Japanese obi strip question*

I don't keep hype stickers either. it's my collection and I don't care about that stuff. sue me.

 

even if you couldn't care less ,you never know when you will want to re sell something ,try selling them without Obi's first

 

People who throw that stuff away actually perform a service. Its what makes items that survive with their 'associated material' valuable.

 

There ya go. You're welcome!

 

It is a Zen question. "You know the sound of two hands clapping; tell me, what is the sound of one hand?"

 

In a morally perverted kind of way - I'm impressed.

 

It depends on the hype sticker. If it says something cool about the album, I'll keep it (if I can peel it).
If it says a bunch of nothing like "Remastered! 180 gram Audiophile pressing!" then no.

Obi-always.

 

I'm currently tracking down a few JP CDs (Devo and YMO), and I've decided that Obi strips are my favourite thing about them.

Why? Because it means an otherwise mint album can be had for about $20 cheaper than usual! I don't give a damn about Obis, but I love those savings.

 

I've just received a CD from a Japanese company that came in a branded box complete with its own obi!!!!!

 

Was in a "Book Off" branch here in Japan a while ago - they're mostly cd's and books but some branches have LP sections secreted away - anyway, found a pristine jazz LP, with the OBI, for only 100 yen. Took it up to the counter and the young kid working there, obviously unfamiliar with lp's, just casually ripped the OBI off like it was some sort of excess wrapper. I just stood there gobsmacked. Then I started laughing probably the saddest laugh in the entire history of laughter. Then I stopped myself from yelling "it's f**ken yours now mate" and instead walked out and left him to it

 

I wonder how many people in Japan keep them - since they are really for translating the song listings, titles, etc. Meaning, how many people do treat it as an 'excess wrapper?'

 

I grew up in Japan and bought albums through the mid-70's. It was an excess wrapper, as you say. Never considered it as something to be treasured (back then).

Edit: come to think of it, I think I did have Physical Graffiti and a number of other obi tucked away inside the cover so I must have kept some of them.

 

I bought an early Japanese CD a while back for $20. The one with obi went for $200. More or less same condition. The prices are getting crazy.

 

The obi has a role in marketing records and CDs to Japanese audiences. Most rock and pop releases, even by Japanese artists, have the album title and artist name in roman script, because this was/is seen as fashionable. The obi strip has the same information in Japanese plus details of songs included or, if it is a selling point, the names of the contributing musicians. I collect Japanese artists, in particular YMO, and the different obi designs or details are the only way to tell different pressings apart.

Sometimes Japanese releases of albums are given unique Japanese titles, for example "Obscure Alternatives" by Japan has an alternate Japanese title on the obi "Melodies of Angst".

 

For me, the obi strip makes it clear that I have a Japanese (mass) produced CD and gives the impression of a product made with a little more care than the mass-produced European or North American version.

 

There are different variations too, one of which, the Wankenobi, is even more highly sought after.

 

Even including some well made 'boot's' as well This one includes a 'high gloss laminated' Horn art.

 

If I'm buying a collector's item, I expect the obi to be included.

 

I'll admit that I definitely get a kick out of having an obi included. However, I'm not willing to pay a very large premium.

I seek out Japanese CDs only when they have a unique (and better!) mastering - which they sometimes do but just as often don't. I also sometimes seek them out if the Japanese CD has one or more exclusive bonus tracks.

I will pay a premium for an obi, but only a small one, perhaps $10 above the cost of an obi-less version in similar condition. I just don't care enough to pay massive premiums for that strip, no matter the artist or title. But different strokes and all...

 

Maybe for recent releases, but for older LPs almost certainly not. The value of the obi can be many times the value of the underlying LP.

There are knock-off obis, so if you're buying an LP where the obi is described as original and represents a significant part of the value, check it carefully under magnification for digital printing once it arrives.

 

For 60s era Beatles LPs, this understates the obi premium. Japan was a huge market for the Beatles, so their records were made in large quantities, and they tend to survive in nice condition (more often than in most countries).

In the 60s, there was not yet much sense that the obi had any value or aesthetic appeal -- it was purely a point of sale marketing tool. They were almost always discarded (this changed by the late 1970s).

The result is that the original issue Odeon Beatles LPs routinely sell for less than $40 in VG+ or better condition without the obi, but $200 or more (sometimes much more) with a decent condition original obi.

I've decided to play this mug's game and have quite a few with the obi, but I'm missing many of them.

 

YES THE OBI DOES INCREASE VALUE....STRANGELY ENOUGH I FOUND A JAPANESE EDITION. OF THE SMITHS DEBUT ON C.D. WITH THE 4 ASSOCIATED SINGLES TACKED ON BUT IT WAS MISSING IT'S OBI....I THOUGHT IT WAS LESS "VALUABLE" TILL I GOOGLE ABOUT ONLY TO FIND IT WAS RELEASED WITHOUT AN OBI!I LOVE JAPANESE ISSUED C.D.'S!!

 

I only own a handful of Japanese CDs, and I have the obi strips for each of them... mostly because I think they're cool.

...though I have always wondered if the obis were as valuable to the average everyday music consumer in Japan as they are to collectors overseas. Do Japanese consumers keep the obi's, or do they just throw them away with the cellophane when they open a CD? If you stand outside a music store in Tokyo, is the trash can on the corner full of discarded obi's?

 

Just bought a Japanese CD from Japan, and the saving to have a copy with no obi was enough for me to think "oh fudge it!!"