erniecolorado1

Can someone please recommend a qualified, trained, experienced and trustworthy DVD/CD grading service? I talked to someone the other day about an exclusive release DVD to Blockbuster, still in the Blockbuster case they rent to you, and the Blockbuster barcode/sticker is still on it. I know these have to be extremely rare, and I have not met anyone who has these. I also still have some DVD's and CD's that I got when Columbia House still did DVD/CD sales and mail shipping, some still in the shrink wrap. I have some CD box sets in mint condition of Simon and Garfunkel, CD's played once...stuff that is not even in print anymore.

I kept all of these things away from sunlight boxed or bagged away for MANY years. I want to send photos or know what it is worth to collectors who seek after this stuff. I even went on eBay, Craigslist, Etsy, and many other sale websites, even local and nationwide..I could not find ANY of these for sale. And being that Blockbuster closed many years ago, save one in Oregon that is barely still alive, and only because of Dish network, these DVD boxes with the Blockbuster barcodes/sticker still on them, one of them being labeled and released as exclusive to Blockbuster only, many will want these because the nostalia is strong, and I have them when I never returned them all those years ago, and I had to pay for them. I even have one or two from Hollywood Video. The fact that we have these in our possession says a lot, because the businesses literally do not exist anymore. So I came here for help, and I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

PhantomStranger

It's possible they are worth something but I don't want to disappoint you, it's likely the CDs and DVDs aren't super valuable. Most valuable CDs these days are early pressings from the 1980s or by audiophile labels like DCC. Music streaming has hurt the collectibility of CDs outside of very specific niches.

The DVDs may be valuable if the movies haven't been issued again in a wider DVD or Blu-ray release, but that is unlikely. The best option is looking on eBay for comparable items and gauging their actual value.

JasonX

Sorry to disappoint, but it is very likely that your Blockbuster movies are worth nothing. Or at least so little they aren't worth selling (~$5).

clckworang

I would say the same. Whatever you have most likely isn't worth much unless it wasn't released again or isn't available to stream. What are some of the titles? We could at least maybe tell you if they got any other releases.

Josh-da-man

I don't think there are any professional grading services for CDs and DVDs like there are for comics, video games, and trading cards.

The bottom line here is that CDs and DVDs are mass-produced products, and not collectibles like comics or trading cards. Old video games, like old NES cartridges, were also mass-produced products, but they had a brief window of saleability, and sealed high grade examples are probably rare enough to warrant professional grading.

Record club versions of CDs aren't, to my knowledge, desirable by collectors.

DVDs that were formal rentals have less value than they would if they weren't. Most collectors will avoid old Blockbuster stock at all costs, and only use those as "placeholders" until they can track down better copies.

Bottom line is that most CDs and DVDs have very little collectible value unless they're out-of-print (from a low print run to begin with) and desirable to collectors.

L. Ron zyzzle

I am not aware of such grading services either. Your best bet is to just search Sold listings on ebay to get a sense, which you may already have done, it sounds like. When I did so, it did appear that there were some Blockbuster exclusives listed, and sales of said, as well: blockbuster rental dvd: Search Result | eBay
There's a market for everything these days, so worth a shot to just list and see what happens with a few.

Trevor

Back when I was ‘the exclusive guy’ here, I accumulating perhaps 30 banker’s boxes full of store exclusive DVDs. Wow, what a waste, all sitting in storage, probably no market at all for them now.

Alan Smithee

Pictures?

Trevor

Uhm, so you want me to go to storage, unbox 30 bankers boxes, and post pictures? Love you Alan, but not that much. And you can just scroll through the years of posts I made in the master exclusive thread (in my sig) to see the majority of them.

caligulathegod

There was a store in town called "Buybacks" and I sold off my old DVDs and was lucky to get $0.25 to $0.50 out of mine. It was cash in pocket and saved space. They went out of business a few months later. Now I did the same thing to myself with BDs and now there's almost no market for them. My laserdiscs sold pretty well on Facebook, but it was generally the Horror titles that sold. Nothing went for what I paid, but from $5 to $50, depending on desirability. I hate that I love my media, but I am under no delusion they will ever be an investment. Just like those damn comic books I bought back in the early 90s that are worth nothing.

L. Ron zyzzle

Dude, in the '80s I went all-in on Tales From The Beanworld and Mike Grell's Jon Sable. I'd have to pay people to take those off my hands. I called 1-800-Got-Junk and they just laughed at me.

Trevor

I have dozens of longboxes that would fetch a nickel a book if I was lucky. But I’d buy both of those series from you!

Travis McClain

On the topic of what to do with those unwanted discs that aren't going to send Junior to college, a suggestion I have is to check with places in your area like women's shelters or hospitals. Your local library is always a great destination, but these kinds of places rarely get entertainment donations. Just be mindful of what the people who might watch what you donate are going through. Anything can, of course, become unexpectedly triggering [in its true sense, not the worked-up-by-a-troll sense] for someone. You can't anticipate that The Wizard of Oz is associated with someone's trauma. But it's self-evident the battered women won't be up for I Spit on Your Grave, the psych patients don't need to contemplate Winter Light, and absolutely no one anywhere should be subjected to Paul Blart: Mall Cop.

Story time: The last time I was inpatient in a mental health facility, they understandably did not provide online access, so we couldn't stream anything. Each day room had a DVD player, though. I think they were there for instructional videos any of the speakers might bring, but during our free time we were allowed to pick something from a rather paltry selection of movies to watch. There was a ballgame one night and most patients gathered in the larger room for it. That left only a few of us in the smaller room. Someone proposed we watch a movie. No one had any preferences, except one guy was in the mood for any kind of action flick. I was surprised to find it, given all its violence; sex; booze; and gambling, but The World Is Not Enough was there. The nurse was fine with it and I was able to get the other patients onboard. The others (understandably) lost interest early and went to watch the ballgame. Consequently, I got to watch it in its entirety on my own with few distractions or interruptions. It was a genuinely good night for me and part of a turning point in my treatment, but let's not lose sight of the fact the best choice I had was The World Is Not Enough. So please, before you just chuck 'em, think about settings where the most satisfying movie available to watch is The World Is Not Enough.