Downsizing, inheritance, an impulse buy at the flea market — there are a zillion reasons why you can end up with a giant pile of old vinyl records taking up space in your home. Like so many other “collectables,” they’ll probably get stuck there, as you struggle to find a way to capture as much value as you can from them, while knowing that you yourself may not be the best person to do that.
There’s a temptation to assume that in the internet age, selling used vinyl is easy: take a picture of your record, post it on eBay, and wait for the collectors to start a bidding war. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. (If it were, businesses like mine would not exist!)
If you’ve decided that you want to sell your records to the record collector community yourself, here’s a list of the steps you need to follow to go from “I’ve got a dozen boxes of old records in my garage” to “time to go to the bank and deposit this check”:
- Open all the boxes and sort what you’ve got. Chances are (it pains me to say this, but it’s true), most of your records aren’t worth anything to the collector market. But you’ll need to know which ones go in the charity shop pile, so you don’t waste any of your time trying to sell them to people who don’t want them. What’s left should be split into two categories: records that are in high collector demand, and those that are worth keeping over the long haul, because — though it may take many months — eventually, someone will buy them.
- For each and every disc you intend to sell, perform a detailed quality/condition check, up to and usually including giving it a spin on a record player. Check seams on each cover, examine the vinyl for scuffs and scratches, making sure it’s “clean.” (This, by the way, is one of the most difficult steps in the process; it is extremely easy to misunderstand the grading standards that apply in the world of collector’s records — and once you’ve sold a record at a higher condition grade than you should have, it can have a damaging effect on your future sales.)
- For the discs that qualify as high-end collectables, investigate the following variables, to determine whether they apply for the record you have in hand: is the pressing vinyl or styrene? What is the matrix number? Which record plant was used for your pressing? What color/translucency is the vinyl? Is it a record company “promo”? Foreign or domestic pressing? Is it a re-issue?
- Thoroughly clean each record, preferably with a “wet vacuum” record cleaning device
- Re-listen to each record, amending condition grade if necessary
- Take multiple pictures of each record
- Write detailed description of each record, making sure to include all the data points and descriptors collectors look for, using collector community jargon
- Create mp3 audio files from the record, taking care to ensure that your vinyl “ripping” system yields a flat, accurate audio file
- Choose the most appropriate online auction site, or specialty dealer, and list your record
- Answer technical questions from prospective customers as required
- Package disc using specialty materials, and following specific accepted methods
- Follow all applicable domestic and international laws and regulations pertaining to shipping and taxation
- Respond to issues that arise related to lost packages, customer complaints, etc.
… and *then*, finally… deposit your check!
As you can see, getting a record out of your basement and into your bank account requires a significant amount of highly specialized expertise, and no small amount of hard work. It’s not for everybody. But that’s why people like me exist — we’re the oddballs who actually *enjoy* this frequently tedious process. What’s more, by selling your collection to people like me, you can often realize considerably more cash from your records, a lot more quickly, than you would if you tried to sell it to end buyers on your own. Usually, the amount I offer for my clients’ collections turns out to be a very pleasant surprise, since I can see items of considerable value in it that they might have missed.