dumping CDs in LA
ariel_calmer
3,762 Posts
Anybody have tips on where the best place to sell used CDs in the LA area is? I'm looking to dump 100-200 electronic, hip-hop, and rock CDs from about the 90s to current day. Some promos. Would realistically like to get $2-3 bucks each for the lot. Is this possible with Amoeba? Or are they going to dick me about and make piles???
Comments
Thanks for the info.
This sucks. A buck each is not worth it.
Maybe I should just list em on ebay...
someone on these boards used to work at amoeba, he might have a better insight as to how they work. He did work at the SF one if i recall though.
the other day someone gave me a stack of cds covered in shampoo. that could also affect your trade negatively.
amoeba buys back promo cds right? you know, the full albums and everything, but they have the bar code crossed out or holepunched...
how much would recent mint condition! cds like that go for at amoeba?
or would it be smarter to take to second spin or another spot?
Dude... you mean I need the cases and those little booklets and shit??? For real, bra? That shit is like in my ex-girlfriends car and shit... can I like bring that shit later or something?
Is that worth $1-200 of your time?
You're right JP....
Maybe take the total bullshit in, ebay the ones that would get $10 and call it a day.
I should ebay some of them, like the raaijmakers boxed set on donemus could get some dough.
i speak from experience.
It depends on who you sell to. Some people will give you $10 for a stack of cds. Another person may give you $100 for the same stack. The higher up the person is (in terms of job status) the more conservative they will be.
helpful tips:
-those magic stacks are supposed to be price stacks. You can ask them what they are.
-I've noticed that if you mix in crap with good stuff it may lower your total. It's probably better to do an all good trip and a second shitty trip. It shows you know what you've got and aren't clueless.
-you are supposed to get half of what they will sell it for. If the cd surfaces are flawless, check out the used price of each cd and estimate what you should get. if they lowball you you have every right to say no. You could even come back another day and sell to someone else.
It's a total crap shoot. I've noticed that the times you expect nothing are when you get more. If you go in there expecting to be showered with loot you'll end up getting nothing and being pissed.
Just ask what the price piles are. Take out the ones that you don't agree with. they may think you are a dick, but it's your stuff, you are not obligated to sell anything. If the person seems friendly then talk to them and they may hook you up. Be warned though, some people criminally lowball, even to us employees, so in those cases you should say no and come back another day.
and will that effect the buy back price?
chirp back
Uh... Don't you think this sounds bogus? There should be some consistancy and some respect in this process. It should not be a total crap shoot.
In 2003 I bought a collection of promo LP's from a Columbia executive in Walnut Creek. I elected to sell all the items I did not want to ship back to LA. I sold them to Amoeba in SF. By the time I double parked the Suburban full of 3500 records and dragged this stuff inside I was not about to drag it back out.
The buyer had no idea who I was, spoke to me like I was a fucking idiot and paid me 10 cents a record for mint promo rock, pop and semi common soul from the 60's and 70's.
It was not a bad pile of records, it was a bad experience however. That's when I started selling this kind of material to Craig Morer for literally 35 times what they offered me on avarage.
This and all the other record collections I have bought from people in LA that could not get a solid offer from Amoeba. That has happened about 3 times.
It's a total crap shoot is right. Fucking absurd. It is really sad and insulting. Amoeba thinks they are such kings that the do not even realize their rep amongst people in the know. It is becoming kind of laughable.
ap
they will at least that is my experience
I totally agree with you. it should be consistant, but it's not. I don't think it ever will be consistant or get much better. The only way it would be consistant is if it were the same buyer every day. Only one person. Otherwise it's all different knowledge bases and preferences. No way to prevent that.
One thing I would say is that they are a business and want to make as much money as possible. I doubt they are as concerned with people in the know (who are probably a minority) as they are with a steady base of consumers. They are just like the rest of us, trying to buy low and sell high.
They are way more corporate than they are indie these days. That affects everything from how customers are treated to how employees are treated. Also, employees who hate their jobs and feel like they are treated like shit probably transfer that energy onto the customers. After awhile I got sick of being there, but I was just a cashier and I never treated the customers any differently.
sorry you had such a rough experience there.