Record Collections - Sell Now Before The Market Drops

[MikeHinNewJersey]

I don't want to hijack the other thread but some of the comments there reminded me of this article from last year, a doo wop record shop closing because that market's gone, along with the aging fans.

Val Shiveley's quote particularly seems to echo what Pete S is saying. I'm not sure I agree wholeheartedly with their conclusions, but food for thought, enjoy the article.https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/nyregion/as-ronnie-is-closes-sounds-of-doo-wop-fade-away.html

[Pete S]

I don't want to hijack the other thread but some of the comments there reminded me of this article from last year, a doo wop record shop closing because that market's gone, along with the aging fans.

Val Shiveley's quote particularly seems to echo what Pete S is saying. I'm not sure I agree wholeheartedly with their conclusions, but food for thought, enjoy the article.https://www.nytimes.c...-fade-away.html

Blimey that's almost identical to what I said!

[Steve G]

Soul a bit different though, far more music produced and far more famous than doo wop ever was. Doo wop never went global or appealed to younger fans beyond the old timers who carried the flag. But I do agree a lot of soul records will not get sold.

[Back Street Blue]

Looks like it may be time to embrace and encourage the interest of the broader populous in all aspects of NS and its trappings, however distasteful we personally find some of the styles within the genre, so as to promote a "retro-cool" identity in the hope that will buy more time?

Commercial exploitation of "the scene/ scenes" may be an unwelcome catalyst for longevity?

Live and let live would seem to be the way to go then.

Otherwise lie down and accept that technology will overcome.....and sell, sell, sell!

[Wiganer1]

sell sell sell - never never never!!

[Mach]

can see the point, but i reckon theirs always gonna be a conniseurs market out there.

[Premium Stuff]

It only takes 2 nutters on ebay - so as long as they are both still alive I will be able to sell I reckon.

Cheers

Richard

[Mach]

:lol: ..good point Richard

[Grayman45]

I have a box of second issues and boots. Nothing of any great value, but great tunes nonetheless. I have been toying with the idea of selling them off. Is now the time to sell? Surely the value will just go down down down until they are worthless. Is councilling available if I get rid?

[boba]

I agree with Steve, the type of stuff that Clifton sold / appealed to was a small set of hardcore fans, who even did things like make new doowop records themselves and who favored a lot of White sounding things. The equivalent would be if soul music was only collected by a small set of people who were into the pop / soul played at a particular northern venue and nobody else collected soul music. There are so many scenes and different sets of collectors (including ones who are now branching into the doowop era) that I'm not seeing it dying anytime soon. It might eventually die, but not the way doowop is.

[Grayman45]

I have a box of second issues and boots. Nothing of any great value, but great tunes nonetheless. I have been toying with the idea of selling them off. Is now the time to sell? Surely the value will just go down down down until they are worthless. Is councilling available if I get rid?

Got a load of Jazz Funk 12in singles and albums too. Does anyone know if there's a market for these?

[Guest john s]

Got a load of Jazz Funk 12in singles and albums too. Does anyone know if there's a market for these?

If they're the right ones, yes!

[Ian Dewhirst]

Got a load of Jazz Funk 12in singles and albums too. Does anyone know if there's a market for these?

There's a market for everything if you know how to reach the buyers. It's a big wide world out there and I have customers everywhere. The only barrier to cultivating them is the high cost of postage! Having said that, I'd say that prices are dropping for almost all genres apart from the upper echelon of rare Soul which is a law unto itself.......

Ian D

[Grayman45]

If they're the right ones, yes!

How will I know?

[Ian Dewhirst]

How will I know?

https://www.discogs.com/

Ian D

[Grayman45]

There's a market for everything if you know how to reach the buyers. It's a big wide world out there and I have customers everywhere. The only barrier to cultivating them is the high cost of postage! Having said that, I'd say that prices are dropping for almost all genres apart from the upper echelon of rare Soul which is a law unto itself.......

