Thread: What is the best way to sell a HUGE vinyl collection?

I confess that I am not a classical music buff. However I serve on the Board of a small private college, which just closed it's doors. The Library contains a huge collection of vinyl. I'm guessing that there are 25,000 LPs.
The collection is located in Santa Cruz CA. I don't have the manpower to catalog every item, or to market them individually. I could catalog a dozen or so, as a sample, but that's about it.
Any ideas on the best way to market these?
jayherndon@juno.com

Need a veteran LP collector to detach the gems from the crap. Non good stuff you can donate to another Library. Good stuff for sale to collectors, or to offer on Ebay. But I insist: not go to sellers, but to collectors.

I have to agree with Odnoposoff not so good recordings will only get in the way. You could take out an advert in a music magazine or try a music shop.

I much agree with the two above responses:

This is a massive collection; to catalogue all of it would be a huge and impractical job.

You need an archivist, canny about what is being sorted out and the 'collectors' market - if there are no available funds, offer as payment to them a substantial 'cherry pick' of the lot. That party could do a general sort of the collection into several genre categories or by 'vintage date.' With an experts knowledge of 'what is there,' that then could be broken into large but manageable lots.

The sorted lots remaining after the archivist's 'cherry pick' payment' can then be sold off (they won't yield much in the way of shekels) and those proceeds could benefit the library.

There are truly very very few LP's which are 'Rare' and super desirable for collectors, or of any great monetary value.


P.s. I would contact the music librarians at nearby San Jose State University / De Anza (Cupertino) and Foothill (Mountain View) JC's / San Francisco State University / San Francisco Conservatory / U.C. Berkeley - all with good and active music departments - for input, or interest in re-locating these to other libraries where they might be valued and used.

Remember that most classical LPs are usually sold for about $ 0,5 - $ 3 in record shops, so don´t put expectations too high as regards the profit. If there are library labels on the covers, it will reduce the commercial value further, of course.

The Accord shops here in Copenhagen are known to have bought US second-hand LP containers to sell them here, but the market has been waning a lot, and there will be transport costs, so I guess the domestic / internet market is the obvious choice.

But before doing that, you should go to Ebay records, Auctions only, and check the idems more priced, and take note of labels, numbers, and players. Take care of search all the records, and if you find any of those, separate and keep them. Contrary, the collector will find them and ask them for him as his fee. And you will leaving him a huge profit of several hundreds, or even thousends. Even half a dozen from the 25.000 will be enough for him.

Glendale Public Library has an annual record sale. You might want to organize one of those. You could contact the major dealers at the Pasadena City College record swap meet too.

You could just give the entire collection to me.

The problem with collections that belong to libraries is that they are abused. They won't be in mint condition and thus not really collectible. I'd be pretty cautious because I would be concerned of damaging my needle on my turntable. You probably should contact some public libraries or other private or public schools.

Kevin

Thanks for the quick and helpful responses!
It seems the consensus is that I should
1. Inform myself
2. Find a local collector who can catalog/sort the collection
3. Sell the collectibles to a collector or via eBay
3. Donate the remainder to a local college music department

Seems like a reasonable plan.

As a little help, take care to separate:
Any recording of Bach'solo violin and solo cello works, complete or not.
Any recording of French pianists, male and specialy female.
Any recording of female violinists from the 50s or 60s. (or earlier) In particular Johanna Martzy, Ginette Neveu, Lola Bobescu, Camilla Wicks, Ida Hendel.
Any recording labels Decca (English), RCA Living Stereo, Columbia stereo (English after all) or Mercury Stereo, but from the 50.or 60s. and FIRST editions.
Any French recording of pianist or violinists on records of 10' (25 cms.)
But always remember this: the record AND the cover must be on an mint/excelent or at least very good condition. If are ruined, you can use it to make fires.

No jokes, the problem is the shipping. Ebay has a lot of LP, they are quite expensive, I have more than 600, I'd love to get rid of them, but I think, I am not sure that shipping would be very expensive.

Martin

The buyer pays the shipping. You pay when you send, but shipping is included in the final price.

Originally Posted by Odnoposoff

The buyer pays the shipping. You pay when you send, but shipping is included in the final price.

I know that, my friend, but sending a LP, I suppose is much more expensive than sending a CD. Imagine selling my LP for 6$ with a 17$ shipping!!!! Who would be interested in paying that much?

Martin

No sens to sell a LP on $6. by Ebay. Expert seller choose only the best for that, and no LP for less than 30. If you don't expect to get more than $6 for a LP, sell it to a private buyer.