Selling CDs online

[Guido]

Has anyone tried selling cds to one of the online CD buying companies online? They don't offer a lot but I don't have the time or inclination to become an amazon seller. I really want to downsize and the cds are just gathering dust and taking up space for me in my not very large flat.

[Biffo]

I tried selling my spare CDs online with ebay and Amazon UK. They sold fairly quickly on ebay but got miserable prices. I got better prices on Amazon but they took months to shift - in the end I gave up. When we discussed this matter in the Amazon UK forum several people advised against using Music Magpie - they made great claims for their prices but in reality just gave a very low flat price for everything. In the intervening years Music Magpie seems to have changed into facility where an individual can sell their own CDs. I have bought from them with no problems but not sold through them.

Despite some fantastic claims I have seen in forums, secondhand CDs, especially classical, don't command very high prices.

[Jo498]

It is largely a buyer's market today. The secondhand sellers offer very little for CDs and amazon takes quite a cut if you sell them there yourself. Plus you have the hazzle, although offering on amazon takes very little time compared to ebay. I sold a bunch of ebay 10-15 years ago when prices where not quite so low. But this has become too much work. So now I have some (20-30) on offer at amazon marketplace but I sell about 5 or so a year. It is barely worth it, only if one has more time than money.
The best but increasingly unlikely is to find someone private who is such a voracious collector/buyer that they will buy some of your stuff, so you have no intermediates taking their cut. I once sold about 200 discs before a move and the buyer gave me a price that was a very good deal for him but for me still better than selling to a professional second hand vendor and I had a little less to pack for the move.
But with more and more people going for ripping, streaming etc. there are very few left who want thousands of discs collecting dust, regardless of price. It is even worse with books but I think even charities or libraries often do not accept donations CDs anymore because they cannot get rid of them.

Don't expect to make money (unless you have really rare stuff).

[Guido]

Thanks very much to both of you. I was thinking of selling them on we buy books or Ziffit or similar and wondered if anyone knew which one gave the best quotes so I don't have to try them all. If any British collectors want to contact me then do so! I will sell cheap!

[Turner]

Am selling a bit of stuff on eBay. Only rare items, typically some out of print, or stuff with really lowered prices, get sold. It can take a long time however, and it´s not all items that are eventually sold, it´s quite unpredictable what will be bought by people.

Don´t expect any large profits, only quite modest ones. But overall it can be fun, and it´s better than dumping them more or less for nothing, unless you want to support your local stores (which could be a good reason, of course).

The best profit I ever made was with a rare LP box sold to Japan, where I earned a real lot, but some of the sought-after CD boxes can bring in say 20 Euros netto at times. Prices have generally gone down, also due to sales and lowered prices for new box sets.

[Jay F]

Has anyone tried selling cds to one of the online CD buying companies online?

Yes. They "lost" some of the discs I sent. I no longer remember the name of the company, but I believe the main organization was in Europe, though I sent my CDs to an address in the US.

Never again.

[Mirror Image]

Some good advice here. Selling CDs, unless you're a huge online retailer with warehouses everywhere, is unfortunately more of a loss than a gain, especially considering that it's a buyer's market, which has already been brought up. One member mentioned if you have rarer CDs there are better chances that you'll make more money --- not necessarily. Not everyone is that desperate for a difficult to find CD. I've seen rare CDs on Amazon that are listed for $100 and they continue to sit there. Probably your best bet would be selling your CDs in some kind of bundle on eBay. I wouldn't even bother listing your collection individually. A waste of time really.

[Baron Scarpia]

I have sold CDs on both Amazon and eBay. I don't do it anymore. There were occasions where I got a good price on a big box set, but selling an ordinary single disc, I was making less than minimum wage based on the time to list and ship discs. My plan now is to unload on a local used book store or library. I might make an exception in the case of a premium limited edition set. (Will I ever listen to my pink Rubinstein box? Is it out of print yet?)

[Turner]

Some good advice here. Selling CDs, unless you're a huge online retailer with warehouses everywhere, is unfortunately more of a loss than a gain, especially considering that it's a buyer's market, which has already been brought up. One member mentioned if you have rarer CDs there are better chances that you'll make more money --- not necessarily. Not everyone is that desperate for a difficult to find CD. I've seen rare CDs on Amazon that are listed for $100 and they continue to sit there. Probably your best bet would be selling your CDs in some kind of bundle on eBay. I wouldn't even bother listing your collection individually. A waste of time really.

100 dollars is generally unrealistic, and those sellers seem to rely on selling fewer CDs but at longer intervals and with less effort.

[Baron Scarpia]

100 dollars is generally unrealistic, and those sellers seem to rely on selling fewer CDs but at longer intervals and with less effort.

It's a psychological game, and there must be a strategy. Amazon notifies you when an item in your cart changes price. Maybe there is a strategy involving setting a high price, then prompting people to snap it up when they lower the price.

In any case, there is always a trade-off between selling fast and selling high and where you set your price depends on how much it costs you to wait.

[AnthonyAthletic]

I tried selling my spare CDs online with ebay and Amazon UK. They sold fairly quickly on ebay but got miserable prices. I got better prices on Amazon but they took months to shift - in the end I gave up. When we discussed this matter in the Amazon UK forum several people advised against using Music Magpie - they made great claims for their prices but in reality just gave a very low flat price for everything. In the intervening years Music Magpie seems to have changed into facility where an individual can sell their own CDs. I have bought from them with no problems but not sold through them.

Despite some fantastic claims I have seen in forums, secondhand CDs, especially classical, don't command very high prices.

A friend of mine was offered £3 for the Allan Pettersson symphony cycle on CPO, 11 cds, slip case, mint....that's a flat rate!
Magpie are great to buy from, but not to sell to, if you're hoping for a few dollars/quids.

[Turner]

Currently I typically have 10-15 selected items for sale on eBay, never more than 20 (there´ll be an extra fee for further items than 20).

Since late October, I´ve sold 4 items, for the price of around £ 83 totally, and earning around maybe £ 45. My post office is a 3 minute walk away.

Haven´t sold any more expensive items in that period, and am only presenting one such expensive item at the moment. Rare LP sales have generally gone down too.
Of course, it also depends on what you present on the site.

[prémont]

My post office is a 3 minute walk away.

Lucky you!

[MisfitKid]

I mostly sell CDs on Discogs. It's certainly slower than eBay or Amazon, but I get a steady amount of orders for sure.

Discogs is usually is on top of the list when someone searches on Google for a concrete  artist or album, and that helps a lot.