What To Do With Old Vinyl Records In The UK

Wondering what to do with old vinyl records that you no longer want? Here are heaps of UK ideas on how to sell, donate, pass on, recycle, upcycle or reuse your collection – even the damaged ones – so that nothing goes to landfill.

Vinyl records are tricky to recycle in the UK. Because of what they are made from, you can’t recycle them at home or in household recycling centres.

This is because records tend to be made from a substance called polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Standard recycling plants don’t like PVC because it contains additives which can leach out and contaminate other plastics.

Recycling PVC can also release toxic chemicals, such as hydrochloric acid. This can be incredibly harmful to recycling workers. And as the acid is very caustic, it can damage recycling machinery. As such, most standard recycling plants won’t touch PVC with a bargepole.

However, if you’ve got old records that you don’t want and don’t know what to do with, there’s no need to bin them. Instead, here’s how you can keep them out of landfill – with all the ways you can sell, donate and pass them on, or breathe new life into damaged ones.

What To Do With Your Old Vinyl In The UK

Ready to give your vinyl a new lease of life? Here are all my top places to sell, donate or give them away, or to find new ways to recycle and repurpose your records.

Where To Sell Them

Vinyl has had a huge resurgence in recent years – both with collectors young and old – and is in demand. So much so that vinyl now outsells CDs. If you’d like to make a bit of money on your collection, it’s well worth trying to sell them.

I spent my youth working in record shops. I worked in Our Price (showing my age here!), Virgin, HMV and Fopp. After that, I spent a few years working in a music venue, so I know A LOT of music enthusiasts. Many of them are massive vinyl fans. So I reached out to the biggest vinyl enthusiasts I know for their top tips on selling vinyl records. Here’s their advice:

Discogs

The general consensus from the music buffs in my life is Discogs. This is an online marketplace specifically for music enthusiasts and is widely regarded as the go-to platform for vinyl record sales – including singles, EPs, and LPs.

It’s a particularly good place if you’re selling rare or collectable records. This is because you can tap into its dedicated global audience of music lovers. Types of records that do well on Discogs include original pressings, limited editions, records with different colour variations or album sleeves, picture discs, promotional releases, and misprints.

However, my friends warn that for more common or lower-value vinyl, you might struggle to shift it here. If you’re in doubt, have a search on the Discogs marketplace to see how much your records are going for.

Discogs tells you when your particular record was last sold, so you can see if it’s in demand or not. It also tells you the average selling price of the record, alongside the highest price it commanded and the lowest, based on the last 30 sales. It’s a good way of working out if it’s worth selling a particular title.

In terms of fees, listing is free on Discogs. When an item sells, Discogs takes a 9% cut (charged on both the item price(s) and shipping costs). For the best success, it’s best to take some time to read through other listings to make sure you’re charging the right price for shipping, and following selling best practice.

eBay

eBay is another top place to sell your old records. Like Discogs, eBay has a massive audience of music fans. Many collectors set alerts for records by a particular artist. This means that they are immediately notified by eBay when something that matches their search term is added to the platform.

Again, you’ll have the most success on eBay if you are selling something rare. More common or lower-value vinyl can be more difficult to sell. But, like on Discogs, you can search through completed listings on eBay to see how in demand your title is, and how much it’s likely to sell for before you list. Just click on advanced search to be able to search through sold items.

The key to selling vinyl successfully on eBay is to provide detailed listings. Buyers want to know the exact condition of the record, sleeve, and any inserts, as well as pressing details. Provide clear photos, and be upfront about any scratches or wear to your record.

For UK private sellers, it’s now free to list items on eBay. You can list up to 300 items per month, free of charge. Beyond that, you have to pay 35p per listing. Note that fees apply if you deliver to an overseas address.

Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups are another good place to sell your old records. There are heaps of vinyl record-specific Facebook groups, devoted to buying and selling vinyl.

The benefit here is that these groups tend to be filled with enthusiasts, so you’re likely to connect with serious buyers. Plus, you can sell to a targeted audience for free. Some of the biggest groups in the UK include:

• Sell-Trade-Buy Vinyl Records – 71.1K members (at the time of writing)
• Vinyl/Record collectors and traders UK – 19.6K members
• All Things Vinyl (Records & Albums) Buy Sell Trade – 16.1K members
• Heavy Metal Vinyl Records Sale-Trade – 14.9K members
• Vinyl Record Buying Selling UK – 12K members

It’s always best, after joining a group, to take some time to observe the etiquette of the group. Explore listings to get to know the preferred style of listing, and so you can see how shipping, postage costs, and payments work.

Specific groups may also have guides for new users, explaining all the dos and don’ts – so that’s always worth a read before listing anything.

