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Was browsing eBay today and couldn't believe the prices of some of the CDs! The 70's boxed sets for $250 - $400? "RIGHT ON" for $300? Expanded Editions for $100 - $150?
Are these items that rare? I know some are out of print, but are people paying these prices?
I believe they are. Many people passed on the 70s boxed sets the first go round and regretted it.
I'm glad I was around when the albums like RIGHT ON, NEW WAYS BUT LOVE STAYS, etc. were originally released on individual cds because they were affordable and it seemed like whenever I went to Tower, something unexpected was out.
But I regret passing up some cds, like those of the Miracles, for example. Recently I wanted to get those cds and they were out of print and terribly expensive on eBay and Amazon. I ended up just going with vinyl because I refuse to pay those outrageous prices. But I kick myself for not buying them when I had the chance.
Do people still use eBay like that? It’s filled with bots that inflate the selling price.
while i get, to a small degree, the thrill of holding a physical copy of the Right On cd in your hand, i do want to stress that the sound quality of those early 90s cd is not as good as the digital downloads you can get today on itunes.
You can purchase the music on itunes and then just move it into a playlist for RO and burn a cd. then play it on your old cd player
and if you want to hold something in your hand, you can take out a copy of the RO lp and stare at it while listening to the higher-quality music from the download
or you could be a purist and listen to it on vinyl.
I've gotten better but I'm still not a download fan. I like having a nice professional cd in my hands. That said, recently I've had to download things like DIANA SINGS THE WIZ, BABY IT'S ME, and MARY WELLS ON STAGE. So I will do it in desperate times.Quote:
Originally Posted by sup_fan
reese - out of curiosity, what's your hesitation or disinterest in downloads?
i grew up in the lp era and absolutely appreciate the ability to sit and gaze into the album artwork, ready the lyric sheet insert, etc. But cd's and cassettes mostly killed that off anyway. and then as I got into the digital music, the definition was so wonderful. I have a pair of large [[old) 5-way speakers that are excellent quality and you can just hear so many details of the music. especially when i get it cranked way up and blasting!! lolol
so IMO the thrill of the physical died out years ago with the advent of these smaller formats. but the increase in sound quality makes up for it.
now i do agree that the booklets and liner notes we've received with the EE makes it all worthwhile. the data, stories, pictures, insights, etc are priceless. but that too, either physical or on my phone is fine. so long as we still get it
That's often the starting bid or asking price. If you search "sold" auctions, you'll see the actual selling price, if they sell at all. Often, people post them on eBay with a starting/asking price of $300 b/c they saw some other eBay seller somewhere once ask that price, so they think it will sell for that. In my observations over 20 years, they rarely sell for that price. Sometimes they do, but its few and far between.Quote:
Originally Posted by marybrewster
I agree with Sup_fan that the sound quality on the early 90s discs have been far surpassed by the recent boxed sets, but not digital downloads. Apple and Amazon have FAR too much compression and their downloads sound like crap. Maybe the more expensive lossless services are better, but they are far more expensive and have a much bigger digital footprint. I have all of the Supremes discs from the 90s and many of the other artists released back then. I rarely listen to them since the recently remastered CD versions are so much better.
interesting! i'll have to compare and see. i was fortunate to buy pretty much all of the cds back in the day. but have now replaced almost all of them with the EE reissues. the only ones being the handful of DRATS albums. I did buy Sunshine, Cream, LC on itunes to replace the 90s cds. so will have to look into thatQuote:
Originally Posted by thanxal
It isn't a disinterest. As I wrote, if I have to, I will download.Quote:
Originally Posted by sup_fan
But for quite some time, I wasn't able to and I was missing out on some digital-only releases. I hated that some releases didn't automatically go to both formats. Once I got Real Player and found out how easy it was to download and burn cds/dvds, it got better. But I can never get the packaging to my liking and I don't want to have to pull out a PDF every time I want to read liner notes.
very good point - it wasn't until recently that all of the albums were on itunes. so if you didn't have the 90s issues of Cream or Sunshine, you were SOL. I was that way with MS&S except a fan [[back in the 90s) had digitally recorded it and i got a copy. i think he had purchased a Like New copy of the album and then digitally recorded it or took it to a specialty store that could do that. was thrilled to have it and the sound quality is quite good. but not as good as the scherrie years box set
Have you volume matched when comparing 1990s Motown CDs to releases from this century? It's been shown in listening tests that people tend to rate louder recordings as higher in quality...
