The Value of a CD

So I'm a DJ. I have a lot of CD's. I take good care of my CD's. You'd think they would be worth a reasonable amount for trade-in. I found that to be an incorrect assumption.

I had an interesting experience at Graywhale Entertainment today. I recently organized my CD collection and took out ones that I don't want/need anymore. I called Graywhale to find out the average amount they give for used CD's. The employee politely informed me that it depends on the CD and it can range from 5 cents to $8. I decided it was definitely worth a shot, especially due to the popularity of the CD's I was giving up. So I drive down there and walk in with a shoebox full of 51 CD's. The employee tells me it will take her awhile to inspect the discs and determine the value. So I browse around the store for about 30 minutes. I'm enjoying my exploration of their inventory when the employee calls me over and says, "Alright I'm done, it looks like we can give you $28 for your CD's." My jaw honestly dropped in shock. I asked her if she was serious and she looked at me like duh are you stupid? She then explained to me that almost all of my CD's would have to be resurfaced and that they had a large amount of those titles already on hand, that's why the trade-in value was so low. I found this ridiculous because the CD's are in great, working condition and I had just browsed through their entire used inventory and found maybe 4 or 5 duplicates of CD's I brought. I told her no way, packed up my CD's and I was out of there.

Back in the good old days you could take a used CD to Wherehouse Music and they would easily give you $4 for an average CD. It's amazing to me how the value of a CD has completely disappeared. It makes me sad. The internet has taken over the industry. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the ability to get on iTunes and buy a great song from a horrible album for 99 cents but it's got to the point where that's all people do. What happened to desiring the actual physical CD? The experience of struggling to remove the wrapping, gently putting the disc in your car CD player and jamming out to your new purchase while looking through the album artwork and credits is priceless to me! Does anyone do that anymore? It's the ONLY way I do it. I thrive on seeing the hard work the artist put into the project and the uniqueness of every CD. When artists record an album they have a vision of their work. They have images, thoughts, ideas that inspired their songs and they want to share that with their fans. This is what I get out of the physical CD. It's how the artist expresses their love for their work.

I miss those days when I wasn't the only one. I always have and always will support the CD industry. Hopefully the digital option will NEVER be the only option.