Looking for bargains in Charity Shops

I think you will find that most Charity shops these days have people who have read that Vinyl is worth more than 50p or have a copy of an out of date publication which lists prices for Vinyl.

So someone drops off a box of Vinyl or CD's shop opens book looks for price and attaches sticker, rinse and repeat, most of the good stuff has already been bought for 50p by the guy who lent them the copy of his out of date publication and helps them to put the stickers on in the first place lol.

This happened to me in Oxfam as a box of new vinyl and CD's was dropped off i asked if i could look through them and was told that Dave handles all the Vinyl and CD's and helps them to grade stuff for free.

I have lived in the Middle East for 7 years now so maybe things have changed, my Vinyl collection is in France and my kids always joke that when im no longer around they will take my Vinyl to the Charity Shop.

BTW I support charity shops and have always given them all my old books and clothes and will continue to do so as these places do a great job for the Charities they support.

I have a friend who volunteers at an Oxfam shop. One of his jobs is vinyl pricing. Price is based on experience of the market and condition of the LP. Occasionally they will check online if they think they have a rarity.

It's been a long time since I found anything of interest in an Oxfam shop but my impression is that their prices are higher than others.

Friend of mine works in a local charity shop and I was surprised to hear they have a ‘vinyl specialist’ come in and appraise the donations. It’s big business - gone are the days of picking up a bargain.

Boot sales are still a happy hunting ground - the huge one at Cheddar every Sunday usually has some interesting stuff reasonably priced.

I know of a charity shop that’s selling two CDs for £1. In my last two visits I’ve bought 20.

As a vinyl die-hard, I haven’t had a decent charity shop vinyl haul in a decade, but I’m glad I invested in a (to me) decent DAC.

I heard that my local Oxfam shop had a manager who would cream off the best LPs for himself. Part of the reason I don't go there.

There are some classical & jazz CD bargains to be had though. For value LPs you're far better off at a record fair, of which there are plenty, usually quite civilised.

I often walk past a local charity shop when I get my hair cut.  I usually pop my head round the door to see if there are any LPs.  A did so a couple of days ago and there sat right in front of all the usual dross was a nice original US issue of Laura Nyro's Christmas and the Beads of Sweat selling for a pound.  Sometimes you get lucky, you just never know when that will be.

You can still pick up CD bargains in charity shops, but interesting, fairly-priced good quality vinyl is increasingly rare, perhaps as a result of greed on the part of the charities. Most don't seem to understand that condition of the record and sleeve affects the price you can legitimately charge for it.

As [@mention:1566878603878972] says above, you're better off crate digging at a record fair or proper second hand shop.

About 4 or 5 years ago I bought a box of classical LP’s at an auction for £280, the reason I paid £280 was it contained a mint copy of ASD 350.

Not only did it have the usual gold sticker on the front, but also a charity shop sticker priced at £1. Bargains are available at charity shop, too the very, very, very, very lucky.

https://www.popsike.com/HMV-AS...LP/222710661964.html

Poundworld closes this week. Theyve been selling CDs for £1.

Local charity shop this week, Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key.

It was a double, labelled limited collectors edition. The spine was torn through, there were no liners, all four sides looked as if they had been cleaned with 80 grit abrasive - £17.99. When I commented on "bandwagon pricing", I was told that it's collectible. 

Speaking of Charity Shop stickers on one of the rare occasions when i did find something that was worth a punt in the Charity shop when of the volunteers had put a lovely sticker on the album cover

when i tried to explain that it was reducing the price of the album i was informed that it was policy to put price stickers on everything lol !!!

I'm finding far fewer bargains these days, I think because it is so easy for people to just Google something to get a sense of value. Years ago I'd find audiophile level kit at Goodwill or garage sales where the person selling it had no idea what it was. I'd find great old Kenwood or Sansui tuners, Nakamichi gear, C-J valve amps, Garrard turntables, all sorts of stuff. Great values. One time at a garage sale in the 90s, I saw one woman selling her husband's "old stereo junk" for $50. It was an entire Accuphase stack and fairly recent at the time. I REALLY wanted to say nothing and buy it, but my conscience wouldn't let me. I told her to pull it off the table, it's worth thousands. She got pissed because she never knew! I guess he lied about it. Records could be bought by the crate in the 90s for a buck or two, people were junking it all for CDs. Someone's lifetime record collection for $5. The same went for books. No one wanted books then and still don't. I'd find estate sales with an entire library of classics in a stack of boxes marked $10. It was crazy and a little bit sad at the same time. A lifetime of careful husbandry by the collector or aficionado being tossed into a box and sold for almost nothing, maybe even thrown away at the end of the day.

Now, people can just put it on eBay find an immediate market and probably get market value.

Oxfam in my very recent experience seem to have jumped from one extreme to the other on their Vinyl. From charging peanuts for valuable records to charging silly money for poor condition, unpopular recordings. A positive review some time ago by Michael Fremer may or may not have been the cause of their pricing over exuberance. High St  Charity shops can still sometimes yield bargain Vinyl, but it definitely seems to be a labour of love to find bargains. Good CDs on the other hand can still be had cheap if you are patient and picky. This little bunch cost me £1 per disc from a local charity shop that seems to have had a decent and recent donation. Nice.

The policy seems to depend on the profile of the outlet. Oxfam and other national charity shop chains are now charging what they think an LP is worth, other shops that I've been in recently and are linked to specific local charities - esp hospice shops - still have a flat £1 per record policy, but doubtless that'll change. 

You can pick up opera box sets for peanuts. I actually got one for free as nobody was buying them.

Paid 95p today for an empty CD case that should have contained Joe Cocker's Greatest Hits. Memo to self - always check the content before leaving. The other 5 were ok tho.