Selling CDs online

Can you make money with your old CDs?

If Father Christmas brings you the latest MP3 player this Christmas and you finally decide to get rid of your old CDs, why not make money and recycle them at the same time?

In November 2008, we tried selling the CDs of Which? staff on dedicated site musicmagpie.co.uk, and found that success depended on their taste in music.

While a Johnny Cash fan was delighted to get £1.38 for his Ring of Fire album – the highest payout for any of our 20 albums that were accepted – Robbie Williams’ Sing When You’re Winning was rejected outright, as were other popular artists.

Most of the CDs we sold fetched only between 25p and 50p, though you don’t have to pay for postage and packaging.

A greener way of dealing with old CDs

You may not get a huge amount for any album, but considering that each year around 30 million CDs are sent to landfill, sites like this are a good way to reduce waste.

To sell on the site, discs must be in perfect playing condition, with all original artwork, covers and booklets, but it’s fine for cases to have a bit of wear and tear. You can sell between five and 250 CDs at a time. 

It’s a user-friendly site, which gives instant quotes and lets you get rid of lots of CDs in one go, which is – useful if you’re moving house or clearing the attic and don’t have time to sell items individually. 

How much can you make on other sites?

And while Ring of Fire was sold for £1.38, you might make more on other sites. Others were selling it for £3.40 on Amazon Marketplace, and £1.50 on eBay.

And don’t expect to get your cash from musicmagpie.co.uk the next day – it took a month for our cheque to arrive. We prefer fast, secure online payments, like the ones used on Amazon Marketplace.

See our guide to selling goods safely on eBay for more.