Best & cheapest way to post CDs

[kitty-kat-kollection]

A friend of mine is re-jigging her ebay account with a new name and picture so she can sell some of her vast collection of CDs.

I've never sent a CD as far as I can recall, and as I only ever use prepaid satchels for my items, I don't know what the options are for postage.

A small padded bag I should think, but is that safe / padded enough?

A CD specific box? Once you wrap the CD in bubble wrap though, it wouldn't fit in the box I'd think. Or do you not need bubble wrap in that case?

Either way, you'd be paying for the bag or box, plus postage? And can you then get tracking as well? Is that another payment?

After all this, would it in fact be cheaper to just use a 500g satchel and fill the huge gap with bubble wrap? lol

[rockmusiccollector]

Hi

I have sold 100s of CDs per year (for many years) over two profiles. There's a good market for certain genres and artists but I would be wary of listing recent mainstream pop titles as they would have possibly flooded the market in the first place and their second hand value can often be too low to bother with. I also don't think there is much point listing CDs that are in-print and available new and cheaply from other ebay sellers.

The best collectable genres from my experience are metal, rock from the 60s and 70s, progressive rock and there is a small market for certain 80s pop acts. Some jazz and soul stuff can be ok. Classical has only ever been around 3% of the music market and there has always been a flood of product well in excess of what the market can cope with so thats best avoided I think.  

Some Australian pressings of Australian pop and rock artists can be very sought after if they are out-of-print.  

Its also important imo to only list items in 'new' or 'as new' condition. Don't bother with scratched up CDs - they should be donated to Vinnies....

I post most items in a padded bag at large letter rate. I have had very few turn up damaged. Also, half the CDs manufactured in the last 10 - 15 years are in cardboard digipacks and they are much harder to damage in the post

If a customer orders two or more units (and that happens a lot) I send as a tracked parcel in either a padded envelope or boxes.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Andrew

[kitty-kat-kollection]

Thank you! My main point of interest is how to post them with some form of tracking but still at a lower cost. To avoid the no tracking / item not received issue

[rockmusiccollector]

Well it is a risk but I reckon I Australia Post has only lost one in every hundred discs I have posted. For that reason, I have decided to mostly use large letter post without tracking for single CDs.

I usually offer free postage so I do have the option of paying for tracking on a more expensive item.

Also, people are fundamentally honest. In all the time I have been doing this, I have never suspected that someone was falsely claiming for an item not received.

All the best

Andrew

[westcj]

This is why I rarely sell CDs on eBay now, I used to thin out my collection three or four times a year  by auctioning them, starting at $5.00 with free postage ( within Australia). But I just was not getting the bids, and selling them for $5.00, as you say, after selling costs,  just not worth the time of listing them. 

Rarer CDs sell OK, but not for the same prices you would get for them four to five years ago. Records now outsell CDs in Australia and the lack of demand for CDs is reflected in declining eBay CD sales

[westcj]

Not sure what your point is. I had a look at the two CDs you listed and they are both still for sale, and I would think, over- priced.  Good luck if he/she does sell them for the asking price.

The GANGgajang CD may have sold for that price a few years ago, but like most CDs, there is an oversupply on eBay and little demand (and other eBay seller has the same GANGgajang CD for $7.00 less) 

[westcj]

The other point I would make is that Amazon Australia is making it very difficult for sellers of new CDs and records on Australian eBay ( generally your professional sellers).

Amazon's prices are often lower ( not all the time) and if you are a Prime Member , postage within Australia is free. If the item is sourced from Amazon overeseas and more than $49, it is also free postage. 

I don't want this to be seen as an advertisment for Amazon, but to point out that Amazon would be affecting eBay new CD and record sales.

[westcj]

You make some excellent points regarding the sale of CDs: your stock standard CD release from the last five years is only going to sell for $5 if you are lucky. Opportunity Shops are now full of these CDs and are struggling to sell them for $2

Ebay CD sellers will have much more luck with the more obscure CDs or limited release CDs from sought after artists like Queen , AC/DC , Pink Floyd etc , although I think the prices are lower than a few years ago. Second hand CD box sets also  seem to sell if they are reasonably priced.

I am reluctant to use the word "rare" when talking about sellable CDs, it seems nearly every CD  on eBay is described by the eBay seller as  "rare". If it is not "rare", it is "very collectable"!

It is also  does not help sellers when they are charging $8.95 to post a single CD, I will not bid  on or buy a CD that has that sort of postage - no matter how much I want the CD! 

[instylecollectables]

I'd like to make a point and it's that you can just click onto youtube and play any song you like so there's no point in buying CDs or trying to sell them there's no value in them.

Records on the other hand are worth buying but only if they're unopened or in mint condition.

[cdcollectoraustralia]

Yes, its true that most music can be streamed on Youtube (albeit it terrible sound quality) and if not on Youtube then on Spotify or Apple Music (in better sound quality for the most part.) However, many people do like to actually own the music they enjoy whether it be on CD or Vinyl Record. 

Its important to know what you're selling of course and I recommend looking at Discogs to ascertain the rarity value of a CD or Vinyl Record. Its often staggering the prices that some products fetch!

Cheers

Andrew

[westcj]

Not every song in the world is on Youtube, and I cannot think of anything worse than listening to music through a computer, especially when I have an expensive sound system - but I do  get your point and certainly online access of music has contibuted to the lack of demand for CDs

.

But you clearly don't understand the mentality of CD collectors.

Not sure what you mean by saying that records are only worth buying if they are new or in mint condtion - are you implying that you are extremely fussy about the condition of your records. I would have a very small record collection if I followed this rule!