Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
User avatar
Topic Author
midareff
Posts: 7711
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:43 am
Location: Biscayne Bay, South Florida

Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by midareff »

Over the last 30+ years I have collected a 750 CD (+/-) music collection of mixed pop and rock, jazz (about 30%), show tunes and classical orchestral performances. Many were acquired years ago and remastered copies now exist (not not many of the Jazz) although whether or not the remasters sound better is subject to debate. These 750 or so are the result of perhaps 3,500 CDs coming in the door and poor recordings and poor performances being sold when CDs where the hot medium. I find I have moved on from CDs although I have an exceptional player and am now streaming almost everything I listen too between Internet Radio, Tidal and Spotify, in at least the quality of the original CDs, except for some Jazz recordings that were boxed sets long out of print and circulation.

To put things in perspective, I don't need money so this isn't about that, but I don't like seeing things I don't need go to waste. I think as things continue to evolve musically streaming will continue to mainstream be how music is obtained and CDs will become a valueless medium, even less so than currently.

The real question is; should I try and sell those discs that can be sold while they can... eBay @ $5 + media mail shipping with eBay's 5% off every ten days until sold? Outgoing mail here gets sent from the Concierge desk so it isn't USPS trips with gas and parking. As long as I get media mail costs + a few cents for tape and label printing I'm even.

Your thoughts?
User avatar
arcticpineapplecorp.
Posts: 15081
Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2012 8:22 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by arcticpineapplecorp. »

midareff wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 1:53 pm As long as I get media mail costs + a few cents for tape and label printing I'm even.

Your thoughts?
are you looking to break even or make profit?

how much profit?

Is that worth whatever time will be spent?

If break even, why wouldn't you just donate the cds and possibly get a tax deduction if possible (if itemizing and depending upon FMV of CDs)?
It's hard to accept the truth when the lies were exactly what you wanted to hear. Investing is simple, but not easy. Buy, hold & rebalance low cost index funds & manage taxable events. Asking Portfolio Questions | Wiki
cabould
Posts: 34
Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2021 8:12 am

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by cabould »

List them on discogs.com There is a huge user base of people looking for used CD's. You will need to create a free account, and all transactions can be facilitated through PayPal. I've purchased tons of CD's and vinyl through the site.
bob60014
Posts: 3768
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2017 8:59 pm
Location: The Land Beyond ORD

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by bob60014 »

Donate them! CDs are a dime a dozen and very few people are buying.
User avatar
Topic Author
midareff
Posts: 7711
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:43 am
Location: Biscayne Bay, South Florida

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by midareff »

FWIW, they are in several solid teak glass front cabinets so this is not an eye sore situation. I could donate them but I would like to derive some cash benefit from the disposal. I already give > 3% of AGI ($3K - $%K) to children's health and welfare charities and adding to the donation tax situation will invite little more than an audit and IRS heartburn without an appraisal which would probably cost, and then the IRS would probably question that too. Rather just add some of the proceeds to my yearly giving.
User avatar
GerryL
Posts: 3902
Joined: Fri Sep 20, 2013 11:40 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by GerryL »

You might try selling them in sets/collections by genre. A collector might be interested in getting a good price on a set. You could off-load multiple titles of a genre where some individual titles might not find buyers. And you would be passing along your collection to another collector ... for the time being.

When I made a big move, I decided to down-size my frog collection during a moving sale. I had them displayed all together and was relieved when someone offered to buy them all for his daughter who also collected frog items. (I have maintained a subset of the ones that have memories for me.)
User avatar
snackdog
Posts: 3102
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 3:57 am
Location: PNW

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by snackdog »

It could be difficult to even donate them at this stage. They made end up at the dump, unfortunately.
BH Consumer FAQ: | Car? Used Toyota, Lexus or Miata. | House? 20% down and 3x salary. | Vacation house? No. | Umbrella? $1 million. | Goods? Costco.
User avatar
Topic Author
midareff
Posts: 7711
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:43 am
Location: Biscayne Bay, South Florida

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by midareff »

snackdog wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:31 pm It could be difficult to even donate them at this stage. They made end up at the dump, unfortunately.
Well, worthless they may be but that doesn't happen until an eBayer doesn't bid mail cost plus a couple bucks. I'm willing to spend $34 to buy a 100 bubble mailers on the bet many, many folks have not dropped $550 plus in internet streaming equipment at this time and still buy CDs.
Last edited by midareff on Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
dukeblue219
Posts: 4074
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2016 11:40 am

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by dukeblue219 »

I believe there was a recent thread of someone with 2000+ CDs in a similar pickle. Selling them individually or small sets will give you the most revenue, but at what cost in time and shipping?

