"The third tipping point"

We have reached a tipping point. I'm not talking about climate change, which is a more deadly and serious issue. I'm talking about cds. The first tipping point was when CD sales peaked in 2000. It was all downhill from there. The second tipping point was the beginning of closures of used record stores. Very few physical record stores exist today. The third tipping point was when some thrift stores stopped to accept used cds as gifts. This happened recently. These thrift stores are still in minority, but who knows for how long. I asked the store staff about the reason. They smiled indulgently and explained that the day of the cd was over. Too much work with handling and storing compared with the limited customer demand. They didn't say it out loud, but the customer in this case are older men like myself who have nothing better to do. There are still a lot of cds in circulation, especially releases from when sales where high. Some cds are valuable and will be even more valuable in the future. But, there's a lot of uninteresting titles and low-budget releases. I like to spend time in thrift stores and flip through cds. I mostly buy quality classic cds released on Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, Sony and Philips and the like. In some cases the price tag is still attached. A small remembrance of when there were record stores, read more here (opens in a new window) and how costly cds were in the 1990s. They are dirt cheap now. At some thrift stores you can buy 10 cds for $2. I've got over 5 000 cds and the shelves are packed. I buy used cds faster than I can keep up listening to them. Maybe I will find time when I retire. What is this really about? With a beneficial interpretation, I'm a philanthropist doing charity. With a less beneficial interpretation, I'm a hoarder. I do know one thing. The next tipping point will be the last.