Pricing your Vinyl Record

[Record Player]

One of todays most highly debatable topics is how to price your vinyl record.

I did some research on the www and got a reference link. This site provides a guide/indication to what a particular record is priced at, which includes various pressings from around the world with all details of the record.

popsike.com - vinyl records lp price guide - record collector

There are many more international sites where you can get an estimate on Vinyl Records, especially for the pressing that are Non-Indian.

 

[peace_sells]

One of todays most highly debatable topics is how to price your vinyl record.

I did some research on the www and got a reference link. This site provides a guide/indication to what a particular record is priced at, which includes various pressings from around the world with all details of the record.

popsike.com - vinyl records lp price guide - record collector

There are many more international sites where you can get an estimate on Vinyl Records, especially for the pressing that are Non-Indian.

Yes that's what i do before i purchase a record whose price i'm not too sure of. I have a look at the highest, average and lowest price. But mind you..this website only keeps a record of Ebay listings. You can see the sales history for Discogs separately on the Discogs site itself.

But again..From a buyer's perspective, depends on how badly you want the record and how much you're ready to pay for it (at that moment). Sometimes you can get lucky on Ebay though..Some sellers sell rare records in bulk. IMO, A lot of chance and luck is involved for sure.

 

[Santy]

I searched for Micahel Jackson Thriller on this site and it returned results between 30 USD (unopened) and 2500 USD. What is the reason for such huge variation? Someone is selling at Rs. 1500 at olx. Is it right pricing?

 

[bhaskarcan]

I searched for Micahel Jackson Thriller on this site and it returned results between 30 USD (unopened) and 2500 USD. What is the reason for such huge variation? Someone is selling at Rs. 1500 at olx. Is it right pricing?

IMHO a NM Thriller Indian pressing shd not be more than 500 INR in Mumbai.

 

[Naturelover]

Rs 3059 on Flipkart. No details of pressing.

 

[reubensm]

Pricing is dependent on buyer priorities. Its simple, if you are looking for a specific album, then be ready to pay the price being demanded. If you are looking to buy in lots, then you decide the price. The typical Indian pre-used vinyl buyer generally does not look for specific titles but laps up whatever comes his/her way. From my experience, even today, if a friendly neighborhood guy or relative is convinced that you will take care of his/her record collection (and would not sell it), you are likely to get it for free. On another note, always make comparisons on ebay.com if you are buying in lots of non-specified titles. For example, a lot of 30 LPs on ebay may cost between 10 to 15 USD, where as in India, sellers usually sell lots of random titles (usually with one juicy one included) between 7 to 10 LPs for something like 3500 to 4500 INR. Even with shipping costs and the exchange value of the rupee factored, the US deal looks far better especially as American sellers usually grade LPs honestly and more importantly, American pressings are far superior than Indian ones.

 

[kuruvilajacob]

Reubensm,
I have found some Indian pressings sound better than American or other country pressings and i casually mentioned this to a friend who is older than me and had grown up with vinyl in his home. He mentioned something that amazed me and i believe every word he said. It seems many reputed companies like Decca had their quality control supervisors in Dum Dum. More significant is the fact that pressings were made in India were limited when compared to world wide release of some american pressings ane we may be blessed with original first Indian pressings which were not so catagorised those days. For Eg. Some of the Malayalam Odeon records in good condition sound superb because they were pressed in limited quantity! I may be wrong but we cannot always be certain american pressings are better than Indian. I do have some Cliff Richard Indian pressings which sound far better than other pressings.

 

[wlg]

I have a few US pressings which sound awfull but never had a problem with German, UK or Indian pressings.

 

[G401fan]

The discussion is veering away from value of LPs to quality of pressings.

In the Indian second hand market, value used to be reserved for Beatles' 78s and certain old Hindi film soundtracks that had limited release. Since 2009 (the 'revival' time), costs have gone from 100 average, to between 300 and 1500, for most titles, irrespective of provenance or condition. Most dealers here have absolutely no idea about 'first pressings', label variations, genres (other than rock), cover variations, and all the other minutiae that collectors worldwide look for. If you're lucky, you'll score a gem and the dealer might not have a clue. On the other hand, you more often than not have to haggle for common titles that are not 'valuable' in collector terms, but have their prices hiked just because are 'foreign title', 'english music' or 'rock'.

Popsike and Discogs are a good help for pricing of rarities, but value is never absolute - it depends on what a specific buyer is willing to pay at a point in time. Some genres are seasonal: classical music prices went through the roof in the mid-90s, but have tapered off since then. Re-issues of classic jazz titles have also affected that market, tho' there are always collectors who will not settle for anything but original pressings. Today, the biggest boom is for 45s of a genre called 'Northern Soul' - obscure soul singles from the 60s and 70s which are played by DJs in clubs in the northern part of England. They sell typically for prices crossing $1K.

The two commonest rules that apply:
1. Rarity - few copies originally manufactured, but the music needs to be good and in demand today. First pressings matter.
2. Condition - Closer to Mint or Near-Mint increases value. A Mint LP may be 50 years old, but should look like it came out of the factory yesterday. A VG copy of a rare LP drops sharply in value.

There are plenty of exceptions to the above, but that needs another time, another space.

