Selling Used CDs: Is it even worth it ????

[belladova]

Hello eBay Community

I have an abundance of used CDs in very, very good condition that I would like to sell on eBay but I am unsure if it is even worth the trouble.  I would love to get some advice.

1)  If you suggest I give it a try, then how might you suggest I list them?

Auction (w/ Buy It Now) ... or ... Fixed price

2) Also, would you recommend that shipping fees be included in the price (Free Shipping) or to allow buyer to pay shipping?

3) Lastly, I'm considering selling them by genre in small bundles.  

For example: 8 Classical Music Cds, 12 Opera Cds, 22 Broadway CDs, Etc.  Your thoughts? 

[timemachine777]

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@deep-garnet-red wrote:

I am contemplating the same thing.

I know that I am going to list at fixed price.  I don't have any rare titles that anyone is going to be falling over each other to try and get.

Most likely I will have the buyer pay shipping, offering a discount for multiple purchases. 

Selling in lots is a good idea if you want to move them quickly at a low price. In that case I would probably list with free media mail shipping, adding that cost into the item cost. That way the price per CD in the lot is still lower and the buyer thinks they are getting free shipping.

Most likely I will be setting these up in TL and dumping them on here when I get a 500 free listings promo.

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You do know that buyers read these posts...Right?

[omgitlightsup]

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@timemachine777 wrote:

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You do know that buyers read these posts...Right?

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You can do anything you want to lower shipping cost, all the way to zero if you like. The buyer is not going to be "fooled into thinking he's getting free shipping." Everybody knows the mailman gotta get paid. You're just paying something that would ordinarily get charged to the buyer out of your own revenue.

What is against eBay's, the USPS's, and customs rules is hiding part of the item's cost, or handling or other costs in the shipping charged to the buyer.

Are used CD's worth anything? If you've got an exceedingly rare one, possibly. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KMFDM-NAIVE-Industrial-Original-Canada-Recalled-Wax-Trax-CD-3-S-H-/122473835...

KMFDM released this disc without the permission of Carl Orff's estate to use a sample of "O Fortuna," causing it to be pulled from store shelves. Some imports are still worth money to US collectors, too.

But some "collectible" CDs are worth nothing. I still have the "rare endangered species" version of Sting's Soul Cages album, shrinkwrapped in the cardboard longbox, and today it's worth no more than the disc itself.

Most record stores won't even buy used CDs. They are more interested in vinyl records, which are making a comeback. CDs are not expected to make a comeback. Nobody is making CD players anymore; they're kind of like laserdiscs.  I know that mp3s are inferior in quality, but nobody really cares about quality anymore. They care how many songs fit in their phone.

[bonneville2000]

Stores like Decluttr have pretty much ruined the CD/DVD selling business.  I have over 1,000 CDs given to me by a friend.  I have been listing them on Ebay as a little side gig for some extra cash.  The Decluttr store will undercut everyone, since they have almost every copy of every CD and DVD out there, makes making even a dollar profit on a lot of CDs or DVD hard.  I found ways to save money on the cheaper items I sell, and I keep the best offer link on all my auctions (which leads to a lot of ridiculous offers like 1.00 offers) since Decluttr seems to have an algorythem to automatically undercut sellers who offer lower prices than them.  It gets frustrating trying to compete with a multi million dollar reseller.

[soniqsound]

"Decluttr seems to have an algorythem to automatically undercut sellers who offer lower prices than them. "

And f'in Ebay allows this manipulative practice to screw us all. Sounds like a fair playing field. Ive had some really hard to find rare cds that are long of print and NO one seems to want to offer a pitance. Now I know why!

When Im done seelling a very small lot I will probably no longer sell anything on Ebay. Used to make money many years ago selling music gear, cds and laptops but Ebay began twisting the search engine, siding with croocked/thieve buyers. Ebay is now nothing but bleached whale bones on a beach! Dead!

[b4b4b4b]

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@18704d wrote:

fwiw, CDs are obsolete.

The kids are 'streaming' songs now.

Yes, there's exceptions to every rule, but

our local thrift store has a $2.00 a bag media every week.

I can get 75 or more CDs with jewel cases and all artwork, in that plastic grocery bag.

I guess that's two or three cents each.

Lynn

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Gosh, Lynn, I feel so old !!

I remember when cd's first came out, they were a big deal, very newest technology; 8-tracks, vinyl, and cassettes were out 🙂    Now cd's are like 8-tracks and cassettes.   🙂       (I am 57!)

Tammy

New Hampshire

[sshrs_8kr2wp]

Are cds gone for good? I still buy them from vinyl record stores and on ebay and amazon but I am a collector and the price point for building a cd collection beats vinyl at $8 used and mp3 download record price. I have about 10000 cds. I have heard that young people in Japan still buy and treasure the cd buying experience, as something to do with their time and money and culture. I am a low level audiophile and also enjoy SACDs and Bluray 5.1 remixes and remasters as well. I just recently was in B&N and bought the CSN sailboat record for $5 that I bought for about that in vinyl when I was a 12 yo kid in 1978? for about the same price or more. It was great hearing it again and how well it held up and also the remaster of it. I hope cds make a comeback. You can tell a lot about a person by what is on the cd and book shelves in their space and it opens up conversations about music and life which downloads don't tend to do.  My own theory about back to vinyl is that it was hatched by artists and execs as a way to save the music industry. Cds are more convenient for me and suit my lifestyle though I also use all of the above to enjoy music.  

[ripcityresell]

Depends on the CD. Like anything there are the common everyday ones that are put out by the popular artists that you can't get 50 cents for and there are the rarer release or popular indie bands that sell for higher. I sold common CDs on this account for a long time and made good money doing it, but it was low profit and lots of volume. On my main account, I sell higher priced ones and do pretty well.

[anjpaterson]

yes because you can watch u tube in the car. Muppet. Cds still sell because they are purchased by 30 plus age group who dont stream like the kids. Anyone who thinks only kids listen to Music isnt payinng attention. .. but you have to list in bulk to make it worthwhile, I generate$300-400 hundred gross a month in CD sales about $200 genuine net profit after all costs including purchase price

[minibangbus]

Some CD’s are worth some money. Depending on what you have. Seen people pay good money for darude cd with the song “ on the beach “ 

[a1*techbank]

CAVEAT...

Smart audiophiles and Those within the industry dont stream... they rip CDs because thats the cheapest way often to get lossless sound format. More folks are going pro-audio and in that market streaming often doesn't cut it because the codecs are lossy ie like MP3 quality.

Just so you know this market. People will buy for quality music in CD format if the title is special.

[kh-jean]

Hi everyone,

Due to the length of time that has passed since this thread began, we have locked it from future replies. If this is still an issue that warrants discussion, don't hesitate to begin a new thread here.

Thanks.