Sometimes you just get lucky


Back in the day, as CDs were all the "perfect sound forever" rage, my young daughters were in need of their first bicycles.  Having just bought our first house, money was pretty tight.  So, I looked at my collection of a little over 400 LPs -- classic rock, progressive rock, and jazz, mostly, and all in great shape -- that weren't getting much attention just then and decided to sell them at a local record store for some bike-buying cash.  The clerk sniffed at me and declared that he would only give me $20 for the lot.  At that point, I knew that bicycles would require a Plan B (which happened) and that I should probably hold onto the collection (which also happened).  Fast forward to today, and my record collection is 3-4x the size it was back then and includes a fair share of rare items, MFOMR, One-Steps, UHQRs, box sets, etc.  But those original albums remain some of my most cherished.  And I constantly thank the "Great DJ in the Sky" that the clerk that day didn't make a reasonable offer.  I wonder if any of you have had similar experiences?

Happy Listening,

Dawgfish

dawgfish

The clerk wanted you to keep the records because you were making a mistake, that's why he offered such a ridiculous price knowing that you would reject it.

Yeah, you should thank him.

my version is that I had some incredibly valuable items, sold them for $10, borrowed $190 to buy the bike, and the bike got stolen on day 2. (I am lying it was day 1.)

glad to hear, @dogfish!

i was incensed and disgusted when the corporations conned and pressured the public into discarding the music they already had and replacing it all with CDs, which cost the music business next to nothing to make, at twice the price. man,  i especially hated seein a buddy with a bad ass lifetime album collection take his records to the library and donate them. the library, of course, sold em for nothing or dumped em. 

Luckily - I was too lazy to try. Held onto all of them. Original Soft Machine 1 with the pinwheel cover and non-banned nudity, Hendrix, 13th Floor Elevators, bootleg Pink Floyds, Funkadelic, etc. I still enjoy them today - 35 years later. I don’t think a bike would have faired as well. 

I will be 70 in a couple months and started my vinyl collection in the 60s. Even so I moved across the pound, and at times was struggling to make ends meet, I never ever contemplated selling my vinyl records. You did get lucky.