What to look for when buying record?

[dzavracky]

I have been wondering for awhile now. What do collectors look for specifically when finding records?

Obviously the label is as big of a factor as the content of the record. But for Edison diamond discs, what should I look for? I have almost 100 of them in my B-250, but I am not sure which ones (if any) are desirable!

I used to buy any 78 I saw, especially when they are $1 or less. But I have been very picky lately, due to having plenty of records. But more so, that I want records in my collection that I want to listen to, not just having records for the sake of having records you know?

Does a one sided acoustic record (victor) bring more than the double sided one?

Any tips/advice?

[VanEpsFan1914]

Don't know about DD. Victors--single siders don't always bring more; they take up twice as much room.

The only way to build a collection you will like is to quit thinking of it as "collecting." There's having phono stuff for street crew, and enjoying good music & talking machines for the fun they bring and hte historical value. That's the ultimate way to do it right there.

I bought 25 records yesterday--all of which were just worth saving & worth listening to. I've been jamming out to acoustic 1920s jazz and waltzes. Nothing fancy, but it is the kind of music I enjoy and I've got a new supply still in the original paper sleeves and in near mint condition, so that's cool.

Just have fun. Collectors are their own breed. I was kind of turned off from serious collectors by the greasy-neckbeard-Robert Crumb types. But it's perfectly fine to buy valuable records, just not to enjoy them for their price over their musical quality; that's kind of dismissive of the artists & engineers that brought us the record in the first place.

[dzavracky]

Makes sense!!

20’s Orthophonic victors and electric press Columbia’s sure are great

[JerryVan]

Don't buy records because you think they're valuable, rare, etc. That's collecting for someone else's tastes. (I have noticed at times, that "rare" records seem to be rare, because they were terrible and nobody bought them even in their heyday. Just my personal taste, or lack of same, perhaps.)

Buy records that you like. That's collecting for your enjoyment!

[OrthoSean]

Buy records that you like. That's collecting for your enjoyment!

Boy, do I wish more people thought that way. I have lots of worthless discs that are among my favorites and always will be. Buy collections, listen to them, keep what appeals to you, move the rest along one way or another. You'll never get rich trying to sell records (words of wisdom once given to me when I was much younger and thought money would make me happy - news flash, it didn't).

Sean

[BillH_NJ]

I don’t collect for value either. My interests lie in early operatic, vocal, and classical recordings, so they in many cases are not of a lot of interest to most people. However, I have my 2000+ records, along with 1000 to 2000 LPs (at least) and a couple hundred open reel tapes, because I like or am interested in the performances. I don’t know what will happen to everything when I’m gone—I know my daughter won’t want most of it—but I enjoy it now.

Bill

[epigramophone]

I agree that record collecting as an investment is a mug's game. Some of the early operatics I bought over 50 years ago have depreciated in real terms, but I bought them to listen to and I still have them. For me the label is of secondary importance. I am just as happy listening to Caruso on a later double sided re-issue as on an original G&T. For me, it's all about the performance.

Some years ago I bought a few Caruso's at an antiques fair. They were a mixture of single and double sided discs. The dealer sold me the single sided ones cheaper because, he said, there was nothing on the other side. Who was I to disagree?..... .

[travisgreyfox]

unfortunately most 78 RPM records are not the worth the time to even list them on ebay (almost worthless in monetary value). I ran into a record dealer at a flea market recently and asked him if he had any 78s. He told me no and that when he gets them he goes through them looking for blues and then throws the rest away. The saddest part is he is not the only person that has told me this before.

[OrthoSean]

unfortunately most 78 RPM records are not the worth the time to even list them on ebay (almost worthless in monetary value). I ran into a record dealer at a flea market recently and asked him if he had any 78s. He told me no and that when he gets them he goes through them looking for blues and then throws the rest away. The saddest part is he is not the only person that has told me this before.

It's not uncommon to hear that people are throwing them out. A long time collector I know saves his cast offs for me and brings them by often, he used to take them to the dump. I've saved some interesting stuff from that fate, the last box he dropped on my porch had about 25 high 22000 series Victor scrolls in what I'd call E shape, Ellingtons, Snooks, King Oliver, High Hatters, that kind of stuff. I'm happy to have them, while not really rare, in nice shape they can be tough to find and it's my kind of music. Sadly, this new trend seems to be if it isn't something that can be turned around and sold quickly for a massive profit online, it's not worth it. I see this all the time now and it's depressing. That's when I say it isn't a hobby, it's a business.

Sean

[Curt A]

In my opinion, after buying 1,000s of records and finding that a lot of them are uninteresting (at least to me) I now buy ONLY WHAT I LIKE. That way, I don't care what they are worth because no matter what, I still like them. If I go to any event where records are for sale, I bring a portable electric school type player with me and listen to each one at least partially, to make sure I'm not buying a dud. I have run into sellers who don't like you to play them first, they just want you to take a chance maybe since they realize how uninteresting many, if not most, titles are... There is an exception: if you are a label collector, then a rare label might trump content. If I EVER run into a Black Patti record in the wild, I don't care what is on the record, I'm buying it if it's priced reasonably...

If you don't have a phonograph with you, look up the song on YouTube on your phone - almost always someone has a video of the title you are looking at, then listen to it and decide. Since everyone has different tastes, one person's castoffs may be your interest - like OrthoSean wrote, so don't worry if a stack of records has already been looked through... "cherry picking" is relative depending on the picker...

Also, don't believe that what you read on the title necessarily has anything to do with the actual content. It might be a great song, it might be an instrumental version or it might be a dud. Someone showed me a cylinder that they bought for a fair amount of money titled "A Message From Mars" and they expected it to be an interesting, mysterious record. It turned out to be a mediocre orchestral recording of an unfamiliar mediocre tune...