Large collection of records to be disposed of - advice, please

[kernelbogey]

Large collection of records to be disposed of - advice, please

The husband of a good friend of mine has died, suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving a very large collection of records - possibly around 10,000 items in various formats, CD & vinyl - some possibly rare. My friend is faced with reducing and/or disposing of these, with little knowledge of what the collection contains, let alone how to go about such disposal in a respectful manner.

If you have any knowledge that would be useful to my friend, any suggestion about what help might be available, whether an individual who could offer informed advice, or a trustworthy dealer, please get in touch via PM.

Thanks, kb.

[french frank]

Can't offer personal advice on buyers, but found these people, who might be interesting, based in Torquay.

https://ukclassicalarchives.co.uk/

[kernelbogey]

Thanks, Frenchie: looks a possibility.
kb

[french frank]

Thanks, Frenchie: looks a possibility.
kb

Very senior moment. I thought I'd replied to your PM not here . I think reputable dealers who will advise without obligation to sell to them must be around. Suspecting they may have competitors should keep them 'competitive' to the seller's advantage, but I don't know how realistic that is.

[kernelbogey]

Very senior moment. I thought I'd replied to your PM not here .

[Petrushka]

Can't offer personal advice on buyers, but found these people, who might be interesting, based in Torquay.

https://ukclassicalarchives.co.uk/

Thanks from me, too, for this. It could be worth using them to dispose of my many duplicated CDs. They are gathering dust upstairs at the moment so anything I can get for them is better than nothing.

[richardfinegold]

I think that there have been other threads on this before. To summarize: 1) Classical CDs are basically worthless. It is a niche genre, and the rise of streaming and collapse of the CD market have caused this. There may be a few in a collection that size that may fetch some cash, but probably not worth the effort. If there are some large box sets that have gone out of print they might have some value. I would start there and find a landfill for the rest.
2)
The vinyl may have some value. Best to consult a record store owner and see if they will pay for the batch. She could try selling individual lps on the likes of eBay and possibly earn more in the long haul but it is a lot of work.

My mother died a few days ago. After the funeral we have to clear out her unit in the assisted living facility. I am thankful that she never developed the collecting/hoarding mania that I suspect most of we forumites have. Just typing this makes me want to go burn every CD to my server

[Jonathan]

Try Hillside Harmonies up in Huddersfield. They might be able to assist.

[kernelbogey]

I think that there have been other threads on this before. To summarize: 1) Classical CDs are basically worthless. It is a niche genre, and the rise of streaming and collapse of the CD market have caused this. There may be a few in a collection that size that may fetch some cash, but probably not worth the effort. If there are some large box sets that have gone out of print they might have some value. I would start there and find a landfill for the rest.
2)
The vinyl may have some value. Best to consult a record store owner and see if they will pay for the batch. She could try selling individual lps on the likes of eBay and possibly earn more in the long haul but it is a lot of work.

My mother died a few days ago. After the funeral we have to clear out her unit in the assisted living facility. I am thankful that she never developed the collecting/hoarding mania that I suspect most of we forumites have. Just typing this makes me want to go burn every CD to my server

Thanks for your comments Richard. My condolences on the loss of your mother.

[kernelbogey]

Try Hillside Harmonies up in Huddersfield. They might be able to assist.

Thank you Jonathan.

[french frank]

find a landfill for the rest.

Not even a last resort: 1) give to charity shops 2) keep a few as bird scarers to protect your soft fruit.

[Dave2002]

I think that there have been other threads on this before. To summarize: 1) Classical CDs are basically worthless. It is a niche genre, and the rise of streaming and collapse of the CD market have caused this. There may be a few in a collection that size that may fetch some cash, but probably not worth the effort. If there are some large box sets that have gone out of print they might have some value. I would start there and find a landfill for the rest.
2)
The vinyl may have some value. Best to consult a record store owner and see if they will pay for the batch. She could try selling individual lps on the likes of eBay and possibly earn more in the long haul but it is a lot of work.

My mother died a few days ago. After the funeral we have to clear out her unit in the assisted living facility. I am thankful that she never developed the collecting/hoarding mania that I suspect most of we forumites have. Just typing this makes me want to go burn every CD to my server

Very sorry to hear of your loss.

Fashions can change overnight - almost.

Currenly you are probably right that LPs may sell - whereas a few years ago they were worthless, and someone I know put a whole bunch into the refuse bin for collection, having tried to dispose of them in other ways. Real shame as most were in very good condition.

This may change again. OTOH, I bought four very cheap CDs recently in a charity shop - for 25p each. Not played them yet - and I don't expect they'll be much good - but they were curiosities and one of them by someone I know and have met - though not recently.

I've mentioned before that in the UK Auction houses can be good - maybe expect to get around £1 per CD for a miscellaneous mixed box of around 80 CDs. If there are good box sets to be disposed of, then try to find people with an interest. Sets like the new Otto Klemperer set - currently being discussed - might sell at face value, or more if they are now hard to find. I would suggest land fill only as a very last resort.

I have heard that music students at some of the music colleges may appreciate collections. However disposing of stuff takes time and effort, which is why landfill may be an easy way out. I dumped books a few years ago - something I really don't like doing. Also - round here there are book sales once or twice a year, and it's possible to offload books to those. I think that usually they sell or are passed on - but if they keep coming back, then eventually someone will take them to a dump or a dealer will take them - probably still end up on the dump. CDs and Videos may also be disposed of that way. Donating books or CDs to a sale like that won't give a financial reward, but may give a benefit to the charity organising the sale.

PS: In Surrey one of the dumps would intercept things which looked good, and put them up for sale. I had quite a lot of good CDs from that. Some councils allow that kind of enterprise.

[french frank]

Why you shouldn't put CDs in the bin for landfill:

https://neo-online.co.uk/how-cds-are-recycled-and-why-is-it-important/

[kernelbogey]

Why you shouldn't put CDs in the bin for landfill:

https://neo-online.co.uk/how-cds-are...-it-important/

Yes and OXFAM have knowlegeable volunteer sorters who can filter out the valuable records and price them appopriately - about £1.25/CD currently. The dross gets dumped, somehow: I'm sure not landfill.

[oddoneout]

As this has been opened up now as a thread, I'll throw in my suggestions. Given the size of the collection my first thought was to consider auction, as specialists can give an opinion and then the saleroom will decide the worth, and it is a way to get rid of quantity A quick trawl came up with several, eg

https://www.wessexauctionrooms.co.uk/departments/vinyl-auction

https://fieldingsauctioneers.co.uk/departments/entertainment-memorabilia-vinyl-records

https://sheffieldauctiongallery.com/specialist_vinyl_hifi_audio.htm

This sale suggests that the collecting habit could have been worse... https://www.ewbankauctions.co.uk/New...lls-for-78-000
CDs may be more of a problem but many charity shops do still take them. Oxfam might be interested in some of the collection of vinyl and possibly CDs for its online sales.