I was last at Lunchbox Records in Charlotte in 2017. It made a fantastic impression on me then. As first the pandemic conspired to keep me out of record shops for several years, and then the degeneration of the shops we have locally just ended up making me angry if I tried to shop in them, the thought had been swirling around my skull that maybe Lunchbox Records was still all of that and more? Maybe I should take a trip over there one day?
There have been weekends where my wife was on travel and I entertained making the 2 hour trek over there for a day of crate diving, but I just couldn’t talk myself into it. Gears are changing at Monk Central. The biggest of which is that I really need to divest myself of about 30% of my music collection! There’s just too many CDs and even records on my filled-to-capacity-and-beyond racks. The racks hold 3200 discs and that’s it. I probably have 5000 discs. The last time my wife was visiting her family out of state, I set the goal of doing the BIG CULL. On the last day of the third weekend she was gone last month I finished it.
I’ve been listing these in my Discogs store, one box of 25-35 discs at a time [as seen on the left of the stack]. After building the spreadsheet that tracked everything going out, just like I enjoy tracking everything coming in. All priced to move at 25-50% below market norms to grease the skids of commerce. This isn’t about maximizing value, but maximizing outflow. I’ve sold off about 33 CDs in the last six weeks. Not a bad clip! But I need bulk sales! I’d have simply given them away except that I want a little something back.
I thought it would be nice to have a small income stream to fund the things that I actually want and have wanted for years, and most importantly, still want. But that was before we spent $350 on tickets to Pulp and Sparks last week. CD sales are now earmarked for those costs on the credit card. And the trip in September itself. That’s fine. I’ve leaned on my Record Cell in years past to fund such trips to much success.
Most of what is going out hasn’t been played much, if at all in the last 30 years. Former groups I religiously collected 40 years ago now ring hollow in my world. Anyone want any Cocteau Twins CDs? I have ’em all? [You can’t have the Harold Budd one, though]
I’d discussed a road trip to Charlotte with my neighbor, who’s now getting back into records, to hit this store and Repo Record; my two picks for best record stores in the state if asked. But that never happened. My goal was not to buy this time but to sell off! Then our houshold project of getting new kitchen cabinets eventually turned to visiting Charlotte’s huge Ikea store, which was somewhat inevitable. My loved one and I planned to do an overnighter in Charlotte to have a consultation at Ikea, and stay in a fabbo Bed + Breakfast. I looked into seeing if I could divest myself of any CDs at Charlotte’s big two.
Checking the [good] websites revealed that Repo Record would still buy CDs but at Lunchbox, the “hipster kryptonite” was accepted only for trade value. Everyone just wants your wax in the horror of the now! While I will be culling records as well, that has yet to really happen. So in the middle of last week I called Jimmy, the owner of Repo. He responded that unless I was bringing rap or R+B to the table, he was not buying. I only have about seven hip hop CDs. And any R+B isn’t going anywhere either. Even as I’m hoping to buttress these genre zones in the Record Cell as huge stacks of discs say “sayonara!”
So I thought the best I could hope for last weekend was to trade things in at Lunchbox. Maybe turn ten CDs into one? That’s still a substantial net loss and maybe I could find something I actually had on the want list? The last trip there was quite bountiful. So by that time in the week there was no time to get the spreadsheet any further down the road, so I looked at what I had quantified. And picked three boxes as a fairly random sampling of the things going out.
There would be some classic college rock. All Cure is going. I find I just don’t want to listen to anything but “The Head On the Door!” I can listen to that all day with pleasure. A few rare Japanese imports. Various and sundry indie obscurities. A lot of CD singles. Maybe a third of my collection are CD singles since I have the collector’s sickness. Much of what’s culled are dollar discs on Discogs. Low on the desirability spectrum. CDs that under 30 people may have in their want list. But I included even the stuff I could sell for $3.00 to $10.00. Just to see what would happen. At best, I could hope that the three boxes [~65 CDs] would net me, maybe $160.00. On a good day.
[Next: …How It Played Out]
![Want List: Visage DLX RM […finally!]](https://i0.wp.com/postpunkmonk.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/visage-dlxrmuscda.jpeg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1)
Post-Punk Monk 
Nice cliffhanger there… waiting for part 2!
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strange_idol – Simply out of time. Nothing intentionally Machiavellian.
