(Well here it is..)- What to do with your LP/CD collection-especially Mosaic box sets, when no interested heirs?

[soulpope]

We seem to have a large segment of (active) board members in their 60's 🤓😇👍 ....

[Brad]

13 hours ago, jazzbo said:

I'm nearing 69. . . I've had conversations of this nature with my wife. I only listen to physical media, so I'm inclined to just hang on to it all as long as I can. It seems if I don't take care of my collection big dumpsters will be in our driveway and pitching will begin. I'm undecided what is my best course of action or inaction.

I’m 73 and Lon’s post reflects my attitude. 

[tranemonk]

15 hours ago, ejp626 said:

With very, very rare exceptions when music is donated to a library, it just goes into the sale pile.  I've had enormous trouble in the past few years donating valuable books to university libraries, i.e. things not in their collection but should be, and have basically given up.  It truly was easier 10 or 15 years ago to donate massive collections of things.  The one exception I am aware of here is the Merrill SF library will take donations of SF or fantasy books if not already in their collection.  And the AGO Library will take art books.  Those are pretty much the only exceptions I can think of.

In 20 years' time, I really don't think most music stores will be buying collections the way Jazz Record Mart or Amoeba do (or did) in the past.  And with shipping prices going the way they are going, I can't imagine burdening someone with trying to sell it piecemeal through discogs...

If we downsize and move to a condo downtown or something when the last kid leaves the nest, I'll try to get rid of almost everything at that time.  I barely listen to my physical collection at all anymore.

 

Thanks. I didn't know this but one thing I did do was distribute it to about half a dozen different libraries (like a few hundred CDs to each). Hopefully, they won't end up getting sold.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

15 hours ago, ejp626 said:

With very, very rare exceptions when music is donated to a library, it just goes into the sale pile.  I've had enormous trouble in the past few years donating valuable books to university libraries, i.e. things not in their collection but should be, and have basically given up.  It truly was easier 10 or 15 years ago to donate massive collections of things.  The one exception I am aware of here is the Merrill SF library will take donations of SF or fantasy books if not already in their collection.  And the AGO Library will take art books.  Those are pretty much the only exceptions I can think of.

In 20 years' time, I really don't think most music stores will be buying collections the way Jazz Record Mart or Amoeba do (or did) in the past.  And with shipping prices going the way they are going, I can't imagine burdening someone with trying to sell it piecemeal through discogs...

If we downsize and move to a condo downtown or something when the last kid leaves the nest, I'll try to get rid of almost everything at that time.  I barely listen to my physical collection at all anymore.

 

This has been my experience as well. It's rather frustrating when you talk to a head librarian to ask why they don't put certain donated books on their shelves, especially if they don't have a copy of a particular book on the shelf now. In two cases where I had this conversation, the answer was the same - the library only has so much shelf space and they had to be selective with what they put there. When I pointed out that some of the books I was donating filled holes in author's bibliographies, they stuck to their guns. Only they could decide what went on their shelves.

Basically, the feeling I got was that libraries only buy what the head librarian wants. They really don't care what anyone else wants.

[Dan Gould]

15 hours ago, jazzbo said:

I'm nearing 69. . . I've had conversations of this nature with my wife. I only listen to physical media, so I'm inclined to just hang on to it all as long as I can. It seems if I don't take care of my collection big dumpsters will be in our driveway and pitching will begin. I'm undecided what is my best course of action or inaction.

I intend to make sure my wife knows to contact Dusty Groove or maybe the SC seller whose name escapes me now, to come and take a look at it all and make a fair offer.  f they aren't impossibly cheap on the offer it will be worth it. I've also thought about marking certain LPs, mostly blues, that I think are not run-of-the-mill and worth something.

[mjazzg]

1 hour ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

This has been my experience as well. It's rather frustrating when you talk to a head librarian to ask why they don't put certain donated books on their shelves, especially if they don't have a copy of a particular book on the shelf now. In two cases where I had this conversation, the answer was the same - the library only has so much shelf space and they had to be selective with what they put there. When I pointed out that some of the books I was donating filled holes in author's bibliographies, they stuck to their guns. Only they could decide what went on their shelves.

Basically, the feeling I got was that libraries only buy what the head librarian wants. They really don't care what anyone else wants.

