I ask this because there seems to be wide variation in how much people want for LDs on craigslist. I have so far amassed a collection of 200 discs buying all locally but 2, and I've rarely paid more than $2 for a movie. In fact if its a lot I really don't want to pay more than $1 a movie. As of recently (past month) I have ran into some sellers that have made me question whether I'm just cheap and lucky, or they are crazy. I've ran into sellers selling large lots on craigslist at very high starting prices, and their negotiated prices are still $5 to $6 per disc. Now there are a few rarer ones in the lots, but most of them seem to by typical nothing special discs. Example, one guy was trying to sell 1600 discs. Unless he was willing to cut me a hella unrealistic deal I wasn't planning on buying so many. However I wanted to know how much he was looking for, figuring it would start at 1600 for the full lot. To my shock he wanted $9000 for the lot, and was totally unwilling to piece out a single disc. All or nothing.

A second example is this one: http://baltimore.craigslist.org/emd/2673927969.html Maybe I'm wrong, and maybe this is worth $1000, but I doubt it.

A third example would be a guy with 51 DISCS (not movies) that wanted $400. Here is the list:

Abyss, Special Edition, Widescreen Collector's, 3, Ed Harris, 1988-85
Alien, Stereo Extended Play, 1, Sigorney Weaver, 1090-80
Alien 3, Widescreen, 1, Sigorney Weaver, 5593-85
Aliens, Widescreen, 4, Sigorney Weaver, 1504-85
Apollo 13, Letterboxed, 2, Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, CLV 42580
Beetlejuice, 1, Michael Keaton, 11785
Die Hard, Widescreen, 2, Bruce Willis, 1666-80
Dragon Heart, Signature, 3, Dennis Quaid, CAV 42968
Interview with the Vampire, Vampire Chronicles, 2, Tom Cruise, 13176
Jurassic Park, Letterboxed, 3, Sam Nell, Laura Dern, CAV 41830
Speed, ultimate big screen, 1,
Star Trek II, the Wrath of Khan, Widescreen, 1, Shatner, Nimoy, LV 1180 WS
Star Trek III, the Search for Spock, Widescreen, 1, Shatner, Nimoy, LV 1621 WS
Star Trek IV, the Voyage Home, Widescreen, 2, Shatner, Nimoy, LV 12883 WS
Star Trek VI, Undiscovered Cntry, Widescreen, 1, Shatner, Nimoy, LV 32301 WS
Star Trek, First Contact, Widescreen, 1, Patrick Stewart, LV 332433 WS
Star Trek, Generations, Widescreen, 2, Shatner, LV 32988 2WS
Star Trek, the Final Frontier, Widescreen, 1, Shatner, Nimoy, LV 32044 WS
Star Wars Trilogy, Definitive CollectioWidescreen Collector' s, 9, Lucas Book, The Creative Impulse 0693-84
Stargate, Widescreen, 2, Kurt Russell, LD 60190 WS
The 3 Tenors, 1, Dominto, Pavarotti, Carreras, 508226
The Mind's Eye, computer animation odyssey, 1, 8530MM
The Princess Bride, Criterion, 1, Cary Elves, Mandy Patinkin, G5160518
The Terminator, Widescreen Collector's, 1, Schwarzenegger, 2940 NSO
Terminator 2, Judgement Day, Special, 3, Schwarzenegger, PSE 82997-6 WS
Total Recall , Widescreen Collector's, 1, Schwarzenegger, LV 68901 WS
While You Were Sleeping, Letterboxed, 1, Sandra Bullock, 5396 AS

I talked with him a little to see if I could get him in the range of normal. After quote a bit of negotiation I ended up offering him $180 for the lot which he would only agree to sell to me without the Star Wars Trilogy so I declined. Honestly I felt like $180 was too high.

This guy has since lowered his asking price to $200.

So you tell me, and I just some cheap kid, or are these seller crazy?

They're crazy. I can understand wanting to recoup some of their vast investment in a now dead technology, but $6 is asking too much for a run of the mill typical LD. Hardly any of the LDs in those collections were rare, and most of those movies are now out on DVD or Blu-ray. One can get the DVD used for $6, and some of the Blu-rays are selling at $10 on Amazon, so a little reality check might be in order for those sellers.

There are always sellers & buyers. IMHO Sellers always place a higher value on items than buyers. So I usually go with the buyers or .... whatever the item closed for cash money on eBay. Why flea bay? Because I can easily look up the latest closing auction prices on my computer terminal.

My price (keep in mind, I'm very frugal) is $1 to $2 per LD for standard issues that are common. By common I infer non-collectable LD(s) ... Collectable LD(s) ... [from my perspective] would include ... Criterion's, Signature Collection, Gate-fold, Special Editions, Cinema Disc, rare issues, box sets ... etc.

Criterion's ... Cinema Disc ... Box sets ... $5 and up.
Signature Collection ... Gate-fold(s) ... $3 and up.
Rare items ... it just depends on how often I see it and what price it closes at on average ... really varies.