Ian D

Ebay?

[Grayman45]

https://www.discogs.com/

Ian D

Thanks. Appreciated

[Diddy Morgan]

right thats it im selling up starting alphabetically 1 sale and i list the next one..............................allnight band, the wigan joker £5 vg ---

:lol: :lol:

[Northernjordan]

Since the market is about to collapse and selling these un-wanted collections will be more hassle than its worth, I can offer a solution. I will take all un-wanted collections of vinyl please PM me and I am sure we can come to an arrangement in which I will kindly cover postage coats.

I await all your private messages.

Kind regards,

Jordan

[Steve G]

Since the market is about to collapse and selling these un-wanted collections will be more hassle than its worth, I can offer a solution. I will take all un-wanted collections of vinyl please PM me and I am sure we can come to an arrangement in which I will kindly cover postage coats.

I await all your private messages.

Kind regards,

Jordan

Jordan, you are years too late m8. Some guy in the US tried it, amassed millions of largely unsellable records then started crying because no one would give him his $M retirement pot. Then there was another dude who was going to buy one of everything and put them in a temperature controlled warehouse. You got to come up with something better man!

[Guest Brooky]

It only takes 2 nutters on ebay - so as long as they are both still alive I will be able to sell I reckon.

Cheers

Richard

=============================================================================

Yes...but what if you happen to be one of the nutters.... ...what do we they do?

[Guest MrC]

How will I know?

So one of them's Whitney Houston?

[Spacehopper]

prices of some tunes are dropping its true there already quality tunes that are hard to sell but remember we are in a world wide recession....it mite not seem like it but one day things will get better and for a cetain ammount of time at least we will all have a bit more to spend!!

its true there will be a lot of a certain age group who will be selling off their collections over the next decade but soul and vinyl collecting is not just a uk thing today...loads of youngsters all over the world are getting into this and in another decade they may have the money to buy things they cant at the moment...

everything hits a peak and i cant see prices just continually going up but i do think...and hope!...there will always be a market for original vinyl.... as with antiques ,books,toys and now retro 50s-70s items...as a species we are collectors..hoarders..and romantic nostalgics for quality things from the past that can no longer be made...IMO

dean

[Grayman45]

So one of them's Whitney Houston?

Very good

[Wiggyflat]

The top 500 northern will always sell because like it or not the majority are the best records.This doom mongering usually comes from people who sold up in the eighties.In the eighties i could buy records for five and ten pounds....wait until the Chinese market opens up...

[Ian Dewhirst]

The Chinese market LOL. We'll be long gone by then Kev.....

Ian D

[Carty]

whilst i agree that some point things will start to rapidly decline, the doo wop thing was a late fifties thing, our thing is roughly 15 to 20 years after, ( not the music, but the people who are into it, as it was not new when it arrived here, ), so yes , at some point it will dip but it will not be for another decade or so ,( in my opinion )also very valid is the global following that seems to be growing, recently saw keb darge on youtube at a soul night in kobe japan, place was on fire, and everyone seemed to be very young ,wonder if these folks will develop a life long interest or move on to the next trend , Places like the black bee soul club in manchester seem to have a new generation of younger people attending (again my only visit to this place was via you tube , i need to get out more ) so their is hope, top and bottom of it for me though is that it will always be around as long as i am i am sure of that now, and after that, well, selfish bastard as i am i dont really care,.

[Pete S]

The top 500 northern will always sell because like it or not the majority are the best records.This doom mongering usually comes from people who sold up in the eighties.In the eighties i could buy records for five and ten pounds....wait until the Chinese market opens up...

It was me who started this and I'm not doom mongering, I'm talking sense.

Let's say I live for another 10 years, then I die and leave my records to my then 17 year old son, he's going to say wow thanks Dad what am I meant to do with these?

