What's Worth More on the Open Market - Your Records or Your Audio Gear

There's not enough available time in an average life to listen to 100,000 LP's even one time each.

Vinyl definitely has its place, as well as streaming.  I don’t have the space anymore for vinyl due to an upcoming move/downsize, so have been enjoying music through my new Node 2i.  Nice sound quality through Qobuz, with no pops or cleaning routine.   I even can find most of my old collection, as well as lots of stuff I’ve been looking for.  
You have to look for the collegial forums on Audiogon.  Might I suggest “”What’s on your turntable tonight”? Great bunch of music lovers over there. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/whats-on-your-turntable-tonight

This thread has been an awakening for me. I was preparing responses late afternoon yesterday to the first 8 or 9 posters, then subsequent posts seem to capture what I wanted to say. 8^0
Definitely a two path direction here in regards to the Records and their value. Are there any Records Dealers posting or lurking on this thread looking for buck a record deals ? Hmmm.....

roberwisconsin
What’s your personal ratio?
Software/Hardware= 2+
Estimated via Discogs, using actual median sale prices of contemporary transactions, my 2000 (half vinyl) piece media collection has a value of $12K.

Thank you for answering the question Rob . And for your first Agon post. Chris

@lewm
A friend just sold his LP collection, around 2000 LPs, for $20,000. I was flabbergasted that the selling price was so high. However, his system easily cost more than $100K. Assuming he can re-sell his gear for ~$60K (60% of retail), the system is nevertheless worth more than the LPs.

thanks for that info Lewm. Was the collection multiple genres ?

larry5729

I think streaming music using Tidal sounds better because there is no noise and you would have to pay a fortune to buy the number of records or CD’s they offer in their library. I can sit on the sofa using my Bluesound Node 2i and select songs and album using my iPhone. The days of using vinyl and CD’s in my opinion is over. Who wants to pull out a record, wash the record and then pay a lot of money for an expensive turntable these days when digital streaming is available.

Larry
I don’t want this to be a Digital versus Vinyl discussion. The OP was intended to be a Records Value versus Gear Value ratio discussion in ones own collection. With that I feel compelled to respond to you since the last few weeks I have using Tidal HiFi but in a different way.

I hosted a number of my kids friends 25 - 29 year olds. They came in. They hooked up their devices to my system. Listened to their music. Then we selected albums which I knew I had in vinyl. Once they heard the vinyl in direct comparison with digital - CD’s, Hard Drive Files, Tidal Hi Fi they were a little taken back. We enjoyed ourselves greatly. I will not deny how cool it was/is to instantly switch between re-masters of albums and listen to the differences. The vast library of music at your fingerprints.

The differences in music reproduction in my space between I Phones, Android devices, and when they logged into my dedicated Lenovo Laptop running the desktop Tidal app was quite large. This is a situation where vinyl, if allowed to breathe, excels. JMO. With that I am part of the Tidal Hi Fi Family plan. I listen to Tidal when I exercise, when I stream through the house, when I am in my car. And if some music is discovered that truly stirs me, I will buy it on vinyl.

The days of using vinyl and CD’s in my opinion is over. Who wants to pull out a record, wash the record and then pay a lot of money for an expensive turntable these days when digital streaming is available.

I get a sense of "disillusionment" whenever I read words like this. For many of us the music reproduction is part of an Audio Hobby as well. Hobbies are made up rituals and tasks that to the hobbyist, are just a means to get to the Hobby goal. In this case extracting music from black plastic. The rituals and tasks are not considered an inconvenience and extra work. When this happens it is no longer a hobby. Time to get another hobby.

@geoffkait

eBay sales don’t get as much as people think. And eBay is a fair representation of the value of records in general. Also, a lot of records you see for hundreds of dollars on eBay are there because they have not (rpt not) sold.

GK -
So Ebay has been around since 1995.
Assuming a record is in very good condition not special but popular. What is your opinion on an average selling price not including shipping. Many sellers lower price items, and just jack up the shipping costs. thank you.

ct0517@geoffkait

eBay sales don’t get as much as people think. And eBay is a fair representation of the value of records in general. Also, a lot of records you see for hundreds of dollars on eBay are there because they have not (rpt not) sold.

GK -
So Ebay has been around since 1995.
Assuming a record is in very good condition not special but popular. What is your opinion on an average selling price not including shipping. Many sellers lower price items, and just jack up the shipping costs. thank you.

>>>>I don’t think it’s very helpful to talk about average selling price. There are too many variables like condition of the vinyl, condition of the jacket, first or later reissue, rarity, desirability. A lot of records in great condition don’t sell because they were manufactured in great quantities and everybody and his brother is trying to sell the same one you are. It’s a jungle out there. Generally speaking, eBay recommends running a 7-day auction for records with starting bid as low as 2 or 3 dollars. On eBay it’s common practice for the seller to only charge for USPS Media Mail, that will give you an bargaining advantage over the other knucklehead who charges for Priority Mail, no? 

^^^^
makes sense.
Last year I started giving thoughts to culling records I know now I have no interest in. The handful of local transactions (to avoid shipping) groups of 10 -25 lps are not worth mentioning. What I think is worth mentioning however, is the interest I found from buyers in the record jacket itself, with little regard to the condition of the LP. These jackets to be used for Wall Art in the persons space somewhere.