What do you do with them all??

[Player-Tone]

I am still new to this hobby and currently have a humble collection of 78s, you can send your unwanted pre-1930 78s my way!

[Rastus10]

I admit to throwing darts at a battered copy of Doris Day's "A Guy is a Guy" when I was in college, but I haven't done anything more wild than that to a 78.

[m0xiemama]

There probably are enough collectors in PGH to do a swap but I am sure I have nothing good.

I am.

We should try to set something up. I think there are at least 5 of us between here and that FB group. My record collection is quite small too. Also, have you ever been to the Attic in Millvale? I hear they sell 78s. I want to check it out soon.

[Player-Tone]

We should try to set something up. I think there are at least 5 of us between here and that FB group. My record collection is quite small too.

-I'm all for it. Who knows, maybe Pittsburgh will start its own antique phonograph club!

Also, have you ever been to the Attic in Millvale? I hear they sell 78s. I want to check it out soon.

I have never actually been to the Attic but I have called them several times when looking for a particular record. Apparently their stock of 78s is neglected in some back room rotting away, unlike the vinyl which everybody treats like gold.

[djoutrage]

here's my 2 pence worth, because i collect records that not a lot o people do, average condition pre 20s stuff mostly i often get huge collections of records, take out those that feel as if they are early, have bigger labels, ridged grooves etc, play those ones first as i am blind so can't see what's on them without playing them etc, an then go through the rest of it.
My collection of about 11 or 12 thousand 78s has been built up mostly this way, i play them and if i like them i keep them, if i don't they go on ebay. There's a chap in scotland for example who collects rough copies of 50s pop or his record player, so all of that goes to him when he is able to make it, the only thing i tend to just throw are badly cracked copies of common records.
I don't throw classial stuff out, what i do is list it for 10 days on ebay starting at what it cost me to list it and if someone wants them they get them for a nice low price, if not they go to the charity shop.
if you're in the uk and have reors you don't want, sadly enough i probably will!

[soundgen]

[quote="howardpgh"]Sometimes you have to buy a whole pile of records to get the ones you want. I try not to buy the whole lot, but the seller at the flea market doesn't want to take them home and the price is too good to pass up.
What do you do with the rest, especially if they are the common ones nobody seems to care about. (black Deccas,red Columbias,RCAs,etc.) These are mostly post WW2 stuff.
I hate throwing things away-but I do make exceptions.

Will they become valuable one day? [/quote

A while ago we had a shop in Luton ,UK , one day 2 Japanese collectors called , as you walked in the shop door we had all of the 12" classical and other 12" stuff we couldn't sell piled up from the floor to the ceiling , A wall of records , one Japanese collector who could speak English asked how much did we want for the Wall of Records ! I quickly calculated there were about 4,000 records so bravely said £400 which was immediatley accepted

Briliant ! We were very pleased ! They were duly collected by a shipper and taken to Okinowa

A friend later told me that these Japanese collectors toured Japan with their collection of gramophones and Phonographs demonstrating them with appropiate records , at the back of the hall where they gave their "concert" they had a stand where they sold 78s FOR £15 each ! I was told that having a 78 on the wall in Japan was a Staus Symbol ! Perhaps a Japanese member can elaborate , 4000 x £15 is £60,000 !

I do know people in the UK who have Bing Crosby White Christmas on the wall as a sort of rare artifact although obviously not rare and there are 7 Billion people in the world , has there been 7 Billion 78s made ? , if so there is one for all of us ! So keep them all if you have space they may be worth a lot and bring rewards to your grandchildren !

[soundgen]

[quote="Player-Tone"]I am still new to this hobby and currently have a humble collection of 78s, you can send your unwanted pre-1930 78s my way! [/quote

If you are in the UK send them to me !

http://www.gramophoneworkshop.blogspot.co.uk/

[briankeith]

I still buy (very cheaply) the Master Series albums which are usually 12" size classical music. I find these were all very well taken care of and most of the time the records inside are in mint condition since they were not a cheap purchase when purchased brand new. But again you must like clsssical music and have a lot of space to store these big heavy record sets. I no longer look at value and feel it's a crime to trash these old albums of music unless they are in a moldy basement and in terrible water damaged condition. Most were not stored correctly so they are falling apart, dusty, moldy, scratched, mice eaten, and even bookworm damage. Such a shame

[estott]

The idea of a 78 being a status symbol in Japan does not surprise me- it is a culture where fads can balloon to surprising degrees. If I recall correctly there was a madness for collecting subway tickets (printed with a variety of designs) that would put our Beanie Babies fad in the shade.

[soundgen]

I still buy (very cheaply) the Master Series albums which are usually 12" size classical music. I find these were all very well taken care of and most of the time the records inside are in mint condition since they were not a cheap purchase when purchased brand new. But again you must like clsssical music and have a lot of space to store these big heavy record sets. I no longer look at value and feel it's a crime to trash these old albums of music unless they are in a moldy basement and in terrible water damaged condition. Most were not stored correctly so they are falling apart, dusty, moldy, scratched, mice eaten, and even bookworm damage. Such a shame

Some sales of record sets were as litle as 10s not 100s someone needs to keep them safe !