 

[peace_sells]

Another very interesting thing about Discogs (which is very helpful to estimate the value of your record) is that every issue/pressing of a particular album has a separate page. So each of the issues can be put into one's collection or wantlist. This way you get to see the ratio of number of people wanting the record to number of people possessing the record. If this ratio is more than 1, then you can safely say that this album is in demand. So under normal conditions you'd have to pay a decent amount for this issue of the album. For e.g. most 1st Japanese pressings of (say) Pink Floyd albums have this ratio greater than 20!! So you can imagine the demand for these..

http://www.discogs.com/Pink-Floyd-The-Piper-At-The-Gates-Of-Dawn/release/3902240

http://www.discogs.com/Pink-Floyd-The-Dark-Side-Of-The-Moon/release/1716756
(see the ratio on the right side of the page)

But again (referring link 2). The Indian pressings are rare abroad. However if I happen to find that pressing in India itself..the price of that shouldn't be too much.

 

[reubensm]

Reubensm,
I have found some Indian pressings sound better than American or other country pressings and i casually mentioned this to a friend who is older than me and had grown up with vinyl in his home. He mentioned something that amazed me and i believe every word he said. It seems many reputed companies like Decca had their quality control supervisors in Dum Dum. More significant is the fact that pressings were made in India were limited when compared to world wide release of some american pressings ane we may be blessed with original first Indian pressings which were not so catagorised those days. For Eg. Some of the Malayalam Odeon records in good condition sound superb because they were pressed in limited quantity! I may be wrong but we cannot always be certain american pressings are better than Indian. I do have some Cliff Richard Indian pressings which sound far better than other pressings.

Yes especially with Decca, they are outstanding. The Englebert Humperdinck Decca collection which I have is absolutely outstanding. However there are quite obvious variances in Indian pressing quality, the same release (and pressing edition) can have variable outcomes. I have 2 LPs of a James Last title from Polydor India, one sounds fantastic while the other sounds awful (both are clean and in mint condition). However I believe that one can have these variances in all forms of pressing vinyl. The discs that are pressed first are always better than the ones that are pressed last

The intention was not to question quality (though it may have sounded that way) but to relate to it in a general sense. While buying a lot of 30 or 40 records for $15, one cannot really be choosy about pressings but what I actually was also referring to is the overall condition of records. Indian preused records may have been through all kinds of players and styli (also handling techniques), however the american ones tend to be in better condition. Sellers also grade accurately.

 

[Simon Wires]

While buying a lot of 30 or 40 records for $15,

Ruben, Apologize, Im slightly off the topic here.

How much would be the approximate freight for such quantity of 30-40 Lps bought from discog or ebay..

 

[reubensm]

Ruben, Apologize, Im slightly off the topic here.

How much would be the approximate freight for such quantity of 30-40 Lps bought from discog or ebay..

Whenever I have purchased from ebay, I have always negotiated with the seller on shipping as:

1) sellers normally make a small cut on shipping charges
2) sellers charge some administrative charges for the extra paper work
3) sellers may use express shipping
4) sellers may use insurance

for a lot of 30-40 LPs, by ordinary surface shipping, without insurance (seller has to ensure proper packaging) and with an honest shipping quote, you can look at around $30 to $35. Even if you pay $40 for shipping and around $20 for the records, you'd end up with a pack of 30-40 LPs for around Rs.4000 (going by current exchange rates). Normally Indian sellers charge around Rs.3500 for a lot of 7-10 LPs.

Never tried discogs.

 

[Record Player]

Hey Reuben - Even in the UK you get Job lots of about 200-300LPs between 10-15 quid!

I had a friend of mine recently acquire the same in the UK. He got a mix of collections. Out of the 300, he was exposed to some bands he has never heard and he quite enjoyed it. The collection also had some rare ones in it .

 

[reubensm]

Hey Reuben - Even in the UK you get Job lots of about 200-300LPs between 10-15 quid!

I had a friend of mine recently acquire the same in the UK. He got a mix of collections. Out of the 300, he was exposed to some bands he has never heard and he quite enjoyed it. The collection also had some rare ones in it .

Thats true, however personally I have never bought in the uk market, probably because my stints in the UK are usually only for a few days.

 

[basashanker1965]

Dear friends ,i am new to vinyl world.some lps odeon are 5000 rupees and emv is 20,000 rupees for a particular movie buddha mil gaya.cannot decide which one .they say emv is original sound track and odeon is remastered.will there be any difference in sound quality between the two.how to decide?:

 

[reubensm]

Honestly one must be crazy to buy a record for 5000 and definitely for 20000

 

[peace_sells]

Honestly one must be crazy to buy a record for 5000 and definitely for 20000

Well..I guess everyone will have an opinion there For someone who buys 100 LPs (just giving an example) a year, 5k for that odd/special LP would sound crazy or too much. However to someone that buys maybe 20-25 LPs a year..I don't think that person would have a problem with 5k or 10k for an LP or 2. Depends on how badly that person wants it. Just my 2 paisa

 

[omishra]

I stopped buying used LPs after they crossed price mark of 250Rs. Very rare I buy records above that price.
For new packed LPs I can pay more - from Rs 700 to 2000 but rarely beyond Rs 1000.
Also I never run after collectible items. I buy the records which I like the music and I will listen multiple times. No museum in making.

 

[greenhorn]

I used to buy used indian LP's at 150 from moor market.
Then i went to the UK, and got used LP's at 50p (and cheaper in bulk)
ended up buying a ton of them, now I have enough LP's to last a lifetime
plus once you get such nice LP's from discogs, those worn, damaged dusty & scratched LP's from moore market look so overpriced, and nearly turned me off vinyl