What's the best way to turn DVDs into cash?

December 31, 2010 6:50 AM

What's the best way to get rid of my DVD collection in the UK?

I'm looking to get rid of approximately 150 DVDs, including a number of boxsets, and I'd like to make a bit of cash from them (between £0.75 and £1.25 per item is the figure I expect, any more is a bonus), without too much in the way of hassle. The obvious option is eBay, but I'm looking to find out if anyone has had any other experiences with others such as Amazon and Playtrade? Also, sneaking in another question... as hassle is something I'm keen to avoid, any advice on whether I should do this as a job lot and if so how many etc would be gratefully received.

Also... I know that there have been a few questions like this before, but none so far as I can tell about the UK, and none specifically mentioning options other than eBay.

Cheers in advance for your help.

posted by dougrayrankin to Grab Bag (8 answers total)

I doubt it's the best way but my wife recently got fed up with our old CD and DVD collections collecting dust in the attic and has been using Music Magpie. They seem to be a bit like those "cash for your old mobile phone" type places. I'd usually be hesitant to recommend such a thing but she has received cheques from them and it's been OK so far.
posted by wackybrit at 7:07 AM on December 31, 2010

Just had a look at Music Magpie, and they seem quite strict on the condition of the DVDs, and that they must have any original booklet included etc. They also offer a rather paltry £0.30 per DVD...
posted by dougrayrankin at 7:29 AM on December 31, 2010

In years past I dumped a bunch at Computer Exchange; very straightforward people, easy to deal with but picky. They know what sells and what doesn't and they won't buy in bulk.

I've also moved a fair number via eBay's DVD lot, bundling 25 together into a sealed no questions asked packages. Moves fast at a low price, but if you're looking to dump (as I was) its fine. Alternatively you can group product together by actor / genre / etc and move smaller or larger numbers together in an effort to maximise revenue. I've done this as well, but your stock will be leaving slower.

Lately I've taken to donating media to Oxfam, so if you'd just like to be rid of the stuff and don't the cash they're good folks.
posted by Mutant at 7:38 AM on December 31, 2010

Lately I've taken to donating media to Oxfam, so if you'd just like to be rid of the stuff and don't the cash they're good folks.

When I gave to Oxfam, they asked me if I wanted to let them keep the profit or if I wanted it less an administration fee. Maybe you could take ask them.
posted by I_pity_the_fool at 8:23 AM on December 31, 2010

Amazon Marketplace is a good idea for your highest return on good condition discs. Easy to list if you have access to a barcode scanner. Problematic in that your customer's will expect Amazonian customer service and some discs will take months to sell. The cheaper stuff ie some Friends single discs struggle to sell at 1p. and are best consigned to MusicMagpie. They will end up on Amazon Marketplace listed by zoverstocks.
Sending your discs via second class post gets them to your customer at the same speed as first class.
posted by Dr.Pill at 8:34 AM on December 31, 2010

I've sold nearly an entire collection of books and CDs via Amazon and eBay. My experience is probably heavily influenced by the types of material I was unloading (for example, a lot of books that would either go for 1p or rare, niche things that should get a high price when that rare someone finally shows an interest). My general experience was that Amazon was much more hassle than eBay for less return.

The main reason was what Dr Pill said: people buying via Amazon expect Amazon-level service, ie next-day-shipping. Amazon orders dribbled in, and I spent many lunch breaks waiting in the post office to send 1-2 items. Return per item may have been higher, but it was draining a lot of my spare time to get that extra bit. I much preferred selling things via eBay so I could get rid of everything with only 1-2 scheduled visits to the post office per week, and know that it would all be done with by a set date. I listed everything individually first, and only after that did I take the pile of unsold items and sort them into lots.

I would never consider selling via Amazon again for little things (like the DVDs you're talking about). Only for something reasonably rare/pricey that would make it worth sacrificing a lunch break at the post office on short notice.
posted by K.P. at 9:36 AM on December 31, 2010

Well, in today's day and age people usually think of eBay and Amazon Marketplace, but there's no reason you can't set up your own website, just sticking to the bare basics and getting it listed on Google. That way you can set your own rules, like listing them at £1 each with a £20 minimum on orders to make it worth your while. Since with old DVDs there's often no real rush to unload them, this might be the way to go and you can learn a little about running a bare basics website to boot. I did this with a tiny DVD trading website a couple of years ago, and it took a couple of months to gain traction but I was really pleased with the results. People were landing there through Internet searches and I finished up the project after about a year.
posted by crapmatic at 10:03 AM on December 31, 2010

Cash Converters? They'd probably give you close to what you'd get on ebay, and you wouldn't have the associated costs/hassles of posting etc. Just don't look too desperate when you go in :)
posted by mudkicker at 11:30 AM on December 31, 2010