I've started collecting old vinyls that I found in flea markets.  My collecting old vinyls vs brand new ones started two weeks ago when I found some good ones in a flea market but the sleeves weren't in great condition.
Since then I've been checking out the flea markets and whatever to find old vinyls for my collection.  I found four vinyls so far and it's getting a bit big.
So I guess my question is what is your criteria for purchasing old vinyls and how do you store them once you purchase them?

Several (actually, many several) factors can come into play here...

1 - How bad do you want this piece of vinyl? If it's a real meaningful object, then condition of vinyl/cover doesn't come into it! It's simply the fact that you have it and it will do until a better example turns up!

2 - There's SO many gradings of vinyl/cover, that it can become confusing - officially, there's seven: Mint. Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor and Bad. Mint doesn't theoretically exist, as even a vinyl straight off the press will have miniscule imperfections invisible to the naked eye! Excellent, Very Good and Good are the ones that most collectors will go for - as they still hold their own in the playing department and the covers aren't falling apart. The rest are for desperados only! When my collecting was at its most rife, I'd go no further down than fair.

3 - Vinyl should be stored in a cool-ish, dark-ish environment to stop direct sunlight getting at the sleeves. They should always be stored vertically, like you would with books, and should fit comfortably within the shelf, i.e., no squashing together just to force another one in. Some real die-hards also insist on a moisture-controlled environment, but that's probably going a little too far!

That's just scratching the surface (no pun intended!) of a far-reaching subject. You'll start to pick up more info the more deeper and involved you choose to go - best of luck with your new collection, I have several hundred spare copies of things, if you're wanting something in particular!

I usually pick my vinyl based on if I really have to have it or not, or if it's a really rare one that has at least 1 song I enjoy.  If it's got a big rip or tear in the sleeve, I tend not to get it, but I will make an exception if it's one I know that I may never see again.

If it's a 45, I buy it no matter what as long as it has a picture sleeve.  I am a little more selective with the 12" singles because they are the size of an LP and it seemed like every boy and his dog were releasing 12"ers back in the day.

We haven't bought vinyl in DECADES yet our collection is quite extensive. Pretty much all ours we bought new when they first came out (in the '60s, '70s, and possibly '80s). When we moved in together-the collection doubled (his and mine combined) We may have picked some up at an auction or two. Even though we really don't have a great record player (we do have one that hooks up to the computer and the plan is/was to record them on to the hard drive and then burn them onto a CD. But, talk about a pain in the @$$!!!) I am just not ready to part with them even though there are few that could be worth a little bit.

Just last week, we were discussing where to put them and how to put them. Then Carlos spent some time in the basement making shelves for the collection. The shelves are pretty much done-just need to put them together and get them up. Then we have a fun task of moving all those records on them.  :-\\  But once it is done, the records will have a permanent home and won't be in the way. 



Cat

I usually pick my vinyl based on if I really have to have it or not, or if it's a really rare one that has at least 1 song I enjoy.  If it's got a big rip or tear in the sleeve, I tend not to get it, but I will make an exception if it's one I know that I may never see again.

If it's a 45, I buy it no matter what as long as it has a picture sleeve.  I am a little more selective with the 12" singles because they are the size of an LP and it seemed like every boy and his dog were releasing 12"ers back in the day.


Many 45's were never released with a picture sleeve and only with a record company sleeve. With the 12" singles, they didn't appear until 1975 and were most common in the '80s, '90s, and early '00s (they lasted longer than other vinyl due to the club culture use for them). I mostly purchase 45's not just for a turntable, but for my 1963 Wurlitzer jukebox.

Now depending on where you live, flea markets/yard/garage sales can be one way to find some vinyl, especially if its by people who don't know the value of some of these and you can get a steal that way. Most larger cities have at least one shop that sells vinyl, and one thing to look for is their bargain bins. Usually, this is stuff that are either in lower demand, common and not popular enough to raise its value (think Beatles/Led Zeppelin/Nirvana), or is really worn that you'll have to hear constant background hiss/ticks/pops and possibly even a skip or loop. That said, I have over 21,000 45's and over 1,000 LPs and are arranged in a unique way to make them readily available. That said, you'll find that the most valuable vinyl tends to be early rock n' roll, rare hard rock/punk, doo-wop, and rare R&B/soul/funk. Jazz can be a mixed bag; there are some really valuable 78s and early 33s, while most later jazz works from around the mid-70s onward and most 45s just don't have the demand as the earlier, hot/cool artists. A few select early country artists (mostly from the '50s such as Johnny Cash) have some demand, but generally speaking, that genre and especially pop/adult contemporary/easy listening/classical will always have the weakest demand and will be readily available at most thrift stores that sell vinyl.

In terms of condition, never purchase below VG (what I like to call playing condition that I usually play with as at that level, noise is restricted usually to the intro/outro and during soft passages and is not loud enough that it ruins the music) unless if its a really rare record that normally retails for at least $100 in VG. VG+ (minor imperfections that usually aren't obvious at first glance and usually detected in front of a bright light) and especially NM will always be the collectible condition copies.