Dear Nicholas,
I’ve just enjoyed, very much, reading your article on Recorded Music in the latest News. Being the advanced age I am, I never got beyond CDs, and am still collecting them (cheaply). The problem of course will come for my Executors: how to sell/disperse them. How did you do this yourself? I’d much appreciate any suggestions.
Is it possible there might be a CD renaissance, just as there appears to be with LPs? (I’ve also got huge numbers of the latter.) I can’t believe the ridiculous prices now being asked for new LPs: even the Solti Ring is back for hundreds of pounds!
Name and address withheld
Nicholas Keyworth replies
Parting with a music connection which has been built up over many years is likely to be tinged with some sadness, yet it is something which can easily be done when the time is right and may well bring a little bit of money at the same time.
I would suggest starting with one of the online traders who buy and sell everything from LPs to CDs, and from books to computers. One of my favourite is Music Magpie: musicmagpie.co.uk but there are others such as WeBuyBooks webuybooks.co.uk which, despite the name, also buys CDs. Your item(s) will need to have a barcode. You can scan this with your smart phone and you should get an instant valuation – or it might be declined – if for example they are currently overstocked. If successful, postage is usually free and payment is normally pretty prompt too.
There are other options such as E-Bay e-bay.com and also Facebook Marketplace https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/ where you can sell items to interested groups and individuals. But as this is direct selling it relies on you uploading an image of your item to their website, dealing directly with the customer, making any negotiations over price and sorting out the postage and packing charges. So, it is more fiddly!
Other options include trying to sell to your local record store, or even setting up a stall at a concert, car boot sale or the village fête – you may need to give the organiser a share of the profits of course but you’ll be surprised what people will buy.
And if all the above fails I’m afraid it’s a trip to your favourite charity shop. At least any funds they raise will be put to a good cause!
And as for a future CD renaissance, I wish I could predict – but I would suggest this is probably unlikely simply because these are digital commodities and are easily replicable. Also, they can’t be damaged or degrade in the same way as an LP.