They're basing their pricing model on that of the Record and Tape Music and Video Exchange.

I went into their shop on Marleybone High Street and they had some old Elton John album at around £20.  I couldn't work out whether:

• they had not a clue
• they knew something I didn't about secondhand values 

It's partly down to ebay and the like and also the misguided idea that old vinyl is all valuable. You see lps at car boots that just becasue they are beach boys are up for 10-20 quid. It's the reason why the shops down berwick st and beanos in croydon are closing, the margin is being taken out of the market.
One last thing re: oxfam I think it's good that they get a good price on the actual rarities thye are donated(there are tales of charles dickens 1st edition being sold for 20p) but they should be knock out the the general stuff for around £4 or ideally less

I started working on a Saturday in our local Oxfam after I saw an advert asking for someone who can sort their records. A lovely bunch of old ladies who make great tea I must say. I told them I thought the way they price the records was totally unrealistic but they said it all comes from their head office and handed me a thick handbook on how to price records. They obviously take it very seriously as it had pages and pages of pictures of labels like Harvest, Deram, Elektra etc. The rule of thumb is to look in the Record Collectors Guide Book and then halve the price which I told them was ridiculous. The problem is, is that they're not taking into consideration things is it an original copy or a reissue / is it mint condition / what country is it from etc etc. I've managed to convince them they need a better pricing system based on a £4 general price so if you're looking for bargins check Allerton Road's Oxfam in Liverpool!

Jamie - you sound like the kind of chap that should be in charge of
a record company. Unfortunately, you talk far too much common sense to get past the initial interview.
Now, if you'd adopted a ridiculous web pseudonym, you could have posted that manual on the site...
Two questions.
1- Do you go home smelling of... old ?
2- What would you really do if you came across, say, an original Bowie dress cover in someone's box of Mantovani albums?

That's what everyone has said so far to me - "you're only doing it so you can find some bargins". I'll admit part of me does dream of the day I pull out a cracker but so far the only time I've deliberately devalued something was with a coloured vinyl 12" Ramones record the other week which I described as "worthless" to one of the old dears. You do smell a bit of old but then I usually smell a bit anyway so it's not a major problem. I'll try and spirit away a copy of the 'manual' on Saturday.