We are getting older and there are too few people coming onto the scene to replace us, and many of these people are from the digital age and only go for the music anyway, not for the collecting side of it.

I'm not saying record collecting will die out, it never will, but there is sure to be a massive excess of Northern Soul records which nobody wants in the coming years.

[paultp]

It's been happening for a while that more common records just do not sell, no matter how good they are. Perhaps the hike in US postage prices will change this. But prices for records go up and down all the time and with markets like eBay it is difficult to know what a set sale price should be.

I think the price of rare records will continue upwards as those with the (presumably) sufficient disposable income compete for them. I started selling last year but got to a point where I was putting more records in the "I think I'll keep that" box than the "sell" box, so I stopped and started buying again :-)

Personally, I hope people get spooked by these rumours and dash to sell their records off before they are worthless. There's nothing beats a load of sellers for ensuring that prices drop. Ask Gordon Brown.

Bring on cheaper records! Sell up now, they will be worthless next year.

[Steve L]

Agree completely with Pete and Paultp - theres no way the numbers of new people will match the numbers of old ones who die (or just sell up) over the next 10/20 years

At some point in the the future supply will exceed demand and prices will come down it's obvious.

Anyone holding on to them for too long risks losing out IMO

Sell now and lets see those prices come down

Edited February 5, 2013 by Steve L

[KevH]

Agree completely with Pete and Paultp - theres no way the numbers of new people will match the numbers of old ones who die (or just sell up) over the next 10/20 years

At some point in the the future supply will exceed demand and prices will come down it's obvious.

Anyone holding on to them for too long risks losing out IMO

Sell now and lets see those prices come down

And with the recession making money tighter,you have to question what the f- we are doing with bits of vinyl hidden away so the missus won't find them.

[Wiganer1]

i dont care if my records are worth 10p each when im ready to pack in,,,no amount of money can make up for the amount of pleasure theyve given me over the years ....

[Steve L]

i dont care if my records are worth 10p each when im ready to pack in,,,no amount of money can make up for the amount of pleasure theyve given me over the years ....

Thats great I'm the same but anyone hanging on to em for their financial value in the long term is taking a big risk IMO

[Marc Forrest]

I don't want to hijack the other thread but some of the comments there reminded me of this article from last year, a doo wop record shop closing because that market's gone, along with the aging fans.

Val Shiveley's quote particularly seems to echo what Pete S is saying. I'm not sure I agree wholeheartedly with their conclusions, but food for thought, enjoy the article.https://www.nytimes.c...-fade-away.html

13 - 14 years ago I said exactly that on here ... and since a good few years its exactly whats happening. just like the doo wop (and blues) scenes had to suffer from a lack of new recoprd buyers to keep up the demand their prices and values of collections came down in a radical way.

The mediocre and lower priced soul 45s are getting harder and harder to sell. The big old classics between 200 and 500 gbp kept their price and are being picked up now too by the few new collectors who are getting into the scene(s) all over the world. The high end items seem to continue to rise price-wise. Must say that esp since the last 12 months there is an almost unexplainable run on high end soul 45s. I certainly cant explain that but some prices that can be seen week in week out are just simply ridiculous. I wonder who pays them and really feel a bit ashamed and pityful for them.

Anyway, better get prepared that our precious soul 45s that are not top end rare stuff will drop in value radical in the next coming years. If you are like me and collect for your own pleasure nth to be afraid off really as you will still be able to enjoy them. If you are/were a hot boxer or were even thinking of collecting as an investment (silly I know but there are some out there..) better get your tissues ready now...

Edited February 5, 2013 by Marc Forrest

[Jim G]

doesn't bode well for the record dealers then in 10+ years time?

I agree that in future there will be much less demand and in 10 + years time the "youngest' ex Wheelie will be circa 70ish. Not only that, unless you ahve a great pension, how many would be able to afford to buy vinyl then?

I will enjoy mine for the next 5 years or so and see how the market goes, if does begin to dip then I might sell my few hundred records.

