I have taken the advice of others on the forum and scored some albums, some really nice ones as a matter of fact and this last lot was cheap. $15!
Now I put an ad on CL stating I would buy or take classic rock albums and have gotten some responses.
Now what do you guys do to determine a sight unseen price for a collection of albums?

I had a woman email me a list of about 100 albums and she wanted $550. That is crazy, but what's a fair benchmark per album price that's fair.

The people that have these collections aren't right around the corner and you have to take their word on the condition.

Estate sale rates by me are generally $2.00 an LP. That's pricey for a "lot."

I don't know that you can come up with a general price for a 'lot' of disks. Sometimes a lot will involve a bunch of records where the seller just wants them out. Sometimes it comes from a seller who has done some homework and already picked out the ones he/she thinks are of value and these are the rest.

Sometimes they are reality challenged and charge $550 for a 100 disks.

The cheapest I've gotten them used was 125 disks from the University of Tennessee for 25 bucks. (mostly perfect) I tend back off a lot buy before it gets to a buck-50 a disk with shipping. The reality is that for every person who wants to get rich by selling grandma's old Bobby Sherman collection, there is someone who doesn't know or care what they are, but is decent enough to not throw them in a landfill.

Don't hurry.

I got a response to my CL ad and settled on $15 for 33 albums and she gave me the list. Some are dupes and some are the soundtrack variety, but there are some good ones mixed in and I told he I was aquiring and not going to flip for profit. I want to get the ones that are about to get tossed before the are heaved.

I local guy I know deals in records big time. He's got 67,000 albums at his house. He will only pay 1.00 each regardless. He makes some good money that way.

Tangent drift....but what about 45's?

I am having about 500-600 appraised as we speak, and he already told me one of the Frank Zappa's is worth $10-$15.

I figured $.25/each..........since they were .89 - $1.19 new back in the mid-late 70's which include re-makes of Elvis, The Beatles, and other 50-60's artists.

BTW, anyone interested in (92) 12" EP(extended play) Disco LP's?:scratch2: :boring:

Tangent drift....but what about 45's?

I am having about 500-600 appraised as we speak, and he already told me one of the Frank Zappa's is worth $10-$15.

I figured $.25/each..........since they were .89 - $1.19 new back in the mid-late 70's which include re-makes of Elvis, The Beatles, and other 50-60's artists.

BTW, anyone interested in (92) 12" EP(extended play) Disco LP's?:scratch2: :boring:

Be careful with the 45's...the condition is hit and miss on most collections. I have found most to be noisy and not a great listen. I wouldn't collect them either. They take up a lot of space for what they are. I have never understood the appeal.

Rick

They are from my personal DJ collection, and I would say 90% are still in good playable condition, and as for the EP LP's, I was advised to sell them on ebay. Not sure if true, but he said the Japanese are big collector's of such items. This appraiser of which I speak says he has a few "juke box" owners that randomly seek new material.

IMHO, I don't see it, and won't ship overseas....hell, the shipping cost would exceed the value.

Thanks

Unless it's something I really, really want, I will not pay more than $0.25/LP for a lot. Usually I can get them for around $0.10/LP in lots >1000.....C

Doesn't it matter what's in the lot? I guess just about anybody can by many albums at once, cheap. The grab bag? It's content, and condition. At least that's a good way to approach it. It's nice to luck out, but I would try to take a look first. Not that people aren't?

Doesn't it matter what's in the lot? I guess just about anybody can by many albums at once, cheap. The grab bag? It's content, and condition. At least that's a good way to approach it. It's nice to luck out, but I would try to take a look first. Not that people aren't?

For me, it is the content in the lot. No point in buying lp's that you dont want in the 1st place. I recently got lucky when an ad for 10.00 a box for lp's was on CL. Average box had 85-110 lp's depending on box size. I took a look at the lp's and basically it was take any box as is, no cherry picking which was fair. The seller did allow for inspecting each box for content. After spending a good hour looking, made an offer of 40.00 for all 7 boxes available. seller accepted and once I was able to take the time to really sort the lp's, I was able to salvage approx 400 lp's that were worth having. Most were in very good to excellent condition. Covers were good to very good. Average cost was .10 per lp. The rest I gave to a retirement home. They were very happy to have music that they grew up to. I know that this is not the norm for getting lp's but for me it was a great score. Just noticed today that the seller has another ad looking for lp's. The seller did tell me that he did work at a GW, and this is where he got most of the lp's he sold to me. I am pretty sure that he didnt have much invested.

For me, it is the content in the lot. No point in buying lp's that you dont want in the 1st place. I recently got lucky when an ad for 10.00 a box for lp's was on CL. Average box had 85-110 lp's depending on box size. I took a look at the lp's and basically it was take any box as is, no cherry picking which was fair. The seller did allow for inspecting each box for content. After spending a good hour looking, made an offer of 40.00 for all 7 boxes available. seller accepted and once I was able to take the time to really sort the lp's, I was able to salvage approx 400 lp's that were worth having. Most were in very good to excellent condition. Covers were good to very good. Average cost was .10 per lp. The rest I gave to a retirement home. They were very happy to have music that they grew up to. I know that this is not the norm for getting lp's but for me it was a great score. Just noticed today that the seller has another ad looking for lp's. The seller did tell me that he did work at a GW, and this is where he got most of the lp's he sold to me. I am pretty sure that he didnt have much invested.

