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Stores I buy CDs from

I have been collecting CDs for quite a while now, and I've found that every dollar saved matters. Used CDs are generally cheap, but buying from a more expensive place could easily cost you a few extra dollars than is necessary. If you are serious into collecting music, those few dollars will quickly add up when you buy hundreds of albums. With that said, here is my general CD buying process with the stores and places that I purchase from. It is important to note that I am American, so some items here will not make sense in other countries.

Local sources

The local sources listed here can have some great deals at the expense of selection. Generally, you should not be using these as means to buy a specific album; rather, they should be used to acquire albums that seem good at lower prices than sources with more selection.

Thrift stores

Yard sales

Record stores

Major online marketplaces

Major marketplaces here offer a great selection of music from potentially themselves and a wide variety of marketplace sellers but generally take fees that cause third-party listings to be more expensive than on their own sites.

Amazon, including sites for Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom. You should only search sites that are not in your country if a particular album is expensive in your country or offered by a foreign seller, as international sites may be cheaper even with international shipping.

Discogs

eBay, including sites for Germany and the United Kingdom. The same rule for Amazon applies here. If you are searching a foreign eBay website, make sure to set the item location to "worldwide" and to change your shipping location to that site's country.

Alternate online marketplaces

These websites generally have less selection and fewer sellers with prices that could be cheaper than the major sites.

Individual online stores

These websites are specifically for one store and generally offer that store's cheapest prices and shipping compared to marketplaces.

Amoeba Music is a California-based record store that offers (generally expensive) new CDs and used CDs (sometimes at great prices).

Decluttr offers a huge used selection and constant sales with inventory acquired from their buyback program.

Dodax offers new CDs and a limited used selection at generally the cheapest prices offered if they carry an item, with free shipping and no tax to the US.

FYE is the online retail arm of Trans World Entertainment, a US record store company.

ImportCDs has one of the biggest selections of new music online. Their direct site is generally cheaper than their marketplace offers, but be sure to check Blowitoutahere!, Collectors' Choice Music, DeepDiscount, and WOW HD (sister sites) as well, as their prices may be cheaper after shipping.

Medimops is the selling arm of German buyback site Momox. Prices here are comparable to their eBay prices for individual items (Amazon is generally more expensive), but there are significant savings if bought in bulk due to combined shipping. (I have had issues placing orders through both credit card and PayPal, but they may be resolved by now, and my experiences buying through them via marketplaces have all been positive.)

Wonder Book is a Maryland-based bookstore that carries music. Prices on their website include free shipping and are generally cheaper than their marketplace offers.

World of Books is the selling arm of UK buyback site Ziffit that offers free shipping on CDs to the US on their own site. They sell on Amazon and eBay under the name "worldofbooksusa" and on Amazon.co.uk as "OnlineMusicFilmsGames". Their prices are not consistently cheapest on any one site or marketplace, so check around and buy from the cheapest source.

Local classifieds sites

These websites offer users the ability to post individual ads with music for sale. These are generally good places to acquire CD lots or less common CDs at cheaper prices. These should be searched nationwide (use the "site:domain.tld" operator in Google) as some sellers are willing to ship items.

Craigslist (can be easily searched nationwide with SearchTempest)

Facebook Marketplace

letgo

OfferUp

Foreign websites

These should only be used if a CD cannot be found (if it was released in another country, for instance) or if a particular CD is expensive from sources above that ship to you directly. These sources will generally not ship outside of their country, and you will most likely need a forwarding service if you want an item from these. These are a last resort; I never search these unless prices are significantly cheaper than any other source.

Please contact me (my contact information is on the homepage) if you have found other international websites that sell CDs that are not listed here.

A quick note about searching

You should always search for both the title/artist and the barcode of an album. Generally, stores will list items by barcode, and private sellers will list by title. There may be overlap, but there are many instances where you will not find certain listings if you only search by one.

Page written on 8 February 2019 and last updated on 13 May 2020.