The real potential big losers are those sitting big ticket items maybe?

[Northernjordan]

Jordan, you are years too late m8. Some guy in the US tried it, amassed millions of largely unsellable records then started crying because no one would give him his $M retirement pot. Then there was another dude who was going to buy one of everything and put them in a temperature controlled warehouse. You got to come up with something better man!

I was more hoping some one would offer me their collection of shrine records etc since these are soon to become unsellable

[Modernsoulsucks]

You cant sell common 45s if they're being hawked at uncommon prices.

ROD

[Mal C]

You cant sell common 45s if they're being hawked at uncommon prices.

ROD

and is the exact madness that will keep all this going for a while yet.

I'm a tad younger than allot on here at 43, so I'm gonna hang in there and when the likes of Butch and co have sold up, I'll be able to build a collection that is unrivalled.. Only thing is I'll probably be showing it off to my next door neighbour, Tom, scruffy, collects beer cans, and watches football in his underpants..

worth the wait ehh...

mal.C

[Frankie M]

the price of some "rarities " astound me these days ,especially when i see records i have had for years

and never played reach £ 100 plus plus . yes there will always be good quality records and collectors

but as recession hits harder ,they will be few and far between ,the record selling fraternity have never taken into account the lack of money around ( in my opinion ) and its no wonder they get "stuck " with records , i say be real when selling records ,dealers

[TOAD]

bob on youngsters my records are going with me! I fancy a vieking buriel at sea or at least cov canal basin besides as pointed out they will worthless ?

[Wiggyflat]

I was told my vinyl would be obsolete and worthless after Brothers In Arms came out on Cd ...what year was that? Vinyl has weathered the storm of Cd and Mp3...with the vintage craze massive at the moment i know people that have started collecting 78 s and these are young kids.The Victoriana uk psych has started to be collected by Steampunks!!

[Pete S]

I was told my vinyl would be obsolete and worthless after Brothers In Arms came out on Cd ...what year was that? Vinyl has weathered the storm of Cd and Mp3...with the vintage craze massive at the moment i know people that have started collecting 78 s and these are young kids.The Victoriana uk psych has started to be collected by Steampunks!!

You keep missing the point. Nobody's saying your vinyl is going to become worthless. I'm saying the market for NORTHERN SOUL RECORDS will shrink as time progresses for obvious reasons. i.e. most of us will be dead or not far off it

[Guest Polyvelts]

My view is that the music that came out of black America in the sixties, seventies and early eighties will be viewed in the future as Italian rennaissance art is now. The highest pinnacle of a musical art form. Gamble and Huff, Ashford, Simpson and Armstead, Bridges, Knight and Eaton will be revered as the Leonardo's, Michaelangelo's and Titians of their time. The fact that these records have and are still being plundered to be reused as samples to make 'new' music for nearly 30 years now is evidence of their genius and the lack of originality in current productions. The internet and instant access tothe incredible richness of it's back catalogue is gradually awakening the rest of the world to something that only a few have known for years. This music will not die, rather the opposite - it will blossom and spread it's message of love throughout the world until peace reigns among the nations and beyond. The same small round discs of plastic will eventually make their way out into space and enrich the lives of alien life forms yet undiscovered and they will look back to that long extinct blue planet and think for all their many many failings the human race did however once make something as beautiful as this, as an eight tentacled arm drops the needle on the record and plays 'Oh my darling' for the 17th time that morning.

