Vinyl disaster at my folks home

ND13

We woke up this morning at my parents to find that the water heater had sprung a leak and all my, my brother's, and my parents LPs are damaged .

I'm sure the vinyl itself will be fine, but the covers and sleeves are all but ruined on most.

What should we do? We're going to catalogue all of them by Artist, title, condition, and press date. Alot were first pressings . Some were even autographed copies that can never be replaced. I guess a call to the insurance adjuster will be in order, but we need to find out what they are worth, first. Where can we get values at? If anyone can help out, it'll be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Noel

Schris22

ouch that sucks.

I can't help you in values...=(

Sorry for the loss,

Chris

madmax

Ebay listings under "completed" or BIN would be reasonable. Also, search the record sellers such as Acoustic Sounds, amusic direct etc. Sorry, I don't have a list of LP sellers as I should have. For signed ones you could look up other lp's with signitures and get a ballpark.

It is my experience that your agent will be primarily interested in whether you are being being upfront or not. If he believes you are then there will be no hassle, he will just use your list. Make SURE that the lesser ones show a lesser price and previously damaged or worthless ones be listed with a value of zero or almost nothing.

Now for the lecture: What the hell were they doing in a place where they could be damaged?!!!!

madmax


Edit: Oh yea, make sure you list the previous condition of the LP and also the cover seperately. You know, M, NM,VG, etc... Also date, numbers etc. The better the list the better the coverage. It can either look like a cheap pile of old records or a well documented collection of fine recordings. There will be a big difference.

Spawndn72

If the insurance company pays the claim, won't they want what is left of the collection? Kinda like you don't get your car back after they total it.

TroyD

Unless they were insured as a collection, the insurance company won't give you dick.

Salvage the vinyl, do your best to dry out the covers. Purchase new sleeves and some plastic storage bins.

BDT

unc2701

They won't care what they were worth unless you've got some that could be documented as being worth more than a couple hundred (very hard to do since record value is somewhat dependent on the cover condition, which is now ruined). You might be able to get $2-$3 each, if you're lucky.

Take out the vinyl and lay the covers flat on something that they won't stick to. If they stick, the printed cover will peel off the stiff cardboard that makes up the sleeve. Good luck.

shack

TroyD is probably right. Not only is it going to be nearly impossible to place a value on just the covers and sleeves...even if you could value them, most insurance companies would consider them collectables and collectables are covered by a separate rider. In order to get a collectable rider you must have documented proof at the time of insurance of their worth as most collectable insurance is for a stated value...not "market".

ND13

Thanks for all the replies. We're just going to salvage what we can, as far as the covers go, and put the vinyl in new sleeves and plastic covers. The music is what's important. They weren't being kept to ever sell anyways.

My father doesn't want to make a claim. Water damage claims are usually have a low maximum payout, like my policy which is $5k after deductible. I know, because I'm in the middle of a flood claim, now.

So we'll just have to live without a few of the covers that were seriously soaked .