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I feel you totally. When you’ve collected for ages and finally you can’t even get the simple pleasure of organizing your stuff neatly any longer, searching for something you know you have but you’ve got somewhen stuck in the midst of a reorganisation it’s getting serious too unbearable.
Additionally I find selling and grading piece by piece is really time consuming and unsatisfying as my intention is to focus more on the record(ing)s I keep and cherish.
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Oh, man… my collection both in my home office and garage rafters is but a fraction of what you show here! I’m also a big CD single miser! My latest addition is Bryan Ferry’s UK promo of ‘LIMBO’ in a 3-color corrugated box with printed liner notes card and the disc in slim jewel box. Same audio as the 12 vinyl single (Latin Mix / Brooklyn Mix & Bête Noire [instrumental – fun to sing too]). Box is also housing its sister gatefold CD single of ‘The Right Stuff’ but will soon also house a mint condition ‘Kiss and Tell’ which I just bought on Ebay for a steal ;)
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René – I never got that UK DLX pack of “Limbo!” Is yours bronzed? I have the US promo CD [Latin Version, Brooklyn Version, Latin Mix, LP] as well as the US 12” [Latin Mix, Bête Noir Instrumental, Brooklyn Mix]. Also the US 7” [Latin Version edit, Brooklyn Version edit]. I still have the UK 12” on the want list for the Brooklyn Dub Mix that still evades my reach! Ooof! You got me started on Ferrynalia!
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It is indeed the bronzed disc (but playing side is standard – not like SACD). I’ll keep an eye out for the UK 12″ for you… Sometimes my local Vinyl Solution (San Mateo, CA) has these gems. I’ve grabbed some cool UK and promos, even have a gold-Sharpie signed 12″ of The Right Stuff – album mix, both sides!
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René – The bronzing was due to manufacturing errors at PDO UK that didn’t seal the plating; allowing it to oxidize. The CDs will possibly become unplayable. I say possibly because I’ve still got some that play fine after nearly 40 years [see: Soft Cell – “The Art Of Falling Apart”].
It’s funny, the first CD of mine to stop playing because of this was Spandau Ballet’s “Raw” CD-5. About six months after buying it new it would not play. And the plating hadn’t even turned dark yet. Eventually others did and I learned to rip every UK PDO CD from 1988-1992 to hard drive to save the music as files.
Eventually, I discovered in the early 2000s that PDO was exchanging defective discs for replacements. I sent off a box to the UK and got back about 60% in new pressings that would not oxidize. In cases where they hadn’t repressed discs they sent what they could. For example, I got a 2xCD Lilac Time “Compendium” with many B-sides to compensate for CD-5s that went bad. I think the program wrapped up eventually.
If your local shop has desirable singles you are a lucky man! In the region where I am there are almost no singles. The market is just LPs. And mostly new pressings.
I will say that my copy of the “Don’t Stop The Dance” US 7” was signed by The Maestro himself when I managed to find myself with backstage passes for the “Mamouna” tour in Atlanta. My first Ferry concert!
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Monk, Monk, Monk! Self-amortization is a FOOLS PARADISE! Maximal material acquisition is the ONLY valid measure of self-worth! This “reduction of capital assets” is at best a misplaced understanding of self-actualization goals, and at worst a sign of incipient BRAIN HEMORRHAGE.
Please, PLEASE, I implore you — if your “stuff” threatens to overwhelm you, or to cut off access to fire exits — just BUY A BIGGER HOUSE …
Yours in presumptive consumption,
the RAHB!
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The RAHB! – Of cuss!!! I’VE BEEN A BLOODY FOOL!!! There’s no law against growing the house vertically</iV. Is there?!
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As usual, I have to navigate the “middle way” between the Monk and the RAHB-i!
I still have my enormous collection, but I pay dearly to keep the records and CDs safely housed in air-conditioned splendour in Florida while I start another (smaller by necessity) collection of mostly box sets of newer stuff in my present location! That way, I maintain my full set of assets while simultaneously paying people to make most of it unavailable to me short of a 5,300km cross-continent pilgrimage!
Smart!! (taps noggin)
When I retire (har har), I’ll regather the collection and spend my remaining days saying things like “oh yeah!” and “oooh I love this one” and “what the hell was I thinking when I bought this?”
Please give generously to cure the collector’s sickness, won’t you?
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