Selling used CDs

[mrgreen4242]

I am cleaning out my closet and I have a ton of CDs that I am going to be selling off. I was wondering if anyone has had any experiences with selling CDs? Do you feel it's better to sell them online by yourself (for example, would any of you want to buy some through this site)? Have you been able to get good deals at local used record shops? What do you feel is a fair price to pay for a used CD if you were buying one from an individual (ie, what would you pay for a used CD if you bought it off this sites marketplace)?

Thanks for any pointers you can give, I have about 50-75 CDs to sell, and I'd like to get as much as I can obviously.

 

[Inspector Lee]

The used shops will pay $5 tops for a cd provided it is in good condition, is something they can move and is something they don't already have 3-4 copies of. They'll then tier you down to $4 and $3 for less desirable stuff. I live in a college town and there are 3-4 shops here that will buy all the time.

The used shops will in turn sell them for between $7.50 - $10 in order to make their profit.

Back in the day, I would occasionally buy from some inter-office sales and the top price was usually $5. If I was still buying cds, that is probably the top price I'd pay to an individual provided I could see the cd in person.

Hope this helps.

 

[mkrishnan]

You might check out Amazon's used sales...they're set up so that you would see your used CD for sale right alongside the new ones, and the prices are moderate (neither too high for the buyer nor too low for the seller). I don't know their terms, though. But I've used it a lot and I like it a lot.

 

[devilot]

As a buyer-- I really like using half.com; as someone who tried selling some CDs back to record stores, I would get $2-$5 per CD... they wouldn't even buy back some of mine.

 

[Duff-Man]

Duff-Man says...look carefully through what you want to sell and maybe check eBay on some of the items to see what they have sold for. You would be surprised at how many people take $5 for a cd at the local shop when it is a hard to find item and goes for $25-$50 on eBay...of course, if your stuff is just "common" titles that are all still in print this probably is not the case but it won't hurt to spend a bit of time checking....oh yeah!

 

[mrgreen4242]

Duff-Man says...look carefully through what you want to sell and maybe check eBay on some of the items to see what they have sold for. You would be surprised at how many people take $5 for a cd at the local shop when it is a hard to find item and goes for $25-$50 on eBay...of course, if your stuff is just "common" titles that are all still in print this probably is not the case but it won't hurt to spend a bit of time checking....oh yeah!

Thanks everyone, I will check out Amazon and Half.com to see what their selling terms are. I have mostly common stuff, except a couple of import live Pearl Jam CDs from the mid-90's.

I was thinking $5 would be pretty fair, if it was consistent, so seems like I am in the right target area. Maybe I will post a list of them on here after I finish the inventory, just to see if anyone is interested.

Thanks again!

EDIT: Holy Crap! Amazon take $0.99 + 15% (for CDs and books)! I thought eBay was a rip off, but, for example: a CD I was thinking $5 would be nice for, I'd have to up it to $5.99, and I would still only get $4.25!

 

[Euan]

Amazon take $0.99 + 15% (for CDs and books)! I thought eBay was a rip off, but, for example: a CD I was thinking $5 would be nice for, I'd have to up it to $5.99, and I would still only get $4.25!

They need to make money somewhere! lol

 

[mkrishnan]

Running prices on Amazon seem to be more like $7... But anyway, you could also always make a Marketplace post here and sell them that way first. I'm sure that $5 + shipping would be seen as very reasonable here. Who knows...I might buy some from you!

 

[Zman5225]

I'd be interested in that list! shoot me a pm, or i'll keep an eye out for it, as i'm always looking to buy some good used cd's.

&Z

 

[Makosuke]

For common, low-price items like CDs and DVDs, I generally find Amazon to be a lot easier than eBay; with eBay you've got a small window, you do everything yourself, and you're competing with a mess of options.

With Amazon, you've got a month for the item to sell, it's a "leisure purchase" by people who were already there shopping as opposed to that-particular-day bidders, you can already see what prices you're competing with, and they take care of everything for you--you just list it and mail it when they tell you to. The support for the transaction makes the relatively high fees worth it to me. Also no fees if it doesn't sell, which is nice.

In my limited experience, I've sold more DVDs via Amazon than eBay, and the prices were generally higher unless I padded the shipping on eBay, which is kinda shady anyway. Plus, no PayPal or mailed check hassles--just collect the cash after Amazon charges their card for you.