[Pete S]

My view is that the music that came out of black America in the sixties, seventies and early eighties will be viewed in the future as Italian rennaissance art is now. The highest pinnacle of a musical art form. Gamble and Huff, Ashford, Simpson and Armstead, Bridges, Knight and Eaton will be revered as the Leonardo's, Michaelangelo's and Titians of their time. The fact that these records have and are still being plundered to be reused as samples to make 'new' music for nearly 30 years now is evidence of their genius and the lack of originality in current productions. The internet and instant access tothe incredible richness of it's back catalogue is gradually awakening the rest of the world to something that only a few have known for years. This music will not die, rather the opposite - it will blossom and spread it's message of love throughout the world until peace reigns among the nations and beyond. The same small round discs of plastic will eventually make their way out into space and enrich the lives of alien life forms yet undiscovered and they will look back to that long extinct blue planet and think for all their many many failings the human race did however once make something as beautiful as this, as an eight tentacled arm drops the needle on the record and plays 'Oh my darling' for the 17th time that morning.

I'll have some of whatever he's smoking...

[Duke]

It is difficult to make predictions in terms of the future size of the market. Globalisation means that there are many people who may yet become fanatical about the music and the sub-cultural identity that comes with Northern Soul. It seems to me that their is something in the creativity of the artists involved, particularly between 61 - 81, that is universal and inimitable. A demand to listen and understand this period of creativity in black music will always be present. How people will consume it is another matter. I would guess that original vinyl copies of the most interesting music will only become more and more valuable. High priced rareities with little artistic value or historical interest will fall. If their of high quality musically and rare your on to a winner. People still want a penny black in mint condition but you can't post a letter with it.

[Len]

I’m the same as ‘Wiganer1’ — I love my records! (Someone’s gotta )….But just lately I’m asking myself if I can afford to keep some of my ‘big

ticket’ items. This is purely recession fuelled, if it carries on, I really don’t think I can justify keeping them. I would imagine a lot of folk are in a similar

position, this is when prices drop.

But I’m hanging in there for now, because I won’t be selling ‘investments’, I will be selling my memories and a lot of hard work that went into buying them - I know it’s gonna hurt….If I do have to go through with it, I’ll be pretty fussy about their new homes, I think an interview with the new owners will be a must - It’ll be worse than the adoption process!

….and I will insist on contact arrangements…..

All the best,

Len

Edited February 5, 2013 by LEN

[Greety]

Some interesting points made on here.

Regarding all the kids worldwide who are getting into black music. Will Dellarks, Tomangoes etc be at the top of their wants list? The kids in Europe who dance to the funkier stuff, will they want the kind of records we cherish? Only time will tell. Personally, I think the top end records will always be wanted but the times they are a changin".

Secondly, is it me but are record prices dropping. Andy Fisher on JM's for seven hundred. Always a grand record. I've seen great records in the last year or two going for a good deal less then their perceived market value.

[Len]

Some interesting points made on here.

Regarding all the kids worldwide who are getting into black music. Will Dellarks, Tomangoes etc be at the top of their wants list? The kids in Europe who dance to the funkier stuff, will they want the kind of records we cherish? Only time will tell. Personally, I think the top end records will always be wanted but the times they are a changin".

Secondly, is it me but are record prices dropping. Andy Fisher on JM's for seven hundred. Always a grand record. I've seen great records in the last year or two going for a good deal less then their perceived market value.

Yes they are mate - I paid £1,200.00 for Andy Fisher and that was a few years ago, and 4 years prior to that, the person I bought it off also paid £1,200.00 for it (Still worth it to me)

This could be just a lucky day for the buyer of course, or maybe it's that the ‘Up-tempo Terrorists’ are winning - They have to be stopped I tell you!

All the best,

Len

Edited February 5, 2013 by LEN

[Guest gordon russell]

Once times are cooking along again.....and they will.......the demand will return.........mark my words..........seen this all before

[Guest Soultown andy]

Its strange to read about people being worried about how much there going to get or lose when they sell their records.Why would you buy collect and constantly tell people how much the records the soul scene etc means to you,if all your worried about is cashing in.The only people who should be worried are record dealers,who earn there living out of selling records.Unless of course that these oh so precious records and the scene that some are constantly telling anyone who will listen,is a way of life.Isnt actualy as important as a lot make out,just a thought.