A Thought Experiment

Posted on by keepsmealive Posted in posts by aaronTagged

Ready? Of course you are.

Assume, given many priced below and above, therefore, an average price of $10 per item.

Include all items currently owned, as well as those you’ve sold off, given away, etc.

So the question is:

If you had back all of the money you’ve spent on your music collection in your lifetime, all in one go, today, how much money would you have?

Go! Drop a comment!

***

Myself? Let’s see… I know I bought my first tape when I was 10, and pretty much never looked back… switch to CD in high school… all these years of records and discs since… oh man… I could probably buy a nice mid-sized pick-up truck, brand new, right off the lot. Gotta be north of $35-40k. 

Damn, that’s sobering.

81 thoughts on “A Thought Experiment”

  1. Reply
    heff says:

    Wow…you can buy a nice new truck! For me, maybe a used minivan (5-8000). I am cheap and have been patient enough to wait for sales or used copies! Pretty cool to think about it though.

    Like

    1. Reply
      keepsmealive says:

      You know, in a while when my car finally dies (it’s 8 years old already), I am already working on my lovely wife to let me get another truck. I had one and I friggin’ loved it. Mind you, it was a 15-year-old big V8 with a 96L tank, so I don’t miss putting gas in it, but the utility of the vehicle cannot be beat. This time around I’m thinking a 6 with full cab so the kids can fit in too. Of course, I won’t be selling all my music to get one. That’d be silly…

      Also: Minivan? Hahaha DUDE DON’T DO IT. I heard that they take your man card when you buy one and you never see it again! I’d believe it!

      I fully agree with waiting for sales and bargain shopping. Man, that’s how I buy just about everything…

      Glad you had fun thinking about it. Thanks for your comment!

      Like

      1. Reply
        1537 says:

        Yup. Bear in mind, most of my stuff is vinyl and so I’m guessing at a higher per-item average spend than most folks too.

        No. It’d be a holiday cabin’s worth, I suspect.

        Like

        1. Reply
          keepsmealive says:

          Well, it would depend on how many you’ve ditched, over the years. Do the number of ditched records offset the higher price of the vinyls in your collection to keep the actual average price lower?

          Pfft holiday cabin. I’d rather have the records.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Reply
            1537 says:

            I’ve sold about £700 of 90s vinyl this year too. Nothing I’d want to keep but I can’t resist the prices for stuff I never really liked much.

            Like

              1. Reply
                1537 says:

                Nothing, it was obviously just the point where I was the only dweeb in town actually buying vinyl. I have never got rid of anything I wanted to keep though.

                Like

    1. Reply
      keepsmealive says:

      Yup, that’s an age-old, good one too. I remember in school, around Grade 5, our teacher did the math (in math class) showing how much it would cost to smoke a pack a day for a day, week, month, and year. It was pretty eye-opening.

      I wouldn’t tell anyone what to do with their lives, but if they asked me I’d tell them smoking is pretty damn silly (and dangerous) for all of the reasons we know too well already. A record collection, on the other hand, continues to give pleasure for years and won’t wreck your lungs or yellow your teeth!

      Thanks for your comment!

      Like

  6. Reply
    KamerTunesBlog (by Rich Kamerman) says:

    Yikes, this is a scary question. I was fortunate to find a lot of CDs & LPs at low prices from used record stores over the years, but I’ve also paid full price on just as many titles. Of course I’ve worked in the music industry for 30+ years so I’ve gotten a lot of free items as well. Keeping in mind the 200+ box sets in my collection, which increases the total number of discs, my amount is probably in the $100,000 range.

    I’ve often thought about what my financial situation might be if I wasn’t obsessed with music, but the additional money would be offset by a very boring life, so I have no regrets.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Reply
      keepsmealive says:

      Wowzers, yup, your average price number might change a wee bit, but it sounds like things would balance out in that ballpark anyway…

      200 boxed sets? I bow to your superior collecting abilities, Master Rich!

      Oh totally, it wasn’t meant to make people think about all that money over the years and then have regrets. Who could regret a kick-ass record collection? It’s just a thought experiment in the reality of owning that collection. 🙂

      Bruce at Vinyl Connection had a good point with insurance in mind. Do you have your collection documented accurately in case of disaster? Not a bad idea, if you don’t!

      Like

            1. Reply
              keepsmealive says:

              Hey thanks Vinnie! And I will get to all your posts I’ve missed. The holidays threw me way off schedule and I’ve missed a ton. Last night I got caught up on two bloggers’ posts, tonight another couple… I’ll get to yours in short order too… Promise! 🙂

              Liked by 1 person

              1. Reply
                vinnieh says:

                I know that feeling, adjusting after New Year can be hard and getting back in the swing. Slowly I’m getting back in the saddle, the blogging saddle that is.

