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Selling, Packing, and Shipping Records


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Hey guys. I haven't been on the boards the last few months due to the fact that I haven't been buying any records lately. I've now decided that I want to sell all of my records on eBay, but I have a lot of questions. I have both paypal and eBay accounts, but I've only used them to buy records.

 

I have record mailers and cardboard inserts and tomorrow I'll be picking up label paper, but I'm not 100% on where to go from there.

 

Some of the things I really want to know about are

  • The eBay selling process
  • Shipping labels (No clue how to use them)
  • Shipping costs
  • How to properly pack records

I'd really appreciate any help and advice I can get, because I know hardly anything about this and I'd like to sell my vinyl collection fairly fast. Thanks!!

 

 

 

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Well, the first thing you should do is list your whole selling list here. No, seriously. You can completely bypass any Discogs / Ebay fees that might occur due to them allowing you a selling spot on their site. Plus you could really help some guys out here who are looking for what you're selling, and in that case you'd be selling to real dudes with real collections. Anyway.

 

Ebay Selling Process, I can't help you much there because I don't sell on ebay. I;ve bought plenty of times and it seems fairly simple and much like any other site. You sell the item to highest bidder, they pay within a certain amount of time, you ship it to them. If they don't pay you can Second Chance offer to next highest bidder or re-list it. Nothing too crazy.

 

Shipping labels are convenient, though I've never used them. Paypal can give you printable shipping labels so that there's no confusion with handwriting and the whole process is a bit more streamlined. I believe it saves you a tiny bit of cash too. You just print them out and stick them on your mailer.

 

Shipping is Media Mail for records, and for a single record it runs me about $3.17 at the post office. For 7" records, I believe due to the weight you can upgrade to Priority for a couple cents more and it gets there much faster. Tracking and insurance are extra for Media Mail, if you bump it up to faster/higher cost sometimes those are included for free. Obviously the higher the weight, the higher the cost, across the board.

 

How to properly pack. First I'd show you over to this thread, which did help me when I began selling. Basically, if it's a used record, remove the inners containing the records from the jacket and place them beside the jacket within the plastic sleeve, so it doesn't damage the sleeve bumping around. If it's brand new and sealed with shrinkwrap, you don't have to do this unless the buyer wants you to. Some people like one thing, others like a different thing. Put one or two square cardboard liners on top and bottom of the record, most of the time one is fine. If you're a really cool guy who knows what he's doing, you'll surround the record with bubble wrap. Essentially you want zero empty space within the box when it's all taped up and ready to go - empty space means room for bumping, which means damage. Before you tape it up, lower your tabs, grab the finished product and shake it a tiny bit to see if any contents are shifting. If they are, you did bad, do it again or add another liner or something. If nothing is shifting, tape it up with strong tape (not Scotch). Remember that this box is going to be traveling through weather conditions. Because of that, don't just tape the middle flap to close it, tape ALL OPEN sides of the box, to prevent dust/bugs/snow/whatever from getting in the nooks and crannies. Put the receiver's name and address on the front, probably with your return address just in case, and maybe a little 'Fragile: Please Do Not Bend!' or something on there so the mail guys might not toss it around.

 

That all said, let's see your list.  :)

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Well, the first thing you should do is list your whole selling list here. No, seriously. You can completely bypass any Discogs / Ebay fees that might occur due to them allowing you a selling spot on their site. Plus you could really help some guys out here who are looking for what you're selling, and in that case you'd be selling to real dudes with real collections. Anyway.

 

Ebay Selling Process, I can't help you much there because I don't sell on ebay. I;ve bought plenty of times and it seems fairly simple and much like any other site. You sell the item to highest bidder, they pay within a certain amount of time, you ship it to them. If they don't pay you can Second Chance offer to next highest bidder or re-list it. Nothing too crazy.

