Selling a Vinyl Record Collection From an Estate: How to Sort It, Judge Condition, and Choose Where It Sells

First: Protect What's There

Condition drives record value more than almost anything else, so the first job is not to make it worse while the house is being cleared. Keep records upright, like books on a shelf, rather than stacked flat, and keep them out of hot cars, attics, damp basements and sunny windows while you sort. Leave records in their inner sleeves and jackets. Don't write on covers, add price stickers to the jackets, or tape split seams, because writing, stickers and tape are exactly the defects buyers mark down. And don't try to clean records with household products before a buyer has seen them. If the collection is worth serious money, the buyer will want to see it as it is.

Inventory Before Anyone Takes Anything

• Gather records from every room into one dry, cool place: dens, closets, basements, attics, garages, storage units and the back of the stereo cabinet
• Keep the owner's organization intact. Alphabetized shelves, genre sections, a separate box of favorites or a handwritten list all tell a buyer something about the collection
• Count roughly by type: LPs (12-inch albums), 45s (7-inch singles), 78s (heavy 10-inch and 12-inch discs, mostly older) and any reel-to-reel tapes or cassettes
• Pull out anything still sealed, anything marked as a promotional copy, and anything in a box set, and note it
• Photograph a few representative shelves or crates and the spines, so you can show buyers what's there without moving everything
• Don't divide the records among heirs until the collection has been looked at. Our guide to dividing heirlooms covers how families usually handle this, and the executor remains accountable for estate property

How Record Buyers Judge Condition

Record dealers and collectors in the U.S. widely use the Goldmine grading standard, and Discogs, the large online record database and marketplace, uses the same scale. Records and covers are graded separately. The grades, from best to worst, are Mint (M), Near Mint (NM or M-), Very Good Plus (VG+), Very Good (VG), Good (G) and Poor (P), with in-between grades like G+ in common use. Goldmine describes a Near Mint record as one that looks like it just came from a retail store and was opened for the first time: shiny, no visible defects, no writing or stickers on the label. Near Mint covers have no creases, ring wear or seam splits. A VG+ record shows only slight signs of wear, such as light scuffs that don't affect listening. Goldmine says VG records usually sell for no more than 25 percent of a Near Mint copy, and that most collectors treat VG as the lowest grade they'll pay more than bargain-bin prices for.

Why Most Inherited Records Aren't 'Mint'

Families are often surprised by how hard grading is. Goldmine's own guide says most records from before the 1970s are nowhere near Mint or Near Mint, and it estimates that no more than 2 to 4 percent of the records remaining from the 1950s and 1960s are truly Near Mint. Records that were played often, stacked, or stored in a hot room usually grade VG or lower. That's normal, and it's why a large collection of well-loved records can be worth less than families expect, while a smaller collection kept carefully can be worth more. Goldmine also notes that an album without its cover, or a cover without its record, loses most of its value, so keep records and jackets together.

Identifying Which Pressing You Have

Two records with the same title, artist and cover can be worth very different amounts, because value often depends on which pressing it is: the country, the label variation, whether it's an original or a later reissue, and sometimes which plant pressed it. The most reliable clues are in the dead wax, the smooth area between the last song and the label, where pressing plants stamp or etch matrix and runout codes. Discogs' database guidelines describe recording that matrix text exactly as it appears on each side, and say a barcode identifies the retail packaging rather than a specific pressing. To look up a record, search Discogs by artist and title, then compare the label, catalog number and runout codes on your copy to the versions listed. Promotional copies are often marked on the label or jacket, and Goldmine advises always disclosing promo status when selling.

LPs, 45s and 78s Are Different Markets

• LPs are where most estate record value is, and they're what most buyers at an estate sale are looking for. Condition and pressing matter most
• 45s sell individually to collectors in some genres, but large boxes of common 45s are usually sold by the lot. Keep company sleeves and picture sleeves with their records
• 78s are made of brittle material and break easily, so handle and ship them with care. Most are common, but specialists collect certain genres and labels. A dealer who handles 78s can sort them
• Box sets, sealed records and limited editions should be set aside and looked up individually
• Reel-to-reel tapes and cassettes are a smaller market; mention them to a buyer rather than discarding them

The Turntable, Receiver and Speakers

A good record collection often comes with the equipment the owner played it on, and vintage stereo gear has its own buyers. Sell it separately from the records, so neither price gets lost in the other. Before the sale, note the brand and model number from the back panel of each piece and whether it powers on and plays. Don't promise it works if nobody has tested it; sell untested equipment as untested. Turntables should have their tonearm secured before they're moved, and speakers are heavy and easy to damage on stairs. If a piece looks high-end or unusual, ask the estate sale company or a vintage audio dealer to look at it before it's priced with the household electronics.

Where Estate Record Collections Usually Sell

• Estate sale: works well for mixed collections, common titles and the stereo. Estate sales that mention records in their ads tend to draw record buyers. Ask the company how it prices records and whether it pulls valuable titles for separate pricing
• Record store or dealer, bulk offer: the fastest route for a large collection. Ask for a written offer, and ask which records the offer is mostly based on
• Selling online, record by record: Discogs and similar marketplaces reach collectors directly and usually produce the highest prices for the better records, but listing, grading, packing and shipping each record takes real time
• Auction house: worth considering for rare pressings, sealed originals, signed items and collections built by a serious collector
• Donation: libraries, schools and thrift stores may accept common records the market won't pay for. Our guide to estate sale donation tax deductions covers documentation

Shipping Records if You Sell Online

If you sell individual records online, shipping is part of the work. USPS Media Mail is generally available for sound recordings under the Postal Service's Domestic Mail Manual (DMM 173), which makes it a common choice for records. Media Mail packages can be inspected, and the eligibility rules exclude advertising and some other items, so check the current rules before shipping. Pack LPs in rigid record mailers, take the record out of the jacket and put it in its sleeve behind the cover so it can't split the seams in transit, and pack 78s with extra padding.

Taxes When Heirs Sell Inherited Records

This is general information, not tax advice, and the estate's accountant should confirm how it applies. Under federal law, inherited property generally takes a basis equal to its fair market value on the date of death (26 U.S.C. 1014), or on the alternate valuation date if the executor elects it on an estate tax return. In practice that means heirs are generally taxed only on gain after the date of death, not on what the owner originally paid. For most record collections, which sell close to their date-of-death value, that leaves little or no gain. If the collection is valuable, a written valuation near the date of death is worth keeping with the estate records. New Jersey's inheritance tax rules may also apply depending on who inherits; see our NJ inheritance tax guide.

Questions to Ask a Record Buyer

• Is this offer for the whole collection, or are you only interested in some of it? What happens to the rest?
• Which records is the offer mostly based on? Can you list them?
• How are you grading condition, and did you look at the records or only the spines?
• Would any of these do better sold individually or at auction?
• Will you put the offer in writing, and how and when will you pay?
• If an estate sale company is involved: does the offer come through the company, and is its commission taken out? Our contract checklist covers how that should be written down

Red Flags When Selling an Inherited Collection

• A single price for 'everything' from someone who flipped through a few crates
• Pressure to decide immediately, or an offer that only stands if you sell today
• A buyer who wants to take the best records 'to look up' before paying
• Unsolicited calls or letters offering to buy the contents of the house after an obituary runs
• Anyone who won't put an offer in writing. Our guide to avoiding estate sale scams covers more of these