I often see classified ads for CDs with a stated reason for sale like this one, plucked from eBay today (emphasis mine):
CD & INLAY EXCELLENT. CASE SCRATCHED BUT NO CRACKS Having a clearout as gone digital. All CDs genuine and in very good condition unless stated.
Now, one can only speculate about the meaning of “Having a clearout as gone digital”. Perhaps it means the person has purchased all the songs they want from iTunes or similar, or has a Rhapsody subscription, and is now selling off CDs they no longer use. Alternatively it might mean these CDs have been ripped to PC or Mac and are now equally redundant, though one can question the legality and/or ethics of ripping a CD, selling it, and continuing to enjoy the music. In one sense it matters little; the question that intrigues me is what effect this activity has on the secondhand market. If enough people follow suit there is going to be a huge excess of supply over demand.
I can think of several reasons why CDs might remain desirable in a music server household:
- As proof of ownership of a some kind of licence to rip
- So you can admire the sleeve and read the booklet
- To obtain that special mix or mastering that isn’t easily found online
- Because you can’t bear to admit that your expensive CD player no longer has a useful function
Now ask yourself how much any of the above matter to the average person.
Collectors will still collect, of course. But my advice to anyone contemplating the sale of their CD collection is: do it soon.
Point number 1 is the reason I have my CD collection stored away. Also, it acts as a final backup…
Regards,
Rob…
I think you missed reason No.0, which is: physical backup in case your server/HD goes south.
Too few people believe it will. But like death and taxes..
It’s true you need a backup, but why a CD? Isn’t it more efficient and convenient to backup to an external hard drive, for example?
Re-ripping several hundred CDs is an arduous task.
Tim
Re-ripping several hundred CDs is an arduous task. However, it’s nice to know that they’re there if something kills my drive AND my backup drive. As for multi-level backup, I can’t be bothered with my music collection, as I have the original CDs.
I’m much more paranoid about my photographs; 3 levels of backup, stored in different locations (home and work), plus the good ones are printed into photo-books.
Oh, and yes, second-hand CDs will become worthless. These little suckers are far too durable and there’s far too many of them for them to have much value. Some vinyl has held value because the demand for good quality used vinyl exceeds the supply. I don’t think CDs will ever have a renaissance like vinyl has.
i would recommend selling cds on ebay or someting, but before you sell them, rip them to a CDR and then back them up to external HD. To me CDS are worthless!!! Now with the IPOD and IPHONE, you can listen to music whenever and whereever u want. It doesnt have to be in your living room, even in your car, just plug in the ipod directly to your jack and whallaaaaa1 (this is of course if the jack is available to the stereo) ………….
PLUS!!! YOU SAVE MONEY
Sure its nice to have a collection of cds, but here are a couple of reasons to get rid of them
1) you free up space in your home
2) you can make a few extra bucks selling them while at the same time ripping them.
3) why spend 10-13.00 dollars for one or two songs where you can purchase 2.00 for 2 songs and just download them on your HD.
4) its convienant to download as opposed to buying cds
5) plus you can copy the art work from the internet and have a replica copy of the orginal cd ( JUST DONT SELL THEM…IT’S ILLEGAL)
6) I hate jewel cases. digipak is the way to go.