Once all the records had been pulled and reviewed and the duplicates processed, all that remained was the sorting.
There were certain records that I knew had to go to Strictly Discs. This is NOT where the Pat Benatar album ended up. This comprised a box full of what I would call “in-great-shape-tasty-records” and that I thought would be of some value. At least enough that made it worth carrying the heavy box.
That’s it on the floor.
One standard size Menards 14 x 14 box. Stuffed.
The rest went into 2 piles.
Pile on the left was destined for Half-Price books. These were the Pat Benatar and good records with condition issues. Likely purchased from there years ago. I wasn’t expecting much from this pile, but I knew Strictly Discs wouldn’t want them.
Pile on the right was the Frugal Muse pile. These were some lesser know titles, but in good condition that I wanted to take to my favorite book store. I knew they would be able to sell these. The Ali Akbar Khan I bought from there, steered me towards Ravi Shankar. Thanks guys!
If you’ve never been to Frugal Muse and you live in the Madison area, go check it out. Books. My other vice.
I loaded all the records in the car and went on a drive to all 3 record stores.
Strictly Discs went well. I shopped a bit while waiting for Angie to go through them. My purchases have become very fraught with self control these days. I see something and grab it, then start asking myself questions. It’s a necessary process so that I don’t end up with a car full of records to sell, again. By the time my offer was in, I had 1 used record and 3 new in my pile, and still walked away with over a hundred in credit. It was a good offer and the reason I go to Strictly Discs. Good selection and good prices and new used stuff coming in all the time.
Half-Price books was more of an unknown. I have brought records there before and walked away thinking I should have just given them away. Not always a great experience. This day however I seemed to hit the store at the right moment and I got a really good offer. I did get a used record there, but still walked out with almost $80 in cash.
Frugal Muse was the last stop and I knew that whatever they offered me that day I was going to take it. I love this store and shopped around while they were checking them out. I walked out with 4 books and about $30. Not bad.
So, in all it was a few weeks of scrutiny and self-reflection on why I collect records, which records I collect and what I really want to collect in the future. It’s not always easy, but the experience has taught me how to cull my selection before bringing them home. Hopefully avoiding another such need for culling, but, I also learned that as collectors our motivations for collecting and sometimes our taste affect our collections. That happens, and it’s organic, but you don’t always have to KEEP that Pat Benatar album that you know you will never play despite being excited to find it in the first place.
Sometimes you can come across a record, enjoy looking at it, reminisce, and then leave it there and save your money for that record that isn’t there, but you REALLY want.
My 2023 Culling is complete. Whew!
The Aural Retentive 