Biggest vinyl record collection...

[disco-disc]

Hi Guys, Whilst this link to a video shot about the 'apparently' world's biggest vinyl record collection may not be specifically be about DISCO, it is a very moving and interesting film shot about obsessives who suddenly discover their life's work/hobby/collecting may come to nothing.
I don't mean to be pessimistic, but it did raise some questions.
I hope we can view it, reflect, and then say 'What the Hell....I LOVE my music anyway'.....and do I hope that eventually someone steps in and helps the seller get peace of mind for his treasures.
It may or may not be 'Valuable', and I do not even know if there are any Disco records within the collection,. But it does strike a chord I suppose with anyone who has any sized collection, and is proud of the discs in that collection.
Please comment, and hopefully discuss why we do it, what for, and how we can help to ensure the music lives on......
www.hiphopmusic.com/2008/08/paul_mawhinney_worlds_biggest.html

[Disco Funk]

I have different ways of looking at my music collection. First of all, I like owning and listening to something I've never heard before and that is pleasing to my ears. Sometimes I will pay a bit more money just to have a record that I've been looking for, but nothing outrageous. My cap is still around the $50US mark, and that's for a few records here or there. The second way I consider vinyl records is as an investment. I think a lot of wealthy people will put their money into buying such things as rare paintings, jewellery, rare cars, and property, because those items can appreciate. And they aren't vulnerable to financial institutions going bankrupt or company stock going down the toilet, which is what happens when you put your hard earned money into those things.The vinyl market is fickle, however, so you can't wait too long to sit on them because at some point in the future, no one will want them. Or, they could be so valuable, that even the average record that sells for $10 right now could get 5 to 10 times more than that. It's really hard to judge.This collector in the documentary is trying to sell the whole thing for a single price. That's the wrong way to go about it. He's got to sell it piece by piece through auctions like Ebay. Perhaps he could sell the less valuable ones in lots. He's not being realistic because people's tastes can be very selective and specific. I'm not sure exactly what his collection contains, but I'm guessing it crosses genres.Too bad about his financial woes. How the heck was he able to finance $50 Million worth of vinyl? Wow. I guess he hasn't got a retirement fund. I hope he figures out how to get the most bang out of his buck with his collection. It would be a shame if he had to sell it off at 1 cent each when they could be worth waaay more than that.Disco Funk

[JussiK]

If the stuff is good you'll be able to sell it thru the net, right? I'd imagine even in the country and western genre there are in-demand rarities worth something, horrible as the music sounds. Networking helps too if there's a need to sell or just to make some nice extra cash. A while back I went to a kind of Tupperware Party-style thing at a dj/vinyl seller's apartment. He had invited collectors for an afternoon of vinyl-fingering, playing of interesting samples of sound and of course making deals. We sat there in a room decorated with cool 60's nouveau vague film posters and hip loungey furniture, sipping espressos and browsing thru the host's massive record collection while he was playing snippets of his best. The rarest soundtracks and 12-inchers were shown to us, like Usha Uthup's disco albums from India. Space/cosmic disco desirables that made us drool, like the Herman's Rocket album - how much would you pay for that? The dealer had library albums to die for, too expensive, 50 is too much for a 2 minute snippet of disco music no matter it's brilliant, by Marc Chantareau and nobody else has it. Of course we were kinda railroaded into making purchases without checking the real value of the items from the net.

[BrunoRepublic]

There's been a lot of talk about this guy on the Steve Hoffman forums. The general consensus seems to be that he was always unpleasant and difficult to do business with.

[Cdnbob]

There's been a lot of talk about this guy on the Steve Hoffman forums. The general consensus seems to be that he was always unpleasant and difficult to do business with.

So because of this people are refusing to help him? I can understand peoples reluctance to help him out if he's been a git all his life, but its really a shame that his collection may go to waste. Its too bad that there isn't some sort of museum or library that would purchase the items and retain for posterity; even if they bought them for half or a third of what the collection is valued at. And if he is trying to sell it as one whole collection, then no, he won't get very much interest. Its a shame.

As to my own personal collection, it did make me wonder what sort of provision I should put into what happens to it when I'm gone. I suppose the reality of it is that when I'm at an age where I have to get rid of it, or after I pass on, it will likely just get thrown in the trash heap. Sad but I can't see anyone buying any of it when I'm gone.

[BrunoRepublic]

So because of this people are refusing to help him?

If you'd like to pay $3 million for a pile of records without knowing what they are, from someone who is notorious for overcharing, well...

[Disco Funk]

When you're in the business of retail, which includes selling vinyl records, you gotta have good customer service. That's 80%, if not more, of the actual value of the transaction. The person buying the vinyl is going to drop X number of bucks because they know what they want, so you should be pleasant to deal with. And if you're charging $100 for a record that everyone else is charging $60 for, don't expect people to beat down your door to buy it. And if he's calling something that's in VG+ condition as M-, then that can be a huge problem too. I don't know exactly what his reputation is, but I have dealt with difficult service people via Ebay, and usually those are my first and last transactions with them.

I was shocked to see this guy was actually married. He must have done a lot of business wheeling and dealing to afford to spend that kind of money on a million pieces of vinyl. Otherwise, I'm guessing his wife would have left him years ago because of his addiction. If he financed himself into his situation, then I can't really feel too sorry for him. It's like the story of Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson's sidekick, possibly losing his huge Beverly Hills Mansion because of bad gambling debts.

If he's going to insist on people buy his collection as one whole piece, he's never going to sell it.

Disco Funk

[disco-disc]

Thanks for the comments guys.
I was really interested in alerting people to the questions 'what will happen to my discs...." and "Is it worth it".
And I too have dealt with scamsters on ebay and in record fairs....again I very rarely deal with bad ones again (incidentaly MOST, not all record dealers I have had to deal with in the fairs seem to be miserable sour guys).
This guy is just one of many with big collections, and I don't really care about him one way or the other, humanity in me feels sorry for his lifetimes work being neglected, but I am interested in what happens to the collections - I hope they are recycled back into the collector world, and not binned or destroyed !!! -although if they were that helps records become even scarcer and possibly more valuable - isn't nature wonderful like that :icon_biggrin:
I am also thinking about the guys like Barry L (RIP)/Larry L (RIP),etc.. and what happens to wonderful discs like they must have owned. I don't want to think of a crew of refuse guys turning up and tossing white labels and anything without a sexy cover into a large skip....!!

[Cdnbob]

I don't really know anything about this guy either and like Disco-disc I was more concerned about the collection. It would really be a shame if it ends up going on the scrap heap.

[canadiantire]

Up to a certain point, I can understand the deception of this man not to find a home for his record collection.

The situation has to be put in perspective. The point is not that he can't find a home for his records. It's just that no one wants to spend such money to acquire it.

But when I think twice, why doesn't he just donate it to a conservation society?

I am 100% sure that they would find storage for it.

He will then be guaranteed that his collection will not be dilapidated.


I also wonder who would take over my collection when I bust.

I know for a fact that it is so small that no conservation society would consider it - even if I would donate.


When I fiddle around on the computer, I've got my few thousand vinyls shelved right behind me and just the scent of the sleeve's cardboard makes me feel happy.

Isn't that subtly nostalgic or what?

[Disco Funk]

I think it's silly for the records to be tossed out if no ones going to BUY them. I agree, donate them to various museums and organizations that would find the records relevant.

Either that or auction them off on Ebay. That's pretty much it.

Disco Funk