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Vinyl prices

M

matt j

pfm Member
Wow, has anyone been keeping an eye on rare/semi rare vinyl prices? Some of it has gone nuts, just a handful would pay for a serious TT upgrade alone!

I'd not checked Discogs for a while until just now and was quite shocked.
 
I ignore it, it's not really about what they're worth in monetary terms, there does seem to be a growing trend of bands and artists releasing limited editions with signed and hand printed covers, it nearly guarantees selling out and then an elevated price thereafter, very clever marketing to appeal to the bread heads.
 
The value of anything, is only that which someone else is prepared to pay for it.

Because someone advertises a value of X does not mean it will sell, or is worth it.

Dutch tulip bulbs once used to command a price higher than that of gold. :eek:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania

Or as they say in the world of art, a fool and his Monet are soon parted.
 
So just look at actual recent sales on Discogs. As the OP says, some crazy stuff out there.
 
Here’s the list above (Discogs). I’ve got one (#21) \o/

PS Fascinating how fast some stuff can go up, e.g. the recent blue vinyl Bleep edition of Floating Points & Pharoah Sanders Promises is already heading close to a median of £100. Definitely worth getting in early on some stuff!
 
I consider it all horse**** but then I’m not a buyer and seller. All vinyl I bought I simply wanted to play and enjoy. I recently bought some collections for example 270 albums for £50. Sure some are scratched, some sound atrocious, some need more than one clean, some need to be listened to with suitable corduroy trousers and tank top attire.

But some are fantastic and I figured if I find 1 gem (ie sounds great) it has cost me £50, if 10 then £5 each etc. I’ve got about 500 records to slowly work my way through like this over the coming months that cost me around £250 in total. Classical generally but an inevitable mix of genres I would never have actively sought so as ever I’m enjoying the journey as I discover them.

However, back on topic I know I’m unlikely to ever see my original collection again that I sold to the brother-in-law 10 years ago. He’s never played any of it and doesn’t know the gems I know are there but his head will be firmly in the money.
 
I’ve done rather well out of vinyl inflation, I think it is great & long may it continue; a nice legacy to leave the kids.
 
Looking as some of the prices for used vinyl in shops during RSD last week I may be able to retire again :)
 
Tony L said:
PS Fascinating how fast some stuff can go up, e.g. the recent blue vinyl Bleep edition of Floating Points & Pharoah Sanders Promises is already heading close to a median of £100. Definitely worth getting in early on some stuff!
Click to expand...
Perhaps new vinyl shows better investment potential than boxes of Lego, with more efficient use of storage space? Someone should do the sums. Maybe better return per cc, not so good per gm!
 
RickyC6 said:
Every time I tell the Mrs how much some old record has inflated to, she says “why are you telling me, you’re not gonna sell it?!”.
She’s not wrong.
Click to expand...

Similar here - When I'm being smug and telling the missus of how something is selling for, her reply is '.....well sell it then!...' knowing full well that I won't.
I still can't resist collecting though......
 
There's still a big hangover from lockdowns when shops had very little stock, those were the ones that remained open, and demand was high. It's definitely a seller's market at the moment and there will be some renormalisation, I feel, over time.
 
paulfromcamden said:
Embarrassing admission: I actually get a bit nervous with records that have shot up in price and end up playing a FLAC copy or something instead most of the time.
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Yeah I do get a bit twitchy when I pull Orange Juice's debut single out of the box...
 
Marchbanks said:
Perhaps new vinyl shows better investment potential than boxes of Lego, with more efficient use of storage space? Someone should do the sums. Maybe better return per cc, not so good per gm!
Click to expand...

Vinyl has always been a source of income for me. I started buying and selling back at school. So far it has never let me down and whilst it has never been my primary source of income it has dug me out of many holes over the years. I’ve always viewed my own collection as both being fluid and an investment. Stuff goes in and out. It is not fixed. It is always hard to predict market trends, but I suspect a lot of vinyl has now jumped into the ‘safe’ investment class in the way vintage Fender and Gibson guitars, Minimoogs etc have. Every collection is a nice spread-bet too, some stuff will go radically upwards, some will drop, some will stay the same, but overall the trend is certainly upwards at present. I’ll be interested to see how the new That London jazz scene fairs long-term as I may have over-invested there this year (as I love it!), though I do have a lot of very limited stuff so hopefully it should be safe. It does seem to be a great market if you get in to the limited stuff really early, which since I’ve started using Bandcamp and Facebook notifications I do. I’ve bought a lot of stuff this past year that is limited to 300 or less and that is likely to hold value. Great way to support bands too as they get proper money for their art rather than a total insult from Spotify or wherever.
 
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