What to do with ripped CDs?

Aquaman

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Oct 20, 2025
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I‘m curious to learn what others do with CDs that have been ripped.

When I went through the process of ripping my CD collection to FLAC about 15 years ago there were voices on the internet to keep the disks anyway for copyright reasons.

I discarded that right away. Who would ever challenge me? I‘m not using it commercially.
So I sold them to a local second hand CD shop in Berlin for a price between EUR 0.50 to EUR 5.- per album. Maybe a rip-off at the time, but I got rid of them.

Only two years later my girlfriend also consented to eliminate the removal box in the cellar that contained ‚her CDs‘.
So I went to the same shop and they outright refused to buy any CDs any longer. So they went in the bin.

Whenever I come across a CD today I try to sell it to Medipops/Momox. This is Germany, no idea if they are also active elsewhere.
50 cents is the usual price they will pay, with exceptions for highly sought after stuff.

What do you do?
 
At least people here in Chile are going crazy for physical media such as old CDs and also cassettes!, they are selling for us 5-20 for popular artists on facebook or ebay style marketplaces.

Dont know if in Germany its the same but maybe for the more requested items of your collection it can be worth the hassle, would shoot myself before I had to sell my whole collection in one of those marketplaces!
 
Asked me that a few years ago when we split our stuff to two smaller flats. Now I have in each of the two places a box with 100 CDs. We still buy a lot. Sorted by time of purchase. So every new CD replaces the last in the box. 100 is more than enough for us. Only new releases, the old stuff can be streamed. But that is rare enough. (Maybe a generation thing, but with the exception of some early Pink Floyd albums, I can't do anything with all the dusty 60s and 70s stuff. Music is for dancing!)
Still rip the CDs, but to be honest more for nostalgia than for daily use. Once they are sorted out they go to a local refugee organization. They sell it. They can use every Cent.
 
At least people here in Chile are going crazy for physical media such as old CDs and also cassettes!, they are selling for us 5-20 for popular artists on facebook or ebay style marketplaces.

Dont know if in Germany its the same but maybe for the more requested items of your collection it can be worth the hassle, would shoot myself before I had to sell my whole collection in one of those marketplaces!
❤️❤️:giggle: Good to know. I shall send them to you .,.
But seriously, this is really not the same over here. Except for vinyl.
 
Asked me that a few years ago when we split our stuff to two smaller flats. Now I have in each of the two places a box with 100 CDs. We still buy a lot. Sorted by time of purchase. So every new CD replaces the last in the box. 100 is more than enough for us. Only new releases, the old stuff can be streamed. But that is rare enough. (Maybe a generation thing, but with the exception of some early Pink Floyd albums, I can't do anything with all the dusty 60s and 70s stuff. Music is for dancing!)
Still rip the CDs, but to be honest more for nostalgia than for daily use. Once they are sorted out they go to a local refugee organization. They sell it. They can use every Cent.
Oogh, so you are still listening to CDs instead of the ripped copy?
That‘s rare.
I don‘t even own a CD player any longer. Got rid of it once my CDs had been ripped.
 
CDs and some Vinyl. Still and most likely for the rest of my life. CD is digital enough. Of course streaming is convenient and from time to time in use, but I have time enough and stable bones to reach the player 😉. Even my Roon stuff gets dusty. And as I wrote, ripping is more or less a pavlov reflex.
 
Donate them to your local used CD store. I took two large boxes to my local guy. Pay it forward.
 
Donate them to your local used CD store. I took two large boxes to my local guy. Pay it forward.
I don‘t like donating these days. It will usually either serve commercial purposes or end up with the wrong people.
In most case I‘d rather pay for the disposal than donate it.
 
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