Are Elvis Records Worth Money? – See the Value of Elvis!
Have you ever sat back and thought to yourself: are Elvis records worth money? And I don’t just mean worth a few hundred dollars—I mean serious money. Well, I certainly started thinking about this recently, so I did a little digging and discovered that not only do certain Elvis records hold a lot of value, but it’s quite possible that you’re sitting on a goldmine if you’re die-hard Elvis and vinyl fan.
Elvis Records Value – A $300,000 record?
Let’s begin with an Elvis record that sold for a hefty sum. Several years ago, an acetate recording of Elvis’ first song ever (a ballad called “My Happiness”) was sold for $300,000. The winning bid was placed at Graceland.
Now, if you want to get fussy about it, the winning big was technically for $240,000. But, when you factor in a 25% cut that goes to Graceland Auctions, the total amounts to $300,000.
Pretty incredible, right? Now that we’ve discussed the super-high end Elvis records that have value, let’s go over a couple that sold for good money (but a lot less than $300,000).
Elvis Presley 45s Worth Money?
Now a great site I love using in order to find the value of vinyl records (especially well kept, quality albums of value) is Heritage Auctions. And in order to see the actual prices of the albums sold on the site, you have to sign up for an account—so I did just that. What I found pertaining to Elvis and the value of his records was quite amazing.
A few years after Elvis’ first song (“My Happiness”) sold for $300,000, a collection of five Elvis 45s (45 RPM records) sold for a total of $17,500 on Heritage Auctions. These were five Memphis pressings from the Sun Records label. These records came in their original brown sleeves and featured songs like “You’re Right, She’s Gone” and “I’m Left.”
It’s important to note that when you’re spending this kind of money on records, you want to make sure that what you’re buying is authentic. In this auction, these 45s come with a Certificate of Authenticity from Heritage Auctions themselves. In general, you’re going to want to make sure there’s some kind of verifiable proof or paper trail (or strong vetting process) to ensure that what you’re buying is genuine. The last thing you want to do is pay top dollar for a fake Elvis Presley record.
Also, if the concept of a 45 RPM record is confusing to you, be sure to check out my video below that easily explains what “45s” are and why they are valuable to collectors:
Self Titled Elvis Record Sells for Over $5,000
When I dug deeper into Heritage Auctions, I also saw this—a self-titled Elvis album in its original plastic recently sold for $5,500. What’s interesting about this auction is that while the record is in its original plastic, the auction makes it clear that this album is not sealed.
So, it goes to show that if you have an inherently coveted Elvis album, it can still be worth a lot of money—even if you have removed the album from its original shrink wrap.
How Do I Sell My Elvis Collection?
So, if you want to sell your collection of Elvis vinyl records, this what I recommend you doing.
1) Take a look at your Elvis records and get a sense for what the quality of the records are like. From the actual vinyl itself to the record jacket— what’s the condition like? Is everything in tact, including original paper sleeves? Are there any split seams or vinyl ring wear?
These things (and more) factor into a vinyl record’s worth, so be sure to pay attention to it.
2) If you have a particularly large collection of Elvis records, I’d recommend contacting an auction house like Heritage Auctions and seeing if they can perform an audit of your collection. The experienced auctioneers there will be able to assess whether your records hold true value—or if they aren’t worth anything at all.
Just know that these kind of evaluations aren’t typically free, so proceed carefully if this is the path you choose.
3) If you have records that hold a little value, but perhaps aren’t worth thousands of dollars, there are still going to be Elvis fanatics that will want to buy them off you. In cases like this, I recommend you try selling them on marketplaces like eBay or Discogs, or simply heading to either local record stores that buy used records (or even unloading your Elvis records at chain stores like Bull Moose or Newbury Comics).
Are Elvis Records Worth Money?
We started this journey trying to find the answer to a rather simple question: are Elvis Records worth money? Well, hopefully through some helpful examples, you’ve come to the conclusion (like I have) that not only do Elvis records hold value, but in some cases, they can be worth thousands of dollars!
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