Q: I have several hundred records (long playing 45s and 78s). All in mint condition. Most of the 78s are from the 1930s and ’40s in the original container. Do they have any value or should I take them to the dump?
EARL CONINE, CUMMING
A: A number of factors can determine what vinyl is worth on the secondary market.
While some record shops, such as Comeback Vinyl in Alpharetta, will accept a wider variety, shops like Criminal Records in Little Five Points focus on particular genres. These can include pre-World War II blues and country, indie rock records from the 1980s to present, soul, funk and R&B records from the 1950s to now, and country and bluegrass from the ’30s to the ’80s.
“For 78s and things like that, if it’s blues or folk, any of the stuff that’s not mainstream that was on 78s, like show tunes, are definitely worth having someone check out, and the other stuff as well,” said Ryan Lewis, president of Kindercore Vinyl in Athens.
The artist and label may also play a part in the value of the vinyl, especially if it’s an artist that’s in higher demand. Condition is another factor.
“If a record is scratched, it doesn’t matter how good it is, it’s not going to work,” Lewis said.
Sellers can look on discogs.com/search to gauge the approximate price of a record. Criminal Records' website states it will buy vinyl that has the outer sleeve and cover, and if the vinyl itself is in good condition.
“It all depends on exactly what they are,” said Mark Methe, owner of Wuxtry Records. “There’s lots and lots of 78s that are quite worthless but then again there’s also some that have quite a bit of value to the right person.”
Q&A on the News runs Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Megan Wahn of Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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