selling your valuable records to stores

[Guest]

has anyone ever sold something to a record shop that buys used that would normally fetch in the hundreds around here or on the bay?

like at the newbury here, they have a decent used section among all their new stuff. but for the most part its all well preserved albums that are 20+ years old. im wondering how a store like that would handle a second hand copy of something like deja or through being cool... both buying and selling.

just general curiosity, because i dont think ive ever noticed anyone mention it around here. i assume that as the seller you would get substantially less than going to the bay, but would the ease and lack of fees more or less make up for it?

[idreamofpunk]

Chances are no. I can only imagine what Reckless gave someone for the haul they put up on ebay last year. They got OG vheissu, the alchemy index, Deja, The Hold Steady's Milk Crate Mosh 7", and a bunch of other stuff that was just too good.

I can't imagine they gave whoever brought those in very much.

[rudeboydh]

yeah, my experience in general is bad with selling to shops. I got 8$ for my Suicide Machines 2xLP War Profiteering and Match and Some Gasoline where I could have gotten 20$ or more for it on eBay. I also had a Total Chaos LP that I sold to a shop for 4$ when I could have gotten probably around 12$-15$ on eBay. And of course this is store trade too! If I would've taken cash, it would've been like 5$ for the Suicide Machines and like 3$ or less (can't remeber) for the Total Chaos. So yeah, in my experience, I'd rather have to hassle with eBay then to sell to shops again. On the flip side, I've found some amazing finds at shops. I bought The Lillingtons DBTV for like 6$ at a local shop, a Madness import for about 12$, and Bim skala Bim - Tuba City for like 5$. It goes both ways really. I also think it depends on the shop too. Some shops will look up eBay prices in store for you and give you a fair offer. Some just price their vinyl based on the condition of it. It depends mostly on the shop, but in my opinion, after these experiences, I will probably never sell to shops again.

[somethingvinyl]

Of course a store is going to give you less than eBay. I would say a store finds a value either by knowledge, eBay or popsike, then gives you a 1/3 or 1/4 of the value if you say something to effect of "I know what it's worth."

Stores have rent, overhead and other factors to consider. Most people who take shit to stores either know a.) it isn't worth the effort to sell it on eBay or b.) don't know how to look up the value and just are doing it because they think it's the only option.

The store I work at gets atleast one or two calls a day about buying collections simply because they have a store. Man, to buy people's records, I have to check Craig's List, the newspaper, etc. I would score so much stuff if I could open a shop.

[jase]

Of course a store is going to give you less than eBay. I would say a store finds a value either by knowledge, eBay or popsike, then gives you a 1/3 or 1/4 of the value if you say something to effect of "I know what it's worth."

Stores have rent, overhead and other factors to consider. Most people who take shit to stores either know a.) it isn't worth the effort to sell it on eBay or b.) don't know how to look up the value and just are doing it because they think it's the only option.

The store I work at gets atleast one or two calls a day about buying collections simply because they have a store. Man, to buy people's records, I have to check Craig's List, the newspaper, etc. I would score so much stuff if I could open a shop.

You forget C) a piece of shit thief looking to offload a bunch of stuff they stole

And D) a junkie looking for a fix.

[Derek™]

If you're worried about being lowballed, or dealing with fees, hassle, or the reliability of eBay... I'd suggest asking around and setting up a Paypal exchange with an eager buyer. Works wonders.

[vinyljunkiedistro]

and this is the reason people complain about stores not having stuff they like.

Cause everyone know sees recod collecting as a hobby and pays so much attention and knows exactly what their records are worth, and expects to get popsike prices off them, and to make a profit from their records.

Stores will not give you what you would get on ebay. Otherwise, they would go out of busines real fast. A good store will give you a good price on it, and pay you 40-50% of what they would sell it for (there are shady stores out there who will try to pull a fast one and pretend they know know somethings rare, and offer you 2 dollars on a record they will sell for 200 bucks. Fuck those stores).

As a physical store owner, i have to say nothing annoyed me more than some kid bringing in his 4 month old records and demanding 2 grand for his collection of 50 records. cause he has done his popsike research and 3 years ago all these isis records were worth bank!

If you want ebay prices, go to ebay. deal with the hassle, do the extra work, and wait a week or two for your money. youll pocket more in the end.

If you want zero hassle and the cash in a couple minutes, thats when you take it to the store.

keep in mind also, record prices fluctuate like crazy, which is why unless you have a legit rare record, a store would be stupid to pay 100 dollars for a record that came out a few months ago. A high priced record like that might sit in the store for a few months, and by then a repress comes out, or the hype dies down, and now the store is left eating the cost on a shitty hyped up variant that 6 months ago sold for 100 dollars but now is worth 10.

a kid with disposable income that drops 100 dollars on a record 3 weeks before a repress is announced might rationalize "oh well, i got the record, lesson learned", but a store that does that repeatedly wont be a store for very long.

