VHS cassettes

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10-27-2012, 06:49 PM
Bamcis

VHS cassettes

Over the last two or three days, I managed to accumulate between 90 and 100 old VHS tapes from yard sales and Craigslist ads for free. Knowing that it would be a pain trying to sell them one or two at a time (and nearly impossible), I just posted my own ad advertising them all for just 5 bucks. I got several responses, and within a few hours, I sold them all to an elderly gentleman who lived way out in the country and bought them because he didn't have access to cable TV. Now, my bottom line was met; I made a profit on them which covered all of the money I spent on other items at the yard sale from which I got the majority of the tapes. However, due to the quick response, I wonder if I could get maybe 10, 20, maybe 30 dollars for the next batch of 100 tapes that I come across. Other people in my area sell tapes on Craigslist for 2-3 bucks apiece, or 40-50 bucks for a large box of them. I see the same ads over and over again, so I seriously doubt these people are selling many of them. What price do y'all think would be a happy medium for selling these things?
10-27-2012, 07:01 PM
mikeinreco

is gas free.....How much did it cost to gather all these tapes.......$5 how is that even worth your time
For 100 tapes $25 would be fair that's only .25 cents per tape
10-27-2012, 07:05 PM
Bear

i have about 400 DVDs, each having 1, 2, or 3 movies, so, I figure around 800 movies. I considered posting just such an ad on these, maybe 50 at a time. There is only one hangup, they were all recorded off cable television, leading to copyright infringement if I sell them.
I recorded them in prep for moving to OK from TN about 6 years ago, realizing TV reception here was minimal. I got cable installed there just for this purpose, and wore out two DVD recorders before I moved, keeping them recording movie after movie(nothing past an R rating) sometimes day and night. 800 movies seems like a lot, but watch one or two a night for a couple years and they start to get old
10-27-2012, 07:22 PM
Bamcis

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeinreco

is gas free.....How much did it cost to gather all these tapes.......$5 how is that even worth your time
For 100 tapes $25 would be fair that's only .25 cents per tape

You do make a very good point and next time I sell some, I'll offer that as a base price. However, in this particular situation, the gas wasn't much of an issue for me. All of the yard sales/free give aways were within 5 minutes of my house. The first dozen or so I got from a guy who was offering those along with 2 CRTs and 2 VCRs for free. The second dozen I got from a yard sale three blocks from my house for free along with a bunch of other goodies (electronics, kitchenware, and books) after buying a few things. The rest (the majority) came from a yard sale where I bought a small portable grill, two printers, a wooden night stand, and a VCR for 5 bucks. The guy tossed them in as an afterthought since I bought the VCR.
10-27-2012, 07:35 PM
Bear

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamcis

The guy tossed them in as an afterthought since I bought the VCR.

Don't ya just hate that!? About 20 years ago I was looking at an old 8 track tape player at a yard sale, which was hooked up to two very large real wood(not particle board) speakers, which I was actually more interested in, and asked if they went together, so he threw them in. Heavy raskals too! Each one has it's own base adjustment in back, they're German, but I can't recall the brand (although once a well known) name. 20 years, and two moves later, I still have those old speakers, sitting atop a 6' heavy duty work shelf, and they are yet to be plugged up to anything! lol
10-27-2012, 07:57 PM
Bamcis

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bear

Don't ya just hate that!? About 20 years ago I was looking at an old 8 track tape player at a yard sale, which was hooked up to two very large real wood(not particle board) speakers, which I was actually more interested in, and asked if they went together, so he threw them in. Heavy raskals too! Each one has it's own base adjustment in back, they're German, but I can't recall the brand (although once a well known) name. 20 years, and two moves later, I still have those old speakers, sitting atop a 6' heavy duty work shelf, and they are yet to be plugged up to anything! lol

Wow, that's a hell of a find. I've been hoping that I would come across an old 8 track player at a yard sale, but haven't seen one yet. If I did find one, I doubt that I would even scrap it. It would just be cool to have.
10-28-2012, 04:27 AM
BurlyGuys

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamcis

Wow, that's a hell of a find. I've been hoping that I would come across an old 8 track player at a yard sale, but haven't seen one yet. If I did find one, I doubt that I would even scrap it. It would just be cool to have.

