EXACTLY! That is what the challenge would be. Physically and emotionally lol. I mean sure, the record was only worth 8 buck, but took me 3 years to find kind of thing lol.
i have to say thankyou. even though i dont have a huge vinyl collection i respect how much work you went through to do this and put it on youtube :) top job mate all the best for the future.
I don't know if anyone has said this, but if you get on discogs, you can catalog most of your stuff easily. sometimes the record isn't there and you have to fill in all the data... but most of the time it's just a matter of giving it your cat number, and if the same record comes up as yours, just go "ok" and that's filed. you can also download a copy of your collection too. you can often see how much people are selling identical records for on discogs, but also there's a place called popsike which gives you an idea of how much things are too, then there's eil.com which may give you an idea. you could almost reference ebay, but they tend to inflate prices a lot.
Sometimes you have a record which is an Australian pressing which isn't there, but all the data for other pressings is, so you just make a copy of those, and fill in your local data, add it, done.
Yo, that was DOPE!! I never thought of that. Just basically getting started and I am also with State Farm. Thanks for the advice!! ... I gave this a thumbs UP and subscribed, keep the video's coming.
Learned this lesson the hard way in November 2005 following a total-loss house fire (incorrectly installed stove). Insurers were fantastically good, paying out £2,000 for my hifi, despite NOT having any 'dedicated' cover, but they didn't (couldn't !!) pay a penny towards my music collection. Broke my heart, as I had been in the Air Force, and most of the music consisted of obscure albums bought from abroad. Thank god for the Internet!
This is cool that you bring this topic up. My Dad, the other day, just brought this up saying 'you are going to need to get special collectors insurance' thank you!!
I'm so glad I came across this video, thanks for posting. I just inherited my late father's vinyl collection and insuring it is one of the many issues I've recently had to consider.
Thanks for sharing this! I'll bet this is something a lot of serious LP collectors have not thought of, and knowing what it costs and how to get the coverage is really helpful. Thanks for sharing your experience! I don't have much vinyl, but I DO have a lot of out-of-print CDs with booklets that really enhance the value of the collection for me. You have got me thinking that I need to see if there is an insurance policy that would cover my CD collection in a way similar to your coverage.
Thank you for the response Mr. Moore. I have seen many videos in reference to vinyl creation / manufacturing but wasn't aware of the information you have so graciously provided. It's true you learn something new everyday ^_^ again many Thanks.
Thanks so much for this information. I'm just starting (I only have like 40 records) but I was thinking about starting a database and you just made it clear, thank you once again.
Lost almost all my vinyl collection in the mid-80s,not to a fire but instead to the CD revolution.Rebuilding it again and kicking myself for buying into that nonsense.
Ha ha! I did just the opposite. I had a ton of cds, starting buying vinyl, sold off 100s of cds, and then worked on getting my cds back to go with my vinyl collection lol.
mrhoffame Yeah, I did just the same...kick out those CDs !!! My local record dealer traded some(20-25) of my CDs 1:1 with same vinyls...but just because it was nearly X-mas, I've been a good known customer for decades & my CDs were almost like brandnew, but awesome in any ways...can't believe it myself until today !^^
Wow. I knew about this but its a very daunting task to document my collection. I've had dreams where I see my whole collection as a big melted vinyl blob! LOL!! This is very awesome of you to share this. I wonder if you should document the pressing you have since that can make a difference with collectors.
WOW!!! A friend of mine has been telling me to look into ins. coverage for my record collection. I really didn't think that it would be available. This is great news. Thank you so much for posting the info.... And I use State Farm for my auto ins. already!!!! Sweet!!!!!
@TheGreenSeaDotNet I think storing them vertical as oppose to stacking is always better. If you are reffering to the slight 'lean"... I make sure the left side of the stack is always flush with the side so no record is pressured on a bend. Also, with the smaller cuby holes ...I only keep about 60-70 lps in each so overall they are pretty well kept. Thanks for asking and thanks for watching my friend!
@newwavepopman Yes. All vinyl. They won't do cassettes or cds though. When you really get into the details of it, the policy language states 78s and all other lps are covered along with those. Take care my friend and thanks for watching.
I found this video pretty cool and informative. I'm starting to collect vinyl records for the first time in my life and keeping track of that sort of thing is a good habit. I keep a log of my vinyl collection online though the website discogs. I feel it's a decent way to know what you have in your collection and to know what your vinyl might be worth. The site will tell you A LOT about your vinyl (assuming you don't have something super odd or ridiculously obscure like a unlabeled bootleg).
Thank You for doing the work and sharing the results with us vinyl freaks. I have State Farm too, and I would never have thought to ask them about insuring my collection. Hooray for State Farm, I guess, for recognizing the lasting value of the vinyl LP.
@squierplayer LOL good question. That was just a copy I printed out. I have the list on my computer and I keep a copy on a zip drive. I also give a copy to the insurance company about every six months ....so there are some safe guards lol. Thanks for watching!
