Where's the best place to sell reel to reel tapes?

[PatrickJohns]

Dear All,

Apologies upfront if I am breaking any rules by posting here - it is not my intention. Paul, please do move this to the correct section if this is not it. Thanks!

My uncle died recently was an avid collector of reel to reel tapes. Many were used to record classical music concerts (LOTS of Wagner!) but some (c17) are unused and a few still wrapped up.

I'm an ex-BBC Radio producer, and although tapes were still being used when I joined (2001), they were phased out soon after, so my knowledge of tapes is scant.

My query is really this: where is the best place to sell these? A couple of obvious websites spring to mind, but I hate the thought of them going for a few quid when they might be worth a lot more.

There are over 70 tapes by many different brands including TDK, Maxell, Agfa, Scotch, Gee, Ampex, Veritone, Basf, Shamrock, Audua, Emitape and New International Electronics.

I hope I am not breaking the rules of this forum by asking this question. If I am, then apologies.

Very best wishes to you all,

Patrick

[paulsherwin]

Ebay is as good a place to sell as any. You will probably get the best price if you take the trouble to sell them in small quantities.

You need to weed out any tapes suffering from sticky shed syndrome. The Japanese tapes will probably be fine, as will BASF stuff, but anything American is highly suspect. Sticky shed tapes should go straight in the bin unless they contain unique copies of important recordings.

The good ones won't be worth a fortune, maybe £2-£5 each if you're lucky. There is a market for them though.

[ben]

Originally Posted by PatrickJohns

many different brands including TDK, Maxell, Agfa, Scotch, Gee, Ampex, Veritone, Basf, Shamrock, Audua, Emitape and New International Electronics.

The highlighted brands above are the budget types, but do check the spools as the tape may not be the same as the box.

As has been said, Ampex and some Scotch can go sticky with time and if that is the case, sell for re-use of the spools and boxes. Shamrock is the all time worst, reputedly reject Ampex stock and they have widespread sticky shed.

Agfa, BASF and EMI are generally the most stable.

What is the source of the content? If they're original/ live recordings then there may be interest from collectors. If they're just tapes made from commercial releases/from records or the radio, content is not likely to be valuable.
HTH!

[PatrickJohns]

Dear gents,

Thank you very much for your help and suggestions.

The recordings themselves are mainly from the radio. Many just list pieces and composers, but many have cuttings from the Radio Times. My intention was not to advertise them as recordings of interest but just to note that they'd been used.

There are loads of Agfa and quite a few BASF too. Only one Shamrock

Thanks for your tips too re selling individually or in small groups. I'll re-take all the photos. I did them today but as a large group.

£2-£5 x 70 is better than a kick in the teeth, so that's not bad!

One last question, if I may: are brand new (well, unused, not "new") tapes worth significantly more than used ones? Not meant to be a silly question, honest!

Thanks again - I really appreciate it!

[paulsherwin]

Of the tapes that you list, the Maxell and TDK/Audua tapes are likely to sell well because they are known not to have SS problems and work well with common 1970s Japanese domestic hifi decks. There are a number of BASF and Agfa formulations, some of which are more popular than others. As has been said, beware of tape on the 'wrong' manufacturer's spools - this is more likely where the tape trailer (usually red) is on the outside rather than the leader. Sometimes the formulation is printed repeatedly on the back of the tape.

Unused tape will fetch a little more than lightly used tape, but you must open any sealed tape and confirm that no SS is present. If you don't state that you've done this then buyers will be suspicious. Apart from this, condition is the biggest factor.

[Radio Wrangler]

There hasn't been any mention of spool sizes yet and that has a bearing on prices.

Empty spools fetch worthwhile prices, especially if they are metal ones so even if the tape is spoiled you should offer the spool and box (with the tape removed!)

Take a photo of each and every reel for use in the auction. Show the reel, leader tape bag and box if you can compose the shot.

David

[paulsherwin]

Indeed, I've been assuming these are bog standard 7" domestic spools of SP or LP tape, but if they are big metal NAB reels they'll be worth a lot more - even the empty reels fetch high prices. The smaller domestic sizes (5.75" or smaller) will attract less interest but will probably still sell at the right price.

[PatrickJohns]

Gents,

Thank you very much! Excellent tips and advice.