This is going to be extremely tedious and, if the collection has any sentimental value, very discouraging.
rebellovw
Posts: 1748
Joined: Tue Aug 16, 2016 4:30 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by rebellovw »

Join Steve Hoffman Music Forum - and see if anyone is interested - introduce yourself and post a few of your favorites - doesn't cost anything to sell stuff. Make hobby out of it - you might make few bucks - if no body wants them then you know they are not worth anything and in that case - give them away on craigslist.
User avatar
Topic Author
midareff
Posts: 7711
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:43 am
Location: Biscayne Bay, South Florida

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by midareff »

dukeblue219 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:36 pm I believe there was a recent thread of someone with 2000+ CDs in a similar pickle. Selling them individually or small sets will give you the most revenue, but at what cost in time and shipping?

This is going to be extremely tedious and, if the collection has any sentimental value, very discouraging.
Interesting response and thank you for the time to write. I'm retired and time is not an issue... nor is any revenue derived, really. The recorded music medium has just moved on and that's what it is.
dukeblue219
Posts: 4074
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2016 11:40 am

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by dukeblue219 »

Here was that other thread for additional perspectives viewtopic.php?t=342306
rebellovw
Posts: 1748
Joined: Tue Aug 16, 2016 4:30 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by rebellovw »

midareff wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:39 pm
dukeblue219 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:36 pm I believe there was a recent thread of someone with 2000+ CDs in a similar pickle. Selling them individually or small sets will give you the most revenue, but at what cost in time and shipping?

This is going to be extremely tedious and, if the collection has any sentimental value, very discouraging.
Interesting response and thank you for the time to write. I'm retired and time is not an issue... nor is any revenue derived, really. The recorded music medium has just moved on and that's what it is.
CDs are awesome - I still buy some CDs when I don't want to spring for vinyl for something that I want.
User avatar
noraz123
Posts: 504
Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2014 1:23 am
Location: SF Bay Area

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by noraz123 »

snackdog wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:31 pm It could be difficult to even donate them at this stage. They made end up at the dump, unfortunately.
Unfortunately, I think that this is likely correct. Just as the OP has moved on from CDs, so has the rest of the world.

I gave up a much smaller cd collection (perhaps 100-150) years ago. I gave them to Goodwill and was happy they took them. I am not sure they will take them now, and I think that you'd have a hard time claiming a tax deduction of any value.

If you do sell, I like the idea above as selling them as a set, or a few sets. Trying to sell individual CDs sounds logistically challenging. Perhaps a set of jazz CDs, a set of rock, etc.
User avatar
inmymind
Posts: 90
Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2015 9:57 am

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by inmymind »

You could try listing them all as a bulk lot and sell locally. I've had success with similar unwanted items on OfferUp. You're not going to get much due to everything moving to streaming services.
Esse quam videri
WhiteMaxima
Posts: 3341
Joined: Thu May 19, 2016 5:04 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by WhiteMaxima »

The CD rack space are x $/sq is your savings. Use that to subscribe Tidal, Sportify or Qobuz. sell you CD collection, Hi-Res musics (96kHz/24bits) are all in the cloud now.
User avatar
Topic Author
midareff
Posts: 7711
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:43 am
Location: Biscayne Bay, South Florida

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by midareff »

noraz123 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:42 pm
snackdog wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:31 pm It could be difficult to even donate them at this stage. They made end up at the dump, unfortunately.
Unfortunately, I think that this is likely correct. Just as the OP has moved on from CDs, so has the rest of the world.

I gave up a much smaller cd collection (perhaps 100-150) years ago. I gave them to Goodwill and was happy they took them. I am not sure they will take them now, and I think that you'd have a hard time claiming a tax deduction of any value.