@malawri67 Thank you. I really do enjoy the room but I am outgrowing it quick and we just bought this house a year or so ago so I don't see us moving anytime soon lol. My wife has even offered up her office to make it a second music room...but I couldn't do that lol. Her support for my collection is why it is growing so dam fast! A good woman huh lo. Anyway, thanks for watching!
Thank You for the prompt response. I have gone back as you indicated and viewed the video where you have your excel spreadsheet breakdown. I have now started creating my own template. Thanks a Million!, and please keep the very useful and educational videos coming.
This is really good info! What I've done (just like you - "what if my house burned down?") is put all of my music that is in mp3 format onto a portable hard drive and deposited that in a safe deposit box in the bank. You can also include your list of vinyl on that hard drive.
@Telstar62a The pricing is based off the total amount you asked to be covered. They don't evaluate each piece. So the premiums are based of the amount you cover. It's just like the personal articles policy in a home owner policy. The don't add up the value of your couch, tv, and so on. You pick a number like 30k, 50k, etc.. to cover your personal stuff and you pay that premium. I have increased my coverage over the past couple of years so my prms a big higher now.
Also in the case of damages it helps that discogs also has a graph feature which shows the low, medium, and high "sold" values of the records in their database, which might be able to help with evaluation of the collection. This is assuming the insurance company will pay you. You can take policies out as much as you want, but unless you have hardcopy, digital lists, photographs, and thorough documentation and evidence of your collection, they might just laugh at your attempt to claim.
@TheEMERALDCITYPUNK Well there are a number of ways. All of whch are estimates because value is really determined but what people will pay. I use a combination of how much I paid for an lp, Goldmine record value book, or just looking on ebay or Gemm to get an idea of what lps are selling for. If you find 10 of an lp on ebay you can get a good feel for what is goes for. Thanks for watching.
I haven't gone to this video in years lol. The huge task is actually taking place right now. With my collection growing even more over the past 10 years, January of this year I decided to put my entire collection accurately into Discogs. That my friends has been something lol. Not doing bad though. In June now and only have about 350 more to input.
Thanks so much for this video !!!! I have about 2000 pieces that I am trying to get on a spreadsheet I am up to 700 hopefully in the next day or two I will have them done ..Thanks for the info on the insurance that will be my next thing on my to do list...As always Great Video...
You still have to do some typing but if you save the files as a .flac or .wav you will maintain the quaility if your vinyl is in good shape. It took me over 2 years to do mine but the advantage for me was that all my vinyl got cleaned with my Nitty Gritty cleaning machine and inserted into new poly bags to keep them clean and safe. I also go to listen to alll the older stuff I hadn't heard in years, including the first vinyl I bought back on September 22, 1964.
@TechnoWhamBar Thing is I need this for the insurance plan, but I collect lps, 45s, cassettes, cds, and 8 tracks. I like the excel spread sheet because it is easier to keep track of all those. Not to mention when you have multiple different releases of the same album. For example, Between cassette, cd, and vinyl I have 7 different issues of Metallica's Master Of Puppets lol. Thanks for watching
Good share. I had a problem about 15 years ago. I had a flood in the basement and lost a lot if lp's. The insurance company said they would only give me a dollar a disc.They come to my house and looked at the spoiled albums. The vinyl was still in fab shape but the jacket was screwed.
Easy. I have a diary on one of my social sites (privacy settings are adjustable), and I list the artist, the album name, and the medium it was recorded on. I have CDs, cassettes, reel-to-reel, and the best of all - vinyl! Although I must confess I listen to cassettes more than anything else, because I love to go to sleep listening to music. And I have to sleep a lot. Kudos to you, sir!
Creating that database must have been a lot of work, but as you pointed out, it has a lot of cool uses to you besides providing a basis for the insurance coverage. If I'm able to locate coverage for my CD collection, I'm grateful for the fact that CDs came after UPC bar-coding technology, so almost all of my CDs have UPC codes I can use to pull the album data from online databases.
@didjamatic Yeah. I have Zips drives and a hard drive i keep off site. Not to mention the record at State Farm are constantly updated. Thanks for watching!
The list reminds me of LP's that I have bought at yard sales etc. That normally I would have just thrown on my shelf. Now that they are listed I remember and instead of my personal playlist I throw in a "sleeper" just to make sure I listen to it. I so have a printed list, and I will find out there value for insurance purpose. Good thinking.
Thanks for checking out the vid. I do have an database for it. That is where the print out comes from actually lol. I just like having the hard copy. Making little scribble notes off to the side, etc. I keep an updated data base and keep a backup at my office. Even at work. I write my outlook calendar to a hard copy calendar lol. Don't know what it is. I guess I'm very old fashion :)
It's the ID of the master plate used to make stampers in the outter lead-out of a record. It's usually a very cryptic series of letters and numbers; sometimes hand written, sometimes stamped. You can use these to trace the pedigree of an album. It's like a unique identifier that tells you the source.
i just talked to my agent and the minimum rate is $30.00 per year.the value i put up was $10,000.00.it increases as the value goes above that.your also right about one other thing,it's great to have your collection cataloged.PS.mine is up for sale.mostly rock i bought since Apr 1961.i need to liquidate since i'm snowbirding nowdays.
