# What to to with VHS tapes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 5, 2016, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574 "2016-06-05T14:32:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/1 "2016-06-05T14:32:44Z")
We’ve got about 150-200 VHS tapes. My wife collected them before we got married. Anyway, she has decided to get rid of them (YAY!), but what is the best way? Donate them to Goodwill? Are there people who would be interested in buying the whole lot? I am not really looking to maximize my profit, but even figuring she spent $5 each on them (some are marked $14.99), it represents a sizeable investment. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/2 "2016-06-05T14:55:08Z")
Certain titles are valuable, esp. if rarely used or, better yet, unopened. E.g., some of the early releases of Disney classics, some limited runs with a dedicated fan base, etc. To get money for those, you pretty much have to use eBay or other online markets. Once you figure the return on your time, it’d have to be a pretty rare and desirable tape to make it worthwhile. Chances are, almost every tape you have is basically worthless. Goodwill might appreciate certain tapes: esp. well known children ones. But most won’t be worth their time to process. Expect to trash almost all to all of them. And _never_, ever concern yourself with the initial cost of the items. That has no meaning at all now. None at all. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/3 "2016-06-05T14:57:25Z")
Someone like me will wait till the last second at a yard sale and offer you $5 for the whole lot. (And I get them because few other people want them any more.) Otherwise they are going for 25 cents each in my area, but still will not sell. I suggest you donate them to Goodwill. FYI - I don’t like DVDs and don’t care for new movies which all seem to have rotten endings. So I still watch VHS. Also I can stop a movie, turn off the power to the VHS, and it will start right up where it left off! Every time! No mess, no fuss. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/4 "2016-06-05T21:29:30Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#): > > Also I can stop a movie, turn off the power to the VHS, and it will start right up where it left off! Every time! No mess, no fuss. I believe most DVD players will do that now as well, including when you don’t want them to. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/5 "2016-06-06T00:26:49Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > I believe most DVD players will do that now as well, including when you don’t want them to. Yes they will, even the cheap ones. Hit stop twice to start again. New movies have rotten endings? Oh boy, the 70s and 80s were a shitshow of bad endings. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/6 "2016-06-06T02:27:48Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > I believe most DVD players will do that now as well, including when you don’t want them to. Not only that but some players you can take the DVD out, watch several other DVDs, put the original DVD back in and still play from where you left off. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/7 "2016-06-06T05:41:13Z")
Last time I had a box of VHS tapes, I just left them on the curb and soon enough some guy stopped and grabbed them. From the look of his truck, I’m guessing they wound up at a flea market or something. More power to him and I hope he got a couple bucks out of it. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/8 "2016-06-06T06:20:43Z")
I had some boxed sets (Ken Burn’s _Civil War_, a set of _Rocky and Bullwinkle_, a few others. The woman at the Goodwill front seemed to appreciate them (the plastic was still on the cases and boxes). The others I just set out on the curb. The local library did not want VHS. I do have some VHS that might be of interest - they a VHS/PAL (UK release) od the original \*Song of the South \* with the Pastoral Scene intact. I burned them to DVD. By now, I’m sure it has been on Youtube a few hundred times. But yeah, there is no market for most VHS, unless it is mint and a rare title. Got the original Star Wars? I got a set on Laserdisc and cut to DVD. Han still shoots first! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/9 "2016-06-06T06:50:52Z")
Well, from experience, I can tell you that knitting with VHS tape is harder than you might think, and the end results are not especially attractive. just wanted to help rule that one out. ---
**Author:** ![NuclearBombPop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@NuclearBombPop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NuclearBombPop)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/10 "2016-06-06T07:33:29Z")
If you can hold on to them until October, here’s a Halloween costume idea. Open the cases to get to the tape. Wrap tape around body. Insert movie-theater style candy boxes at random spots. You are now the mummified remains of Blockbuster Video. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/11 "2016-06-06T09:00:01Z")
CORRECTION! File under: Duh! The Pastoral Scene is in _Fantasia_. The “Pickaninny” (name: Sunflower) is thrilled to be allowed to groom the White female centaur with yellow hair. _Song of the South_ has so much racism that cutting it would produce a film about 15 minutes long and horribly disjointed. What wasn’t racist was Classist - the rich Plantation owner family vs. the poor white trash. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/12 "2016-06-06T09:50:20Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > Not only that but some players you can take the DVD out, watch several other DVDs, put the original DVD back in and still play from where you left off. This will blow your mind but you can take a VHS tape out, go to the other side of the world, put it into an entirely different player and it will _start playing again from exactly where it left off!_ :eek: ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/13 "2016-06-06T10:01:42Z")
Unless your tape is recorded in one of the 3 main formats: NTSC SECAM PAL and the machine on the other side of the world is not. The only case I can think of wherein the “other side of the World” uses the same format is NTSC, used in North America and Japan. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/14 "2016-06-06T12:19:45Z")
You never know, some are worth big money. Years ago we had a garage sale and this guy came in and used an app on his phone to check the bar codes on the tapes I had for sale for $0.50. He knew exactly which ones were worth $25 and more and bought those. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/15 "2016-06-06T12:47:08Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Well, from experience, I can tell you that knitting with VHS tape is harder than you might think, and the end results are not especially attractive. just wanted to help rule that one out. Oh! But knitting a wool cosy for a VHS tape would be pretty cool. I could imagine seeing something like that at MOMA or ICA in Boston. **excavating** , I’m going to need you to buy a funky pair of glasses and a haughty disdain for the mainstream. The piece’s title will be “Echo of Peace No. III Blanc-Jaune (unsigned)” We’re gonna make you an art world star, baby! ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/16 "2016-06-06T13:33:44Z")
Just a thought, but the hospice my husband was at only had VHS tapes to play for the patients. As their stock has dwindled over the years, they were always on the lookout for more donations. The same idea could apply to nursing homes too. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/17 "2016-06-06T13:41:53Z")
If they are all on a theme such as Disney or Classic Bad Horror (Plan 9, The Creeping Terror) you may be able to find a customer; but do you want to spend the time for maybe at best $150-$200? Best bet is to donate them somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/18 "2016-06-06T16:10:19Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#): > > FYI - I don’t like DVDs and don’t care for new movies which all seem to have rotten endings. Boy ho, tell me about it. All these new movies and their crappy endings, Transformers, Batman, Wizard of Oz. I’ve resigned myself to sticking to the classics which means no movies made before 1912. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/19 "2016-06-06T21:50:00Z")
Around my area (Tennessee) there are several stores that buy and sell used media (books, CDs, DVDs, VCR tapes, video games, etc). They pay tiny amounts for a straight sale and slightly better for in-store credit, but a few bucks toward a couple of books is better than nothing. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-to-with-vhs-tapes/756574/20 "2016-06-06T22:59:49Z")
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