If you do sell, I like the idea above as selling them as a set, or a few sets. Trying to sell individual CDs sounds logistically challenging. Perhaps a set of jazz CDs, a set of rock, etc.
Thanks for your thoughts..... you maybe right. I've been doing audio on and off for > 50 years and have seen and experienced the changes from vinyl to tape to CD to to decent quality CD to remastered CD to really decent quality CD to virtually bit perfect streaming. I have good equipment so an app lets me pick from 25,000 internet stations with 20 presets and when I hear an artist I like I can go right to Tidal and pick anything from all their albums.... and I don't need to move from my listening chair.
veggivet
Posts: 1482
Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2015 12:07 pm
Location: New England

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by veggivet »

Freecycle.org may be helpful to help you get rid of them. If you want 100 bubble mailers for way less than $34, let me know. I've got a box I was going to put up on eBay, but I'd rather see them go for less but for a good cause. By the way, what is your top of the line CD player, and do you plan on selling it?
User avatar
Topic Author
midareff
Posts: 7711
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:43 am
Location: Biscayne Bay, South Florida

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by midareff »

WhiteMaxima wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:49 pm The CD rack space are x $/sq is your savings. Use that to subscribe Tidal, Sportify or Qobuz. sell you CD collection, Hi-Res musics (96kHz/24bits) are all in the cloud now.
LOL, already picked up a $99 for the year Hi-Fi Tidal with guaranteed $119 renewals (less 5%) and have Spottily free as well but can't seem to find a need to use it.
clip651
Posts: 1586
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2014 11:02 am

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by clip651 »

If you think each individual CD may be worth a dollar or more, check a few titles on Ebay and see. You can look at sold listings only (there are filtering options on the far left if you are searching for items on ebay on a computer) to see what people have actually paid for a similar item recently. If you just look at current listings you are only seeing asking prices. No guarantee anyone is buying at those prices.

If you don't mind spending time on ebay creating listings and whatnot, and spending time corresponding with buyers and shipping things out, poke around a bit and see. Some CDs are more rare than others and may bring a few dollars. Lots of others are a dime a dozen.

Also keep in mind shipping CDs in a bubble wrap envelope is likely to end up with some CD cases broken during shipping, which may result in unhappy buyers and the associated hassles and refunds. I still use CDs, and buy some occasionally, new from Amazon or directly from indie artists, or used from Ebay. The ones that arrive in just a bubble wrap envelope (amazon) frequently have cracked cases. Ebay sellers sometimes put a lot of effort into packaging (various layers of wrapping, sometimes using boxes, etc) and sometimes those come though in better shape. Keep in mind ebay policies are buyer friendly, not seller friendly, if you end up with a disgruntled customer, even if it's not your fault.

If you do tackle selling your collection, post back and let us know how it goes.

cj
dcd72
Posts: 98
Joined: Fri Apr 10, 2015 7:45 am

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by dcd72 »

midareff wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:34 pm
snackdog wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:31 pm It could be difficult to even donate them at this stage. They made end up at the dump, unfortunately.
Well, worthless they may be but that doesn't happen until an eBayer doesn't bid mail cost plus a couple bucks. I'm willing to spend $34 to buy a 100 bubble mailers on the bet many, many folks have not dropped $550 plus in internet streaming equipment at this time and still buy CDs.
What do you need beyond a phone, and maybe a bluetooth speaker?

You'll get the most benefit donating them wherever will take them in bulk and taking the deduction.
clip651
Posts: 1586
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2014 11:02 am

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by clip651 »

midareff wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:19 pm FWIW, they are in several solid teak glass front cabinets so this is not an eye sore situation. I could donate them but I would like to derive some cash benefit from the disposal. I already give > 3% of AGI ($3K - $%K) to children's health and welfare charities and adding to the donation tax situation will invite little more than an audit and IRS heartburn without an appraisal which would probably cost, and then the IRS would probably question that too. Rather just add some of the proceeds to my yearly giving.
The idea behind donating is to do that if they are not worth much. In which case, there isn't much of anything to report to the IRS. If you find out that even putting hours in on ebay, you won't make much return, then you wouldn't be donating much value. A little, sure. But nothing to make a blip on a tax return.
User avatar
Topic Author
midareff
Posts: 7711
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:43 am
Location: Biscayne Bay, South Florida

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by midareff »

veggivet wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:51 pm Freecycle.org may be helpful to help you get rid of them. If you want 100 bubble mailers for way less than $34, let me know. I've got a box I was going to put up on eBay, but I'd rather see them go for less but for a good cause. By the way, what is your top of the line CD player, and do you plan on selling it?
I have a Sony XA 5400 ES CD/SACD player. It was A+ rated by Stereophile magazine for three consecutive years and is an amazing Redbook and SACD player. It has low hours since I was not back into music until more recently. I bought if from Sony directly but doubt I still have the receipt. I have used it with Straightwire Virtuoso XLR cables, Straightwire Serenade RCA Cables and a couple different Canare Digital cables No doubt it deserved it's Stereophile rating.

