dcrw6

In light of soon to be homelessness and the panicked drive to move my family somewhere where we can both be happy and have an opportunity for starting something resembling a career while we deal with my wife's cancer, I've come to the long and extremely painful decision to sell all of my dvds and blus if it means enabling us to have a better life. This is something I've had to chew and build myself up to since the collection was my biggest passion in life up until I met my wife and started a family, so to say I've even reached this decision is an indicator for just how goddamn bad it's gotten.

Now, my plans are to just throw everything up on ebay as a lot. I'd like to imagine I could get at least $15,000 for everything, under $3 a title, which I would think isn't unreasonable, other than if anyone even has that amount of money in the first place. There's about 100 Criterions, blus with slipcovers, boxsets, season sets, imports, and OOP cult titles that go for $50-$100 online by themselves so I'd imagine it's a very attractive lot to film fiends with money.

I guess I'm asking from those of you on here, is my expectations too high? Is there anything I'm overlooking or a better way to approach it? Maybe some of you have gone through something similar? I don't know. This is a major, major life choice for me and I guess I'm just looking for some opinions from people who have an outsider's viewpoint. Thank you for any help you might be able to pass along.

RoadToPerdition

I'm sorry to hear about all that, man. Sounds like a tough situation.

Realistically, I think you will have an extremely difficult time finding someone that will shoot you $15,000 in one lump sum for DVDs and Blu-rays. Most people don't have that kind of money to spend on DVDs and Blu-rays and the ones that do have the money are spending it on something else.

Your best bet is probably to split it up into smaller lots and group similar things together (for example, Blu-rays together, OOP cult titles together, etc.). This may take more time, but at least you should sell some, if not everything.

Another option might be if there are some non-chain stores in your area selling DVDs and Blu-rays, see what they'll give you for the stuff either as a lot or for most of it.

Good luck with everything, but from my experiences trying to sell movies, there really isn't a huge market for buying on the scale that you're taking about.

terrycloth

from a few people i know who sold there collection and they always seem to have better luck selling things seperately (might not sell everything but tend to make more with what they did sell)

im assuming you wanna move your stuff as quick and easy as you can but i think id throw up criterions and anything that may be worth a bit more individually on ebay and just post the rest as a lot or for 3$ a piece

i sold about 500 mainstream movies a couple years ago couldnt move them online but sold them at a yardsale for 3 for 10 and I pretty much sold em all by noon while i was only asking 2$ a piece craigs

Gerry P.

You would probably make more by selling your discs individually, but if time is of the essence then do what you have to do.

Your price sounds reasonable as long as everything is in good shape. Set $15,000 as a starting price and let people bid up. There are plenty of people on ebay who buy large lots of merchandise that they can then sell off for a profit.

Good luck

SterlingBen

Realistically you would get closer to a dollar per movie if you lump sold it.

g

Take the OOP ones and sell them individually on ebay, half.com, or amazon. These rare titles can bring in a lot seperately. Also you could trade in to amazon and get a big gift card if they are paying much on any of them. You can even trade amazon gift cards to sites like plasticjungle for cash. Some independent stores in your area may buy some for better rate than FYE chain store. Stay away from Half price books. They offer the worst if you have one nearby, in my experience.

EdTheRipper

Agreed.

While I'm sorry to hear about what you're going through, selling that many dvds in one massive lot isn't going to net you what you'd like it to. Not to mention the probable nightmare of trying to ship 5,700 dvds to someone. In all seriousness, you'd probably do fairly well starting a thread here and attempting to sell some of the higher profile stuff. You'd definitely get more money on those titles individually as opposed to throwing them into a lot.

roger_d

If you look at some of my previous posts, I tried this too, it did not work out well for me either. I was in need of funds too and tried selling my over 2000 selection. I also wanted to sell all at once. I took the advice of a few that tried to help me which i truly appreciate and called a few stores that was a few hours away to see if i can bring them in. One person at one store said it was too much to bring at once that they only take 50 or so at once, and another said it would be 50 cents to dollar each and again they dont take all at once. The sites that says they buy dvds wanted me to ship it to them and again i would only get less than a dollar a movie. I ended up up putting all mine away and just getting a second job and cut back big time on my spending. Thinking back I can only wish I didn't get so carried away and buy all the movies that I did.
I truly understand what you're going through and hope you find a solution. I paid 15 plus dollars for the movies i got and having to sell them for less than a dollar made me cringe.
I can only say good luck to you my friend. I truely do.

