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Your Money > Retail Bargains Articles > Turn your CDs...
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By Sarah Modlock
I took longer than most to get addicted to my iPod but now it really does feel like a additional limb. It is now ranked with essentials such as cash, mobile and door keys. My excitement at being able to find and download single tracks and more has yet to dwindle. All the while, my mammoth - and at one time much-loved - CD collection is gathering dust. All the favourites have been uploaded and 'sync'd. Now the discs lay forgotten, rather like Woody in Toy Story when Buzz Lightyear comes along. I still have every one of the vinyl albums and 7"s that I bought as a teenager but really don't feel the same sense of sentimentality about the CDs. It's hard to justify hanging onto them now. Most people with large CD collections could probably do with reclaiming the space, not to mention make a few quid. It's about time I sold them. But my first thought is about the security of my iTunes music. If I flog my CDs and then my computer dies (gulp) then my world will fall silent and my bank account will weep. Digital sales have long since overtaken CD sales and as the likes of Tesco and Amazon take a share of the market from iTunes, many people are spending a lot of money on downloads. It all adds up. There are a couple of options here - you can back up to an external hard drive or burn your library onto.....erm, CDs. One thing you shouldn't rely on is your home insurance. Research by Privilege Insurance reveals that the average music downloader would pay £282 to replace their music downloads and the cost will rise £25 each year as digital music collections grow. It also found that almost a quarter of music downloaders have had their collections wiped out by equipment failure. Privilege offers unlimited cover fpr digital downloads through its home insurance. Other firms such as Churchill and More Th>n provide generous amounts. But they are in the minority as most insurers will pay out zilch. So check your small print and make your own arrangements to back up. Four ways to make money from your CDs There are various choices and it depends a great deal on what's in your collection and how much effort you can put in. 1. Selling via a specialist website There has been much interest in www.musicmagpie.co.uk but reviews are varied for this newcomer to online trading. Music Magpie cuts down the time it takes to sell your CDs by recognising the case barcodes. So you grab a pile of CDs (minimum 5 per transaction), type all their barcodes in to the system, and the site recognises them and gives you an instant offer price. If you have a lot of CD's and want to save a little time, you can invest in a bar code reader for around £30. This is the first hurdle as there are many anecdotal reports of problems getting the site to recognise codes. Many sellers also report a lack of interest in lots of titles, although some had unexpected success with CDs by the likes of S Club 7 and Max Bygraves. Users also say that classical albums seem particularly in demand. If you do get an offer from the site, it could be for less than £1 so don't expect great riches. The advantage of this site is the potential for a quick sale and it's completely free to use. If you accept the offer, you then fill in your details and you'll be sent some postage-paid envelopes so you can send off the CDs. Once Music Magpie receives them, you'll be paid within about 10 days. You can also sell DVDs and games. It's still worth checking out Amazon first just in case you have something that is in demand. If not, you have nothing to lose. 2. Selling via Amazon You're probably used to buying from Amazon but it can also be great for selling, particularly if you have a deleted, rare or collectible CD. In some cases, shoppers may be searching for a CD which is no longer available and you if you have it you can pretty much set your price. Amazon charges the buyer a flat rate of £2.75 to cover post and packing so if you get your bubble-wrapping down to a fine art then you can make money from the fee. This is why many sellers list products for just a penny. I strongly recommend getting proof of postings for every item you send. Listing is pretty straightforward as there is a a code search system to get you started for each product. Amazon notifies you by e-mail when an order has been placed. You simply pack and deliver your item to the customer. A word of caution, however. When I used this service a couple of years ago I found that the sale notification emails were not getting through to me. This meant I had no idea the product had been sold (and money paid) and then customers were unhappy when their item was delayed. I complained to Amazon about this twice but they were not interested so I stopped using it. Hopefully this gremlin has been fixed but it's worth checking your account regularly to make sure you don't miss any notifications. To join the Sell on Amazon programme, you pay a monthly subscription fee of £28.75 so you need to know that you have enough to sell to cover the costs. Then you can list as many items as you want, as there are no listing fees. But on top of the monthly fee, you will be charged a commission ('referral') fee for each product that is bought. This is currently 16p for each CD. There is no long-term commitment required to sign up and you can unsubscribe at any time. You can also sell books, DVDs and games. 3. Selling on eBay As with the other sites, it's easy to get product information online as you list. But if you are listing CDs individually this can be a chore. You may want to consider eBay for specialist or rare CDs although it could be ideal for job lots of cheaper discs you want to offload in one go. When you list an item on eBay, you are charged an 'Insertion Fee' which is based on the item's starting price or reserve price (or whether you want to offer a 'Buy it now' option), plus fees for any optional listing features you choose such as extra photos and high profile listing. Listings priced at between £1 and £4.99 will attract a 15p insertion fee. If your item is sold then you also pay a 'Final Value Fee' which is a 10% of the item's sale price. This is capped at £40. Downsides include the hassle of many trips to the Post Office. It's crucial to get proof of posting for every single item, as eBay is rife with buyers who either don't receive items or claim they don't. The onus is on you to prove that the item was posted in the first place and if it never arrives you will need to refund the buyer and claim back the costs from Royal Mail. 4. Car boot sales This is not a realistic option is you are just selling a handful of CDs but if you have a garage/loft/spare room full of junk then why not get rid of the whole lot in one sitting? If you're hoping to maximise profits it is worth doing some research by spending a bit of time at one or two local sites to see how well-attended they are and how what sort of prices are being asked. Some sales start at the crack of dawn and others at lunchtime. It's well worth getting there as early as you can to secure a good spot and get set up in time for the early birds. Enlist a friend to help so that you can keep the cups of tea coming and also give you a chance to have a look at other pitches to check out the competition; it's useful to know if a guy round the corner is flogging CDs for 50p each when yours are £3. You may find that there is an initial rush and then crowds ebb and flow but be patient, be prepared to drop your prices or offer things in a job lot and consider setting a time limit so you are not stuck there all day. Many people reduce anything they have left in the hour before they want to leave so that they don't have to take it home. You will be charged a flat fee per car - around £10 and it's also worth starting off with a small float of change. Useful links: |
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