To Open Older Sealed Vinyl Or Keep It Sealed??

Yeah - what a hinderance. Those darn record shows and collectors, discogs, ebay - I can barely enjoy my music with all that market activity and money changing going on.

By the way if you ever sell a clean black & gold Parlophone Please Please Me - let me know. I'll pay you $5 for it. Lets make sure you don't contribute to 'the problem'!

 

Records are investments for some people, including some forum members. Also SACD's and gold CD's, from what I've seen. Just look at the Marketplace.

And that's not a bad thing, per se. Sell a record for a decent price and then you buy more records with it - everybody wins. I'm not thrilled with the insane prices of some Beatles vinyl, but it is what it is and at least you can buy a new (EU) boxed set if you don't want to play that game anymore.

The only reason why one should keep a record sealed imo is if they plan to keep it as an investment.

 

I've sold records that made it possible to refinance my mortgage, among other things. I've also sold plenty of records to...get other records. It's about whatever I want it to be about. It's up to you to get off your rump and find a way to obtain musical enjoyment, which is awfully easy in most cases.

 

Well, here's my very recent experienxe (not yet closed at the time... )
Few years ago, I bought a Classic Records reissue of PHYSICAL GRAFFITI. New. Sealed with the typical glued stick.
I never opened it. Why? Usually I listen the UK first pressing: if i decided to sell it, open would have lost a third of its value.
I finally decided to sell it. An australian customer bought it and... tah-dahh! Now pretend that it was open! God knows why and how (seal cut... unbelievable). Therefore, suspect that an ever heard! Oh Jeez, help me if you can...
Moral of the story: from now on, I'll open every single LP...

 

For sure, the buyer will suspect you have closed it!

 

Music is meant to be heard - not looked at.

 

Depends really. Having just aquired 300+ sealed LPs from the 60's mostly I've been opening many of them and enjoying the tunes. But I can't bring myself to open the sealed copy of Loretta Lynn's first LP on Decca. Maybe because it's her debut, dunno. For now I will probably keep it sealed.

 

Anyone keeping a Classic records pressing sealed is asking for trouble as likely 1 in 4 chance of a dud. If you sell it on be prepared for the consequences. Any sealed record you probably have a 1 in 10 chance of a fault. Always open them. I would never pay a premium for an unopened and therefore unchecked 'used' record. Shrink cut but left on is ideal.

 

The few sealed records that I have in my collection are kept sealed because I get a certain type of pleasure from having them in that state. That shouldn't be viewed as contrary to enjoying music. The two different states of pleasure are not mutually exclusive unless the sealed copy in question is the only existing copy.

 

Records aren't income? Take a look on Ebay what kind of "income" sellers are raking in from sealed vinyl. It all comes down to what the market will bear. And trust me...in the age of Ebay, sealed vinyl is BIG income. It's DEFINITELY about financial investments to those sellers. And they're doing just fine without your involvement because you don't like it.

 

Keep it sealed and find a nice play copy.

 

I do not accept that 'sealed' means it was sealed from the factory. Just as likely some person resealed it.
Being paranoid about this makes me totally immune to the lure of 'sealed'. (I have seen the resealing machine at a record wholesaler, and it makes perfect replicas ofthe original material. They reseal all sorts of stuff.)
Since i believe it is bogus anyway. (at least half of the time). I will NOT buy an older record sealed. Either I open it right there to inspect, or i pass it by. (though one dealer allows me to take it home and no problem return, so I trust him)
Also shrink wrap left on LP. I buy a lot of used Lps, and I ALWAYS remove that old shrinkwrap. I use outer sleeves, and place most worthwhile LPs into heavy outer sleeves.
Only ONE Lp i aquired with that Columbia inner sealed plastic sleeve was resold by me to a dealer (as it was a dup of another perfect copy I had.) Otherwise I do not keep any sealed LPs.

