My friend Brenda, expert eBay seller and movie reviewer, has graciously provided this guest post. Thank you, Brenda, for sharing your expertise!
"Where can I sell my used video tapes?" is a question I read frequently online. People have invested their money in a collection of movies that they want to part with now because they have moved on to DVD. It is hard telling them that there is no market for videotapes.
That is, there is no market for most videotapes. There is a market for some VHS video tapes, and a quick peek at recent eBay statistics revealed these interesting sales:
• A copy of Good-bye, My Lady with Sidney Poitier and Walter Brennan sold for $97.97 plus shipping.
• A copy of Alice Cooper’s The Nightmare (not The Nightmare Returns) sold for $81.49 plus shipping.
• A copy of A Time To Live starring Corey Haim and Liza Minnelli sold for $66.00 plus shipping.
• Welcome to Pooh Corner tapes sold for between $32 and $100 plus shipping or an average price of $52.55 plus shipping.
If you want to sell VHS video tapes, you will have to be careful because you are right, the bulk of video cassettes are worth nothing…not even fifty cents at a garage sale. My quick peek revealed not only those tapes shown above that sold for a good price but also listing after listing of VHS tapes that are not sold, and probably never will be.
The most important rule of thumb is that once a video is on DVD the videotape is no longer of interest to anyone. The tapes listed above all have that in common. NONE of them have ever been issued on DVD.
If you are a seller, you will have to decide how you will guarantee used videotapes. All of my videos are tested and fully guaranteed. I would not buy anything on eBay that is not fully guaranteed so neither would I sell anything without guaranteeing it and yes, there is a fair bit of risk with a used videotape. However, I am sure that this guarantee makes it easier for someone to spend what is a significant amount of money on a used videotape.
If you are a buyer (and even if you are a seller), I recommend you read my page Rare VHS Tapes ~~ A Collector's Guide to Videotapes, which will give you more to think about if you are buying tapes as well as guidelines on how to properly care for and preserve the tapes you already own.
There is the chance, I suppose, that some of those tapes listed above could be issued on DVD. If that happens, it will instantly render the VHS tape valueless, which is exactly what happened with Barbra Streisand's Yentl now that the DVD is available. However, it is also quite possible that these movies will NEVER be released on DVD or any other format.
In 2009, Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle reported that only 50 percent of films that were on VHS have been transferred to DVD. That leaves a large number of movies only available on videotape...the challenge for eBay sellers is in identifying the valuable ones.
Brenda
eBay name: treasuresbybrenda
eBay Store: Treasures By Brenda
Rare VHS Tapes ~~ A Collector's Guide to Videotapes
Brenda's blog: Music & Movie Treasures by Brenda
That is, there is no market for most videotapes. There is a market for some VHS video tapes, and a quick peek at recent eBay statistics revealed these interesting sales:
• A copy of Good-bye, My Lady with Sidney Poitier and Walter Brennan sold for $97.97 plus shipping.
• A copy of Alice Cooper’s The Nightmare (not The Nightmare Returns) sold for $81.49 plus shipping.
• A copy of A Time To Live starring Corey Haim and Liza Minnelli sold for $66.00 plus shipping.
• Welcome to Pooh Corner tapes sold for between $32 and $100 plus shipping or an average price of $52.55 plus shipping.
If you want to sell VHS video tapes, you will have to be careful because you are right, the bulk of video cassettes are worth nothing…not even fifty cents at a garage sale. My quick peek revealed not only those tapes shown above that sold for a good price but also listing after listing of VHS tapes that are not sold, and probably never will be.
The most important rule of thumb is that once a video is on DVD the videotape is no longer of interest to anyone. The tapes listed above all have that in common. NONE of them have ever been issued on DVD.
If you are a seller, you will have to decide how you will guarantee used videotapes. All of my videos are tested and fully guaranteed. I would not buy anything on eBay that is not fully guaranteed so neither would I sell anything without guaranteeing it and yes, there is a fair bit of risk with a used videotape. However, I am sure that this guarantee makes it easier for someone to spend what is a significant amount of money on a used videotape.
If you are a buyer (and even if you are a seller), I recommend you read my page Rare VHS Tapes ~~ A Collector's Guide to Videotapes, which will give you more to think about if you are buying tapes as well as guidelines on how to properly care for and preserve the tapes you already own.
There is the chance, I suppose, that some of those tapes listed above could be issued on DVD. If that happens, it will instantly render the VHS tape valueless, which is exactly what happened with Barbra Streisand's Yentl now that the DVD is available. However, it is also quite possible that these movies will NEVER be released on DVD or any other format.
In 2009, Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle reported that only 50 percent of films that were on VHS have been transferred to DVD. That leaves a large number of movies only available on videotape...the challenge for eBay sellers is in identifying the valuable ones.
Brenda
eBay name: treasuresbybrenda
eBay Store: Treasures By Brenda
Rare VHS Tapes ~~ A Collector's Guide to Videotapes
Brenda's blog: Music & Movie Treasures by Brenda
Order the Be Kind - Rewind t-shirt here
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