As far as lots ... I stay away from them, because I am selective on what movies I want to own. If I purchase lots ... I end up with too many movies that I don't want.

When I get to cherry pick I dont mind paying 5 bucks a disc. I check here and on ebay before I buy anything. I just spend 100 dollars on 20 discs. There are worth a combined 500 dollars here. So, in that case, I dont mind. If I am looking at something and I see something worth money, as in 30 plus I dont mind. I paid 500 dollars for 50 discs once, though the cheapest disc in the lot was robinson cruso on mars, mint. They averaged 50 to 100 dollars a disc, so I said heck yes. For trash like you saw, I sell for 1 dollar each and 25 dollar shipping for 50 discs. Here is an example of what I have for 50 bucks right now. If anyone has Jurassic park or Aliens and for sale and wants 5 bucks each I decline and go elsewhere. If there isnt something worth serious cash in something like that, just say no.




The English Patient

Empire of the Sun

The Running Man

Untamed Heart

The Godfather

Crazy People

Wild at Heart

Point of No Return

La Femme Nikita

Fatal Instinct

Manhattan Murder Mystery

Fantasia

Navy Seals

Species

The Mosquito Coast

Broadcast News

Air America

Star Trek 6

Interview with the Vampire

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Tequila Sunrise

First Strike

Two Moon Junction

Naked in New York

True Love

Peter Pan – Live Action

Michael

The Mind’s Eye

A Walk in the Clouds

Star Trek 4

Excalibur

Alien Nation

Stella

The Hunt for Red October

Alien 3

Star Trek Generations W/S

Star Trek Generations

Batman Forever

Star Trek First Contact

Bridge on the River Kwai

Hoosiers

2010

LadyHawke

Commando

The Enforcer

The Deceivers

The Bodyguard

Legends of the Fall

Bloodsport

Cyborg

Dragon the Bruce Lee Story

Look at the last 5 laserdisc lots listed on ebay and you will see, they are indeed smoking something very strong.

Chuck Legg has 1500 posted up CL http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/emd/2681170188.html I contacted him and he sent me the list, I went over it and picked out about 120. 'Sorry those are more than $1 discs' hmmm, oh well.

I'm of the same 'cheapness' very few movies are worth much "to me", I'm sure there are collectibles just like in any field. For my own enjoyment though they have to be rental price or less. I've bought CED's in bulk for around .30 a piece.....

I just paid $5 per disc for 24 PAL format discs I got from the UK. These are discs of film titles that were not released in the US on NTSC format. That $5 per disc price included shipping, which was the highest cost of the deal. The discs themselves came to about $1.60 each without shipping.

I'd have definitely paid more than $5 per disc for some of them, like The Neptune Disaster, Hands of the Ripper. Race with the Devil, and especially 99 & 44/100ths Percent Dead. The others maybe less, but I wan't unhappy with the deal, since I have the PAL/NTSC dual format player.

For those more common recent titles that go for $1 each, might as well keep them. The DVDs won't be any cheaper and some of them are really pretty good to watch with great soundtracks. Just get an AC3 player and a decoder.

If you go with the age old saying, something's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

I just bought 20 discs for $30 on eBay. Nothing rare, and I only bought it for 3 of the titles in the pack. But I'm also willing to go a little higher for singles that are on my wish list.

Okay this makes me feel better. I don't doubt that some discs command larger amounts than others, but these lots had nothing really special, except maybe the one with the Star Wars Definitive collection, which the guy insisted was worth $150 on its own.

To give some numbers, I recently bought a lot of 280 discs for $200 (I have to pick them up, shipping not included). And I bought about a 100 disc lot for $84 which did include shipping. There were no rare titles but a large number of GREAT movies. I am more interested in getting good movies than just hunting down a rare pressing for the hell of it. I know some people are really into getting the rare pieces and that's cool. They are going to pay a lot more on a per disc basis. It's all about getting enjoyment from the hobby so whatever floats your boat.

I just picked up 35 discs for 20 bucks, and only got them for the Robotech discs, lol. The rest are just going to be sold out as a lot.

So the guy in the last example I gave has decided to split up his lot.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/ ... 38035.html
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/ ... 21200.html
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/ ... 69273.html
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/ ... 57161.html

So for the record this guy started them out in a lot for $400, lowered them to $200, then split them up and raised them to $418.

Prices from antoher era ... 20$ for interview with the vampire

Ya, but it's *rare* gawd I hate that overused word I like this one better for humor ---> "Discs include:
Terminator 2-Judgement Day- The Special Edition-Director's Cut.This Disc has never been opened, still in original shrink wrap,and with James Cameron's history,
will most likely be a collector's item, this set is $20.00

Aliens-Special Widescreen Collector's Edition Multiple Disc Set-Again, may become a collector's item.$20.00" <----

Yep, and one day I may be a billionaire

Although the one i got an awesome collection today!