posted on September 5, 2001 07:05:35 AM new
Six years ago when we cleared out my husband's aunt's apartment after she died, we found a lot of LP records. Packed them away and just began looking at them this morning.
I had thought for 6 years there were just a few worthless records, but now I'm not so sure. They are from the earliest days of LPs and I think this couple had collected the soundtrack of every musical made. These are in great condition. There is also an original sound-track recording of Gone with the Wind, on LP.
There are early Belafontes and Lena Hornes. There is a "Singing Nun" album with sketches of the nuns' lives in their monastery included. Some Norman Luboff I'll assume isn't worth anything, Mantovani ditto. The record debut of Andre Watts.
Edited to add: These range from 1950 to 1969; the husband died in early 70s and the wife quit buying records.
What would you do at this point? I'm assuming some of the musical soundtracks can be sold by touting the star. There are perhaps 100 there, and for me it's overwhelming.
They are all in good condition, probably hardly ever played, just bought when they went to touring shows from east coast to west coast. Most of the covers are so pristine they could be framed.
[ edited by roadsmith on Sep 5, 2001 07:07 AM ]
posted on September 5, 2001 07:47:20 AM new
Just my thoughts -- your mileage may vary!
Unfortunately the only way to determine if they are worth anything is research one by one. I know it seems daunting for 100 albums, but each value is truly individually assessed. While jacket condition is important, certainly - folks are more concerned with state of album itself. They are also quite picky - if you state record itself is mint, it darn had better be pristine with no scratches or scuffs!
First sell any that are still sealed - they should be your priority.
You will be surprised that albums you swear are valued quite highly (before you research)turn out to be duds.
Also, records are hard to mail - safest way is to place in "bought" record mailers which average $1.00 to $2.00 EACH - bringing your cost of doing business selling records a bit higher. Also purchasing a record cleaning kit for a few bucks can also transform some borderline albums into ones that buyers will love.
Otherwise I have had occasional good luck with records; vocals do better than musicals or compilations. Very odd LPs (e.g. soundtrack of television shows such as Emergency! from the 1970s netted me $85.00!) can do quite well. I also had a cruise line orchestra recording (only found on the cruise itself) from the 1960's go for $26.00.
Be careful using the buy it now feature with albums - you might want to get clear cut research done before setting a BIN price.
Anyway, good luck - and hope the collection nets you awesome results.
posted on September 5, 2001 09:29:26 AM new
Ha! I think I bought some of your aunt's LPs at an auction a month or so ago!
I have a lot of classical, early Belafonte, Herb Alpert, and even your Montivani. You are correct, Mantovani is virtually worthless. You might want to sell them as a lot instead of individually.
I purchase individual plastic sleeves for each LP and also invest in LP mailers -- no looking for pizza boxes. After shipping 1,000s of LPs, I am happy to say that I have never (knock on wood) had one arrive broken. I buy both of the above items from http://www.bagsunlimited.com.
At the above mentioned auction I paid very little for 6 cases (probably 200 LPs and 78s) and when I listed them, I had one LP that sold for more than the price I paid for all 200. I figure any others that I sell are "gravy." I haven't even touched 4 of the boxes, so I have only sold 1/3 of them to-date.
We liquidated my mother-in-law's collection of old LPs about two years ago. I bought a couple of price guides which were very helpful with regard to labels and re-issues. I am one of the few non-collectors that still has a turntable that works, so I can also play the LPs to help grade them. I always describe the LPs to the best of my ability (my buyers say that I usually make them sound much worse than they really are) and state in my auctions that I am not a collector and that I don't understand the grading systems.
posted on September 5, 2001 10:22:07 AM new
This is mainly a collectible market where they search for rarity and unopened albums. Heavy Metal albums do better than Pop. Tv themes do better than movie soundtracks. Rick Springfield sells better than Michael Jackson. Whatever has a smaller following yet a very loyal fan base.
posted on September 5, 2001 10:49:58 AM new
I always do a completed search on my lps before i waste 30 cents..you will find out that most soundtracks are a dime a dozen..out of every 100 lps i buy,perhaps 5 are worth my time and effort to list.
the cheaper lps i run 5,10,15 at a time and pray i get a bid. I haul lots of them to an auction to get rid of them also.
Unless they are extremely rare they should be in excellant shape also. By excelant shape i mean 8 of 10..which we call a vg+.
posted on September 5, 2001 11:29:50 AM new
roadsmith - I sold approx. 200 lps from the 30s thru the 60s. Most sold for around $4.00. Did get much better prices on old lps that had pictures of the old time singers on the cover. Jazz and big bands lps were selling well at that time. ($16.00) Unusual lps also did well.
We had a couple Elvis lps that brought over $50.00. This was approx. 3 years ago. Cover condition, insert condition, vinyl condition all were important to record collectors. To some the cover condition was more important to them than the lp itself.
Checking on ebay search is a help to weed *out* which ones are getting low or no bids, but don't rely on it alone as you may have a 'special' lp in there that has hardly been listed as it's less common.
At the time I sold the lps, the USPS was still allowing (even recommending) that the flat (PM) boxes be turned inside out and mailed 1st class. Again, at that time I shipped one lp to anywhere in the US (48 states) for $1.74. If I were doing it now, I'd just mail them wrapped in stiff cardboard that covers them for mailing.
Hope you have one in that pile that does well enough for you to be worth the time it takes to list. I found listing a dozen here and there worked better than listing them all at once. Good luck
posted on September 6, 2001 08:58:26 AM new
Use the large flat priority boxes to ship your lps..leave them flat..cut off the flaps that don't have glue..slip your lp in a whole newspaper for cushioning..slip it in the envelope and seal.
Pizza boxes are fine for overseas or canadian or bookrate sales..i just can't get enough of them around so i buy my boxes at 123pix.com.
