(author) Most of them are in pretty rough shape, too. Covers disintegrating, warping, dust, etc. A couple are even cracked. That's why my current plan is to hang on to them, catalogue them, maybe give a few away to friends and family as birthday presents — and of course, if the rightful owners are ever found, return them. Selling them just seems like a really big hassle, honestly they'd have to be worth a few bucks apiece for me to consider dealing with all the logistics of it.
There's a company called Seamzeazy that sells adhesive sleeve repair patches, but they're fundamentally just creased cardstock with double-sided tape.[1]
Discogs is a decent and easy-enough resource for checking if any of them are notable. There are often etchings in the runout (the inner groove near the label) that you can search for on Discogs to identify specific pressings. You can also sell through Discogs, but it sounds like you're leaning toward keeping them and LA is full of local shops that would buy or take them.
A record clamp can mitigate warping without costing a ton, though it won't work miracles.[2]
There's also always using the long-gone ones as wall art.[3]
I would go so far as to say it isn't worth your time to catalog them. If you can find a 2nd-hand record store that will take them, accept whatever they offer. Otherwise, throw them out. Don't hoard them in your home beyond the point where the novelty of it wears off.
The novelty is still pretty darn strong for now, so I'm planning on keeping them for a bit. I also do music production as a hobby, and am really looking forward to finding obscure/lesser known records and sampling them in my own songs! I figure eventually I'll get rid of most of them one way or another, but I'm not in any rush.
If they even make an offer. When my dad died a few years ago, I combed through his considerable music CD collection for stuff I wanted (not very much), then tried selling the rest to a 2nd-hand store. They didn't even make an offer---the guy said "This is, hands down, the worst CD collection I've ever seen." He refused to let me throw them away in the nearby dumpster. Ouch.
Wound up being ~1200 bucks because they had to fully replace the lock, the ignition, and the battery. Also because they charged me 120/hour for labor, but what can I say—LA repairs for LA prices! I also didn't spend time getting competing quotes from different shops, so it's totally possible they charged me way more than market rate, but at the end of the day I have my car back and I am fortunate enough to still be able to pay my bills so it all worked out in the end.
so it's totally possible they charged me way more than market rate
At $120? Any software dev in LA with any experience is probably at $75/hour, and they don't have to outfit an entire shop with compressors, lifts, and pricey alignment racks. At $120 in Southern California, you ought to be crowing about the deal you got.
It reminds me when I was a pro mechanic years ago, and the biggest whiners about the hourly rate were doctors and lawyers. Excuuuuse me, Mr. Bills-at-Twice-the-Rate-I-Do?
At the end of the day, I didn't care too much about price because they did good work, were friendly, and got me my car back! You're right, highly skilled labor like mechanics work has the right to command higher rates.
I am trying to compare them. I know the software dev might not be as high, but it is directly comparable and can be expressed in USD for easy comparison.
My dev machine was about 5k, and I will build another one in another 3-4 years. My tablet was 1.5k. My phones for dev purposes are numerous and run 5-800 each. These get replaced every year or three. My primary laptop was 3k, I will buy another in another 3-4 years. My secondary laptop was 1k, it will probably last 4-5 years. My monitors were 1.5k each. I’m sure I’ll use those for 6-7 years. I have three. My test server was 5k. I will probably build a new one in 5-7 years. My sit/stand desk was 1k, my chair was almost 1k. Etc, etc… All of my tools are expendable on a much shorter time table than your mechanic tools.
dallas / ft worth you pay about $125 an hour for shop labor.
lot's of places have a placard with a $200 rate, but they never charge that much. (replaced headlights, they broke a wire, spent all morning on the car, cost was $250 in labor).
at least my experience, dealing with independents. i am sure a dealer has no shame on the rate and the hours.