Most of them (c.50) are 7", but quite a few (c.20) are 10.5", some with metal spools (see pics). There are a few which seem to be smaller too - I'd need to check the exact sizes.

In fact, I was about to chuck two 10.5" metal spools without tape, but maybe I'll try to sell them too now.

Your advice is hugely appreciated - many thanks!

Patrick

[Michael Maurice]

The Shamrock, International and Ampex tapes would be suspect, the TDK and Maxel should be OK, the Agfa is quite a nice tape (well I like them)

I may be interested in the Agfa's.

[paulsherwin]

Searching eBay completed listings for 'nab tape' shows that empty spools sell for £5-£15, occasionally more. This was a pro/semipro format so they tend to be loaded with old Ampex professional formulations which are particularly prone to SS. Enthusiasts buy the empty spools then load them with multiple 7" spools of other types spliced together.

[Nickthedentist]

Do list the contents of each reel if selling on eBay, as there are people who might find your archive recordings fascinating.

Nick.

[paulsherwin]

Sometimes there is interest in old Prom recordings from the 60s and 70s, as the BBC haven't always retained a copy and they are sometimes first performances of signature pieces on which careers were subsequently built. Most off air performances of classical music are of little interest though.

It certainly does no harm to list the contents of course.

[Nickthedentist]

Originally Posted by paulsherwin

Most off air performances of classical music are of little interest though.

That's true in most instances, but there are some people (me included) who find some old recordings fascinating. Live performances by artists before they became well-known, for instance, and even the Radio 3 continuity announcers have a cult following, e.g. http://andywalmsley.blogspot.co.uk/2...nnouncers.html

Nick

[Radio Wrangler]

I agree with Michael, PEM368 is one of my favourites. And I have a lot of TDK Audua which is still in fine condition.

You've got some good value there, even the boxes are sellable.

David

[WreckTangle]

The other defect to check for is the presence of any white mould. This can occur if the tapes have been stored in humid conditions such as an outbuilding or even a loft. This is even more pernicious than sticky shed syndrome because it can spread to other tapes. Affected tapes/reels will have no resale value and should be binned unless they contain valuable recordings in which case they should be carefully quarantined well away from other tapes pending careful salvage.

[Radio Wrangler]

One other factor, Patrick, is that decent quality tape recorders get adjusted to optimise them for one chosen tape formulation. This means that most people using recorders seriously will be very keen on finding some more of that particular type. So if you make up lots for auction, don't mix types.

Very serious recorders have variable bias and equalisation, settable from the control panel so they can handle almost anything optimally. But they are relatively rare and expensive beasts. That said, the owners will be keen on types they already know the settings for.

David

[PatrickJohns]

Dear chaps,

Many thanks again for your help an advice, and sorry for the sudden silence... I'm trying to organise a wedding, deal with a teething baby and also write 250 reports at school before Friday! I wouldn't want you to think I'm ungrateful.

I shall follow your advice and will advertise them individually, or at least within size/type/make and will do my very best to identify all conditions.

Annoyingly, the 70 I have are merely the ones I could salvage. At least another 70 or so were binned due to the speed with which we had to empty my late uncle's house.

All his 78s and LPs had to go too. Hundreds of perfectly catalogued classical music magazines (Grammophone, etc.) from the early 50s onwards too... I tried to sell them but to no avail. I got 99p for about 50 magazines and that was that.

We do have an ancient old record player (Phillips I think) which I may pick your brains on at some stage.

And interesting about the Radio 3 presenters! In fact, Radio 3 is where I worked, so I'm very familiar with some of those names, and indeed worked with a few of them!

Anyway, I'm rambling now. Many thanks once again, and if it's not inappropriate Paul, I'll let folks here know when everything's up online.

Very best wishes, and thanks again,

Patrick

PS A photo for your amusement...

[paulsherwin]

The loss of the records is a great pity, as many classical releases from the 50s and 60s have never been reissued on CD and some are highly prized by collectors. However, house clearance is always a pretty brutal process and inevitably things get skipped which shouldn't have been.

The 'ancient old record player' is likely to have a significant value. There is a huge craze for 50s and 60s record players at present.

The Marvin recreation has been discussed here previously: https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...d.php?t=105034