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what to do with 1000+ CD's, many imports and live concerts

Sadly my cousin passed away recently.   She was a huge Eric Clapton & Bob Dylan CD collector and other assorted Blues, Rock acts.   I've ripped FLAC versions of the few CD's that were of interest to me but I now have a huge collection of what appear to be "Limited Edition", Japanese and European imports, Promo Copies, MFSL, etc piled high in my den.  

Does anyone have any advice as to how best remove the collection from my house quickly?  I also want to make sure I'm not selling a "rare gem" for a $1.  I'm not in the CD selling business and have a day job so it's not feasible for me to list them one by one.  

Are there any particular CD's that I should be looking for in the collection?  Is Audiogon the place to sell a lot such as this or are there more appropriate marketplaces?


bbyer
nordicnorm
313 posts
 
Another option is to get the collection appraised and then donate it to a local college or university music program or library.

This will ensure that the collection will continue to be enjoyed by future generations.

And you should, at least, be able to get a tax receipt for the value of the collection.   
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Used CD stores will buy it for nothing and then google each CD for prices and then sell those that are rare for massive mark ups - often way more than the original price.

Find some friends and give them away. Don’t feed those rip off used resellers. They are as bad as scalpers are to live music.

We have a local rip off used store called Turn It Up Records & Hi Fi. They bought CBC library and got many demo CD for next to nothing. Many CD say "demo not for sale" and guess what, Turn it Up illegally sells these sometimes for as much as $30 - triple the regular commercial price on a free demo to a radio station.Don’t feed those crooks.
rar1's avatar
rar1
1,771 posts
 
Please read the op's responses ... these CDs are part of an estate and must be liquidated.  Donations are not an option, unless (speculating here) all the heirs went along with the donation, which is not likely.  

Not sure how many who have suggested donation ever went through an estate liquidation and/ or have been the estate executor.  A tax receipt is of no use here.

Rich 
rar1's avatar
rar1
1,771 posts
 
The whole episode is very instructive as we baby boomers begin to age out.

Leaving behind large collections of anything ... records, stereo equipment, comic books, figurines, etc without specific and responsible instructions for disposal is a huge PIA for the poor bastards who are then stuck with having to deal with it.

Unless the receiving person has a specific interest in your passion, very often it comes down to what are they going to do with it?

I don't care how much these things are worth, the typical liquidation nets a small fraction of their worth and it is an absolute chore to execute.

Rich 
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,454 posts
 
Lots of good advise here, but please I would not sell this treasured collection to a retail store for pennies on a dollar. 

If I may suggest, make a stack of like CD's, take pictures and start an auction on Audiogon or eBay.  Someone who knows the worth of these CD's will pay top dollars. 

Good luck! 
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