Local Record Shops

If selling individual titles feels like too much work, then if you have a record shop nearby, it’s likely they will buy old vinyl. The price you get probably won’t be as high as selling individual titles, but you make up for that in the time and effort you save.

If you have a big selection of vinyl, it’s best to email your local record shop with the list of titles you’re looking to sell. That way, they can tell you what they are interested in before carting all your records to the shop to be appraised.

What record shops take depends on their current inventory and what’s popular with their customers, as well as the condition and rarity of a particular record. It’s unlikely they would take a whole collection, so expect to have some records left over.

Most record shops will give you cash upfront for the titles they want to buy, but check first. Some may only provide store credit, which doesn’t help you if you are downsizing your collection.

Specialist Vinyl Buyers

If you’re dealing with a large collection, especially one with some potentially valuable records, but don’t want the hassle of individually pricing and selling each one, then it could be worth contacting a specialist vinyl buyer. Many of them will come to your house to appraise your collection and make you an offer, or offer a postal or drop-off service.

My friends recommend eil.com for this, but there are quite a few others around the UK.

Like record shops, these buyers resell your records, so you’ll probably get less than the retail value. However, it can be an easy and convenient way of passing on a big collection in one go.

Record Fairs

If you’ve got a large volume of records to sell and want to do it in one go, then another option is to attend a record fair. They’re held all over the UK and are a great way to sell your vinyl directly to buyers – particularly if you have valuable or collectable records in your collection. Try Record Fair UK to find the next fair that’s being held near you.

You will need to pay for a stall or table (the price varies from record fair to record fair). It’s also a good idea to do some research to get an understanding of what you should be charging, otherwise you could either be leaving money on the table or run the risk of over-charging and not selling anything. However, the legwork is worth it to get your records into the hands of serious buyers.

Car Boot Sales

Car boot sales can be another way to sell your old records. Whilst you won’t get as much for your records, compared to selling online or at record fairs, it’s a fun way to sell your collection. Again, it’s best to do some research in advance, to make sure you aren’t seriously undercharging. Your mistake could be a collector’s gain!

Where To Donate Them

If the process of selling your collection doesn’t particularly appeal to you, then another way to pass them on sustainably is to donate them to charity.

Because of current demand, most charity shops will take old records that are in good condition. Plus, your donations directly benefit good causes. However, it’s always best to phone ahead before making the journey – especially if you plan on rocking up with boxes and boxes of vinyl.

Some charities even have dedicated music shops. Oxfam Music, for example, has five specialist music shops in the UK – in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Southampton and Reading – that particularly welcome donations of vinyl.

Meanwhile, the British Heart Foundation have vinyl experts who can spot a rare copy or limited-edition item. This means they’ll always get the best price for your generous donations – potentially selling it online rather than in the shop to reach a wider audience and command a higher price.

Where To Give Them Away

If checking the condition and price of each record feels like too big a job, then another option is to list boxes of vinyl for free on local trading sites. These include:

• Facebook Marketplace
• Gumtree
• Freecycle
• Buy Nothing Groups

Here they’ll no doubt be quickly snapped up by record collectors, hoping to find something that completes a gap in their collection, or who are willing to put in the work to check them and sell them on.

Most transactions on these sites are positive ones, but my top tip is to read up on advice on staying safe when selling online to protect yourself when meeting strangers from marketplace sites.

Alternatively, you could ask friends and family if anyone would like your records. As I mentioned, vinyl is really popular at the moment. It’s highly likely someone knows a vinyl fan who would happily take some of your collection.

Frame Your Favourites

Music has such a great way of connecting us to people, places and times. If you have old records that you don’t want to part with, a really nice idea is to frame the artwork. You can buy special frames – like these frames at Dunelm – that allow you to safely display your records on the wall. It’s a lovely way of having your memories on display.

And if you have old favourite records that are scratched, there’s no need to bin them. You could create a wall display – like in the photo above – so that you can still enjoy them, even if they are unplayable.

How To Upcycle Damaged Records

Records are quite delicate items, and some old ones may have warped or have bad scratches that render them unplayable. If that’s the case, you don’t have to bin them. There are some clever ways to upcycle them.

Whether you make bowls, coasters, clocks or something else entirely – the internet is awash with tutorials from clever people showing you exactly how it’s done. Try Pinterest or other similar sites to find ideas and tutorials.

More Recycling Top Tips

Looking for more recycling advice for those hard-to-recycle items? Here are some of my favourites from my upcycling and recycling category:

• What to do with old CDs in the UK
• What to do with old VHS tapes in the UK
• What to do with old books in the UK
• What to do with old glasses