I think there's a certain type of person who came of age during the "liquidation" era who thinks anything used and non-rare should be $5-$10 or less, because that was the case for quite a while during their formative years. And I suspect a lot of them would have no problem paying, say $30 for a nice reissue of a classic record, but would balk at paying $30 for a NM vintage copy of the same title. The question is why? My sense is that there wasn't a big market for used records until the '80s, when vinyl was close to being on its way out already. And so to a lot of people, the price of new records doesn't seem crazy (because it's more or less kept pace with what new records were back in the '60s-'80s), but something happens psychologically when used records enter the picture: since used records and used record stores are associated in people's minds with the cheap vinyl era of 10-20 years ago, the sudden jump in prices has been a bit shocking. I don't know if this is all true, I'm just hypothesizing here. It's also worth noting that a lot of the used stuff that people try to get top dollar for today isn't in mint or NM shape, so if the price is more than what it would have been (inflation adjusted) 40 years ago new, some of the shock is understandable.
One of my latest used record was an OG Canadian DLP of Bruce Springsteen's The River for 25 cents at a garage sale. A couple weeks ago, I saw another copy at one of my local used record shops for $20 CAD. Even for common Bruce Springsteen albums, getting it for a quarter is a unicorn sight in itself.
I could've bought multiple copies of those Smiths LPs. Since I've never been in this for profit, I let them where they were, hoping somebody else would enjoy the music. But, I bought multiple copies, possibly a dozen, of Led Zeppelin's "Remasters" for the equivalent of €7. Because I read that the three LP set was OOP, imagine my surprise when copies surfaced; it was a store that was having a final sale before closing; late 90s. I didn't even buy all the copies available. All sealed. I gave them over the years as presents to friends and girlfriends, and have kept three for a long time. Then gave one to a friend that lost the job telling to sell it. One was finaly opened about 10 years ago, but never listened to it, except for "Communication breakdown". And the final one is still sealed. I checked discogs and there are some jokers asking €300-400-600 for their NM or "opened, but with envelope" copies. Shall I sell my sealed one?
I think most middle-aged and older collectors probably already have those albums, but there are a LOT of teenagers and 20-somethings who are getting into those bands, and getting into vinyl, for the first time right now. Also, there's a non-trivial amount of older people who had those records in their youth, got rid of them for CDs when everyone else did, and are now buying them again.
When you could get them for $2 to $5 a copy, I bought a half-dozen or more copies of every Mamas & Papas, Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Simon & Garfunkel album, etc. especially mono copies. Partly because I just couldn’t resist snatching them up at that price, partly trying to upgrade to the “perfect” copy, partly to collect/hoard different matrix numbers, East Coast/West Coast variants, Canadian pressings, etc. I recently gave away a set of the Mamas and Papas catalog to a younger friend to whom it is all brand new.
Yes, I agree 100%: many, many people got spoiled by the ridiculously cheap prices of used vinyl from, say, 1995-2005. Those miraculous days are gone, and they’re never coming back.
This is possible. Unfortunately, these younger persons are being schoooled about the hipness of vinyl but often purchase really bad turntables, don't know how to properly set them and..will never change the stili. At least this is my experience. Do all those vintage LPs deserve something like this?
Really difficult to understand how 50- to 60-year-vinyl collectors somehow can’t grasp that 20-year-olds weren’t magically born with a complete collection of classic rock vinyl titles that that the 50- to 60-year-old collectors take for granted.
Did original 1960s Parlophone Beatles records deserve to be played on something like this? The more things change, the more things stay the same. My local shop sells the Music Hall MMF 1.3 and 1.5, which, by the standards of jaded Boomer record collectors, are doubtless “toys,” but they’re not record manglers or jokes like a Crosley.
I don't expect the low prices of the 90s and early 00s to last forever; but a major part of what has driven the prices up to where they are today is the increased demand. Many of the titles discussed in this thread were things almost no one wanted on vinyl back then, but in the intervening years, the demand for vinyl shot up to a degree which I actually think increased the prices far more so than if we were just adjusting for inflation. I mean, a lot of records were dirt cheap in the 90s and early 00s solely because few people wanted them, and those prices were lower than if they'd been adjusted for inflation, and often lower than they were even in the 80s. Edit: Of course, when you do factor inflation, some of these records still may be a good deal. Alas, wages for many folks have not kept up with inflation.
I remember in the late 90s I got an absolutely pristine used copy of the US/Sire The Queen Is Dead LP for $2.00. Even then that seemed a little cheap (I would've expected it to be at least $5 or $6 at that time). But I got many of the Sire Smiths LPs in the 90s for $5 or less. (It was years later when I realized I needed to get the UK RT pressings of some of those records, when they, of course, cost a bit more.)
I keep coming across inexpensive Sabbath albums with vinyl in nice condition, but with moldy, water damaged covers. At multiple stores over the last year or two. It's weird. I buy 'em anyway though. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath Vol. 4 , https://www.discogs.com/release/4996746-Black-Sabbath-Black-Sabbath , Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath , and Black Sabbath - Paranoid most recently.
