Trade CDs, DVDs for an iPod or iPhone

iPodMeister promises to turn your unwanted CDs and DVDs into bona fide gadget goodness.

Like many people, I have a fairly sizable collection of CDs sitting in a storage room collecting dust. It's literally been years since I even touched a CD, let alone played one. So why am I hanging onto them?

Forget Craigslist. Forget eBay. Forget garage sales. Do you want to spin that jewel-cased straw into gold? Head to iPodMeister, where you can trade your old CDs for a brand-new hard drive, iPod, or even iPhone.

Here's how it works: You pack up your CDs (or DVDs), then e-mail the company to let them know how many boxes you have. It then sends you prepaid FedEx labels. That's right: iPodMeister covers the shipping cost.

The number of discs you send determines what kind of booty you can get in return. The minimum, 150 discs, gets you a 1TB hard drive or an iPhone 3G. (Actually, you get a check covering the cost of an iPhone 3G, as iPodMeister can't do activations and all that.)

Scrape together 250 discs and you can land an 8GB iPod Touch or 16GB iPod Nano (current-generation models in both cases). For 350 discs, you can cover the cost of an iPhone 3GS. See the iPodMeister Web site for the complete list of trade options.

Interestingly, iPodMeister also gives you the option of digitizing your CD collection, meaning you get back not only your free gadget, but also a set of DVDs containing your music in (presumably) MP3 format. But that "costs extra" (meaning more discs). My guess is most folks have already ripped their CDs to MP3s.

I'll admit that all this sounds a little too good to be true, but I've yet to find a single complaint about the company. For your reference, check out Consumerist's recent interview with iPodMeister, this guy's review of the service from March, and the company's Facebook page.

I will say that the iPodMeister site looks atrocious and, suspiciously, offers no contact information except for an e-mail address and toll-free number. But with a little Google recon, I had no trouble finding an address and local number.

Did I mention I'm packing my CDs as we speak? It may take a couple weeks to complete my trade, but I'll definitely report back once it's done (so bookmark this article if you want to learn what happens).

In the meantime, I'm just kind of happy that I can clear out some boxes and don't have to spend a dime on shipping.

If you've tried iPodMeister, please share your experience in the comments!

[jcmark42]

Do they take CD's w/o the cases?

[monopod1]

Can you not be bothered to actually click on the link Rick provided? It says on the home page of the site that CDs must include the original jewel case and liner notes (front and back).

[rickbroida]

Nope, you need to supply the cases and original artwork.

[rqbird]

This line of reasoning contradicts another CNET writer, whom I happen to agree with when he says to retain CD's as your best bet for a backup for your digital media. To trade all your discs in for a gadget with a life of a year or so smacks of a response to seeing a shiny thing with wonderment.

[monopod1]

I understand the desire to have a physical backup, but my CD's have been sitting in boxes taking up space for 6 years now and I really can't imagine a scenario where I'd use them again. They're all ripped to high-quality files, backed up on multiple drives (including one not at my home); not sure what scenario would lead to me wishing I had them back.

And "with a life of a year or so" isn't really accurate - I still use a 4-year-old iPod on a daily basis.

[rickbroida]

I agree that you should absolutely keep a backup of your digital media -- but I do so by actually backing up my digital media. My entire MP3 collection is stored on multiple PCs, various MP3 players, and at least one online source. So I genuinely feel like I no longer have a need for my CDs (though it does pain me to part with them, as I spent the better part of my youth amassing the collection!).

To each his/her own.

[CamaroZ28c]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have to retain ownership of the CDs in order to legally have use of the backed up rips? How is any different than people downloading songs?

[xmirage2kx]

Why on earth would you trade in your CD's for LESS THAN $0.75 each when any pawn shop will buy them for $1-2 each?

[janstett]

To monopod: I've already had to go back to source (CD) once -- when the high-bitrate MP3/WMA I had originally ripped in was no longer sufficient due to the dropping price of storage and I wanted to go to lossless FLAC/ALAC. So when you say "high quality", unless it's lossless it's not bit perfect for the original.

Make that twice -- a few months ago, dbPowerAmp released a HDCD decoder plugin so I went back and decoded the HDCDs in the collection out to their full 20-bit resolution.

I'm the perfect candidate for this, as I have all my CDs losslessly ripped AND on a RAID 5 NAS AND on a 2nd offsite hard drive array. But it's a pittance considering all I've spent on my CDs, not worth it. I have my hard copy backup.

[spawn05]

I agree with you 100%. I have 5000 CD's and I'll be damned if I'm going to trade them in for an all controling DRM Based Gadget. I like my Cd's they don't crash and they are not itunes. At least all thr rest of the MP3 players play whatever you put on them.

