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What to do with pre-owned vinyl?

Background: From ~1978 to 1991 I collected  many100s of vinyl records. At least 50% were classical; the rest jazz, R&B, World music, reggae, gospel--maybe 1200 records total. A few of the classical LPs are likely collectable/valuable, but most fall below that threshold. I’ve had these LPs stored in boxes since 1991. It’s becoming obvious I'll never again have a TT set up to hear these records. BTW, I live in Goshen, NY.

Can anyone suggest a way for me to responsibly dispose of these LPs?

FYI, I’d be happy to give to a store or reseller for estimated value, or donate them for a charity write-off. Money isn't my biggest concern & I have no appetite for trying to sell them on my own.

I also have a ton of old/good audio gear in the same problematic state (stored by never to be used again)...but that’s another story for another day.

Thanks in advance for any useful advice...
desktopguy
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
Chak
i got the impression that the op had little interest in the extremely time consuming effort to go through them all laboriously one by one and just wants out of sight.

Try a ad on local Craigslist , Vinyl is a hot commodity right now and someone will surely come and take them all of your hands.
Sell all or nothing though, don’t allow any cherry pickers.
Good luck.
desktopguy OP
394 posts
 
Thanks to all who replied. Some very good suggestions here.

@uberwaltz is correct--I'm not into cataloguing all these LPs or even looking through them for valuable ones (how would I know that except by checking out dozens/hundreds online?). I'd rather do an all-or-none transfer to an interested party. 
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Is than new for living in America person that almost every record store can buy collection of vintage Jazz, R'n'B... records (not sure about classical music), they will pay almost nothing, but they will come and buy if they will see any interesting in a bunch of records. They often come when the owner passed away, but they can come earlier if you will call them. 
big_greg
6,687 posts
 
@chakster  I don't know about every record store, but the ones I've seen typically pay around a dollar per album, more if it's a more valuable record.  It's just like anything else, they have to buy for much lower than their sale price to cover their costs of stocking inventory, paying rent, utilities, advertising, employees, insurance, etc. etc.

What they sell for is a different story.  One record store near me typically sells good quality used records that aren't rarre for $4 - $6 and about 80% of discogs prices for higher value items.  They turn over stock very quickly.  Another store I know sells the same records for $15-$20 each and some sit in their inventory for years.  They do have a much larger selection since they don't turn over inventory as quickly as the other place.
slaw's avatar
slaw
22,403 posts
 
Thought of consignment?

www.carolinasoul.com


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