Why? PM me if you need to.
User avatar
Topic Author
midareff
Posts: 7711
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:43 am
Location: Biscayne Bay, South Florida

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by midareff »

clip651 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:53 pm If you think each individual CD may be worth a dollar or more, check a few titles on Ebay and see. You can look at sold listings only (there are filtering options on the far left if you are searching for items on ebay on a computer) to see what people have actually paid for a similar item recently. If you just look at current listings you are only seeing asking prices. No guarantee anyone is buying at those prices.

If you don't mind spending time on ebay creating listings and whatnot, and spending time corresponding with buyers and shipping things out, poke around a bit and see. Some CDs are more rare than others and may bring a few dollars. Lots of others are a dime a dozen.

Also keep in mind shipping CDs in a bubble wrap envelope is likely to end up with some CD cases broken during shipping, which may result in unhappy buyers and the associated hassles and refunds. I still use CDs, and buy some occasionally, new from Amazon or directly from indie artists, or used from Ebay. The ones that arrive in just a bubble wrap envelope (amazon) frequently have cracked cases. Ebay sellers sometimes put a lot of effort into packaging (various layers of wrapping, sometimes using boxes, etc) and sometimes those come though in better shape. Keep in mind ebay policies are buyer friendly, not seller friendly, if you end up with a disgruntled customer, even if it's not your fault.

If you do tackle selling your collection, post back and let us know how it goes.

cj
Yes, have the same concerns.
User avatar
Topic Author
midareff
Posts: 7711
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:43 am
Location: Biscayne Bay, South Florida

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by midareff »

dcd72 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:56 pm
midareff wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:34 pm
snackdog wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:31 pm It could be difficult to even donate them at this stage. They made end up at the dump, unfortunately.
Well, worthless they may be but that doesn't happen until an eBayer doesn't bid mail cost plus a couple bucks. I'm willing to spend $34 to buy a 100 bubble mailers on the bet many, many folks have not dropped $550 plus in internet streaming equipment at this time and still buy CDs.
What do you need beyond a phone, and maybe a bluetooth speaker?

You'll get the most benefit donating them wherever will take them in bulk and taking the deduction.
OK, you have never heard high end audio imaging and presentation so I can't explain in a post the entire palpable presence thing, and won't even try. Enjoy your Bluetooth audio.
Broken Man 1999
Posts: 8626
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:31 am
Location: West coast of Florida, near Champa Bay !

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

I have the same opportunity, though a few more CDs, 1090 according to my Windows Media Player. Though, I haven't listened to any for a couple of months.

A DD gave me an Amazon Unlimited HD Music subscription for Christmas. I love it, allows me to listen to any of my old favorites, and enjoy new musicians I have been led to by the thread entitled What are you listening to now right here at BHs.

After removing all the "must keep" ones (some of are DD's concerts when she was in youth orchestras/community orchestras, and orchestras in Europe), I am going to donate most to our library. Almost all were ripped to my PC and then stored, never actually played them.

There are some I will attempt to sell, like this one, sells for around $200 on Amazon, new and used:
The Beatles (The Original Studio Recordings) Stereo Box Set Limited Edition, Box Set, Remastered

For giggles and grins, a couple of different donation valuation sites that I checked showed a valuation of $2 to $5. Not much interest in attempting to sell a boatload of CDs to who knows how many individual buyers. So I'll sell the ones that can command a good price, and donate the rest. As usual, I will take the laziest way out. :D

Broken Man 1999
“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven then I shall not go." - Mark Twain
WhiteMaxima
Posts: 3341
Joined: Thu May 19, 2016 5:04 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by WhiteMaxima »

midareff wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:03 pm
veggivet wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:51 pm Freecycle.org may be helpful to help you get rid of them. If you want 100 bubble mailers for way less than $34, let me know. I've got a box I was going to put up on eBay, but I'd rather see them go for less but for a good cause. By the way, what is your top of the line CD player, and do you plan on selling it?
I have a Sony XA 5400 ES CD/SACD player. It was A+ rated by Stereophile magazine for three consecutive years and is an amazing Redbook and SACD player. It has low hours since I was not back into music until more recently. I bought if from Sony directly but doubt I still have the receipt. I have used it with Straightwire Virtuoso XLR cables, Straightwire Serenade RCA Cables and a couple different Canare Digital cables No doubt it deserved it's Stereophile rating.

