/biz/ - Business & Finance

You can make nice profits through vinyl records.

Two ways to do it. The first is to buy newly released "limited editions" (buy them brand new, sealed) and then sit on them for a few years and then sell them when they're gone out of stock. For example there was a special Thirteenth Floor Elevators collection released several years ago that only cost £99 but now it sells for prices like this: https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/3133767?condition=Mint+%28M%29

The second way is to buy old used rare records when you find them at good prices, like for example early or first pressings of albums by famous bands, then sell them for much higher.

For example if you find an early Zeppelin pressing in nice condition cheaply, you can sometimes make serious profits. Check out this for example: https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/1218217?condition=Near+Mint+%28NM+or+M-%29

That's an extreme example ofc. You're unlikely to find that particular version of that record in good condition cheaply.

BUT this method requires knowing how to clean and grade records properly, reading the codes in the deadwax etc to properly identify when the record was made and where and when (what "pressing" it is), and you need to test play them so you need a turntable and must have it configured properly (properly aligned stylus, VTA, anti-skate, tracking force, etc), and a good sounding turntable setup isn't cheap, so you need to spend money on that first. If you use some cheap plasticy 1980s junk or a modern cheap record player, then it will sound like shit and you won't be able to properly judge the quality of the record.

The cheapest way to get good quality gear is to buy a 1970s turntable (even entry-level turntables in the mid 1970s were much better quality than the average turntable 1980s and later ones), used high end speakers and a used amplifier and preamp (make sure it matches well with the cartridge), and a cheap but good cartridge like an Audio Technica VM95 with a Shibata stylus.