Opportunity or Obsession?
Paul Mawhinney has a collection of over 2,500,000 vinyl records he’d like to sell you. It is reportedly the largest record collection in existence.
The video claims that it’s worth as much as $50 million. Paul’s only asking $3 million. He hasn’t received even a single “serious” offer.
The Archive from Sean Dunne on Vimeo.
Economists say that a good is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Why isn’t anyone willing to pony up for Paul’s collection? Because no one values it the way he does.
While some enterprising entrepreneur may step forward to purchase, catalog, market and sell each of these millions of records individually, at this moment it appears unlikely.
From my perspective Paul’s is a cautionary tale for every aspiring business owner whose desire is not to serve an existing market demand, but rather follow his heart. You may want to open a gift shop, wine store, antiques shop or bed and breakfast, but if there isn’t enough local demand to cover your expenses and generate a living-wage profit, you’re doomed to fail.