Quatermass

Like everyone else said, you'll be lucky to get $1 apiece for the lump sum. I think selling the rarer ones individually is a better bet. At the very least, I'd separate out the Blu-rays, you could probably get more for those, even as a group. You might consider finding a pawn shop or maybe a consignment shop to sell the rest.
It's been at least a decade, but I usually had good luck setting up a few tables at a flea market on a weekend to sell stuff (CDs and cassette tapes). You could try to sell the fodder for $3 each or 4 for $10, then if they are not moving try $2 each, 3 for $5.
Good luck.

Brian T

After you've sold the valuable, sellable stuff (hopefully individually to maximize your take), if you decide to cut your losses on the remainder because 50¢ to $2.00 per disc isn't worth all the time and effort of trying to unload them for effectively pennies, ask your local library if they'll take a good portion of them. Granted you won't get anything for them—you may likewise get nothing for them via the other methods—but at least that way they stay in your community and other people can enjoy them for a few more years (perhaps even yourself?), people who, like yourself, may be feeling the pinch these days or are simply running out of places to rent now that that whole model is defunct. They'll probably get watched more than they ever did under your ownership (not unlike the massive collections of many people here), and no middleman will be flipping them for four or five times what he pays you.

slop101

Yeah, sell the more valuable stuff (OOPs, Criterions, blu-rays, box-sets) by themselves - it may be more work, but you'll get a lot more money then selling them in a lump. Then, whatever you can't sell, donate them to the public library or Goodwill. Document what you donate and you should get a decent tax write-off.

DVD Josh

First, OP, please accept both my sincere sympathy for your wife's condition and admiration for what you are doing to help your family.

I think you have two decent options:

1) One shot all to Second Spin (call them first); or

2) Take it to one of those "We sell your stuff on eBay" stores.

Good luck.

mike07

List the OOP/Rare/Criterion titles on the DVD Exchange forum and flip the mainstream titles to the pawn shop. Realistically you won't get more than $2 a title for them anyway.

Pointyskull

No suggestions/input/advice on what resale values might be, sorry.
Just wanted to chime in to dcrw6: I wish you, your wife and your family well.

I know how hard it is to part with a collection, but it's just stuff.

Yo Mama

Best approach is definitely amazon, but it is more work. The best stuff you have will sell quickly. Maybe the lesser desired titles you can lot out

That'sAllFolks

Your best best:
List your best stuff on Amazon at about 10-20% off LOWEST price (become a store at 39.99 per month, otherwise you will pay $1 per item and with that many items, it will add up quick.). That way you will maximize your profits and stay busy packing stuff up. Every few weeks go in and lower the stuff that isn't selling. Your rare stuff will sell the best here and you will by far get the most money.


Or you could run eBay auctions starting everything at 99 cents ... most of the stuff will sell at about 30-50% of Amazon's lowest price, but you will move stuff a lot faster. If you do reasonable combined postage amounts and sell similar stuff in every auctions (like Disney, or every season of a particular series) you will do better)

Selling in lots "MIGHT" be beneficial, but you probably won't get that much for your stuff. I doubt you will get $15,000 for your stuff if you sell in lots, but I've seen some strange stuff sometimes.


It really depends on how fast you need money and how much work you want to put into it. If you have 5000 items, chances are you have some stuff that will sell well and will be very collectible.


Our family has had a rough year as well: My sister got diagnosed with cancer, my day had a heart operation and my uncle's foot was amputated. On top of that my mother fights psychiatric problems and I am her primary caregiver. I understand to some degree what you are going through --- I sold off my collection several years ago as well. But who knows, everything could be restored back (as much of mine has been) and your wife could pull through this with flying colors -- I will be praying for you.

orangerunner

I'm sorry to hear about your situation, it's a tough thing to go through.

As others have pointed out a dollar per title is about the best you'll probably do - and that would be selling to a dealer who probably just wants to resell them for $3-$5 each through a store.