Billy Joel albums don't go for big bucks across the board. Really, it's just The Stranger and GH I & II, and the latter wasn't pressed in high numbers since it was 1985. I'm also pretty sure that Storm Front (1989) is in demand now, because again... Low pressing numbers, and that one has a lot of hits on it. Every other BJ record I've picked up in NM condition for cheap, even recently... even WLPs sometimes. You can still get Glass Houses and Nylon Curtain and 52nd St for $10 or so in nice condition. (The latter even had a "TikTok hit" with "Zanzibar"! So TikTok alone isn't suddenly causing vinyl prices to spike.) With Journey, the prices are a little bit higher, but mainly it's just Escape (with "Don't Stop Believin") and Infinity that go for bucks. The others are still $10-15 records depending.
...I always come back to the Stones' Some Girls, which was a $2-5 used LP when I was growing up, but now I can't seem to find for less than $20-25. Not saying it's bad or good -- just disorienting!
OK that makes sense. I think people underestimate how much the sudden price jumps we're talking about here often affect some albums more than others by the same artist.
I think with that one, the original uncensored cover goes for quite a bit, while the later censored ones aren't considered as valuable. Granted, back in the old days it was probably $2-5 for any version, but it seems like there's at least some logic to why some copies go for a lot (although even the uncensored cover isn't rare or anything).
I was going to dump 40% of my LPs soon, all M- & good titles... been seriously thinking about it. All to the 'local used record store' for probably darn near 'free' was my thinking. Guess I'll just keep ALL what I have from what you guys are saying. Thanks! P.S. Just 5 months ago I took 25 LPs to the Goodwill, all M- good titles, just started cleaning out the LPs. Guess I should have kept them. The next day they were all gone except for one. They were some good albums but my thinking was they were worth $4 each - at most. Me too now. I also need to do some 'serious' research now. Thanks.
I would agree that people never stopped liking Rumours, it’s just that, in the 90s and 2000s, the demand for it on vinyl largely wasn’t there because only the die-hards like us still had working turntables. But now, when many young people I know actually have a turntable and actually do listen to records - all of those copies of all of these records aren’t just being sold as display pieces - demand for Rumours on vinyl is naturally higher. While Rumours certainly sold a kajillion billion units back in the day, you know, not every copy was taken care of or preserved. The pool of desirable original copies of any record from the past is limited, and new listeners are born every year. There are over 100 million more people in the USA today than there were in 1977. Even if only a fraction of them want to own a copy of Rumours on vinyl, that’s a still a lot of people wanting to own a copy of Rumours on vinyl.
Very rare here as well. I've seen exactly 2 original Smiths LPs in the last 8 years; A VG+ Sire copy of the Queen is Dead for $2 at a thrift shop (which I bought), and just recently, a falling apart UK press of Meat is Murder for $40 at an antique mall (which I laughed at). I've been able to find mint copies of several New Order albums and every U2 album up to Rattle and Hum for a pittance though. I don't know where all the Smiths records are hiding at.
The Americans who cared enough back in the day to buy import copies of UK Smiths, Cure, Joy Division, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, etc. records when they were new don’t generally part with them. They’re all locked up in Gen X collections, and those owners have a good 25 to 40 years left before they die (at least I hope I do). My local shop, which generally features relatively low and fair prices, got in three mint UK Smiths 12” singles last year - Bigmouth Strikes Again, Ask, and one other. Each was priced at $75 to $80. They were gone in 48 hours.
What people never realize is in the US a lot of the sales in the 80s of bands like the Smiths were on TAPE not LP…then in the late 80s the sales were on CD
I don't buy vinyl these days, really. I have a fairly big collection(to normal humans, not anything like some of the archives here,) due to second hand vinyl being so much cheaper than CDs when I was a teen. I couldn't afford a CD of Paranoid or Never Mind the Bollocks, so bought a used LP instead. With current prices, though, I've moved to CDs or downloads. I like vinyl, but not enough to pay current prices.
Just out of curiosity, what were some of the records you took to Goodwill? I always look when I go to thrift stores but I haven't found anything good in years, so if what you had was even remotely desirable, I'm not surprised they were gone within 24 hours.
The stories on Rumours are universal whether you are 16, 46, or closer to 76. Plus, the album doesn't sound 'old'.
I honestly can't remember which albums I gave GW, just drawing a 'blank', but I know they were all 'good' albums/bands - just music I know I will never listen to again. 'One of them' was a Bo Diddly album that I really should have kept but that's ok. I just figured - let someone else have them who would enjoy them. Someone got 'lucky'. I have 350+ other M- actual vinyl, good titled LPs that I probably will never listen to again so they are like - just there - along with other 'stuff'. I just have to really 'offload' & get rid of the collected 'over the years' stuff.