Ha. How many do you want? I actually take them to a local consignment shop.
10-28-2012, 04:30 AM
BurlyGuys

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bear

i have about 400 DVDs, each having 1, 2, or 3 movies, so, I figure around 800 movies. I considered posting just such an ad on these, maybe 50 at a time. There is only one hangup, they were all recorded off cable television, leading to copyright infringement if I sell them.
I recorded them in prep for moving to OK from TN about 6 years ago, realizing TV reception here was minimal. I got cable installed there just for this purpose, and wore out two DVD recorders before I moved, keeping them recording movie after movie(nothing past an R rating) sometimes day and night. 800 movies seems like a lot, but watch one or two a night for a couple years and they start to get old

Hey, Bear, while I can't see anybody actually turning you in for this, why chance it? The fines and jail time are no laughing matter. The transfer station by me lets me recycle all media for free.
Just trash them and be done.
10-28-2012, 04:45 AM
Bear

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurlyGuys

Hey, Bear, while I can't see anybody actually turning you in for this, why chance it? The fines and jail time are no laughing matter. The transfer station by me lets me recycle all media for free.
Just trash them and be done.

well, actually, I could still give them away, and have considered posting on Freecycle
10-28-2012, 06:46 AM
BurlyGuys

Actually, giving them away is still piracy. If you provide them to someone they now have the movies and will not spend the money for the DVDs put out by the studios, thus denying the owners of the intellectual property revenue. Same difference, only now you go to jail and pay fines without collecting any money from the sale.

Take them to the curb or recycle them.
10-28-2012, 06:47 AM
BurlyGuys

By the way, recording for your personal use is NOT piracy, it is only when you give them away or sell them.
10-28-2012, 06:52 AM
Bear

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurlyGuys

By the way, recording for your personal use is NOT piracy, it is only when you give them away or sell them.

haha! that's good to know. Since I've already given my niece a few stacks of them, guess I'd better be really nice to her eh ; )
11-04-2012, 11:02 AM
Bamcis

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeinreco

is gas free.....How much did it cost to gather all these tapes.......$5 how is that even worth your time
For 100 tapes $25 would be fair that's only .25 cents per tape

Thanks again for that piece of advice. I picked up another large lot of tapes from a couple yard sales this weekend for dirt cheap and posted them on CL for $20.00. The same guy that bought the last lot contacted me and said that he'd be willing to buy these for $20.00 as well.
10-31-2013, 07:16 AM
src3collector

I realize this thread is a year old now but just want to throw in my .02 VHS tapes can bring in more money than you think... at least certain ones. I would check each title on ebay and see what they've been selling for. There is a VHS collector market out there. There are literally thousands of movies on VHS that never made it onto dvd or any format (usually because the movies are horrible) so the only way to get that movie is to buy the vhs version. If you don't want to look up each title there are some genres that are more collectible than others, more specifically 80's horror movies, they've got their own subsect that collects them, you can always pick those out first then check on them. At one time I thought the same as most people, who would want VHS tapes, they're worthless!!!! But then I bought a storage unit at auction that was from an old video rental store that went out of business. I started doing some research as I literally had THOUSANDS of videos and all on vhs. Well, originally I paid $1,000 for this unit (my wife was pretty mad when she found out how much I paid for a bunch of worthless vhs tapes), as of this past weekend I've sold OVER $6,000 in vhs tapes and still have about $4,000-5,000 still left in my ebay store with videos selling almost daily (my wife was no longer mad as the money started coming in!). I've sold an old movie called "Zombie" for almost $60.00, a lot more for $40 +. I only listed videos that were worth $5.00 and up each (after shipping) and have sold hundreds so far. I am left with thousands of tapes that aren't worth as much but I have them lining my garage wall and whenever I have a yard sale I just sell them for 5/1.00. The more mainstream a movie, the more likely it is that it's not worth anything. If you've never heard of the movie before, the better chance it IS worth something. Oh, and just to add..majority of Disney movies are NOT worth anything. Seems most people (even me at one time) believe that all those old disneys are valuable, but that's the problem, when everyone thinks something is valuable it usually ends up making it not valuable (supply & demand, basic econ 101). Hope this helps some people out there, and if you have a copy of "Black Devil Doll from Hell" I'll take it off your hands for $20! lol I actually saw this movie sell for over $500 earlier this year