original pressing or not can be found, among other things, in the engravings on the outlet groove of a plate. Based on the so-called matrix numbers, it is possible to read in which year and in which country, the record was produced.
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Vinyl records please without dust and scratches
“If there is a barcode on the cover of a Beatles record, for example, it is certainly not an original pressing – because barcodes did not exist in the 1960s,” says Luesse, a former record shop owner himself.
In order to find out whether a record is really valuable, he advises researching carefully or best to rely on the expertise of experts. In case of doubt, those willing to sell can always visit another dealer and ask him for an assessment.
The better the condition, the more money there is. The vinyl itself is ideally dust-free and, above all, without scratches. Interesting record sleeves can also score.
“In any case, they should be free of labels such as the name and address of the current owner and have no cracks, stains, or other damage,” says Brendgens. He also doesn’t buy wet records: “Because when they are played dry later, they make enormous scratching noises.”
If you want to get rid of your old treasures, you can also stand at the flea market with a small stall. Or place an ad in a daily newspaper or via an online sales portal.
In addition, there are various purchase portals on the Internet. They can be found if you enter terms such as “sell old records and CDs” into a search engine.
Assess the value of records and CDs online
With some providers, you can determine the possible value of the old sound carrier online – after entering the ISBN number, the amount that the provider would be willing to pay pops up.
Then those willing to sell can pack their pieces and send them to the purchase portal. The supplier, who sometimes assumes the shipping costs, checks the goods and submits a price offer to the person willing to sell.
If he agrees, the sale is perfect – and the provider transfers the agreed amount of money. Otherwise, he will return the records or CDs. If a record is without an ISBN number, potential buyers can send potential buyers a list of which phonograms they have to offer and what condition they are in. The “Goldmine Grading Standards” can be the basis for a condition description.
The scale ranges from “SS” (Still Sealed, still shrink-wrapped), “M” (Mint, Neuware), “VG” (Very Good, slight background noise possible), “G” (Good, continuous crackling, jumps at one or two songs) to “P” (Poor, only a few songs are still to be heard).
However, it can be inconvenient to pack and ship larger record collections in a shatterproof manner. Many buyers then also come by for a non-binding inspection.