Don’t ask us how we know about this, but there’s a site called secondspin.com that allows you to sell bulk amounts of CDs via the mail (again, we think this is how it works–we have no idea whether it accepts entire boxes of watermark-free promos). Because the site does a high volume of new-CD acquisitions, it provides a compelling (though non-scientific) look at what albums are in demand on the used-disc market: We know an album’s a dud when, after just two weeks, its buy-back price is down to $2 or so. Here’s a random selection of notable 2006 releases; keep in mind that most recent major-label discs usually average $4 to $5 a pop, and you get an idea of what people are buying and selling.

Dashboard Confessional, Dusk and Summer – $7.50
Sean Lennon, Friendly Fire – $5.00
Cassie, Cassie – $5.00
Jay-Z, Kingdom Come – $5.00
Arctic Monkeys, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not – $4.00
Regina Spektor, Begin To Hope – $4.00
Lady Sovereign, Public Warning – $4.00
Chingy, Hoodstar – $3.00
Pink, I’m Not Dead $3.00
Keane, Under The Iron Sea – $3.00
Obie Trice, Second Round’s On Me – $3.00
Kasbian, Empire – $2.00
The Streets, Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living – $2.00
Dirty Pretty Things, Waterloo To Anywhere – $1.00
Razorlight, Razorlight - $1.00
High School Musical (Special Edition) – $0.25
Elefant, Black Magic Show – $.025

We’re guessing the High School Musical disc is simply too ubiquitous to command a high price anymore (scarcity and demand, and so forth), but $7.50 for Dashboard? That’s one of the most lucrative trade-ins we’ve ever enjoyed observed from a distance.

Secondspin.com