Why? PM me if you need to.
I have a Sony SCD-777ES SACD player which can be used as door jamming rock. Weighs 1/2 ton, it has a sliden door and copper spindle weight. Super nice as a SACD/CD turntable. Now I am using an Oppo 105D which has an App to stream Tidal directly. I use ipad to browse music and send command directly to Oppo.
User avatar
Topic Author
midareff
Posts: 7711
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:43 am
Location: Biscayne Bay, South Florida

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by midareff »

Broken Man 1999 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:08 pm I have the same opportunity, though a few more CDs, 1090 according to my Windows Media Player. Though, I haven't listened to any for a couple of months.

A DD gave me an Amazon Unlimited HD Music subscription for Christmas. I love it, allows me to listen to any of my old favorites, and enjoy new musicians I have been led to by the thread entitled What are you listening to now right here at BHs.

After removing all the "must keep" ones (some of are DD's concerts when she was in youth orchestras/community orchestras, and orchestras in Europe), I am going to donate most to our library. Almost all were ripped to my PC and then stored, never actually played them.

There are some I will attempt to sell, like this one, sells for around $200 on Amazon, new and used:
The Beatles (The Original Studio Recordings) Stereo Box Set Limited Edition, Box Set, Remastered

For giggles and grins, a couple of different donation valuation sites that I checked showed a valuation of $2 to $5. Not much interest in attempting to sell a boatload of CDs to who knows how many individual buyers. So I'll sell the ones that can command a good price, and donate the rest. As usual, I will take the laziest way out. :D

Broken Man 1999
How do you evaluate the sound quality difference between the service and the original discs?
User avatar
Topic Author
midareff
Posts: 7711
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:43 am
Location: Biscayne Bay, South Florida

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by midareff »

WhiteMaxima wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:13 pm
midareff wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:03 pm
veggivet wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:51 pm Freecycle.org may be helpful to help you get rid of them. If you want 100 bubble mailers for way less than $34, let me know. I've got a box I was going to put up on eBay, but I'd rather see them go for less but for a good cause. By the way, what is your top of the line CD player, and do you plan on selling it?
I have a Sony XA 5400 ES CD/SACD player. It was A+ rated by Stereophile magazine for three consecutive years and is an amazing Redbook and SACD player. It has low hours since I was not back into music until more recently. I bought if from Sony directly but doubt I still have the receipt. I have used it with Straightwire Virtuoso XLR cables, Straightwire Serenade RCA Cables and a couple different Canare Digital cables No doubt it deserved it's Stereophile rating.

Why? PM me if you need to.
I have a Sony SCD-777ES SACD player which can be used as door jamming rock. Weighs 1/2 ton, it has a sliden door and copper spindle weight. Super nice as a SACD/CD turntable. Now I am using an Oppo 105D which has an App to stream Tidal directly. I use ipad to browse music and send command directly to Oppo.
I am using a Cambridge CXN (V2) streamer to feed a Benchmark DAC 3b which feeds an Audio Research preamp. Gear quality is not an issue here..... the Cambridge can search and tie to a world of internet stations which I have 20 tagged as favorites as well as access to Tidal Hi-Fi and Spotify.
WhiteMaxima
Posts: 3341
Joined: Thu May 19, 2016 5:04 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by WhiteMaxima »

For desktop, I am using a Mac Min ->Topping D50s DAC->Little Dot MkII Tube Amp-> Sennheriser HD600. Qobuz and Amazon HD offer Hi-Res music (up to 192Khz/24bit) compare to Tidal HiFi/MQA (44.1khz/16bit). I can tell HiRes from HiFi. Sennheiser combined with Tube Amp give you a more warm and analog sound.
UpperNwGuy
Posts: 9479
Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2017 7:16 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by UpperNwGuy »

Broken Man 1999 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:08 pm For giggles and grins, a couple of different donation valuation sites that I checked showed a valuation of $2 to $5. Not much interest in attempting to sell a boatload of CDs to who knows how many individual buyers. So I'll sell the ones that can command a good price, and donate the rest. As usual, I will take the laziest way out. :D
To whom will you donate your CDs? I have several thousand CDs and don't think my nearby libraries want those quantities.
WhiteMaxima
Posts: 3341
Joined: Thu May 19, 2016 5:04 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by WhiteMaxima »

UpperNwGuy wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:34 pm
Broken Man 1999 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:08 pm For giggles and grins, a couple of different donation valuation sites that I checked showed a valuation of $2 to $5. Not much interest in attempting to sell a boatload of CDs to who knows how many individual buyers. So I'll sell the ones that can command a good price, and donate the rest. As usual, I will take the laziest way out. :D
To whom will you donate your CDs? I have several thousand CDs and don't think my nearby libraries want those quantities.
My library use to sell these CDs for $1. Donated by local people. I bought some I like but since I subscribe to Qobuz and Netflix,I stopped buying CDs and Blueray.
Broken Man 1999
Posts: 8626
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:31 am
Location: West coast of Florida, near Champa Bay !

