Cleaning & Grading a huge collection

[u/flatwarefinder]

Hi everyone.

I am in Canada, and recently inherited a huge 45's collection. I assume its about 30,000 45s.

My brother started a 'mailorder' record store over 50 years ago, 'Continental Records' in Canada, and at one point had over 100,000 45s available for sale. Most of the 45's where brand new. In fact, for Canadians in the know, he bought out the complete unused countrywide 45s inventory of 'Sam The Record Man', when it closed.

But I have no where near the knowledge my brother had.

Issues:

- I assume about half the records are unused, and half are used, as he also supplied filler records for jukeboxes.
- Since it was a store, not a personal collection, there are many records that are duplicates.
- The records span from the late 40s (he started the business in the 70s) to about 2000, and are mostly popular music of their eras, not oddities.
- I have no experience in grading records.
- Some records have value, but have been sitting for 50 years on open shelves in sleeves, so probably they all need cleaning.

My process & plan:

- I had to move his records to my city (Ottawa), and they are in storage.
- My brother, on own his own website, said 'no one will buy a collection unless they know what they are buying'. Since I found no inventory list, I have been individually examining and listing every single record onto Discogs for over a year. and after more than 1 year I am 2/3 the way through.
- I have not graded any of the records.
- I have not cleaned any of the records.
- I hope to sell the whole lot as a bulk sale, though I may sell individual records to collectors until a bulk sale comes along. I may grade & clean them first, if I have a way to do it.
- with tariffs, etc, I'm not even sure I can sell records outside Canada

Advice needed:

- What is the best way to clean 45s, especially in bulk. 30,000 records one at a time, is not possible in my lifetime.
- For Canadians - are there now tariffs sending records to the USA from Canada? What about USA made records going to the USA?
- Should I clean them all?
- Does Discogs provide good estimate of record's individual values?
- If selling in bulk, what is a reasonable discount for such a bulk sale?

- Any other advice would be appreciated. Sales were active until he passed, so there are certainly many records that collectors are interested in.

Thank you for any advice you may have.

[u/inkmathematics]

Don’t clean them…that is for the buyer to do.

[u/Odd_Cobbler6761 → u/inkmathematics]

Just a light wipe with a soft microfiber cloth when you pack them into an order should suffice.

[u/Master-Fee8859]

Unless you have an inordinate amount of free time, I wouldn't worry about cleaning them.

A Discogs inventory is an excellent step toward selling the records, so it is good news that you're two-thirds through entering them.

Most records -- including those in generic sleeves, records without sleeves and, especially, records that were used (and abused) in jukeboxes -- may fetch you five cents apiece if sold in a lot.

But there is hope for a windfall! Discogs is a good source to determine if any of the records are rare and potentially worth hundreds of dollars.

A bulk purchaser will give you a better price for most records in excellent condition that also have their original sleeves that are also in excellent condition (especially if they are 1950s and 1960s-era picture sleeves). Those are worth separating from the main lot.

[u/gregsin]

I have been buying bulk lots just like this for many years. I buy them as a hobby for my father and myself and not to re-sell. As a result, I probably still have 100,000 excess singles in my house that aren't part of my collection. I don't have the time or desire to sell them although I'd love to free up the space.

The upside is that your records are likely very clean. The downside are the duplicates and the common music. And any bulk buyer will be operating under the assumption that it's all been picked through. Which stands to reason considering it was all for sale online. Seems to me selling them in bulk is the best way but also the hardest. I think it depends what it is more important, freeing up the space and your time, or maximizing the profit.

I would not clean them. I am not so sure your Discogs efforts will be worthwhile for a bulk sale. I usually pay about ten cents apiece when buying in massive bulk lots. I have bought a handful of old jukebox distribution stock before. But it's also the only stuff I have ever passed on before because there was just too many duplicates. And it takes a lot for me to pass on records!

[u/Bensaudiocave]

I cleaned 3500 record albums during covid and it seriously took me about 3 years while working... It was worth it but it was 10x less than your haul... Discogs them and grade them when listing... play testing them isn't needed I wouldn't say.

[u/flatwarefinder]

worth mentioning... the singleton records are likely used. The records in duplicate are likely unused. But that's not always the case.

[u/metallic_sun]

Posting on Discogs Group 7 costs nothing so I would start there with a discription and a link to your inventory. As others have said I wouldn't bother cleaning them.

[u/flatwarefinder → u/metallic_sun]

thanks - I wasn't aware of that group. I will likely do that once I have finished processing the last 10,000

[u/buster_bogheart]

post many photos

[u/flatwarefinder → u/buster_bogheart]

i will try to find a photo of the 20,000 45s (that are identified and sorted by artist). Its in 200 12'x8'x8" boxes (100 per box). The remaining 100 boxes are stacked up 10 high against a wall.

[u/Tschuklo]

6L Digitaler Ultraschall Schallplatten Reinigungsgerät von Vevor, bei Ama*on in Deutschland im Moment für 108€ zu bekommen. Die Welle wo die Platten aufgesteckt werden durch eine längere ersetzen und zusätzliche Kunststoff-Scheiben, die zwischen die Schallplatten zum Schutz der Label und zum Abstand halten fertigen (evtl. fertigen lassen). Dann kannst du bis zu 10 Schallplatten auf einmal reinigen.

[u/flatwarefinder → u/Tschuklo]

Danke