You must have broad tastes, or love classical. I am not saying there is anything wrong with that, it just sounds like you kept almost everything. You have to pan a lot of sand, before you find gold, or at least albums worth saving from the thrifts. I almost never find jazz. Never. I have been looking at this Beatles VeeJay Album for a couple of days at the local SA. Someone wrote in marker all over the cover, a rat I guess chewed the spine off, and the album looks like someone left it on a heater for a few minutes.

I am a hopeless cheapskate. I don't want 16,000 records (I already use Rhapsody) including 152 copies of Herb Alpert and I don't buy stuff to resell..

That said.. in a lot.. .25 to max .50 per.

I am a hopeless cheapskate. I don't want 16,000 records (I already use Rhapsody) including 152 copies of Herb Alpert and I don't buy stuff to resell..

That said.. in a lot.. .25 to max .50 per.

I pick certain things up to see what I can get for them. I picked up a nice copy of the Ink Spots Vol. 2 yesterday in the thrift for a buck. Book is $60 NM. This is VG+ or better. I would look more for a trade then resale. Even a NM copy would most likely be a tuff sell for $60. I am still trying to figure out price guides.

Be careful with the 45's...the condition is hit and miss on most collections. I have found most to be noisy and not a great listen. I wouldn't collect them either. They take up a lot of space for what they are. I have never understood the appeal.

Rick

LPs don't fit. :banana:

http://www.west.net/~jay/jukebox/hf100r-6.jpg

You must have broad tastes, or love classical. I am not saying there is anything wrong with that, it just sounds like you kept almost everything. You have to pan a lot of sand, before you find gold, or at least albums worth saving from the thrifts. I almost never find jazz. Never. I have been looking at this Beatles VeeJay Album for a couple of days at the local SA. Someone wrote in marker all over the cover, a rat I guess chewed the spine off, and the album looks like someone left it on a heater for a few minutes.

I typically go for 60-70's classic rock, blues and some jazz. This lot I picked up was approx 90% rock titles out of the 400 i kept. Other % was your soft rock titles. Typical bands were Robin Trower, Jethro Tull, Doobies, Beatles, Wings, Rush, Alan Parsons, Pink Floyd, Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Styx, Marshall Tucker, Lynryd, Humble Pie, Frampton, Rod Stewart, America, Steely Dan, CSN, Pat Benatar, Led Zep, Plant, Chicago, Steppenwolf, etc.. So quite a few great titles and groups. Probably not your typical lp find, but in this case got lucky

I typically go for 60-70's classic rock, blues and some jazz. This lot I picked up was approx 90% rock titles out of the 400 i kept. Other % was your soft rock titles. Typical bands were Robin Trower, Jethro Tull, Doobies, Beatles, Wings, Rush, Alan Parsons, Pink Floyd, Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Styx, Marshall Tucker, Lynryd, Humble Pie, Frampton, Rod Stewart, America, Steely Dan, CSN, Pat Benatar, Led Zep, Plant, Chicago, Steppenwolf, etc.. So quite a few great titles and groups. Probably not your typical lp find, but in this case got lucky

Most of this is pretty common. That being said, it's a cheap way to hear music you never heard, and collect the artwork of albums. You may have a few standouts, and you paid very little. Any Jazz? I am still waiting to find a lot of 50's Blue Note, Prestige, Dial, and Riverside just to name a few. Especially for 10 Cents a Piece. I know somebody that did a year ago at a Fleamarket. All originals in fantastic condition. Northern Soul, and Psychedelic are very hot also.

Speaking as a guy with some knowledge of how the 'industry' works - if you can call the universe of shady characters and major players who buy and sell old records an industry - the usual wholesale is 10% of retail for common items, and 20-25% for rare items. If you pay more than that you won't make any money.

A dealer buying a large collection (1000+) will pull the rare ones, sort them by price, and multiply by .2 or .25. He would rate the rest of the collection at 10 to 50 cents a record, multiply by the number of common items. That'll be the offer, and it will be a fair one for a dealer offering to take everything.

Naturaly, a collector who wants stuff for his own collection might be willing to pay more, and get the whole thing for much less than retail.

The bigger the collection, the more effective the dealer's heavy-duty van, Fedex account, and serious capital. While I have seen some collections in the 5000-10000 range sold to individuals, dealers are more likely to be the buyers of these.

I have seen a serious dealer buy a collection of 7000 LPs for $23,000. Here's his offer, yes, it is accepted, the deal is done, the check is handed over and the Fedex guys come in to pack 'em up.

Easy the seller sets the price.