I have a lot of African records and I want to start culling. I intended starting with 100+ 7″ singles.Mainly Zimbabwean artists- Thomas Mapfumo, Devera Ngwena etc. This is obviously a specialist category so I guess I will have to go to the international marketplace, so I would appreciate some advice. I expect being a seller in Australia is going to be a barrier as postage costs to the main markets will cost more. Then again our postage costs are nothing like the extortionate US postage costs.
*Ebay or Discogs or someone else
*Quite a few on Discogs have not sold ever. Any ideas on pricing?
*Any recommendations on shipping policy.
*I have a Paypal account, I assume you don’t post until the money is in the account. Should I insist on Paypal only?
*A friend suggested posting a sound file with each single. This seems like a lot of work. Thoughts?
* Is there a facility for offering them as a job lot?
Thanks in advance.
Selling on Discogs or Ebay would be very time-consuming with a fair few time-wasters, but looking at (for example) Thomas Mapfumo singles listed on Discogs, some are worth tidy sums to collectors.
Personally I would be inclined to first look for an Africa-specialist dealer in Aus that you can sell them to as a job lot.
Alas for this stuff I am the specialist ! But yes Mike I am hoping to find someone local.
OK Junior, I sell* mainly on Discogs but I do also sell on eBay. So I’ll answer some of your questions first.
Yes, you do need a PayPal account and yes again you only ship once payment is received. Also insist on payment using PayPal.
Be aware that Discogs take 10% of the selling price, eBay take at least 10% of the selling and shipping costs. PayPal also take around 5% of selling and shipping costs.
As far as pricing is concerned that’s up to you and obviously condition and rarity of the item. I only sell. Near Mint vinyl because when you start describing items as ‘Good’ / ‘Very Good’ etc you need to be aware one man’s ‘Very Good’ is another man’s ‘Fair’. So accurate description is essential.
On Discogs you can only sell items individually. You say you have, starters 100 singles. Depending on value I would split them in sets of 10 and sell on eBay where you can sell collections. So yes you can sell them as a job lot on eBay.
Selling on eBay you need to provide pictures, I think up to 12. If you do sell on eBay provide as many pics as possible. Selling on Discogs take pics for your own sake, then if a buyer queries condition you have your own proof. It is also wise to offer pics when selling on eBay.
Shipping & packaging. Always try to ship within 72 hours if not let the buyer know, good communication is essential as is good packaging to ensure the item arrives safely. I once bought a Van Morrison LP and it came wrapped in newspaper only! Remarkably it was in pristine condition.
Pricing? I only sell albums/box sets I’ve no longer any interest in. When listing I always go for a quick sale, so the item I am selling will also be the cheapest copy for sale on Discogs. Like I said I sell collections on eBay. Doing what I’ve just described I will maybe take a hit selling some individual albums but this is offset by the price I’ve had for rare items, especially out of print box sets. So pricing, if you want a fast sale the pricing has to be attractive the buyer.
Sound files? Forget that, I’ve never had that request and I’ve sold around a 1,000 items on line.
Shipping Policy? OK, you’ll be aware of shipping rates in Oz, selling worldwide is a different ball game. Discogs fecked up their shipping policy a while back making sellers to post rates in advance. Fair enough if you’re a ‘Dealer’ but if you’re selling privately WTF! On Discogs I always request that overseas buyers only pay once I’ve got the cheapest shipping rate (including Insurance** for items valued over £20). So you may use a courier or the Oz equivalent of the Royal Mail. Selling Overseas on eBay it’s more complicated with shipping rates contact me if you wish.
@Mike_H above mentions time wasters, that’s only happened to me once. On Discogs if a buyer wants pics I ask them to place their order before I supply the pics and if then they aren’t happy they can cancel.
You’ve probably more questions, massage me if you wish. It will seem not worth it at first but once you get used to it…
Regarding packaging even before I had sold a single item I always kept those Amazon LP mailers and the larger boxes therefore I can always offer free packaging.
*I’ve bought almost as much as I’ve sold online.
**You must always insist on Overseas buyers paying for insurance. I once sold a Beatles ‘Sgt Pepper’ HMV Box Set to a guy in the USA for a considerable amount but he insisted he didn’t need insurance despite my advice. Turned out he never received it, I had proof of postage and copies of the messages advising on the need for insurance. He admitted he’d been daft not listening, an expensive lesson learned. He’s since bought from me with insurance.
Thanks Baron – very useful. Selling say all the Mapfumo , Ocean City etc and then maybe some mixed sets might be the go via EBAY.
I have been advised elsewhere that as I have no track as a seller – I have bought stuff – Paypal may lock my access to payment until delivery has been confirmed.
Yes, but are you going to massage Baron, or not? (Asking for a friend.*)
*Lodestone
Maybe , but no happy endings.
“It will seem not worth it at first but once you get used to it…”
Number of times I’ve said that.
Hey @Gary, after that long post I needed a feckin’ massage.
I started putting my entire collection up on Ebay just before xmas. I found it easier to negotiate as a platform than Discogs. I’m trying to master one platform in one country before I do anything else.
