Mining for vinyl gold:
I specialize in selling and collecting vinyl records, and believe me, Goodwill, The Salvation Army Thrift Store, and any number of independently owned thrift shops have been the place for some of my biggest vinyl record scores.
Usually .99 cents or less is what is asked per record, this can vary in different parts of the country and per thrift store, as in Goodwill's case. They are usually run by a different entity who control a specific region.
The price is such, it leaves you room to make a profit if you're re-selling them. In the Dayton Ohio area where I am located, it's Miami Valley Easter Seals as the parent. Where in the Cincinnati Ohio area, many that I frequent, are run by Ohio Valley Goodwill.
Each parent has different prices on different things. Each one runs different sales at different times. So if you go back and forth between Dayton and Cincinnati, double-check which one is which when considering a sale.
It's just mainly luck, and a little skill:
Being first come first served, you never know when or if you'll find anything. I have a half-dozen locations I frequent just in the greater Dayton area, I am in and out of at least twice a week, and I like getting there within 2 hours of opening.
You have a better chance I believe finding stuff just as it is being put out on the floor or stuff that was put out from the night before.
Don't be shy about asking if they have anything in the back. While collectors and re-sellers like me do buy a lot, most of the records are left behind and end up in one of the Outlets, and I presume the landfill after that. So... again, don't be shy about asking about what's in the back, they want to sell you what they have.
A random dude's thrift store finds:
You can apply the following info to any thrift store, or to a lesser extent, the record shop bargain bin:
The people who work at the thrift stores, those who are sorting through and putting out these potential vinyl treasures likely are not collectors, and they surely don't know the finer points of vinyl record care, my point from above.
That means they also wouldn't know the value of a Beatles Butcher Cover or Warhol album art cover either. In fact, I always get comments at the checkout like "why would you want those records" or "What ya gonna play those on?"
I just smile and think about brands like Audio Technica and Sony who have supplied us with quality starter turntables for years. There are many other places you can find cheap vinyl records besides the thrift stores, just check out the store locators after you read this article if you click that "other places" link..
Timing is everything
I check these Goodwill out 2 or 3 times a week. I have gone long enough to them that I have relationships with some employees, and I am never shy about asking if they have more vinyl in the back.
Sometimes the employees will even let you know of a big donation that is about to be put out on the floor, if they happen to see me walking around.
Usually these records are priced at between .50 cents and .99 cents, and I have been known to spend well over 100 dollars in one day.
Is it really worth your time digging for thrift store vinyl?
I see a lot of religious themed records as well, some of these records have real collectors value too, if you put those records in front of the right audience.
As an eBay seller it is a real trial and error situation, trying to find out what will sell and what won't. My sell rate seems to be slow on the easy listening type of records, but they do sell eventually. If you put the time in, and visit at least twice a week and switch up your visit times, you will hit a mother-load eventually.
Here are some of the things I have found at Goodwill for .99 cents:
Big band jazz is another you have to be very niche specific about them, promote the sub-genre they are, modern creative, progressive big band, fusion whatever.
When people see big band, they think swing, and these are very hard to sell for me. I have had better luck pointing out the specific style it is, whether progressive or avant-garde, or even lounge/easy listening.
My main collecting interest is jazz vinyl, mainly Blue Note Records. In 10 years of really searching these thrift store bins, I have found only 2 original Blue Notes: A Horace Silver Horace-Scope and a Big John Patton Along Came John. So few were pressed to begin with, and those who had them tend to be fanatical about them, so not too many will be found these days.
Both of those are worth well over 100 bucks in the condition I found them. Just Ironic that I have found only 2 period. I can't remember finding any post 1967 Blue Note's either at Goodwill or The Salvation Army Thrift Store. It's just plain rare.
Genres I have discovered while digging the thrift store
I personally discovered the genre of exotica through thrift store scrounging, Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman, and Les Baxter have many fantastic small group island themed "Tiki Band" albums, I really have acquired the taste for it.
For Some reason I have to admit, I don't find too many Jazz records, again, my main collecting interest. I do much better at local record shops as far as jazz goes. Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Count Basie can be found, and smooth jazz drivel like Kenny G, but modern jazz like Miles Davis and John Coltrane are very rare.
You never know what you might find searching these thrift store bins, fact is, Herb Alpert is not exactly a big seller today, he was then, but his vinyl copies today might fetch 3 or 4 bucks a piece typically, but sealed copies is a different story, they are not easy to find.
Make sure you double and triple check that vinyl condition before you leave the store:
- Warps, deep scratches, or the wrong record won't make you very happy. Make sure the record inside the sleeve matches the title of the record. Yeah, it happens; you get excited, only to be crushed when there's a Montovani vinyl inside that Beatles cover.
- Always check vinyl playing surface, under the brightest light source possible, I learned the hard way early on, it can be the difference between what you thought was near mint, to being unplayable.
- Tilt the record side by side, holding at the edges, any defect will show up better this way, Run the soft portion of your finger over these areas, if they are marks that you can feel with a finger, they will have a high likelihood of causing the needle to skip too, and certainly will sound during playback.
- These records will need cleaned period. You will need some sort of record cleaner, and dry anti static carbon fiber brush too. I have found many records that looked like a total disaster with dirt and grime, but after cleaning, looked and played great.
- Never stack your vinyl on top of each other for long periods of time, they will warp. Always keep them up right and as straight as possible. I have run into a few thrift stores who break this rule themselves, and it is a real pain looking through those large stacked records, some times I don't bother, it depends on the condition of your back.
All photos are my own. All Records were found in thrift stores or record shops.
