Selling/donating CDs and DVDs

BigWaylon

BigWaylon

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Looking for some ideas. It's time to clear out some space (which will be repurposed as a reloading area) and that means getting rid of 1300+ CDs and 400+ DVDs.

Quickest solution (other than a dumpster) is take them all to Goodwill. They list the value at $2/ea, so I'd simply claim them as a deduction. I checked with a couple used CD stores and one said they didn't want them, and another said $.10-$.50 apiece, and probably a store credit. No thanks.

Selling them one-by-one on eBay would probably result in more cash, but no way I'm putting myself through that.

Anybody here have any other recommendations? I'd love to sell the lot for $.75-$1.50/ea. Or find another charitable organization that would value them at $2.50-$3 apiece.

For anybody curious, the wall looks something like this (pic from ~2 years ago):

IMG_6517.JPG
 
If Goodwill will value at 2 bucks why not just drop it off there and be done?
Would be better than selling as a lot for .75 or more (which would take time to find a buyer with an extra grand to spend on cds/dvds, and probably not happen)
 
Assuming a 30% effective tax rate, a $2 value gets you $.60 from the IRS. That’s depressing.
I’m surprised that manifest disc wouldn’t go to at least $1 cash.

So what are your tastes in music and movies, and have you ripped all of them to a server?
 
I'll take the ammo at $2.50-$3 a box. :D
 
I'm surprised goodwill is assigning such a high value, that very well may be your best bet when considering effort involved.

Kind of out there but... Considering physical media is becoming a thing of the past, it would be interesting if you were able to essentially loan them out for $100/mo to allow someone to rip everything. However, streaming kind of kills the appeal for most.
 
Jerzsubbie said:
I'm surprised goodwill is assigning such a high value, that very well may be your best bet when considering effort involved.
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Just as info, I got that from here:

http://www.goodwill.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Donation_Valuation_Guide.pdf

I'm sure if they could add YMMV, they would.

The reality is I'm the one that gets to assign a value. But a non-cash deduction of some amount (maybe >$500) gets a little extra scrutiny as I understand it. If I could justify a higher price when assigning value, that should survive an audit. It's just "easy" to go with what they publish and use that as my justification.

Could I pull sold auctions from eBay for every disc one-by-one and consider that FMV? I guess...but uggh.
 
JimB said:
Assuming a 30% effective tax rate, a $2 value gets you $.60 from the IRS. That’s depressing.
I’m surprised that manifest disc wouldn’t go to at least $1 cash.

So what are your tastes in music and movies, and have you ripped all of them to a server?
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I don't think I asked Manifest, as I couldn't find an email address. Repo initially said yes to $1 apiece, and then declined after discussing it further. They wanted me to bring them all in, 100-300 at a time, and let them go through them one by one. I sent them the list, and they said they'd pass.

It's a whole lot of country, and some old rap/pop/rock. And none of it is current. Probably haven't bought more than a dozen CDs in the last 6-8 years. Movies are all over the place. Action, comedy, drama, animated. Movies are newer than CDs, but definitely slowed down those purchases over the last several years.
 
HMP said:
If Goodwill will value at 2 bucks why not just drop it off there and be done?
Would be better than selling as a lot for .75 or more (which would take time to find a buyer with an extra grand to spend on cds/dvds, and probably not happen)
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Agreed on all points, but wanted to ask in case I was missing something.

Public library might also be an option. Haven't called to check.
 
I'd also considered just bundling up CDs by artist and selling those on eBay. There are several that I have 10+ CDs for. Thought about doing that and then donating everything that was left. But again, time and frustration.

I can't help but think some of them are worth something, just don't know which ones. I see used ones on eBay for some of what I have for $7-$8 apiece, plus a couple bucks shipping. I keep thinking back to an old t-shirt my wife found. Some band River Phoenix was in many years ago. I put in on eBay with a $10 or so starting price and just for the heck of it a Buy It Now of $200. Somebody snagged it before I woke up the next morning.
 
Old tshirts can bring $200? Jeeze, I could pay off my mortgage!
 
I would recommend checking this company.

http://www.decluttr.com/

Use their app to scan some of your barcodes to see if it would even be worth your while to use them. If it is, I think the shipping is free but there might be some limitations based on how much (mass not $$) you have there.

If it turns into a huge windfall for you...remember where you heard it :)
 
Give half of them in December and the other half in January so you claim two smaller deductions in two year's taxes.
 
Pink_Vapor said:
Any blues?
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Maybe a Blues Traveler CD snuck in there...does that count? :D

Maybe I'll post the whole list in the BST to see if anybody local wants any of them.
 
Catfish said:
Give half of them in December and the other half in January so you claim two smaller deductions in two year's taxes.
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Well, even half is well over the $500. I could just claim it all this year. Or maybe CDs this year and DVDs next year.
 
BigWaylon said:
Well, even half is well over the $500. I could just claim it all this year. Or maybe CDs this year and DVDs next year.
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The odds of you getting audited is as close to zero as you can imagine. Split it across two years if you want, but if you have a list and a picture of the wall, ain’t no auditor gonna fight over a value of $2 each or $1 each.

Too bad you had such poor taste in music
 
That would make one hell of an awesome weekend setting up random shooting stations with them.

Another idea is contact an interior decorator, I viewed a home that had a whole wall of CD's shiny side out in a basement bar setting.
 
blink. said:
That would make one hell of an awesome weekend setting up random shooting stations with them.

Another idea is contact an interior decorator, I viewed a home that had a whole wall of CD's shiny side out in a basement bar setting.
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That would be a waste. I might like 3 or 4 songs from those discs.
 
Jerzsubbie said:
Considering physical media is becoming a thing of the past, it would be interesting if you were able to essentially loan them out for $100/mo to allow someone to rip everything. However, streaming kind of kills the appeal for most.
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Yep. Not only are CD's and DVD's as playback sources dead, but even ripping is mostly dead. Why bother ripping when you can stream?

JimB said:
The odds of you getting audited is as close to zero as you can imagine. Split it across two years if you want, but if you have a list and a picture of the wall, ain’t no auditor gonna fight over a value of $2 each or $1 each.
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+1

I really wouldn't worry about being audited on ~2000 CDs/DVDs being valued at $2 or $3 apiece. Even $5.

IRS has lots of bigger fish to fry than generous valuations of used CDs/DVDs.
 
A little info for anybody that cares. I mentioned that Goodwill listed $2/ea for CDs and DVDs. I dropped them off in late December.

After going through and pulling out a few I wanted to keep, I ended up donating 1382 CDs and 258 DVDs. Finished up taxes yesterday. Decided to see what the ItsDeductible tool in TurboTax said they were worth. Ended up claiming $5/ea for CDs and $3/ea for DVDs. $7684 deduction. :D

Found it kinda odd a CD was listed at a higher value than a DVD.
 
We donate them, but we don't claim the deduction. Even with charitable goods, property taxes, vehicle takes, we're still a couple grand off the standard deduction. Next year when it doubles to $24k? Forget about it.

Even donating them, when we walk around Goodwill, TROSA, etc., they have billions. They just don't sell.

Now if I can find someone to buy a $1K baseball card collection.....
 
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