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

midareff wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:14 pm
Broken Man 1999 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:08 pm I have the same opportunity, though a few more CDs, 1090 according to my Windows Media Player. Though, I haven't listened to any for a couple of months.

A DD gave me an Amazon Unlimited HD Music subscription for Christmas. I love it, allows me to listen to any of my old favorites, and enjoy new musicians I have been led to by the thread entitled What are you listening to now right here at BHs.

After removing all the "must keep" ones (some of are DD's concerts when she was in youth orchestras/community orchestras, and orchestras in Europe), I am going to donate most to our library. Almost all were ripped to my PC and then stored, never actually played them.

There are some I will attempt to sell, like this one, sells for around $200 on Amazon, new and used:
The Beatles (The Original Studio Recordings) Stereo Box Set Limited Edition, Box Set, Remastered

For giggles and grins, a couple of different donation valuation sites that I checked showed a valuation of $2 to $5. Not much interest in attempting to sell a boatload of CDs to who knows how many individual buyers. So I'll sell the ones that can command a good price, and donate the rest. As usual, I will take the laziest way out. :D

Broken Man 1999
How do you evaluate the sound quality difference between the service and the original discs?
Ha! I'm sure my nearly 68 year-old set of ears can easily tell the difference when a HD selection is playing. The HD option added $49/year to the total, so why not?

Truthfully, the real value in the Amazon Unlimited Music are the remastered CDs, as very often there are additional tracks I didn't have on many of my original CDs.

Broken Man 1999
“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven then I shall not go." - Mark Twain
Broken Man 1999
Posts: 8626
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:31 am
Location: West coast of Florida, near Champa Bay !

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

UpperNwGuy wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:34 pm
Broken Man 1999 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:08 pm For giggles and grins, a couple of different donation valuation sites that I checked showed a valuation of $2 to $5. Not much interest in attempting to sell a boatload of CDs to who knows how many individual buyers. So I'll sell the ones that can command a good price, and donate the rest. As usual, I will take the laziest way out. :D
To whom will you donate your CDs? I have several thousand CDs and don't think my nearby libraries want those quantities.
Our library should accept them, if not I'll try Goodwill or Salvation Army.

Next activity is attempting to sell my HSU Research speaker set, consisting of six surround speakers, a center speaker, and sub-whoofer, all encased in real birds-eye maple.

Broken Man 1999
“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven then I shall not go." - Mark Twain
Ktndlx
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2020 4:32 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by Ktndlx »

In regard to donating perhaps you might seek out a workshop, school, or park district organization that serves the physically and developmentally disabled community. Music is a great joy to many of this community, and unfortunately income and funds tend to be low so donations would be greatly appreciated.
Coburn
Posts: 172
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2019 12:46 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by Coburn »

When and if you have a complete listing of all your CDs prepared and are ready to move/sell some of them...I'd appreciate if you PM me.

I have about 2500 CDs myself which I've collected over 30-some-odd years...and which like you, although a bit onerous to sell now, still affords some listening pleasure when I have time to listen to them.
30west
Posts: 101
Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2020 7:22 am

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by 30west »

One of the last pre covid parties i went to had a guy spinning old vinyl LPs from the 70s. Great fun. I have a modest [400+] CD collection and when i travel i drop into used music shops to see if i can fill a hole in my collection. Its cheap fun and im not alone. Many cities here in the midwest still have at least one used LP/CD music shop, think of it as antique shops for our generation. Im sure someone will want them. Post a link if you decide to ebay them if possible. I can always find room for a few more.
humblecoder
Posts: 1531
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 8:46 am

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by humblecoder »

30 years ago, everybody thought records were dead. Now they are retro and have made a comeback. Maybe CD's will be hip again in a few decades! :D
rebellovw
Posts: 1748
Joined: Tue Aug 16, 2016 4:30 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by rebellovw »

Surprising how your CD library will compress/shrink once you get rid of those stupid jewel cases.

