Finding a home for some LPs

[mathias broucek]

Given the unaffordability of a bigger house in the current economy I need to thin-out my collection somewhat to make our house more inhabitable!

I'm planning to start by offloading some LPs (several hundred) that I am realistically unlikely ever to listen to again.

Any suggestions as to how to find them a good home? I'm not that fussed about raising £££ from them myself (although not averse) but it would be nice to think of them being on-sale somewhere that other collectors might go and find them!

I know that Oxfam has a couple of decent shops but the ones I know of are Cambridge and Oxford and both are a bit of a trip with nightmare parking!

I live in N London.

Thanks

[cloughie]

Given the unaffordability of a bigger house in the current economy I need to thin-out my collection somewhat to make our house more inhabitable!

I'm planning to start by offloading some LPs (several hundred) that I am realistically unlikely ever to listen to again.

Any suggestions as to how to find them a good home? I'm not that fussed about raising £££ from them myself (although not averse) but it would be nice to think of them being on-sale somewhere that other collectors might go and find them!

I know that Oxfam has a couple of decent shops but the ones I know of are Cambridge and Oxford and both are a bit of a trip with nightmare parking!

I live in N London.

Thanks

It might be worth contacting Oxfam as they may be willing to collect a reasonable quantity from you. I guess you'll have arrange your own ceremony to part with old friends!

[Gordon]

Given the unaffordability of a bigger house in the current economy I need to thin-out my collection somewhat to make our house more inhabitable!

I'm planning to start by offloading some LPs (several hundred) that I am realistically unlikely ever to listen to again.

Any suggestions as to how to find them a good home? I'm not that fussed about raising £££ from them myself (although not averse) but it would be nice to think of them being on-sale somewhere that other collectors might go and find them!

I know that Oxfam has a couple of decent shops but the ones I know of are Cambridge and Oxford and both are a bit of a trip with nightmare parking!

I live in N London.

Thanks

If my experience is anything to go by you'll not get much for them from a dealer - unless you have the odd collectible - regardless of how wel ,ooked after they have been so Oxfam is probably as good a home as any. Do you have a list - if so just post it here you never know.....

[Don Petter]

It might be worth contacting Oxfam as they may be willing to collect a reasonable quantity from you. I guess you'll have arrange your own ceremony to part with old friends!

Not if they're anything like our local Oxfam branch when I wanted to give them several hundred books after a house purge.

'Well, you'd have to bring them in, but only a few at a time because Mr Jenkins does them and he's only in on Thursdays'.

I gave up on them, but had a friend whose wife worked in a branch of Mind, and he took them from me, in two estate car loads.

[umslopogaas]

If you are prepared to do a bit of driving, I suggest you take them first to Julian Pelling of Fine Records, George Street, Hove. He would buy any of the more collectible ones, though he might baulk at buying the lot. Ben Darnton of Ben's Collectors Records in Tunsgate, Guildford, would probably buy the lot, or take the rest, though he wont give much for them if Julian has picked the eyes out first.

Alternatively, you could just send Julian a list. As well as label (Decca, HMV etc), work and conductor, he would want to know the code and number (eg ASD 345), so that he can tell if it is an original or a reissue. He would also want a description of the label - if it was ASD 345, the first and most valuable label would be "white and gold", the second "semi-circle" (HMV dog in a large print, filling half the label), the third "black and white dog in box" (the HMV dog in a small print, in black and white) and so on: I guess the correct descriptions are on line somewhere.

Depending on what you've got, whether they are first labels of original issues and if they are in good condition, you might be surprised by their potential value. However, dont let me raise hopes too much: the majority of LPs that come up on ebay are priced at 99p and attract no bids. Reissue labels are generally worth nothing.

Ben might be willing to come and inspect them: you can ring him on 01483 301165. Fine Records' number is 01273 723345.

[Ferretfancy]

The Oxfam Shop in Highgate High Street has a decent collection of LPs and seems to welcome them. Probably the best Oxfam to buy classical LPs from, and hence to sell to, is the big one in Marylebone Lane if you can get into the West End.

[richardfinegold]

Given the unaffordability of a bigger house in the current economy I need to thin-out my collection somewhat to make our house more inhabitable!

I'm planning to start by offloading some LPs (several hundred) that I am realistically unlikely ever to listen to again.

Any suggestions as to how to find them a good home? I'm not that fussed about raising £££ from them myself (although not averse) but it would be nice to think of them being on-sale somewhere that other collectors might go and find them!

I know that Oxfam has a couple of decent shops but the ones I know of are Cambridge and Oxford and both are a bit of a trip with nightmare parking!

I live in N London.

Thanks

Hop a plane to Chicago, records in tow, take a cab to my house, have a cup of tea, cab back to the airport minus records. Oh, and can you make sure that you have cleaned them all first?

[Flosshilde]

I also am having to get rid of some LPs - not so many though! I don't think I have any rarities, & most are probably available on CD. Does anyone know of anywhere in Glasgow or Edinburgh that might take them? We do have a couple of Oxfam book & record shops, but they never seem to have any classical stuff.

[David-G]

I also am having to get rid of some LPs - not so many though! I don't think I have any rarities, & most are probably available on CD. Does anyone know of anywhere in Glasgow or Edinburgh that might take them? We do have a couple of Oxfam book & record shops, but they never seem to have any classical stuff.

There is an excellent Oxfam music shop in Raeburn Place, Stockbridge, Edinburgh, which keeps quite a large stock of classical LPs.

[Sir Velo]

I'd recommend putting the lot on eBay or Amazon. For starters, you are likely to find the largest available market of prospective buyers; not only private individuals but dealers (such as those mentioned above) who scour the Net for rare or collectible items. The advantages of this approach are several: you can start by testing the waters, asking prices you'd be happy to accept (if you get no takers you can always reduce the price). Moreover, as you know, Amazon and eBay have "Wish Lists" for customers, which means that if your records are on these, then availability of these items will automatically be flagged to the customer. Even though you say you are not motivated by cash, you will undoubtedly get more this way than from selling in bulk to one or two dealers.

Whatever you decide, if you have one or two particularly choice items I would do a search on the Web to see what kind of prices are being asked, to prevent your being taken for a ride.

[Flosshilde]

There is an excellent Oxfam music shop in Raeburn Place, Stockbridge, Edinburgh, which keeps quite a large stock of classical LPs.

Thanks D-G. I'll have a look.

[mathias broucek]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I dropped 3 boxes of LPs at Highgate Oxfam yesterday.

Shop itself is small but with with an interesting stock of CDs and LPs. They know what they're doing with pricing: I fancied the Sinopoli Tchaikovsky 5 until I saw it was £25 but it's rather rare (£200+ on Amazon when I last checked).