Any others still spin vinyl?

[Lucky Lady123]

We have quite a few albums and listen to them from time to time. Climax Blues Band,Jethro Tull,Uriah Heep,Mott The Hoople,Mountain,Nazareth,Clapton,The Band,CSN&Y,The Beatles,The Rolling Stones and the list goes on and on but I'll stop for now.

[Borntoolate85]

I became disillusioned with the current state of the music industry a few years ago, and yet while I wasn't born until 1985 (hense my username), I really feel that 80-90% of the music I listen and like was made before I was born. So, in July of 2008, moving into a larger house with my parents along with having college expenses and a car paid off with a steady salary, I wanted to become a record collector, mainly focusing on 45s, with a secondary interest in 33s and 78s. I just got a "retro-modern" turntable the previous Christmas, which means I had something to play them on. But I wanted to find record stores, flea markets, and such, and maybe even eBay (which is where 95% of my record collection has been received). I would see that buying records in bulk lots would almost always be cheaper than buying single records, and given that there would be almost all new records, buying them in bulk was the way to go. The first transaction I made was a box of 200 45 records for just $30, and with most of the records in average used condition, I decided to identify each single by the year of release, condition, and chart position (which I still do). I would keep doing this more often, often paying as little as 10 cents a record, for a variety of music from the Swing/Big Band era to the '90s and even early '00s (yes, they still made some 45 singles in those years). As the number of duplicates increased, I would start reselling those records, and exchanging the less worn copies in place of the more worn copies. I would usually break even, sometimes even coming out ahead later on. By August of 2009, my collection had grown to over 5,000 45s, so I felt like I needed a jukebox to play them on/plus to add decor to a room in the basement whenever it gets finished. It was a 1963 Wurlitzer 2700, working 99% (except for pressing A2, in which the selector skips over to L1), in "free mode" as the coin mechanism was removed sometime ago, all for a real bargain at $600. As my collection continued to grow, I would keep a checklist for all of the top 10 hits from the '50s to the '90s to see what I'm missing, plus tallying the most frequent artists in my collection, and even more recently, identify each record by genre.

Through buying record boxes, it's almost like an enternal Christmas; many eBay descriptions only show a sampling of artists/titles, some just a picture and the fact that they're records from an era in a so-and-so condition. The size would normally range from about 40 to over 1500 45s (in my last lot). I would store those records in sturdy boxes, usually a year or two at a time, plus by chart position for the Top 10 hits. Soon I may arrange those records of each box type alphabetically by artist and then title, to more quickly locate each record. What comes in each lot can run the gamut from valuable to just sentimental value; most boxes are just a mix of pop, easy listening, country, and soft rock and some crossover R&B mainly from the late '60s to the mid '80s, where reselling only breaks even. Sometimes, some old R&B/classic rock/doo wop gets into the mix, and this is where you/I can make money. I have a Goldmine price guide for common reference, and if I come across a rare record, popsike.com can help. But on a recent eBay lot of over 1500 records, I hit the big time! For just over $200, with only the top 8 records visible on the photo and no detail, I found a collection with many tags that said Don McLean! It mentioned it was an estate lot, and what I found were a few dozen rare Carolina Soul/Beach Music records, including one by the Embers on the JCP label, which has a Popsike value of $100-$200! There were also dozens and dozens of doo wops and hundreds of R&B/Soul records as well, with very little easy listening and country as well, really making this lot a goldmine.

Nowadays, my collection stands at over 11,000 45s, 1000 LPs, and even almost 100 78s. It's a great way to discover music that the radio stations no longer play and really get nostalgic for; turntables aren't that expensive after all!

Get into this; I feel record collecting today may be a lot like where coin collecting was in the 1950s: lots of old, interesting stuff still in circulation, fairly affordable values, but forseeing the rise in values of classics since then! They just won't make "good music" anymore given it's been over a decade since Top 40 was last "Semi-listenable" (1999).

[DOUBLE H]

Hey, someone's talking my language! Then again, I'm older than dirt and have bought records since 1962 (I'm ancient thank you!)

Lots of opinions and observations here that hopefully other people can weigh in on. There is one thing I want to add here that no one has discussed before-the regional record swap meet.

As you are clued in to the Goldmine price book, then I'm sure you have glanced at their magazines. I like popsike as well. The convention listings they list don't go that far so let me clue you in to a couple on line sites. They are Vinyl Times.Com and Record Shows Of America. Vinyl Times is the more established site but Record Shows of America also lists Canadian music conventions/swap meets. Was just on that site and it has 76,141 hits on it. Not sure what part of the country you are from, but the listings cover all shows across the States and Canada. They list promoter, date, location of venue, dealer table price and customer admission fee. The shows themselves can be anywhere from 50 to 150 tables. Mostly collectors set up at these shows, but store owners who have shops in the area stop to buy inventory and pass out business cards to the sellers who want to wholesale their stuff, and a lot of them do that.

Although collectibles of all genres are what you usually find at these shows, there are lots of other sellers who are hobbyists only who sell off a lot of everyday titles cheap to come up with some coin to buy other stuff. As you are just entering this hobby it is another way to pick up records. But also seek out other dealers and be able to see what you're buying. There is still something to be said for dealing with people one on one.

Sounds like you are really making up for lost time. Good for you. And it's even better when you can sell off a few gems in a bulk transaction that pays for all the stuff you intend on keeping, whether those records are collectible or not. But remember, collect for the fun of of it, that money part will take care of itself. Any specific questions? Feel free to dm me, be happy to answer your questions!

[Mike from back east]

I still have vinyl and listen once in a while. My fave is the Telarc 1812 Overture with live cannon shots that rocks the house.

I'm thinking of getting this LP-R550USB | TEAC component that converts old cassette tapes and LPs to digital. Does anyone have experience with this item?

The Amazon page for this has a good deal of info.

At my age I've got hundreds of 45s, LPs, cassettes and CDs. I hate the idea of buying CD versions of my old LPs since I paid for the LPs up to 50 years ago.