 

Shipping labels are convenient, though I've never used them. Paypal can give you printable shipping labels so that there's no confusion with handwriting and the whole process is a bit more streamlined. I believe it saves you a tiny bit of cash too. You just print them out and stick them on your mailer.

 

Shipping is Media Mail for records, and for a single record it runs me about $3.17 at the post office. For 7" records, I believe due to the weight you can upgrade to Priority for a couple cents more and it gets there much faster. Tracking and insurance are extra for Media Mail, if you bump it up to faster/higher cost sometimes those are included for free. Obviously the higher the weight, the higher the cost, across the board.

 

How to properly pack. First I'd show you over to this thread, which did help me when I began selling. Basically, if it's a used record, remove the inners containing the records from the jacket and place them beside the jacket within the plastic sleeve, so it doesn't damage the sleeve bumping around. If it's brand new and sealed with shrinkwrap, you don't have to do this unless the buyer wants you to. Some people like one thing, others like a different thing. Put one or two square cardboard liners on top and bottom of the record, most of the time one is fine. If you're a really cool guy who knows what he's doing, you'll surround the record with bubble wrap. Essentially you want zero empty space within the box when it's all taped up and ready to go - empty space means room for bumping, which means damage. Before you tape it up, lower your tabs, grab the finished product and shake it a tiny bit to see if any contents are shifting. If they are, you did bad, do it again or add another liner or something. If nothing is shifting, tape it up with strong tape (not Scotch). Remember that this box is going to be traveling through weather conditions. Because of that, don't just tape the middle flap to close it, tape ALL OPEN sides of the box, to prevent dust/bugs/snow/whatever from getting in the nooks and crannies. Put the receiver's name and address on the front, probably with your return address just in case, and maybe a little 'Fragile: Please Do Not Bend!' or something on there so the mail guys might not toss it around.

 

That all said, let's see your list.  :)

 

That answered many of the questions I had, thank you so much! 

 

Here is my collection, which I believe is up to date: http://www.discogs.com/user/FailureByDesign/collection. I would totally sell my records on the board, but I want to sell them fast and get as much for them as possible. I know that sounds absolutely terrible, but I really need money for a plane ticket at the moment

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Well considering the list - Brand New, Circa Survive, Mixtapes - you will not have problems finding buyers here, as long as you're not gouging. There's a big divide between what is considered fair pricing and 'ebay prices' here, and if that's the case for you, ebay would be your best bet if you're just looking for a buyer.

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That answered many of the questions I had, thank you so much! 

 

Here is my collection, which I believe is up to date: http://www.discogs.com/user/FailureByDesign/collection. I would totally sell my records on the board, but I want to sell them fast and get as much for them as possible. I know that sounds absolutely terrible, but I really need money for a plane ticket at the moment

The only quick way to sell records is to go to your local record store.

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If you decide to sell some Circa stuff, send me a PM!

Shipping labels on eBay is very simple. As soon as your item sells, you'll receive an email with the option to "Print a shipping label," which directs you to a page, use some PayPal money (not a whole lot) and as soon as you pay, you can print that baby out!

One thing is that when you're taping the shipping label onto the mailer, do your best NOT to tape over any barcodes. I've always been told not to do this. I guess it can cause problems with the scanner and if that happens, it won't ship. I'm assuming.

Also, what I personally like doing is taping over the buyer's and - in this case - your address. Imagine if some rain drops hit that area and it gets smudged. Then you gots probs.

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I would suggest trying to sell your stuff on the boards for at least a couple days. Look at popsike or discogs for asking prices and then subtract a dollar or two. Advertising "Set Sale" will always attract more attention. It really is much more convenient to sell here if you do it right (just look at the more popular threads on the sell/want boards to see how its done properly). You won't get above market value, but the vast majority of people here aren't going to try and bend you over. Then you can take the leftovers that you can't sell here after a few days and throw them up other places.

 

I've made a lot of quick cash this way. Paid for more than a few vacations.

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