Where to Buy Rare, Vintage Christmas Records

Christmas is fast approaching, and for those who are looking for the proper mood music to set the tone, it may be necessary to turn to vintage Christmas music as the perfect holiday accompaniment. Unlike modern Christmas albums, rare vintage music is the type that brings back pleasant memories, no matter if you're 9 or 90. The easy way out would be to head over to iTunes and download your favorites to put on your mp3 or burn onto CDs later. But where do you start if you want to add to your vintage Christmas album collection? Looking for rare, vintage Christmas albums is easier than you think.

The "grand dame" of all online sites is a great place to start your search for vintage Christmas albums is of course eBay. Ebay attracts buyers and sellers worldwide, and the web site is easy to navigate. Just type in "vintage Christmas albums" and you will locate hundreds of possible items. Though thousands of people use eBay, the rating system and Safe Harbor applications make it unlikely for a bad buying experience. Pay attention to where the item is located and what the shipping charges will be. Ebay's sellers could very likely be in another country and you don't want to get stuck with an exorbitant shipping fee.

There are also web sites devoted to collecting and selling vintage Christmas albums. Sandy Creek Collectibles or Heavens to Betsy have a limited selection of vintage Christmas albums, and there are other similar web sites out there.

Craigslist is also a goldmine for locating vintage Christmas albums, and the best part is that you can narrow your search to your own geographic area, or widen it to include other cities and states. Best of all, buying on selling on Craigslist is free. Of course, Craigslist doesn't offer the same safeguards as eBay, so be cautious in your online dealings.

Freecycle is also a good way to find vintage Christmas albums. In the case of Freecycle, people are looking to unload their items for free, and you can get on a list that is specific to your area. Sign up is easy at http://www.freecycle.org/.

Finally, don't overlook local opportunities for finding vintage Christmas albums. Antique stores and used record stores like Encore in Ann Arbor are a great resource. In our area, the Royal Oak Flea Market is a wonderful place to search the racks for old records. Open most Sundays from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. all year round, the Royal Oak Flea Market (housed in the Farmers' Market building) is an excellent place to look for vintage Christmas albums. There are a few vendors who specialize in vinyl and the selection changes weekly. In addition, some vendors lease space on a sporadic basis, so it is well worth it to peruse the aisles in search of random vendors who may be selling Christmas records. You can find more information on the Royal Oak Flea Market by going to their web site.

With a little diligence and some digging, it is easy to increase your vintage Christmas album collection.