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how much to offer friend for records

I have a friend who has a pretty big collection of jazz, classical and pop music. He is interested in my coming to evaluate and buy a bit of his collection

he's an avid valuable book collector and I have the feeling he'll have a similar outlook on records

normally when I buy a "large quantity" of old vinyl $5 - $10 per record seems more than reasonable for good quality unless they are obvious rare collectables,japanese imports, etc

he played them on a Linn Sondex so they didn't get typical abuse

ebay pricing doesn't help with some people high balling prices for a sales score

he's parting with his vinyl as he's been purchasing too many instruments (guitars and basses) lately and his wife doesn't want him dipping into credit

any suggestions on fair pricing would be helpful
128x128audiotomb
nedmast
17 posts
 
At the used record store I occasionally visit classical records go for from one to three dollars on average. Jazz is apparently more valued; those albums go anywhere from about seven to thirty dollars (all with heavy duty outer plastic sleeves). I have no idea how values are arrived at; there must be some list somewhere that grades them on how rare they are. But if you're buying more than a few records, his price should be lowered accoringly. If he were to offer them on ebay, or to a store such as Princeton Record Exchange, I think he would find that most records have no where near the value of rare books. And not having to package and ship them should be worth something to him.
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
If he is really a friend and vise versa, he will likely give you a fair price. So as a friend you should pay what he asks.
azmoon
126 posts
 
Hopefully you will remain friends after this deal! THese type of things can put a strain on relationships as both sides typically feel they should get special treatment. Good luck!
audiotomb's avatar
audiotomb OP
1,112 posts
 
hi guys, being it's a friend it's a bit different

that's why I asked

what I would normally pay to someone I don't know would be $3-5 for common stuff in good shape $10-15 for some rarer stuff.

my friend is a listener/ musician not a collector

his vinyl collect starts in the early 70s
so there will be some nice things

I hate to insult him or low ball him, but I also don't see paying premium for things I can purchase inexpensively anywhere

also I'm quickly filling up my shelf space at home
and have a huge backlog of things to clean before playing
so I'm not in a huge vinyl urge mode

thanks
Tom
jaybo
4,478 posts
 
i would let your friend sort this out with his wife. a couple of problems here...1. there's no worse feeling than having to sell something to get something(audiophiles and addicts have a lot in common here).....2. if he and his wife are feuding over the use of credit cards and/or money, it may be wise just to wait until things cool down..that way there's no seller's remorse, or potential arguments in his house about what constitutes community property(if you know what i mean).
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