All my CDs fit in just 4 boxes on my office shelf.
User avatar
GerryL
Posts: 3902
Joined: Fri Sep 20, 2013 11:40 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by GerryL »

If you get some sticky felt spots and fasten them to the "business side" of the CDs, you can turn them into coasters-cum-conversation pieces. That is assuming 1) you resign yourself to not playing them and 2) they have attractive art.
User avatar
lthenderson
Posts: 8528
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:43 am
Location: Iowa

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by lthenderson »

I have 2500 CD's tucked into a few storage boxes that occupy less space on a shelf than an airline sized suitcase. I just discarded all the cases and liners that came with them, alphabetized them which took longer than I thought, and put away the boxes for a day when my kids might want to jumpstart their music collection.
User avatar
canadianbacon
Posts: 677
Joined: Sun Nov 10, 2019 9:04 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by canadianbacon »

Discogs is good for selling. You can also see what other people have listed things for and the prices things have gone for in the past.

If you are selling mostly very common albums it's probably not worth your time, but if you have stuff that has gone out of print you can make it worth your while.
Bulls make money, bears make money, pigs get slaughtered.
mffl
Posts: 235
Joined: Wed Dec 06, 2017 6:25 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by mffl »

Am I the only one that mourns the loss of actually "owning" things? Yes, yes, I know, you don't truly OWN the music on your CDs, but once purchased *one time*, the music was yours to play as you see fit forever. Sure, the CD could wear out, so you rip it to your computer.

I get the conveniences of streaming solutions -- relatively cheap, finally getting relatively good in quality, very large selection. But monthly fees. I despise monthly fees. As the consumer, I'm as opposed to the monthly fees as the companies forcing them on me are intent on gaining a monthly revenue stream. In addition to streaming platforms for music and movies, everything Microsoft does comes to mind. Now we don't buy Office, we rent it.

But regardless, to me it just feels sad not to own things. I prefer my UHD blu-ray discs for now because I can trust that they're the same product every time, not compressed more heavily because Netflix's servers are busy or they think I won't be able to tell the difference. Or Netflix loses the movie/show and now it's on some other streaming service.
And because I don't have to pay anybody a monthly fee to pop the blu-ray in the player. I fully expect that there will never be an 8K physical format, and the only way to consume 8K content will be to "rent"/stream it.

</rant>
TravelGeek
Posts: 4902
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 3:23 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by TravelGeek »

mffl wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 11:19 pm Am I the only one that mourns the loss of actually "owning" things? Yes, yes, I know, you don't truly OWN the music on your CDs, but once purchased *one time*, the music was yours to play as you see fit forever. Sure, the CD could wear out, so you rip it to your computer.
I still own my music. I ripped all my CDs years ago (some 500, I think) to MP3 and FLAC. I listen to streaming radio and podcasts, but I am not paying a subscription to listen to music I already own. Listening to my own music brings back a lot of memories.
rebellovw
Posts: 1748
Joined: Tue Aug 16, 2016 4:30 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by rebellovw »

mffl wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 11:19 pm Am I the only one that mourns the loss of actually "owning" things? Yes, yes, I know, you don't truly OWN the music on your CDs, but once purchased *one time*, the music was yours to play as you see fit forever. Sure, the CD could wear out, so you rip it to your computer.

I get the conveniences of streaming solutions -- relatively cheap, finally getting relatively good in quality, very large selection. But monthly fees. I despise monthly fees. As the consumer, I'm as opposed to the monthly fees as the companies forcing them on me are intent on gaining a monthly revenue stream. In addition to streaming platforms for music and movies, everything Microsoft does comes to mind. Now we don't buy Office, we rent it.

But regardless, to me it just feels sad not to own things. I prefer my UHD blu-ray discs for now because I can trust that they're the same product every time, not compressed more heavily because Netflix's servers are busy or they think I won't be able to tell the difference. Or Netflix loses the movie/show and now it's on some other streaming service.
And because I don't have to pay anybody a monthly fee to pop the blu-ray in the player. I fully expect that there will never be an 8K physical format, and the only way to consume 8K content will be to "rent"/stream it.

</rant>
People are much too rigid in terms of - you either have to stream music or you listen to the media.

I do both - I have premium versions of Spotify and Pandora and use both to scout music and enjoy radio - and if I like it- I buy it - vinyl first and then CD if I feel I want it but don't want to spend or simply can't find the vinyl mastered version. And of course I have some nice Criterion BluRays - but also quite enjoy streaming via Roku.
User avatar
Topic Author
midareff
Posts: 7711
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:43 am
Location: Biscayne Bay, South Florida

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by midareff »

Broken Man 1999 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:52 pm
midareff wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:14 pm
Broken Man 1999 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:08 pm I have the same opportunity, though a few more CDs, 1090 according to my Windows Media Player. Though, I haven't listened to any for a couple of months.