I’m looking for the cheapest similar item and going under that price. And most times offering free Tracked 48 P&P.
Lot’s of interesting comments on here. Thanks!
Junior, you can post what you have for sale on the Steve Hoffman Forum for FREE, but first you will have to register and be an Hoffmanite for, I think it’s a month. If you do go down this road I would advise making your presence felt by commenting on threads that interest you. And NO it isn’t a Beatles forum!
Selling on the forum, all transactions are via PayPal.
No fees there, but they are very picky about quality and packaging. I think you need 50 posts before you can sell stuff
Fifty? That would take me nearly half an hour!
Not sure if this will be of any help but there are a lot of very good second hand dealers in Japan and some very knowledgeable collectors of more niche genres
Yes thanks @Jaygee I might research some and send them my list.
Mrs Moose was once at a Thomas Mapfumo gig at (we think) the Africa Centre. Unbelievably, she was the only one dancing. Didn’t bother her.
Tricky rhythms to get the hang of. Very fast. The faster it goes the slower the Zimbo’s dance.
Mrs M would dance to the smoke alarm if she’s had enough Cava.
One of the greatest gigs of my life was the Live 8 Africa Calling concert at the Eden
Project in 2005. Youssou N’Dour, Thomas Mapfumo, Angelique Kidjo, Geoffrey Oryema, Tinariwen, Mariza, Kanda Bongo Man, loads more.
The sun shone, and whole warehouses full of rugs were cut in rather imprecise fashion.
Excellent line up.
Just a thought – might it be worth announcing your plans on the Sterns community pages on various social media platforms?
https://sternsmusic.bandcamp.com/community
I wonder how much custom Sterns got from being plugged by Alexis Korner nearly every week?
Great shop(s) in London though. Shame it has fallen into the interweb.
Sterns? Oh yes. I remember when it was at the Whitfield Street site in London. The frontage was painted red, as I recall. Terrific place. I used to drop in there as often as possible.
Just out of interest, where did you buy all your Zimbabwean/African music from? I know Australia was a hotbed for all the Rhodesian who fled Zimbabwe after independence, but they were not the type to carry singles and albums of ‘indigenous’ musicians around with them!
Once you establish which market you are going to use perhaps you could let us Afterworders know, as I for one would be interested in what you have for sale (CDs only, though).
I also saw Thomas Mapfumo (at Bracknell) back in the day; it was a great concert, with the most impressive thing for me being the bloke he brought over all the way from Zimbabwe just to clap (nothing else) as a percussive element during his songs. Having said that, clapping was integral to his sound on earlier albums. But it is impossible to imagine such an extravagance in today’s straitened times.
Reminds me of Carl Douglas on TotP, who brought a couple of blokes across the Atlantic with with him to mime the noise “Huh!” accompanied by a crap pretend Kung Fu move which was inferior to something you’d see in a primary school playground.
Oh so you’re a feckin’ black belt in martial arts. Which one is Moosey Origami? 🥸
@Munster. I collected when i was a teacher there just after independence. 81 -83. Some from shops , one batch from when in a small town and someone heard a Mzungu ( white guy) “ liked our music”. Went to motel room and he had them laid out on a bed.
Condition and pressing quality are the main challenges as per reggae.
I didnt collect CDs as they didnt exist. Not selling CDs or LPs til I see how I survive this venture.
That bloke is Thomas’s cousin. I took Thomas to do a radio interview and live to air in Oz. He only took his cousin. The interviewer host , highly regarded in many fields of music, classical composer etc was totally captivated by the rhythms generated from those hands.
You could try Superfly Records in Paris
https://www.superflyrecords.com/rub/index.cfm?lng=2&rubric_id=79
Or Dustygroove.com in Chicago. I don’t know how much either would offer or if shipping costs would make it worthwhile.
*Junes calls Maersk for a quote*
I’ve sold a bit on ebay:
Yes you can insist on paypal only (much the safest) and yes buyer has to transfer money before you post out.
You can set geographical limits for bidders (I do uk only).
I always list P and P separately for clarity.
Don’t be afraid to relist, I’ve sold lots during the second or third listing.
The problem with eBay is if there are any disputes eBay will side with the buyer even if they are making completely spurious claims about damage, condition or things not arriving
I have heard this – I only sell small value items for this reason. Never happened to me. Again I always send recorded
Delivery.
I’ve never had any issues selling on eBay, over 500 sales and some of the stuff I’ve sold have been high value.
It is a good idea to take lots of pics in addition to those you actually use in your listing when selling high value items. Also record the package weight to avoid accusations of missing items. Like I’ve said I have had no issues but it’s better to be safe…..
You can get a better price for the same item on eBay, here I’m talking about fixed price items. I’ve only sold about a dozen items using the auction method, those were high value items.
What did you auction – just out of interest.
Hitler’s diaries?
I actually have an album of marching songs from nazi germany. Bought after some particularly strong weed.
*reminds self not to indulge before the next record fair*
Did you sell them? How was the process? Asking for a friend @Junior-Wells
Sell what – downsizing my collection, or the marching songs of nazi germany album?