Would you let someone come along from outside your profession and tell you how to do your job? Librarianship is a profession for many reasons, one of which is that it's more than "filling holes in author's bibliographies" at a member of the public's behest, no matter how generous that person may be. 

[AllenLowe]

25 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

Would you let someone come along from outside your profession and tell you how to do your job? Librarianship is a profession for many reasons, one of which is that it's more than "filling holes in author's bibliographies" at a member of the public's behest, no matter how generous that person may be. 

I have a library degree, and when I was working in a library I would have welcomed such advice and assistance. Why not? He is absolutely correct. And trust me, from having worked in a few public and college libraries I would not assume the staff had any idea about much other than the works that circulate most frequently, like best sellers and self help books.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

18 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

Would you let someone come along from outside your profession and tell you how to do your job? Librarianship is a profession for many reasons, one of which is that it's more than "filling holes in author's bibliographies" at a member of the public's behest, no matter how generous that person may be. 

I don't understand your point... I'm talking about donating books like Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich, where the library might have books 19, 20, 22, 24 & 26 on the shelf and you give them 21, 23 & 25. They end up in the book sale area. It's even more frustrating when someone comes in and has to request an inter-library loan for them.

If they don't cater to their clientele's wants, what's the point in managing a library? You need to put books on the shelves that people want, not what the head librarian wants.

What's even weirder is that there's a library one town over that stocks nearly all of these types of books and they accept my town's library card so me & my wife go down there more often than we go to our local library. How is that good library management?

I miss my old library in Atkinson, NH. While they also didn't do anything with donations (especially music donations), they seemed to have the pulse of the library's patrons and stocked what they wanted. This one in my new hometown does no such thing.

But back to the topic at hand - I would never donate any of my music to any of my local libraries. None of them would ever think of putting any of it on their shelves. In fact, I don't think any of my local libraries even loan music out & most of them are slowly removing their video titles. Most everyone streams music & movies these days, so it makes sense.

[mjazzg]

6 minutes ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

If they don't cater to their clientele's wants, what's the point in managing a library? You need to put books on the shelves that people want, not what the head librarian wants

My point is that the fact those books by that author are on the shelf doesn't necessarily mean their issue figures reflect the need for the ones you are donating. Without looking at their issue history, the age of the books and how the balance of stock in that particular genre is you can't really make an accurate assessment of their "value" to the library.

In fact, the fact they're on the shelf and not on loan may indicate that they don't in fact reflect the clientele's tastes as much as you believe or wish.

My experience was always that many people kind enough to offer donations did so believing that they should automatically be placed in stock based on no other criterion than the generosity of the giving. However some donors would allow the librarians to exercise their professional expertise in deciding what represented a balanced selection for the community they worked with.

[AllenLowe]

1 minute ago, mjazzg said:

My point is that the fact those books by that author are on the shelf doesn't necessarily mean their issue figures reflect the need for the ones you are donating. Without looking at their issue history, the age of the books and how the balance of stock in that particular genre is you can't really make an accurate assessment of their "value" to the library.

In fact, the fact they're on the shelf and not on loan may indicate that they don't in fact reflect the clientele's tastes as much as you believe or wish.

My experience was always that many people kind enough to offer donations did so believing that they should automatically be placed in stock based on no other criterion than the generosity of the giving. However some donors would allow the librarians to exercise their professional expertise in deciding what represented a balanced selection for the community they worked with.

you are bringing up a topic which explains one of the reasons I left the library profession - they have become too circulation dependent and more and more have stopped ordering more marginal  - ie, interesting - material. To me their mission is the opposite; as I argued when I last worked in a public library, "no one will take them out if they are nor here." There are ways to boost circulation of more obscure but worthy material. Libraries are not business; they serve the public in a much different way (unless you live in Florida).

[Dan Gould]

5 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

My point is that the fact those books by that author are on the shelf doesn't necessarily mean their issue figures reflect the need for the ones you are donating. Without looking at their issue history, the age of the books and how the balance of stock in that particular genre is you can't really make an accurate assessment of their "value" to the library.

In fact, the fact they're on the shelf and not on loan may indicate that they don't in fact reflect the clientele's tastes as much as you believe or wish.

My experience was always that many people kind enough to offer donations did so believing that they should automatically be placed in stock based on no other criterion than the generosity of the giving. However some donors would allow the librarians to exercise their professional expertise in deciding what represented a balanced selection for the community they worked with.