A DD gave me an Amazon Unlimited HD Music subscription for Christmas. I love it, allows me to listen to any of my old favorites, and enjoy new musicians I have been led to by the thread entitled What are you listening to now right here at BHs.

After removing all the "must keep" ones (some of are DD's concerts when she was in youth orchestras/community orchestras, and orchestras in Europe), I am going to donate most to our library. Almost all were ripped to my PC and then stored, never actually played them.

There are some I will attempt to sell, like this one, sells for around $200 on Amazon, new and used:
The Beatles (The Original Studio Recordings) Stereo Box Set Limited Edition, Box Set, Remastered

For giggles and grins, a couple of different donation valuation sites that I checked showed a valuation of $2 to $5. Not much interest in attempting to sell a boatload of CDs to who knows how many individual buyers. So I'll sell the ones that can command a good price, and donate the rest. As usual, I will take the laziest way out. :D

Broken Man 1999
How do you evaluate the sound quality difference between the service and the original discs?
Ha! I'm sure my nearly 68 year-old set of ears can easily tell the difference when a HD selection is playing. The HD option added $49/year to the total, so why not?

Truthfully, the real value in the Amazon Unlimited Music are the remastered CDs, as very often there are additional tracks I didn't have on many of my original CDs.

Broken Man 1999
Understood, I'm at the Hi-Fi level of Tidal, which is the higher lever, premium being the first. Marketing talk I guess. Regular level of Spotify but I find everything I want so far except one recording on Tidal. Lots of remastered stuff on Tidal and some MQAs as well.
User avatar
Topic Author
midareff
Posts: 7711
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:43 am
Location: Biscayne Bay, South Florida

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by midareff »

Broken Man 1999 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:05 pm
UpperNwGuy wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:34 pm
Broken Man 1999 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:08 pm For giggles and grins, a couple of different donation valuation sites that I checked showed a valuation of $2 to $5. Not much interest in attempting to sell a boatload of CDs to who knows how many individual buyers. So I'll sell the ones that can command a good price, and donate the rest. As usual, I will take the laziest way out. :D
To whom will you donate your CDs? I have several thousand CDs and don't think my nearby libraries want those quantities.
Our library should accept them, if not I'll try Goodwill or Salvation Army.

Next activity is attempting to sell my HSU Research speaker set, consisting of six surround speakers, a center speaker, and sub-whoofer, all encased in real birds-eye maple.

Broken Man 1999
My Acoustats will go sometime after my last breath.
Nowizard
Posts: 4842
Joined: Tue Oct 23, 2007 5:33 pm

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by Nowizard »

You would not need to have an appraisal. Just use something like "It's deductible" from TurboTax or obtain and apply the recommended amount of deduction from IRS. Once you have what are typically the three levels of deduction for CD's based on condition, you apply it, multiply it and are done in a few minutes. Audits are possible but unlikely in our experience. We have deducted sizeable amounts of donations in this manner over the years and never been audited.

Tim
getthatmarshmallow
Posts: 1171
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2017 8:43 am

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by getthatmarshmallow »

mffl wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 11:19 pm Am I the only one that mourns the loss of actually "owning" things?
I'm not an audiophile or videophile, so the differences in sound quality/video quality aren't an irritant, and I tended to buy only albums that I really loved even before streaming was common. "Renting" most movies makes more sense than having them take up space on the shelf only to be selling them 20 years later.
midareff wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:06 pm
OK, you have never heard high end audio imaging and presentation so I can't explain in a post the entire palpable presence thing, and won't even try. Enjoy your Bluetooth audio.
Not to whom you're responding but I don't think the problem isn't that the sound quality isn't different with a high end system, but that potential buyers of CDs are either happy with Bluetooth audio, in which case they don't want CDs, or likely have dropped hundreds on systems capable of playing high end audio already and have no need for them. Who is the market here?
Paul78
Posts: 436
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2009 10:17 am

Re: Thoughts on selling a CD music collection....

Post by Paul78 »

Honestly I might do a look to see if you have anything rare and then just donation them.

I mean these are CD after all. You could invest all the time and wait a year (they aren't going to sell over night) and maybe get back a 1k or so (which I am sure is less than you paid for CDs but it is more than nothing). It is just a question if it is worth it or not to you.

Know if you have a collection of old sports cards or pokemon card then yes take your time to resell those don't just donate haha
Post Reply