 

Yeah, this is a concern for fleaBay sales in particular - once the buyer opens it and if they aren't satisfied, you now have an opened / returned item on your hands. In those cases, it's sometimes better to do the transaction face to face, if possible.

The few items I have sold on fleaBay that were sealed I actually opened them first and scanned them visually and playgraded once, then mentioned this in the auction. I know that the value likely dropped a bit due to this action, but at least I know what I'm sending!

 

It depends. I do both, although most of my older sealed record finds are eventually opened and played. I collect records for two reasons: 1) the music, and 2) the jacket art. I don't collect for investment purposes...it's too hard for me to part with them! The only reason I will keep a sealed copy sealed is if I already have a near mint copy for playing. I don't go out of my way to find sealed copies of an album I already own, but occasionally I will find one and purchase if it's reasonably priced. A friend of mine definitely collects records as objects, and keeps most of his albums sealed perfect. I find that kind of strange, but to each his own.

 

I'm not disagreeing with anyone's viewpoints. Both sides have their merits. But to the "music is for playing" crowd, I ask you this: suppose you had a shelf full of 1st generation master tapes of every classic album you've ever loved. Would you play them every time you wanted to sit back and hear the White Album or Dark Side of The Moon when a great sounding and much less valuable LP was at your disposal?

 

I had a few older titles I bought sealed. One was an original pressing of Depeche Mode's Violator. I left it sealed, thinking I have an open one, it's kinda cool to have it sealed. Then one day I was playing my open copy, and it was kinda noisy. So I cleaned it. It was still a little noisy, so I tried again. Then, I realized I was being dumb and that I had essentially a brand new copy sitting on my shelf. So I opened it and sold the previously opened copy. So I went from a VG+ copy to a strong NM copy. Great upgrade.

Now I tend to open everything. It doesn't come up often, but it has twice this year. I found a sealed 1st US pressing of The Cure's "Faith", and a sealed 1st pressing of The Cars "Candy-O". I opened them both and sold my previous copies.

 

I deal in realities (and your scenario isn't), and the reality of my situation is that I never buy vinyl that is priced as a collectible or for investment. I buy vinyl that is priced reasonably enough for me to add to my permanent collection to play and enjoy. Unlike another poster I am not against the market for vinyl resale. I'm just not interested in being a player in that game.

 

I can usually tell from a clear picture in an Ebay listing whether or not it's a legit sealed album. It also helps if it's a reputable seller who I've dealt with before. I did get burned a couple times, but the threat of negative feedback got me full refunds. Again, however you feel about sealed albums, it all comes down to what the market will bear. If there's demand for a hard-to-find sealed album, the price will obviously go up in the bidding. That's just the nature of collecting...be it sealed albums, paintings, DCC discs mastered by our fearless leader, etc.

 

I should have kept my JL-Imagine 40th Ann Boxset sealed. It would have saved me the displeasure of having listened to it.

 

I mainly buy open records. I'd rather sell a sealed lp to a nutty collector and use the money for other records. I wished I opened my Flaming Pie record when it came out. Now it's too late. It sits on the shelf where I'll never hear it.

 

Love your avatar! Great album!

 

That's the second time I've heard that! Way back in the day a friend in college told me they had a resealing machine at the U Dist Tower records when I went to the U. of Washington.

 

The (unfortunate) other side of the equation is that anyone buying an open/used record online (Classic Records or otherwise) probably has around a 3 in 4 chance of the record being over-graded (never under-graded, there's no danger of that! ), or the Seller not understanding how to properly grade an Lp in the first place (or both).

This is likely a primary reason that sealed LPs command a premium — at least you know that no one else has played it (with who knows what kind of care or equipment), and the Seller's grading skills (or lack thereof) are eliminated from the equation.

 

It's absolutely true. I had friends who worked at Tower stores in the 70s.

 

Again, unless one has a resealing machine. Some sellers do. Not the single seller but those who do it for a living.