Pretty certain that having volumes 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 of 7 volume series is an indication that there was interest in the series, now or in the past. Who wants to start with 1 and 2 knowing that 3 doesn't exist at the library?  I agree  completely with Kevin at least on his example.

[Hoppy T. Frog]

I endorse selling to the Bastids. My collection started feeling like a ball and chain and not a joy. I love music, not the object. Plus I was having to move, and I was trying to transition from owning bulky "things" (or, to you Marxians, "fetish objects") and largely go to a digital collection. I own too  much music to listen to in a lifetime, and I was always adding more. My sale to DG paid for my share of the wedding, the honeymoon, and a couple subsequent European trips that I will treasure for a lifetime (visited Bach sites, Heinrich Schutz' house, saw operas at the Semper and concerts at the Gewandhaus and the Berlin Phiharmonie.  I see more live music than ever (jazz, classical) now that I live on the doorstep of Washington (than when I lived in an exurb with admittedly more space for my then-massive music collection).  

I admit I still get a little twinge of nostalgia when I see them listing things I know were mine, even almost two years later.

 

[mjazzg]

4 minutes ago, AllenLowe said:

you are bringing up a topic which explains one of the reasons I left the library profession - they have become too circulation dependent and more and more have stopped ordering more marginal  - ie, interesting - material. To me their mission is the opposite; as I argued when I last worked in a public library, "no one will take them out if they are nor here." There are ways to boost circulation of more obscure but worthy material. Libraries are not business; they serve the public in a much different way (unless you live in Florida).

Yes, that's an interesting point and not one I disagree with.

As library budgets have become tighter and tighter, here in the UK, the skill is to ensure that it's not just the evidently popular that is represented. 

I left libraries too

4 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

Pretty certain that having volumes 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 of 7 volume series is an indication that there was interest in the series, now or in the past. Who wants to start with 1 and 2 knowing that 3 doesn't exist at the library?  I agree  completely with Kevin at least on his example.

But if that interest was indeed in the past and readers have moved away from that author then not adding more seems reasonable, it may be that the volumes currently on the shelves are next in line for withdrawal because of inactivity.

I don't know the author or series referenced so I'm speaking hypothetically.

It's a truism that if local public libraries stocked everything that everyone in the community thought they should they'd need to be the biggest buildings in the area by several fold.

Presenting a well stocked library is an exercise in compromise to some degree and also one of representation and opportunity as outlined by @AllenLoweabove.

[Dub Modal]

Another option would be local auction houses. 

My dad has a lot of LPs he doesn't play anymore and I've advised him to think about whether he wants to sell them and use the money to enjoy now. He's somewhat motivated but beyond cataloging his LPs he hasn't made any move yet. He hasn't started on his 45s either, which is a pretty substantial collection. I've mentioned the auction joints recently and he said he'd take a look. 

[medjuck]

3 hours ago, Brad said:

I’m 73 and Lon’s post reflects my attitude. 

I'm 81 and still adding a bit to my collection.   My wife (who's only 70) and I have begun trying to catalogue our things for our children (who don't want any of them) as to sentimental and monetary value.  I guess I'd tell them to truck Cds (and the few Lps I still have) to Amoeba.  

[mjzee]

If you're thinking of selling, it probably makes sense to sell LPs now, as the market is hot.  CDs not so much, so you can wait on those until the "CD nostalgia" craze inevitably hits.

[JSngry]

I don't mind the library selling the odd things I donate to them. They put the proceeds to good use.

[jlhoots]

1 hour ago, Hoppy T. Frog said:

I endorse selling to the Bastids. My collection started feeling like a ball and chain and not a joy. I love music, not the object. Plus I was having to move, and I was trying to transition from owning bulky "things" (or, to you Marxians, "fetish objects") and largely go to a digital collection. I own too  much music to listen to in a lifetime, and I was always adding more. My sale to DG paid for my share of the wedding, the honeymoon, and a couple subsequent European trips that I will treasure for a lifetime (visited Bach sites, Heinrich Schutz' house, saw operas at the Semper and concerts at the Gewandhaus and the Berlin Phiharmonie.  I see more live music than ever (jazz, classical) now that I live on the doorstep of Washington (than when I lived in an exurb with admittedly more space for my then-massive music collection).  

I admit I still get a little twinge of nostalgia when I see them listing things I know were mine, even almost two years later.

