Crate Digging 101 Lesson 4: Condition And Price
How much should you pay and what should be the vinyl's condition?
What’s a good price to pay when scoping records? Well, it depends on the condition of the vinyl, the cover and how rare the record is. I just scored a copy of George Harrison’s (very rare) Wonder Wall solo LP he put out on Apple while still with the Beatles for a measly four bucks! The record is in rough condition, but it plays, and it’s about the only chance I’ll most likely get to grab a copy (a mint copy could fetch $100 at least). So to me it’s worth it to hear George’s psychedelic world music! Any rock, soul or jazz record with a sitar player is pretty sure bet for some mind-bending grooves!
One of my favorite vinyl sources, Reckless Records, has a simple guide to grading the condition of used records:
- Mint- like new, clean listening
- Near mint- a few slight nicks, occasional crackles
- Very Good- some surface noise, not distracting from the music
- Good- some scratchy noise, a few pops
- Fair- Noisy, but won’t skip
This is a great system to keep in mind when checking out used records anywhere. Remember, warps are a record buyers worst enemy, because you can’t pile enough quarters on the tone arm to play through a wavy piece of plastic.
The condition of the cover also matters, so you must decide if you want a copy for listening or for collecting. Some covers are cool enough to get for a buck or two. I have found records with lousy covers in great condition, then later I was able to grab a cover with a beat record, so I end up paying $5 total for what would be twice as much if sold together.
Most records fall into the Very Good range, and are worth $2 to $6, depending on the record (and what store you are at). It is amazing to me that I can see the same records at two stores (like I just did at Hard Boiled and Laurie’s Planet Of Sound) and see the same records at a $3 price differential. Usually these tend to even out in the larger scheme, but it pays to check around for a platter you want/need.
If stores don’t have turntable listening stations (or won’t play it for you like Hard Boiled does), you can judge condition by appearance. Look for a deep black color that has as few non-groove lines as possible. The grayer the vinyl, the more dirt is likely to be in the grooves. Colored vinyl makes it tough to see scratches, but nothing looks cooler than a yellow record, like The Ramones Road To Ruin, right? Or bright red, like Pezband’s Thirty Seconds Over Schaumburg.
Holding the records at different angles to the light to see what scratches show up in the reflections.
Posted by Prof Louzlounge on Jul 26, 2010 @ 7:07 am