Thanks for this information. I've got a fairly decent LP collection myself, and I'm insured with State Farm. I'll have to check it out. I have been enjoying several of your videos tonight. You've got wonderfully eclectic taste and a great music room! I've been doing a few videos of some of my records during the past few months. If you have any interest in checking those out, please do! Meanwhile, I look forward to catching more of yours.
I have a fair amount of experience in appraising collections for insurance, divorce etc and I would point out that just because a company will write a policy for your collection, that doesn't mean that they'll pay out if something happens to your records. Don't be surprised if they start disputing your figures, asking for additional documentation etc.
Great video man. Some time ago, I was thinking about the same thing about my vinyl collection, but then I just thought : even if I insure it for the value, it would take another lifetime to recollect all of my vinyls, if I would EVER even find them again....the cash I would have would be of "no value" to me, so I just don't insure them...
I know what you mean. Matter of fact, at first I was just going to select the Lps I wanted to cover the most and not worry about some of my dollar bin records and things like that but decided to do them all. You can always just pick the ones you want to cover and add on as you go. They really don't care about pressing. The just want the value of the record.....which In term automatically covers the value of an early pressing. Great to hear from you!!
This is great stuff! There is a software package that will also catalog your vinyl for you called Collectorz. It is very easy to enter your existing collection. Just a few key strokes and mouse clicks. Then you can export it into excel. It took me about 3 days to do about 1500 albums. I'm going to call my insurance company now to get my collection insured. I had no idea there was anything like that.
im doing a simlar thing with my cd collection using excel but its just as a catalogue for them not for insurance but am going to be digging out my lp collection shortly to transfer to cd so will be doing a similar listing with it
Great vid. I found the coverage price quoted interesting. Just $30?? My collection is over 3000 LPs & 2000 7". About 15 years (yep, 15, I remember where I was living & the computer used the old 3" disc!) I started a spreadsheet with CAT#, Label, Year, Country of Issue, Artist, Title, Notes, Price I paid & Cost To Replace. I only just finished it last month. OK, I took a break but when I really knuckled down to get it done, the file was originally called (my name) LP-45 List Oct 2003 - 8 years!
This is why when I started collecting almost 10 years ago, I started cataloging my collection in the discogs database. So anytime I grab a few records I add them to my database.
I like your database idea. I've been putting my collection into excel using a visual-basic data entry window I wrote. It just sits on my desktop so I can add records quickly by just clicking the icon. Then, when I click the exit button, it sorts all the records in the file by artist name, album name, and closes the program. Call me a record collector. Call me a geek. I answer to both. :-)
@Lacasal I put down the actual value of the record, not how much I paid for it or the Goldmine value. In my data base I only put actually values including the depreciated value if the lp is not in near mint condition. That is the value that will be covered by the policy. Hope that helps out!
@mrhoffame Congratulations on you MASSIVE record collection. It is really a killer one! Glad to know that someone listens to so much varied music.. Did you price the records (for the insurance company) using sites like popsike.com or something like that? Is there somewhere else you find prices except ebay auctions?I am asking because some almanac books I've came across seem to have different pricing on records than the auctions listed on popsike...
Although it might be impossible to re-create an exhaustive collection, especially rarities- having a check to cover at least some of the loss would buy a few beers to cry into! Thanks for this intelligent and helpful post- And I do hope you never have to use that policy! :D
@RnDnproductions I use a goldmine book I have as well as looking at what things sell for on the net. I have been to a lot of record stores and shows and have looked at things on the net for hours on end. I think the best marker for the value of an album is what 5 or 6 of them have sold for on the net. After all they are really only worth what someone would pay. Take Care
Wow that's a great idea! I've never even thought about having my vinyl insured. I've got a couple questions. Did statefarm take your word on the value of the vinyl or did they actually look it up as well, also, what did you use to set the value of your vinyl? I've also made an excel spreadsheet Listing the Artist, Title of album, Year (also if it was original or Reissue), CAT #, country issue, and value. I took the mean price of 20 copies of the same record...
Thanks man. I'll be looking into getting my vinyl covered soon. It's a shame they don't cover CD's as well; some of my CD's are worth more than the cars in the parking lot below me.
nice video! it's quite interesting that the insurance doesn't cover cd's! anyway, I did such a list myself but without the value of the vinyl. so it's basically a list for myself - i also added the size of the records, number of records (you know, double-lp, triple, etc.) and the label on which it was released.
love the vinyl have a collection my self not as big as yrs,i have about 700 but i guess you got start some where.how long u been a collector.would love to come over and rock out.nice collection
Hi there! Great advice...where did you get the racks to store your vinyl? Were they custom made or can they be purchased? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
sweet ! great idea my home owners is with state farm im ganna call them just to see what kind of reaction i get when i tell them i want to insure my vinyl collection : ) btw where did you come up with the priceing for your records ? im sure you know there almost like stocks the way they fluctuate. later
Thanks so much for that video reminder! You are absolutely right! I've started to inventory in Excel several times but then dropped the ball. And I have thousands of records, a huge task but so important. BTW, don't forget to backup your database files (:->
