Way back in 1997, Martina McBride had a hit song called “My Valentine,” with Jim Brickman. Ever the romantic, I bought the CD; printed out the lyrics and put them in a frame; and presented both to Ella for Valentine’s Day. I’m fairly certain the frame is still around our house somewhere, even after 15 years, but I know the CD is still in her CD tower.
What brought this to mind on Valentine’s Day 2012 is an article on cnet.com questioning whether it still makes sense to buy CDs today. You can read the article here:
CDs have been part of my online inventory since I opened my virtual store seven years ago, and they are still a big seller, at least for me. I understand the allure of digital music, though, and have downloaded many songs. Yet, it would be a big blow to my bottom line for the bottom to fall out of the CD market.
After some thought, though, I realized that with every setback comes opportunity. There are many CDs that are still worth good money, and they are practically being given away at yard sales and flea markets. That’s right, as more people switch to digital music, they are discarding their CDs, usually for $1 or less.
Cha ching!
Admittedly, it takes some effort to find them, but my PDA/scanner combo makes short work of stacks of CDs. Also, depending on the price, a bulk buy of a CD collection could reap big rewards. For instance, I bought a huge collection of classical music CDs last year at an estate sale for $200, including the CD stand. Some were high priced, some were low priced, but all were worth money, and are still selling today.
I guess the moral of the story is don’t be dismayed by the rise of digital music, and, to the same extent, ebooks. There will always be opportunity in “old technology.” After all, the CD that I bought 10 years ago will still play; the book that I bought is still readable. Ten years from now, will the ebook or the digital music file be readable on the current crop of computers or readers?
Happy Valentine’s Day.
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