                Like

                1. Reply
                  keepsmealive says:

                  Yup, exactly! I was digging through the hopper for post material, slapping stuff up and trying at least to comment on stuff on the KMA, but reading other peoples’ stuff fell by the wayside…

                  Liked by 1 person

                    3. keepsmealive says:

                      Oh believe me, I definitely enjoy many things about my life. It’s just so damn busy… a lot of it out of my control (family going in different directions, work). I get the feeling that if I slowed down and took it easy all the time, all the wheels would fall off! 🙂

                      Liked by 1 person

                    5. keepsmealive says:

                      Hm, balance… Balance in the Force, Obi Wan! Haha yeah I know. The problem is we’re juggling four people, one with a job out of town, and lots going on. We do get free time but only after the kids go to bed… Ach, don’t get me wrong. We’re having tons of fun. We knew life would be busy when we signed up to have kids, and we wouldn’t trade it for the world. Watching them grow and become themselves has been the most rewarding thing ever. I know that makes people who don’t want kids gag, but it’s the absolute truth. 🙂

                      Liked by 1 person

                    7. keepsmealive says:

                      You know, if/when you reach a point in your life where adding to your family is possible, it’s one of the coolest things ever. It’s also more work, worry and more work than you’ve ever done before. But it’s still one of the coolest things ever. If it’s what you want, as you say, I hope for you someday getting there!

                      Liked by 1 person

                    9. keepsmealive says:

                      Oh sure, Vinnie! I was just trying to phrase it in a way that didn’t sound like a lot of parents I’ve met, who say “OMG you need to have a kid it fulfills you completely, like, I didn’t even realize I was an incomplete person til we had this baby, etc etc!” or “My little snowflake is gonna take over the world…!” Etc etc. Haha man I’ve met some whackos. Even some who thought having a baby would save their damaged relationship… yup, nothing like sleepless nights and a crying baby to help patch things up! Oy vey.

                      I guess I was just thinking, too, about an article I read recently about how it costs, on average (in Canada) about $250,000 to raise a child to the age of 18. I thought holy crap! We have two kids! That’s half a million dollars! Yeesh! That’s another mortgage, and on a waaaaaay nicer house than we live in now!

                      Haha still totally worth it. Come at it from the real angle, which is love and connection, and you’ll raise wondeful people into your lives. So much fun! 🙂

                      Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      keepsmealive says:

      I know a lot of yours are the special editions, and from far away lands (even ignoring the costs of shipping), so that would add to the average price, probably. But then yeah, all the freebies and cheaper discs might balance it out. I just said $10 as an average…

      Whew. That’s a sobering final number, though, isn’t it! Daaaaaaamn!

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Reply
        mikeladano says:

        I read Rich’s answer and that that summed up my feelings perfectly.

        You also have to account for the CDs that are not here anymore because they’ve been upgraded. Hundreds upon hundreds of those.

        Like

        1. Reply
          keepsmealive says:

          Yeah, you’re constantly upgrading. The AAAA has seen benefit from this, for sure! 🙂

          I think when I set an average at $10, it was meant to take in even things like more expensive upgrades and removal of older copies… Spend $20 on an upgrade, give away a $10 disc… balance…

          Anyway, it’s probably impossible for any of us to put an exact number on any of it. And even if you tried, there’s inflation… I mean, I bought my fist tape in 1984…

          Ah well, it’s a fun mental exercise. I found that, if anything, it made me appreciate my collection even more!

          Liked by 1 person

  11. Reply
    80smetalman says:

    I need to think about this one for a moment. Of course, I would need enough to buy the albums I truly wanted but if I had too much money, I’d be buying albums for the sake of buying them.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Reply
    Sarca says:

    Um, I will say $5000. I know that sounds modest, but there was a time….in 2000…when I wore a pirate patch to get some music…
    Now, I have google music so I can listen to pretty music anything without pulling out a cd.

    Liked by 2 people

  13. Reply
    2loud2oldmusic says:

    That is scary. I am thinking maybe $15,000-$20,000 over a 30+ year period. Possibly more, but I used eBay a lot and could get cds for under $5 each and in the early 2000’s I would buy a cd they it came out and would burn it and then sell it on ebay and get most of my money back. When kids came I had to get creative.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      keepsmealive says:

      Oh yeah, man. Kids take ALL the monies! Diapers and food and clothes and all the everything else. Hooboy. Of course, wouldn’t trade it for the world. Nope no way not a chance.

      I became the Master Of Bargain Shopping, even before kids, but definitely after!

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Reply
    Vinyl Connection says:

    Oh, don’t go there, man. That way lies insanity. I once (many many years ago) worked out a sum for insurance purposes along the lines you suggest. It was sobering then…

    The only thing worse is working out how much you’ve spent on therapy.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Reply
      keepsmealive says:

      Insanity? THAT’S MY MIDDLE NAME! Hahaha

      Insurance purposes, that’s a great idea. All of us with large collections should accurately document all of our collections (with catalogue numbers) in case of house fire or disaster. It’d be a LOT of work, but I’m pretty sure that the person who is sitting behind the desk at the insurance office where it’s their job to try to not pay you doesn’t give af.

      The complete list should also be stored off-site, even in your email, or on a thumb drive in the glove box, or kept at a firend’s, or in a fire box or SOMETHING.

      Pro tips from Bruce at Vinyl Connection, folks! PRO TIPS!

      Liked by 1 person

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