You do need some (and multiple) forms of backup:
1 - The original CDs
2 - A lossless digital files
3 - The lossy digital files you use on your player
4 - Secondary backup copies of 2 & 3

As others have mentioned, you cannot sell, gift or give away the underlying purchased music (CDs, DVDs, Purchased MP3s, etc) and still retain digital copies of the music for your own use. My suspicion is that this music 'service' is fundamentally illegal.

[skeeterocki]

If anybody thinks ripping music is legally questionable you can just send them your CDs. They dont FORCE you to get MP3s of your music. I can always do that other stuff myself,

[Renegade Knight]

@monopod1

It's fair us to rip them to your digital library. However when you sell your CD's the fair use of the music on them goes the buyer. You lost your legal right, and any claim to fair use of of your music collection because you sold that to the next guy.

[slubilliken31]

The site says they need original jewel cases and artwork...bummer

[NPGMBR]

There is no way in the world I'll get rid of my original CDs. I can totally see my hard drive crashing or some of ther disaster taking out my PC so I'd never get rid of my originals, however, I did remove them all from their cases and placed them in soft cases thus taking up a lot less room.

[savincash2009]

If you retain a digital copy the fact is you still have a physical copy just in a different form (aka hard drive). This is a great idea. I personally see no point in keeping disc. Just like records, 8 tracks, tapes and microfiche the technology of digital cds are moving into the next step which is mp3 format. Technology changes rapidly and lets face it cds are old news because the younger generation have already adopted another technology ( digital copy aka mp3 & mp4)

[janstett]

This is (arguably) the first time we're moving on to a next step which is sonically inferior to its predecessor. I'm not happy with downloads until they're lossless, and I'd prefer something > CD quality, > 44.1kHz, and > 16-bit.

I say (arguably) because I've come to understand what the Vinyl people have been raving about regarding CD's limited sound quality.

I want to move to something BETTER not WORSE. The good news is just going to file-based media means we could have 96kHz/24-bit/5.1 music. The bad news is that most people are fine with low-bitrate lossy rips of the already flawed CD.

[janstett]

Unless you're talking about 96/24 Vinyl rips, or lossless rips of HDCD/DVD-A/SACD, we're going backwards in sound quality.

[troyoverton]

I agree... I want a high-qual lossless copy. For most popular music 5.1 is a little much, but I would really like to see affordable devices that allow for thousands of cd's. I'm currently in the 3500 range, and as a part-time DJ, I have to keep my cd's anyway. The new Win7 Media Center has some pretty nice improvements that make (along with XBMC on a xboxclassic) my current way to get media all around the house.

Also, that device will need to connect to FreeDB or MusicBrainz to retrieve TOC data...

[Renegade Knight]

Kids have adopted digital,but they also have started realizing how fragile the format is. "I didn't back Up and I want my music back!"

[yanchineseguy]

Like Rick wrote, if those CDs are just sitting around collecting dust, why not swap it for something you're actually going to use?

[iamcrucified]

What is the potential for copyright infringement in this process? By sending the physical CDs away to another "owner," essentially, wouldn't I be also sending away my rights to own that music?

[Rialtus]

That's the #1 reason why I still have all of my CDs still. Mind you, they are boxed up in a closet because all I use are teh FLAC and MP3 equivilents from those CDs...

[Wallie502]

You are correct. That is why CD trading services such as Lala.com (very cool, btw) say that before trading a CD, the owner must erase any digital copies they own. Not sure how many comply really with this or not.

[demiller66]

You are kidding, right. You can sell anything you own (not illegal/illicit substances). Copyright only deals with making copies ("Copy"right). The artist already obtained his/her royalties from the disc you bought. Pirated copies are what copyright is concerned with, because they deprive the artist of another sale (ie. if you burn 100 copies of a disc you bought and give them to your friends, those 100 discs, are a 100 less that the artist could have sold). You are essentially taking money out of the hands of the artist.

[demiller66]

Just one proviso on my comment. It assumes you have not made any copies and retained them. Provided you have no, you may dispose of them by sale, gift, or otherwise. Again, copy is the issue.

[illegallydead]

demiller66: the argument is that by retaining a copy for yourself, you are also "depriving" the artist of a sale. Same idea as if you were to buy a map and scan it, then return it to the store. After all, YOU are receiving the money from the sale, not the artist.

Not that I agree with any of that in the slightest. I say keep the copies. Yaarrrrrrrr! ;)

[the_fiddler]

So how can they do this? They flat-out say on their site that they will rip them for you and send a DVD of all your music. Is it possible they're not reselling them or something?

