Selling Vinyl - Dos and Don'ts

An Actual Image from the Craigslist Ad

Contrary to popular belief, for the most part, vinyl is not as valuable as gold. As the saying goes; "Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it." That holds especially true for vinyl.

I see these ads on Craigslist all the time... Words and phrases from a first term community college marketing class thrown in like "value", "deal", "Rare", "Original", "Antique". When the reality is, it isn't a deal, it isn't rare and it isn't an antique (defined as something that is at least 100 years old).

An actual ad on Craigslist...

"Selling my collection of vinyl records. Alot of classics from different genres like The Beatles, Cher, Journey, ACDC, Ritchie valens, and Alot more!! 70 records total! Each value around $20 per record each so its a really great deal. Only thing is that the cases are worn from being antiques. Anyone is free to come and look at them first but its selling as is. Thank you! Selling collection all together so please dont ask to just buy single ones."

The actual ad.

This "would-be seller" is asking $330 for this lot of "antique" vinyl records.

Now, let's ignore the marketing aspect of this ad and just focus on the facts.

If you look close at those sleeves, that wear 'n tear is not from being antiques. That is from decades of abuse and neglect. So what this seller is valuing as $1400 worth of vinyl (70 records times $20 each) I have actually seen most of the stuff in the photo, as well as the others the seller has listed, (in the condition they are presented) in the dollar bins at my local record shop and even the $0.10 bin at flea markets. Just because Discog's shows a value of $20 for a given record doesn't mean your record is worth that much.

As a matter of fact I have purchased the same Beatles album with the sleeve in better condition for $5 at a garage sale.

So in an attempt to educate not only sellers, but buyers as well, here is my guide to buying and selling records.

Here is what you need to know about vinyl and it's perceived value.

1. You may have an idea of what your record collection is worth, but I guarantee you that outside of limited edition pressings and rare albums, I can any "classic" album for $5 or less. The music is the same between releases for the most part. I can buy a brand new reissue of Let It Be for the $20 valuation of this particular Craigslist ad. And the vinyl and sleeve both will be in mint condition on the reissue. I can buy a decent copy of it at my local Goodwill for $2.99.
2. Outside of having a fire burn down your entire house or a flood swamp your record room and having your insurance pay you for the vinyl lost in the fire, you will probably never get full retail value for your collection; ever. That is unless you open your own record store, but then you have to rent to open your store, power, maybe gas, insurance, so yeah, no retail value there either. And even with the insurance claim for fire or water damage, you have the deductible and also have deal with very specific policy restrictions and burden of proof. More on that in another post. So just keep in mind that you will never get full retail value for your entire collection, accept it and move on.
3. You need to learn how your vinyl is identified. Just because you find Beatles' Let It Be on Discog, and your's looks old, so you "know" it's worth more, it doesn't mean you have a $350 album. Between 1970 and the time of this writing, there have been over 250 official releases of Let It Be on vinyl, and that's not counting the bootlegs. Serial numbers etched into the inner ring, very hard to read but they are there, are the pedigree of the vinyl as well as subtle and not so subtle color shifts and details in the covers. A reissue cover may have a light blue color instead of the dark blue color of the original pressing in the banner on the top left corner of the cover. You need to learn these and how to research them and learn how mismatched vinyl and covers affect the value as well.  
4. You need to learn how to properly grade your albums before trying to sell them. Grading happens not just on vinyl itself (based on how playable it is), but on the sleeve and labels as well. The sleeve is art. The art has value. Discog's website has a great grading guide. It's not perfect, but it is a decent way to understand how even the littlest bend or warp in the sleeve or light scratch on the vinyl can lower the value of the entire album.
5. You need to remember that your vinyl is only as valuable as what someone is willing to pay for it. You can hold your ground and stick with the $20 an album price valuation based on your principals (a.k.a. opinion)... but you likely won't sell a single album if you do that. Craigslist is nothing more than a digital garage sale. Would you go to a garage sale and pay retail prices for anything? Not likely. You go to garage sales to buy stuff that others don't want, and buy it cheap. And so does everyone else. If you want retail prices, try to sell them on Ebay, Discogs or Collector events, but again good luck with that. Don't expect people to come storming the gates to buy your over valuated collection of "antique" records. 

I hope that this posting is helpful. Next up... I will educate you on the pitfalls regarding insurance claims. 

Until then, put the needle in the groove and let it spin baby.