I have. I use Audacity to equalize the volume and then compare. I did a long comparison back around the time WDOLG EE came out. There was all kinds of chatter on a message board [[can't recall which one) about SQ, so I did a little amateur sound analysis. The 90s version of WDOLG was less clear and the bass was muddy. The 2004 EE had much better sound [[clearer on the highs, not overwhelming bass on the low end, better separation, etc.)Quote:
Originally Posted by smallworld
Unfortunately I was not able to buy all of the Supremes' expanded sets as they were released, so in the last couple years I've been trying to get all of the titles previous to the first pair I was able to buy at issue price which were Merry Christmas and A Go-Go. I have had to shell out decent money for the sets but I want the physical release and the booklets for my collection. It seems the original owners of these sets have held pretty tightly to them which has evidently driven the resale market. From what I've seen "Where Did Our Love Go" expanded routinely sells for over $100. I don't collect post Diana Supremes so I've narrowed the releases I need somewhat.
Darin
The real issue is the low numbers of copies upon release. They printed very low numbers and you are correct, the people who bought them knew what they were buying and were "intent" buyers, not casual consumers who saw something in a bin. That makes them super hard to find second-hand. WDOLG EE was the only one I didn't buy a play copy and a second copy to keep sealed and now I'm kicking myself. I'm also missing vol. 2 of the David Ruffin set. and Vol. 2 of the Eddie Kendrick set. If I keep kicking myself I'm gonna get hurt soon, but there is only so much money you can put out at once! When Hip-O Select was really cranking, several were coming out in a short space, not to mention the Ella set and the Stan Getz set and the Louis Armstrong set, etc, etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by DWSheffer
And here's a great example of what we were talking about earlier. There is a listing for the David Ruffin Vol. 2 set on eBay right now for $404. But the last one sold for $124. Still too expensive for me, but more reasonable than the list price.
confession - about a decade ago i paid an outrageous price for a cd copy of "Farewell " on CD from Ebay..cant remember how much but a couple of thousand dollars !
Please PM me if you're ever looking for anything in the future!!!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by nomis
thank you so much Thanxal ! that means so much to me god bless you
i think i paid nearly a grand for a cd of "Never Before Realeased Masters" a decage ago as well..I was working for a law firm at the time and they treated me with contempt a dog and third class citizen an awful class system existed there.. i worked reception the kitchen the bar and anything else they threw at me it was the pits - but the money was good i had wanted such things as "Farewell" or "25th anniversary" for yrs and i didnt mind the inflated prices the incredible music was worth it for the blood sweat and tears working at that law firm was - ive forgotten most of what i went thru working theres but ive had countless hours of joy from the music i was able to purchase from the experience ..
worth every penny and all the more treasured :)
I was late to the game in collecting the "stand alone" CD releases. I've been focusing now on the 70's and the only one I need to finish my collection is "Right On". Finding it is a needle in a haystack, and when I do see one, I might as well be spending enough to buy a Supremes gown, lol. The search continues!
Nomis, my goodness. I am sorry to hear about the stressful working conditions you had to endure. I can identify. However, I want to know if you actually paid $1,000 [[or more) for Never Before Released Masters and Farewell on CD? If so, I wish I would have known you, so I could have talked you out of it. I ended up buying both of these CDs on eBay in recent years for less than $60 USD a piece. There are a lot of people on eBay charging ridiculous prices, but sometimes you can find a good or fair deal, if you're willing to wait.
The one set that consistently goes for a lot of money on eBay is the Jean Terrell Years box set. Everything else that's out of print tends to fluctuate at times. Like someone else pointed out, the Where Did Our Love Go Expanded has gone for hundreds of dollars at times, and other times I've seen it go for less than $100. Same goes for the other Supremes and Diana Hip-O Select titles. I bought the original CD of Floy Joy last week for $25 and bought the original Right On CD a few years ago for $15.
thanks carlo from my sketchy memory i paid something like [[New Zealand dollar) $937 for "Never Before Released Masters" & at leat $1400 for "Farewell/Captured Live On Stage" but as i said it possibly was more..getting "Never" & "25th Anniversary" cds was such a great day i had waited to get them since 1986 ! and the unreleased tracks didnt disapoint
Ive noticed recently on E Bay "Live At The Copa" expanded rising in price quite noticeably from sellers..
Wow. I have an extra Jean Terrell set. I should check and see what it going for these days! Also, I have an extra copy of DR & S Live at London's Talk of the Town. Can I still get $5.00 for that one????
Thommg, the last one I saw sell sold for about $250.00.Quote:
Originally Posted by thommg
If it's a CD, I'd gladly give you a fiver for it!Quote:
Originally Posted by thommg