[Renegade Knight]

@demiller66

When you buy the CD you have paid for the right to enjoy the music. When you sell the CD you transfer that right to the new owner. You don't get to keep the right you sold and you can't sell the CD for it's purpose without transfering your right to the music.

Or in your own logic. When you sold the CD and kept your digital copy, you just infringed on copyrgiht.

[jkosborn4]

That's exactly the point I was going to make.

[Mr. Dee]

Well, I don't have to sacrifice anything, have all my CD's plus a brand new iPod Touch 32 GB. I guess I should feel lucky. :) I guess this is for the most desperate of individuals.

[MyTThor]

Honestly, I'd do this JUST for the transfer to mp3 DVD, as I have recently switched computers and have been too lazy to xfer all my music. Alas, I have not the jewel cases, as about 3 years ago I questioned the need for them. Nice move, huh?

[rickbroida]

FWIW, there are numerous services that will do this and then return your discs... but instead of paying you roughly a buck apiece, that's what they charge you.

[rightbrain88]

Make sure you delete all digital copies of your CDs when you send them off, since your rights to the digital copies are created by ownership of the CD. To do otherwise is piracy, as is their service to send you digital copies of the CDs you send them.

[savincash2009]

So if you decide to buy an Amazon or Itunes mp3 you essentially don't own the content because you have no physical product is that right. If i record a song off the radio is that piracy? What is piracy and what is not? When tapes were the thing you never heard any of the big record companies complain when someone made a mix tape. Why do you think that is? Maybe because mixed tapes didn't sound as good as a store bought tape. They tried drm it doesn't work nobody wants to be restricted to a single device. If they were so concerned with copyright protection why did they not stick with drm? There is not as much money in selling drm material. People don't want to buy protected music. I am sure they could protect cd's but they don't? Why?

[Ferretkeeper]

Only people who are extremely weird would think like that.

[janstett]

To savincash2009: "If I record a song off the radio is that piracy?" Technically yes, the RIAA is certainly against it.

(a) Radio stations have to pay to play a song on the air. That's why they keep playlist logs. You'd think the record company would be happy to have their song advertised for free so people would consider buying the CD, but no.
(b) Look where the sound quality is better, such as Satellite radio. They fought Sirius and XM hard on being able to record songs off satellite, and they finally agreed but the companies have to pay an up-front fee to the RIAA to offset it AND a per-unit fee, AND they don't let you transfer recorded songs off the satellite radio.
(c) They agree that the sound quality is terrible enough that they will allow radio recording, but anything better than that -- such as satellite or internet streaming -- is too much to ask.

Did you know anybody who buys a DAT, MiniDisc, or even a music-only CD-R pays a built in fee to the RIAA to pay for the piracy it is assumed they will commit, regardless of whether they do or not?

Didn't Microsoft reach an agreement to pay off one of the big 5 record companies when they launched the Zune, to give them money from each device, to offset the evils Zune owners will commit with Universal music?

And by the way there ARE copy-protected CDs.

[savincash2009]

To janstett: I am just playing devils advocate here I want you to know. Just because the RIAA thinks it is wrong doesn't make it wrong. I think eating potted meat is wrong should it be banned? It's good that people debate topics like this. Also is been so long since i have purchased a physical disc I really thought they were unprotected. I have been buying from amazon due to non-drm content now i buy from apple. What we got to watch is how far this goes. What if they say you listened to a song you owe the record company x amount of dollars. I know that sounds ridiculous but were does it stop. Don't think for a minute that the record companies wouldn't charge you for listening to their music in an elevator if they could. Thanks again for the dialogue.

[rightbrain88]

I'm no friend of the RIAA. I think they are a bunch of idiots, suing their customers. However, their concerns are real. They and their artists create content that deserves respect. Making money is one of the things that keeps the music pipeline full. There are lots of ways to buy music. Some are enforced with drm, and others are on the honor system. None of them either encourage or permit sharing the content broadly. If you buy a CD, you own the content. You can copy it for the use of yourself and, I believe, your immediate family, whatever that means. If you buy an tune from iTunes, same thing. But in neither case are you legally free to distribute the music as you wish. iTunes can afford to drop the DRM because most people get that. Apparently some people don't understand the same is true of CDs.

[Renegade Knight]

@savincash2009

With an mp3 file You own the right to enjoy the music. Same a a CD. You never actually "owned" the song. The copyright holder does.

With Amazon they stick you with additional restrictions. You can't modify the file or transfer it to another party.

[bryanb867]

drat! I made the decision several years ago to throw away all the jewel cases. I'd estimate I have over 500 CDs just sitting in boxes that haven't been opened in at least 5 years now. Seemed like a good idea to throw away the cases to save space, but now that I could have turned that 'junk' into a new hard drive makes me regret my decision! Oh well. Thanks for the info, though. I think it's a pretty cool idea.

