I’ve been pruning my CD collection, culling those discs I just never listen to anymore. I’ve pulled out about 100 or so, and as they represent a significant expenditure, I’d like to get as much of that back as possible. What market provides the best return for used CDs? The options that occur to me are: sell them to a second-hand music strore, sell them on Ebay individually, or sell them on Ebay as one or more lots. Any thoughts, ideas, etc?
Selling mixed lots on ebay is nearly always less profitable than selling the items individually, in my experience. That’s why I sometimes buy mixed lots on ebay.
This might not be the case if they have some merit as a whole collection (i.e. the complete album catalog of some sought-after artist or other).
Just a quick hi-jack.
Is burning a copy (or ripping it) and then selling the original the same (legally) as selling the copy?
IOW, if I make a copy of all my CDs and then sell the originals, is that illegal?
Not that that’s what the OP has done…
www.secondspin.com will tell you how much they’re willing to pay for your CD’s. They may not be the best deal around, but at least it gives you a standard for comparison.
If you’re lucky, you’ll get two or three bucks per disc at a used CD shop. Very recent CDs can often be worth less as everyone else has bought it, and either didn’t like it, or ripped it to MP3 and want to get rid of the thing.
When selling CDs to a used shop, it’s all about the physical condition. No big cracks or scrapes on the case, the liner notes need to be present and not torn up, and the CD needs to have a minimum of scuffs without any stick-on labels or writing.
Selling them on eBay is a pain, and by the time you’re done with listing and final sale fees, you’re looking at about a buck each, taken out of whatever the CD sells for. And then, you have to mess with packing and mailing them off.
It’s probably not the same as selling the copy, but it’s gonna be illegal for the same kind of reasons.
When you purchase a music CD, or even a software application CD, you are only buying a license for that product. It’s use is governed by that license. If you decide you no longer want the license, you are not entitled to keep a backup copy of the product while you sell or give away the original.
Just out of curiousity, what kind of tax deduction could you get if you donated those 100 CDs to a library?
Not enough to be worthwhile unless you already itemize on Schedule A.
You would be able to deduct the market value of the CDs as determined by the methods mentioned above. That assumes the library will actually accept them.
(It would reduce your taxes by an amount equal to your marginal tax bracket rate times the deduction amount. You didn’t ask but from a strictly financial standpoint you are always better off selling something than donating it and taking a deduction, unless you lie on your taxes about the value of the item.)