It all depends on how much time time and patience you have as well. The rare ones you could put on eBay and get a decent price but it's a slow process.

I find craigslist tough as well for cheaper items; who wants to spend $10 in gas and an hour or so of time driving to your house for a $5 DVD?

A busy local flea-market is sometimes a good option. Tables can be $50 or less and, if priced right, you can sell a lot of them quickly. Say, 10 titles for $20 to encourage people to buy a higher volume.

tecHouse

Sincerely sorry to hear about your situation..

My suggestion as others have mentioned, sell the rare/box set items on eBay, or in the DVD Exchange sub forum (faster).

Sell the bulk in mini-lots. Comedy / Action / Thriller lots of 15-20 for set prices on craigslist, or DVD Exchange sub forum.

I do not recommend eBaying the entire thing. Low chance of someone actually buying it for your desired price, and I believe eBay takes a percentage of your sale... so that would be a fairly big percentage (could be wrong on this).

dex14

Very sorry for the situation.

1. Definetly list the Criterions, rare and OOP titles on here. I know right off the bat, seeing you're selling 100 Criterions I'm interested. If you want to send me a list with what Criterions you have that'd be great.

2. Have a yard sale and sell them 3 for $10, 5 for $20 or whatever. Do this with mostly mainstream titles.

3. With whats left, list in bulks of "common themed" titles on ebay. Amazon is also a great option.

4. Whatever straglers you have, take to pawn shops or used DVD stores.

crazychris88

Yeah I'd be interested in some of the Criterions and Blus if they are in good shape. You can at least prob. make some decent money with the Disney and Criterion titles.

clckworang

Sorry for your situation.

I've been considering getting rid of a big chunk of my collection for a while now. I'm sure some people will recall that I've been saying that for a while. Anyway, I quickly dismissed the idea of selling in one big lot because I didn't figure I would get as good of a price, and I don't have nearly as many discs that I want to get rid of as you do.

If you really want to maximize how much you get, it could take a lot of work. Amazon is sometimes good for trade-ins, which as others have said you could sell the gift cards, but can also be really low as well. I can remember Amazon only offering like 25 cents for some titles. I also considered Craigslist and keeping an updated list of prices and what I have available. I ended up backing away from that because I started thinking about some of the people who might respond to my ad. Not sure I want them knowing any of my contact info. Plus, it could be a big hassle and Craigslist has never been very popular in my area. The hassle thing was the main reason why I haven't sold anything on eBay.

Needless to say, I still haven't done a damn thing. I do like the flea market or garage sale idea, especially for where I live. But I think you will likely get the best return on your investment if you do a combination of things. As others have said, don't include rare discs and Criterions in big lots because those have great resale value. List those separately. Then figure out what types of prices different places would offer for your remaining inventory. That will mean calling pawn shops and resale stores. It wouldn't surprise if places like pawn shops have set prices for buying discs. But it will also mean looking up prices at places like Amazon and Secondspin. It could be a lot of work, which is I'm sure part of the appeal of selling them all in one lot. But I think the price tag alone would be hard for a lot of people to overcome.

orangerunner

Another challenge selling DVDs in such a large lot is that most people who would be interested in a collection this big probably already have a large collection containing many of the same titles or titles they have no interest in.

I would go with the flea market idea. I've found that many people that come to a garage sale at your house always seems to want everything for a nickel.

The flea market atmosphere seems to allow for higher asking prices for the seller than a personal garage sale.

Giles

I agree, my retort is usually "oh just go away"

Brian T

Just noticed that New Town Video still buys collections ( http://sell.newtownvideo.com/welcome.bb ), for what that's worth. They'll take up to 99 discs in a single order, more if you get approval from them. They also pay your shipping. They don't pay much, especially for really common stuff, but you might find the odd title that will fetch more, and even more for them when they flip it on the Amazon Marketplace of course, but at least you'll be rid of it faster than they will.

Shannon Nutt

Any video stores or film schools in your area? Maybe you can get someone to buy the lot of them. You could also try Craigslist. This isn't a bad place to post either. Most of us couldn't afford the lot, but many of us might be willing to pay for some of those out of print titles. Not sure how the mods feel about trying to hawk your stuff on the site, but you are a senior member, and not someone who "just showed up".