I understand a seller’s desire to receive the most value from their sale. It is easy to quote the book or ebay. But most sellers do not understand the costs that are involved in securing the highest value. I have been able to negotiate with these types of sellers by politely pointing out basic facts and asking questions. All Ebay sales proceeds will be reduced by at least 20% because of Ebay fees, payment fees and sales taxes that will be deducted from the sale. Thus I automatically reduce their offer price by 20%. I then ask if they have any experience is selling LPs to a high end buyer on Ebay, and who do you think gets a higher price for selling a Rolex watch- a certified dealer, or someone who has never sold watches before ? I then ask detailed questions about the pressing minutia of several of LPs, and then who do you think gets a higher price for this record, someone who knows why pressing details are important, or someone who does not. My final question is to ask how much time they have- and point out that it takes about 30min per LP to correctly photograph an LP, create a detailed description, list the LP, then pack and ship the LP upon sale. Multiply 30min by however many LPs will be listed for sale. Sellers are usually amenable to a reasonable deal after having this conversation.

As for the state of the market, there is an old saying- nature abhors a vacuum. I think there are a lot of new buyers with limited experience. They want to participate, but can not afford to at the high end, so they purchase what they can afford. This means new reissues, grey market pressings, and later pressings of desirable titles. In this context, a buyer priced out of the market will seek the next best alternative meaning that “lessor” titles, 2nd-3rd tier labels, and good sounding reissues will continue to appreciate. Example- 80s-90’s era OJC titles (300+) are now $25-$50 pressings. They were $10 pressings pre covid. Being able to eventually afford a better copy becomes aspirational, and part of a new buyer’s evolution in this hobby. I don’t think the market will continue it’s stratospheric rise, but I do not see a collapse either. I suspect the market will plateau in general, and desirable titles will continue to appreciate at a more modest rate.