Classical music on LP and CD

[andy20066]

does anyone know what to look for when checking through classical music on lp and cd as my dads friends auntie has lots of lps and cd's that where left to her bye her husband

[french frank]

Hello, Andy,

What is she thinking of doing with them? keeping them? giving to someone? selling them?

[andy20066]

it's not up to her as she is in a home. my dads friend will either take them to the charity shop or i will go and check them out and look through them to see what there is and which might be worth selling

[cria]

Lps with a hole are good. CDs with a hole are bad.

[oddoneout]

Lps with a hole are good. CDs with a hole are bad.

Oh, that means all my CDs are bad then... never mind they still seem to work OK!

[oddoneout]

it's not up to her as she is in a home. my dads friend will either take them to the charity shop or i will go and check them out and look through them to see what there is and which might be worth selling

More charity shops are willing to take vinyl now as it has become more popular, but CDs less so as fewer people seem to have the means to play them. Oxfam has always been keen on vinyl - might be worth getting in touch unless you are wanting to get some money for the lady herself rather than charity?

[andy20066]

all depends what there is

[crb11]

I'm in a similar position as I've just inherited my father's collection of about 1000 CDs. As others have said, the resale value is generally not good, and some you can't even give away (I put about 200 straight in the bin and I'm expecting more to follow as I sort through them). Individual CDs which are good recordings might make £5 on ebay, but the question is whether the amount of time to list them and post them out is worth the effort, even if you have the knowledge as to which are worthwhile. Box sets have a higher value and could be more worth listing. (Some individual CDs do go for higher prices if they're rare - one I have normally sells for £25-30 as it's long out of print, but I only know this as I have considered buying it myself in the past.)

Selling them in batches as a job lot on ebay will get you something, but probably less than 50p per disc unless you've got a good selection. Someone like musicmagpie might buy the entire collection in one go (but you wouldn't get much for it).

Or there's giving it to a charity shop. Oxfam will resell decent ones online, so I suspect they'll get more value from them than smaller ones.

Realistically the most helpful thing would be to find someone who knows a bit about classical recordings to do at least a basic triage and determine what in the collection is worth keeping at all.

[Sir Velo]

I'd probably start by checking prices on Amazon and EBay of similar condition items and then either offering them singly on EBay or, alternatively, offer the whole collection, and set a reserve price.

[smittims]

Hi, andy, thanks for your question.

CDs have little resale value and the charity shops are full of them. LPs however are increasing in value with the revival of traditional ('retro') ideas about leisure.

Cleanliness is important, absence of scratches or dirt on the playing surface. Nothing can be done about scratches but much dirt can be removed by spraying a 1:5 solution of surgical spirit (you can get this from Boots') and water , and wiped wet and then dry with a soft cotton pad or cloth.

As to value, older records are often more valuable than 1970s-80s. Early 1950s in good condition, (sleeve as well as disc) can be valuable depending on their rarity. There's a vast range of value . For instance, a clean copy of 33CX 1001 in original sleeve could fetch £30, whereas a copy of ASD 655 would be worth only about £2 as so many are around on the second-hand scene. Look at the prefix , printed in the top right-hand corner of the back of the sleeve, e.g. ALP. ASD, LXT, 33CX, and look it up in a google search. That should lead you to sites that will give some idea of the value.

Of course, selling them in this way woudl involve advertising and be time-consuming. You may find it better to give them to Oxfam Books and Music. .

Let us know how you get on. I may have some further suggstions depending on what you decide to do.

Happy New Year.

[oddoneout]

Hi, andy, thanks for your question.

CDs have little resale value and the charity shops are full of them. LPs however are increasing in value with the revival of traditional ('retro') ideas about leisure.

Cleanliness is important, absence of scratches or dirt on the playing surface. Nothing can be done about scratches but much dirt can be removed by spraying a 1:5 solution of surgical spirit (you can get this from Boots') and water , and wiped wet and then dry with a soft cotton pad or cloth.

As to value, older records are often more valuable than 1970s-80s. Early 1950s in good condition, (sleeve as well as disc) can be valuable depending on their rarity. There's a vast range of value . For instance, a clean copy of 33CX 1001 in original sleeve could fetch £30, whereas a copy of ASD 655 would be worth only about £2 as so many are around on the second-hand scene. Look at the prefix , printed in the top right-hand corner of the back of the sleeve, e.g. ALP. ASD, LXT, 33CX, and look it up in a google search. That should lead you to sites that will give some idea of the value.

Of course, selling them in this way woudl involve advertising and be time-consuming. You may find it better to give them to Oxfam Books and Music. .

Let us know how you get on. I may have some further suggstions depending on what you decide to do.

Happy New Year.

Did you mean surgical spirit, or isopropyl alcohol? The last time I bought the former it contained not only methyl salicylate as expected but also castor oil(as an emetic?) which I wouldn't have thought was a good idea for cleaning. On the other hand the isopropyl was what my father used (got from work) for his LPs. May be termed rubbing alcohol, as here https://www.swindoncompositesupplies...size-292-p.asp

Isopropyl Alcohol (also known as Rubbing Alcohol) is a highly versatile solvent used for cleaning and degreasing (e.g. electrical equipment). It evaporates quickly to leave surfaces clean.