 

Did Dusty Groove come to you & pick everything up? I have thousands of CDs. Already sold all of my vinyl years ago.

Edited June 17 by jlhoots

[Eric]

58 minutes ago, jlhoots said:

Did Dusty Groove come to you & pick everything up? I have thousands of CDs. Already sold all of my vinyl years ago.

I understand the ball and chain sentiment expressed above.  Also curious on this question.  Also, how does one know they are receiving a "fair" (i.e. reasonable) deal?

[Tom in RI]

What’s fair is what you are willing to accept. With access to discogs, popsike and eBay no one here should be in the dark about some estimate of value. Also, I don’t think there are many people getting rich off of selling physical product. There’s a store near me that I’ve patronized over many years. If I’ve got something worth auctioning I bring it to him and he gets 50% of the final eBay price. He pays all the fees etc and he also has 20 plus years of selling on eBay so buyers are more likely to buy from him than they are from me.

[Eric]

4 minutes ago, Tom in RI said:

What’s fair is what you are willing to accept. With access to discogs, popsike and eBay no one here should be in the dark about some estimate of value. Also, I don’t think there are many people getting rich off of selling physical product. There’s a store near me that I’ve patronized over many years. If I’ve got something worth auctioning I bring it to him and he gets 50% of the final eBay price. He pays all the fees etc and he also has 20 plus years of selling on eBay so buyers are more likely to buy from him than they are from me.

Thanks and I should have been specific - I was thinking about selling to a record store, be it Dusty or someone else.  Is there some "% of retail price" one would expect?  At some point I have heard this concept thrown around.

[Tom in RI]

Sure, I think if you’ve got individual records worth more than, say, $100 probably somewhere around 30-40%. If you’ve got a lot of records of lesser value, probably 25% of what might see as sold online. As I mentioned above, I’ve sold several original Blue Notes with my local guy at auction and got 50%, one was Curtis Fuller, which went for just under $500 another was Mobley’ Roll Call that went for about $1100. I got half and I was happy with that. 
 

I’d be curious what others here think.

Edited June 17 by Tom in RI
Clarity

[Eric]

6 minutes ago, Tom in RI said:

Sure, I think if you’ve got individual records worth more than, say, $100 probably somewhere around 30-40%. If you’ve got a lot of records of lesser value, probably 25% of what might see as sold online. As I mentioned above, I’ve sold several original Blue Notes with my local guy at auction and got 50%, one was Curtis Fuller, which went for just under $500 another was Mobley’ Roll Call that went for about $1100. I got half and I was happy with that. 
 

I’d be curious what others here think.

Thanks Tom, that is really helpful insight.  The number that sticks in my head is 40%.

[rostasi]

36 minutes ago, Tom in RI said:

What’s fair is what you are willing to accept. With access to discogs, popsike and eBay no one here should be in the dark about some estimate of value. Also, I don’t think there are many people getting rich off of selling physical product. There’s a store near me that I’ve patronized over many years. If I’ve got something worth auctioning I bring it to him and he gets 50% of the final eBay price. He pays all the fees etc and he also has 20 plus years of selling on eBay so buyers are more likely to buy from him than they are from me.

Sounds like a nice healthy relationship with your local store.
That's what I've begun to miss. We used to have these stores
that were eBay sellers where you'd bring in something to be sold
and they'd have some college students behind desks putting them
on eBay with a percentage taken for the work they had to do off the
final price. One was only a few miles away.

Another approach that may help you with deciding on how to approach
your collections (collectively, "you") is to take a segment of, let's say,
100 or so titles and divide them into 2 or 3 piles based on what you
realistically might get for each pile. It can be easier to make decisions
based on smaller segments that looking at the huge whole of it all.
Maybe after a few dozen trips to stores coupled with a couple of
major sit-downs a weekend at a time at a computer to send the info
to Discogs, for instance, might chip away a good portion of the collection
without feeling too much hurt or taking all that much total time.

Sometimes, I think extraordinarily high prices on Discogs might
be folks saying, "I don't really want to sell this, but if you're willing
to give me this amount, then I'll gladly take it."

[colinmce]

as a younger collector (a spry 40) I fully support giving your collection away to someone like myself if you can

but in all seriousness this is what I would like to do when my time comes if it’s possible. resale and donation seem only rarely viable, and it would go against my principles to see a record store offering pieces from my collection for arbitrary & predatory “internet” prices.