[Arras1824]

I'm in the same boat. Before I left for college, I bought a bunch of case logic binders and moved all my cds into those (and also wrote my initials on the cds to keep my dormmates from swiping them) and ditched all the jewel cases. Just like I'm getting ready to do with my dvd collection.

Not sure why they require the original case and art work...not like all that info isn't available online

[Renegade Knight]

@Arras1824

When I buy CD's to fill in my collection I'm only interested in CD's with Jewel Cases and Orginal Art Work. That's why.

[Certifiedfryguy]

I saw DVD's becoming a dead format, so after i ripped my entire collection (about 450 movies) I sold them on ebay for $500. Which comes out to a little over $1 each. At the time all the stores that used to give you $2-5+ or Trade in credit for used DVD's stopped providing that service. I wanted to get rid of them before they became completely invaluable, but I should've held on to them. iphone3gs sounds great.

[gildorluthien]

The website must really be getting hit hard. Can't get it to come up. i'll try again this evening. I know I have at least 150 cds.

[rickbroida]

Yep, I think they got slammed yesterday as well, right after the Consumerist story hit. I have no doubt that all the Cheapskaters are having the same effect. :)

[Certifiedfryguy]

The site is down, but maybe someone can answer this. As long as the CD's have the jewel case and insert it's eligible?

I remember going garage sale hunting with the GF this summer and seeing bucket loads of CD's for pennies. Oldies, new stuff, a mix of everything.

[sig1043]

Seems like you are getting the short straw in this deal. I am fairly certain that most second hand CD/DVD shops will pay more than $1 for an intact CD or DVD. Considering you can get a new iphone 3G for about $100 with a contract, ipod touch for $150, and a iphone 3GS for $200 with contract (cheaper if you opt for refubs), the minimum number of CDs and DVDs you have to trade in seems excessive. I guess it might be a decent deal if most of your CDs and movies are rather obscure...

[sholleran]

Obscure? The more obscure your collection, the HIGHER the value to a used CD shop... unless obscure is a code word for weird and undesirable. They can get a million copies of Dark Side of the Moon, Thriller, Eagles Greatest Hits, etc - and the problem is, everyone already owns them!

[rickbroida]

Quick update: I sent them an e-mail this morning and got back my order form and mailing label within about two hours. So far, so good.

[megfrench]

I actually did this already, last summer. I had been looking for ages to get rid of them and the record shop in my area was offering .30 per cd. I'm glad I found these guys instead. I got an iPod Touch and it was pretty smooth. I had a few that they couldnt take because of missing artwork, but it ended up working out. Viva la mP3!!!

that really isn't that much of a deal. I know local used cd's places near me take 2-4 dollars per cd. Now lets take the low end. 250 cds * 2 = 500 bucks. That is enough money to buy a 64 GB ipod touch. So i say ney on this deal.

[celticbrewer]

exactly. At best, you probably paid $10 per CD and you're going to "sell" them for a buck or less? What a ripoff!!

Here's an idea. How about trading in an ipod or other iPOS and get free CDs? I'd be all for that service. What do they do with all those CDs anyways?

If you send them you CDs, you give up your legal right to have the music. It sounds to me like you are sending several hundred dollars (perhaps thousands) worth of CDs to them in exchange for the items. This does not sound like a good deal to me. I would much rather stay legal with my music licenses.

[nicmart]

Could you please post the relevant legal language?

[sholleran]

I completely agree. When the RIAA serves everybody a subpoena with a $150,000 per song price tag this isn't going to seem like much of a deal.

[bionicjim]

I got my iPod Touch back in February from this service. They took all of my CDs as-is (cracked cases are okay). I put in a few extra CDs just in case some of them were worthless. Surprisingly, they sent me a check for $70 in addition to the iPod Touch. It seems that by aggregating so many CDs you don't have to worry about the so-called "penny" CDs that are worth less than a penny (Garth Brooks, etc) since some in your collection are probably worth much more. I opted for the ripping service since I'd never got around to doing it myself and it all worked out as advertised. Can't recommend them highly enough.

Here's the basic rules if the site is still down: 1) Call them with the approx number of CDs you want to send them and the size of the box and they will provide a shipping tag you just tape to the box. 2) Drop at mailing store. 3) About 2 weeks later, enjoy your new device for the clearing out the closet. The only rules about CDs are there can't be duplicates (ie:100 copies of your garage band CD you couldn't sell) and they can't be overly scratched.

[Becky M]

You'll probably see your cd on Ebay one day...lol

Now if they accepted cassettes and 8-tracks, I'd be a real happy camper! The only cd player I own is the one on my computer.