[kurtz]

yeah, my experience in general is bad with selling to shops. I got 8$ for my Suicide Machines 2xLP War Profiteering and Match and Some Gasoline where I could have gotten 20$ or more for it on eBay. I also had a Total Chaos LP that I sold to a shop for 4$ when I could have gotten probably around 12$-15$ on eBay. And of course this is store trade too! If I would've taken cash, it would've been like 5$ for the Suicide Machines and like 3$ or less (can't remeber) for the Total Chaos. So yeah, in my experience, I'd rather have to hassle with eBay then to sell to shops again. On the flip side, I've found some amazing finds at shops. I bought The Lillingtons DBTV for like 6$ at a local shop, a Madness import for about 12$, and Bim skala Bim - Tuba City for like 5$. It goes both ways really. I also think it depends on the shop too. Some shops will look up eBay prices in store for you and give you a fair offer. Some just price their vinyl based on the condition of it. It depends mostly on the shop, but in my opinion, after these experiences, I will probably never sell to shops again.

Those are completely fair prices the store offered you.

Put your records on ebay next time and enjoy the extra 4 bucks you will make after fees. Better than letting an evil record store make that profit.

[somethingvinyl]

You forget C) a piece of shit thief looking to offload a bunch of stuff they stole

And D) a junkie looking for a fix.

Haha. The first one happens, sadly, yes. And the second, can't say I've experienced it but I'm sure it does.

[rudeboydh]

Those are completely fair prices the store offered you.

Put your records on ebay next time and enjoy the extra 4 bucks you will make after fees. Better than letting an evil record store make that profit.

When did I ever say the stores were evil? I understand why they buy records at those prices and I said in my post that I still buy from stores. I like to give stores my business and support them, but I just would rather sell online now. I'll then take that money to record stores so I have more to spend there. I'm sure they're happy with my business either way.

[rudeboydh]

And do the math: If I would have sold the Suicide Machines record on eBay for $20, it would have been about 17.50 after fees. That's double what the record store offered me in trade. in cash it would've been less. The Total Chaos record sold on eBay for 15.00 would have been about 2.00 in fees so that would make it 13.00 which is +9.00 what the shop offered me. That would've been about $30 in my pocket in cash instead of the 12$ the shops gave me in trade. Keep in mind, these are also conservative estimates for them as well. I don't know about you, but an $18+ difference on 2 records is definately worth the hassle of selling online to me.

[Guest]

hey guys.. chill out. like i said in the op, this is genuine curiosity. im not selling anything.

[callen]

If you want ebay prices, go to ebay.

should be written in stone

[ronniegwilliams]

When you sell on eBay, you become the 'store' therefore the buyer is willing to pay said prices. Of course a record store is going to offer you less; they become the middle man, and still need to make a profit on purchased product.

[kjkenney]

I work at a record store and while it doesn't happen often, people do bring in their high dollar stuff. A lot of times they have noooo idea its worth really anything at all so its always a nice surprise. We try to give half of what we sell it for, if not more depending on how bad we want it and if we know it will sell well. Some dude came in with some Mars Volta stuff a couple months ago and got $80 for DeLoused and $50 for Frances the Mute. Other things to consider is that these don't sell right away. Online they would yes, so Reckless, for example, has that advantage, but some stores are purely brick and mortar and depend on foot traffic only to sell these. Our store is in a part of Arizona where there's mainly a) alot of old people buying Tom Jones cds and Yes records or metalheads. Like the Darkthrone listening black metal metalheads. So us spending $80 on a Mars Volta record which we're selling at $149 and having it sit there for two months, yes its still in the store, is something we need to take into account and is a gamble in a sense. The instant gratification of the customer getting their money is fulfilled but its an investment on our part to assume since it sold for X amount eBay that it will do so with the people coming into the store.

[Guest]

I work at a record store and while it doesn't happen often, people do bring in their high dollar stuff. A lot of times they have noooo idea its worth really anything at all so its always a nice surprise. We try to give half of what we sell it for, if not more depending on how bad we want it and if we know it will sell well. Some dude came in with some Mars Volta stuff a couple months ago and got $80 for DeLoused and $50 for Frances the Mute. Other things to consider is that these don't sell right away. Online they would yes, so Reckless, for example, has that advantage, but some stores are purely brick and mortar and depend on foot traffic only to sell these. Our store is in a part of Arizona where there's mainly a) alot of old people buying Tom Jones cds and Yes records or metalheads. Like the Darkthrone listening black metal metalheads. So us spending $80 on a Mars Volta record which we're selling at $149 and having it sit there for two months, yes its still in the store, is something we need to take into account and is a gamble in a sense. The instant gratification of the customer getting their money is fulfilled but its an investment on our part to assume since it sold for X amount eBay that it will do so with the people coming into the store.

thanks for staying on topic