[mikealdren]

Did you mean surgical spirit, or isopropyl alcohol? The last time I bought the former it contained not only methyl salicylate as expected but also castor oil(as an emetic?) which I wouldn't have thought was a good idea for cleaning. On the other hand the isopropyl was what my father used (got from work) for his LPs. May be termed rubbing alcohol, as here https://www.swindoncompositesupplies...size-292-p.asp

Agreed, surgical spirit will leave a residue that is hard to remove. Isopropyl alcohol is the answer. As to mixing with water, you really should use distilled water, especially in a hard water area.

Have you thought about advertising CDs on this site? ForumClassical ForumRecord ReviewBargains/CD Exchange

I can't believe that CRB2 binned the CDs, I'm sure someone on here would have taken them off his hands. Where are you in the country? Do you have a local 2nd hand CD/LP shop?

[Dave2002]

If you put around 50-100 CDs in a box and take them to an auction house, these may sell for between £60-£100 typically - though it depends on the auction house.
Obviously with more knowledge to identify the "gems" in the box, these can be filtered out and sold separately, but then the problem is knowing what is potentially a high value item, and where to sell it. I have CDs which cost me under £10 - and for some reason the LPs of the same recording have sold on eBay or other places for over £1000. Exampes include recordings by Leonid Kogan, some of which still are marketed at high prices in LP format. To get a high price for an LP the cover and the disc itself should be in near perfect condition.

There is an auction house close by to where we live, and perhaps once a month there are boxes of CDs for sale. Mostly these contain either dross, or CDs which I have already, but there might be some unusual or interesting ones in the box. I have put in several bids on boxes, and never succeeded. Once I asked the office what price a box had sold for, and it was over £80 - though you have to remember that the auction will take a cut. The office also mentioned that the purchaser was happy, as there was one CD in the box which he particularly wanted.

There are also occasionally boxes of LPs - and whether they sell will depend on fashion, state of the market, luck etc.

A friend of mine decided to get rid of his LPs - most of which were in very good condition. He tried various outlets, even charity shops, but in the end most went into the bin I believe.
Sad, as if I'd known I could probably have taken a few. I think my father also had a few interesting LP sets, but almost inevitably those got lost when my parents house was cleared out. I would have liked to recover the set of Elgar LPs, though they would probably have simply ended up in my garage. I did rescue most of the CDs which were of interest.

Often when clearing a house the aim is to get as high a return as possible in as short a time as possible, and other items may be much more valuable - though individual circumstances vary. Cherry picking under those circumstances is often not an option.

[richardfinegold]

Hi, andy, thanks for your question.

CDs have little resale value and the charity shops are full of them. LPs however are increasing in value with the revival of traditional ('retro') ideas about leisure.

Cleanliness is important, absence of scratches or dirt on the playing surface. Nothing can be done about scratches but much dirt can be removed by spraying a 1:5 solution of surgical spirit (you can get this from Boots') and water , and wiped wet and then dry with a soft cotton pad or cloth.

As to value, older records are often more valuable than 1970s-80s. Early 1950s in good condition, (sleeve as well as disc) can be valuable depending on their rarity. There's a vast range of value . For instance, a clean copy of 33CX 1001 in original sleeve could fetch £30, whereas a copy of ASD 655 would be worth only about £2 as so many are around on the second-hand scene. Look at the prefix , printed in the top right-hand corner of the back of the sleeve, e.g. ALP. ASD, LXT, 33CX, and look it up in a google search. That should lead you to sites that will give some idea of the value.

Of course, selling them in this way woudl involve advertising and be time-consuming. You may find it better to give them to Oxfam Books and Music. .

Let us know how you get on. I may have some further suggstions depending on what you decide to do.

Happy New Year.

Agree with this. If money is the only concern here I would start with the oldest lps. Then start a search on eBay or Discogs to see if you can find the same item and what prices they are commanding. CDs just don’t have much value these days. The prices on Amazon for deleted CDs are ridiculously inflated and we wonder if anyone ever pays them

[richardfinegold]

Agreed, surgical spirit will leave a residue that is hard to remove. Isopropyl alcohol is the answer. As to mixing with water, you really should use distilled water, especially in a hard water area.

Have you thought about advertising CDs on this site? ForumClassical ForumRecord ReviewBargains/CD Exchange

I can't believe that CRB2 binned the CDs, I'm sure someone on here would have taken them off his hands. Where are you in the country? Do you have a local 2nd hand CD/LP shop?

I am not currently playing lps but when I was a few years ago isopropyl was considered the best, and it seemed to do a decent job.
Most lps from days of yore could really benefit from a good cleaning with a machine, but as purchasers don’t expect sellers to do this, although some sellers use this as bait for a sale