What do with vhs tapes

There are plenty of memorabilia appraisers who would probably be more than happy to take a look at your collection.

And if the contents are desirable, scarce, and rare enough — you will be able to earn a few bucks. Sure, most of the content found on these is available on newer mediums like discs or streaming services — but some of them are still considered rare commodities that collectors appreciate.

One quick look at eBay will probably tell you that there are plenty of people selling Disney movies for kids for only a few dollars. However, a more detailed search will show you that there are some precise tapes that are worth quite a bit more money. Of course, as with most other collectibles like games or toys — if you keep them in their original packaging, they will be worth a lot more. The uniqueness of the tapes is also a big factor.

For instance, when the Little Mermaid came out on VHS in , the first version of its cover art contained an undersea castle which resembled a shape not suitable for children, according to some people.

As a result, it was quickly pulled from the shelves and a redesign was made immediately by Disney. The rarity of these tapes represents their main appeal. These are also worth more on the free market.

But apart from them, you will also find that VHS tapes of any unusual or particularly old movies are generally a good scoop. For instance, any ancient horror films tend to fetch a fair price — anything from the early eighties will get you at least 20 bucks.

Just remember — you will be able to get the most money out of specific editions of classic movies. Your best bet would be searching for the movie title that you want to sell on eBay and then seeing if anyone else has sold it and for how much money.

As you may have noticed, a majority of this article was focused on what you should do if you want to get rid of your old VHS tapes. Well, the first thing that you need to keep in mind is — the tapes should be kept in their original packaging.

But most importantly, they will do a good job when it comes to eliminating the possibility of moisture or dust wreaking havoc on your tapes. Well, it needs not cost the earth because luckily for us are some very creative people, with some very clever VHS uses!

This rather amazing coffee table made from what looks like hundreds of VHS tapes was created by Josue Ormeno and I personally think it looks rather cool and for a designer made table not that expensive at all.

While not the most creative use of our old video tapes you will ever see here, I still think it is worth bring just outside the top 5, great recycling and very easy to make ourselves.

Why not go all old school and get this cool vintage VHS pencil case, all you need is an old video cassette and some tools as the step by step making guide will show you the rest! This idea uses the VHS tape cases rather than the tape itself, but it is still one amazing idea and very simple to do, it also doubles up as a secret hiding place!

If like me you can never get enough USB ports for all your gadgets, this might well be the answer, by turning an old VHS video cassette into a USB hub you are not only recycling but also solving the issue of lack of USB ports as well! I think the artist Sam Hensley missed a bit of a trick here, because with the same amount of VHS tapes she could have made a Space Invaders character rather than a butterfly.

Is it really that bad to throw them away in the first place? If only it were that simple. The outer cases of VHS, Betamax and audio cassette tapes are indeed plastic, and at least theoretically recyclable. The inner tape is made of a phthalate-laden form of the plastic polyethylene, often sold under the trade name Mylar, which is not recyclable.

Instead, look for local recycling companies. For this and other tough recycling quandaries, try Green Citizen , recycling. Or search for vintage shops or record stores to see if they will accept VHS tapes. But before you send off your videotapes and flood the market with this increasingly useless commodity , you might consider another approach: turning it into something more useful, like a table, or even a fly swatter.

My obsession with reusing trash began at around age 5, when I collected bottle caps just because they were too pretty to throw away.