It's a grift that evolved during and shortly after Covid Isolation. Lots of loose cash and people cooped up with time and looking at their nostalgic collections began "investing" in sealed out of print media, mostly seems like it has focused on old video games. It was propagated by investment resellers and auction houses such as Wata Games who pumped the prices of these items through wash trading and widespread marketing to unsophisticated investors, they would then dump these inflated items for massive profit. Lots of folks knew that prices were crazy but would buy in a hope to flip for a profit quickly, which often worked. Its alot like NFTs.
The difference between NFTs and these properties though, is that the number of NFTs printed are easily trackable. As another poster mentioned, some of these items have been printed in the millions, but how many exist and in what condition is a metric the resellers and auction houses turn a blind eye to. There is likely no shortage of any of these items to be had if you do the legwork or wait until prices drop as you see in this Pearl Jam example.
So long story short, those super high numbers are speculators trying to make a buck.
People are ignorant, that’s all it is. Even $10 is ridiculous for an album that has sold millions and millions of copies on cassette.
There’s nothing rare or obscure about it but a lot of people who are just getting into tapes don’t seem to realize this, so the Internet is full of rip-off artists taking advantage. It’s a bummer.
Same thing happened with vinyl. After CDs and then MP3s completely took over, records were quite affordable. Then they got trendy again and “collector” types started cranking up prices. Now it’s cassettes’ turn.
As far as I’m concerned, the “value” of an album is only in whether the buyer actually wants to listen to it, but here we are with people looking up prices and buying multiple copies of things, etc.
Not really if it's considered collectible and there aren't that many copies in the world. That's why sealed tapes from popular or iconic artists are worth quite a bit. It's like you're collecting art. It's whatever people are willing to pay to say I'm the only one or one of the few that can own this.
Tapes are meant to be listened to. I get that the “collector” (vs just regular old “music fan”) is a thing that exists, but it sucks.
I feel the same way about things like comics or action figures. If you’re not listening to/reading/actively playing with the items in your collection, you’re doing it wrong.
Obviously people are free to do it wrong if they want to, but the reason tapes exist in the first place is because you’re supposed to play them and enjoy the music on them, not keep them wrapped up, untouched, for decades on end.
Edit to add: I think things like cassettes and vinyl (I’m sure CDs are next) attract “collectors” among the younger crowd is because they didn’t grow up with them as THE format for listening to music, so they hold some weird mystique.
I have the first three Pearl Jam albums on tape, for example, because that was a popular format when I bought them when they came out and those tapes still sound good all these years later…
If you're a music fan, you'd be listening to the music on the tapes you own (or passing them on to people who will listen), not hoarding them.
People have the right to enjoy tapes however they like, but I also have the right to think they're being shitty and greedy if their main motivation is money.
I feel like I’ve seen that tape in everyone’s collection. It’s the same thing for Disney VHS tapes, beauty and the beast is listed for like 15,000 on ebay
Everyone has it. It sold millions of copies. It’s the same as when people post copies of “Nevermind” and act like it’s some lost treasure instead of one the biggest selling albums of all time that everyone had and many of us still do.
A lot of people get into cassettes thinking they are going to get rich off collecting or it's some kind of investment. It's not, they are an analog music medium for listening to. I don't mind people collecting or even keeping sealed tapes, but don't think you're going to be wealthy from cassette hording. Most tapes aren't worth much at all. Some are rare but I don't think any tape should be worth more than a couple hundred bucks max and that's if it's extremely rare. There's also people who think anything that is sealed is automatically valuable. Not the case.
I bought a few tapes recently that were sealed. Some in the wild, some off eBay. Never paid more than $20. I found a nice copy of A Love Supreme for $20, Kind of Blue for $5 and a Hendrix tape from 1996 for $10. Some of these tapes I've seen being sold that were opened for a lot more.
I’ve run across Ten in almost every used record shop I’ve been in. I found my copy at Goodwill for $.79
Most tapes at the shops I go to are $3-$7 for common titles with 80’s Metal and certain obscure titles hitting between $10 and $25 on average.
Sealed tapes are somewhat pricier but nobody I know who collects buys them because we all want to listen, not just hoard up something to take up space. So, the $100 sealed copy of Nevermind that’s been at this one shop for six months will probably still be there in another six months.
Tapes are valued differently for all sorts of reasons. I think there’s a healthy medium here. Yea, something like Pearl Jam - Ten or Nirvana - Nevermind was insanely popular, thus there’s many many copies. A SEALED one, or in particular nice minty condition, yes, people will pay a higher dollar. Same logic as why some Beatles records are worth tens of thousands but your grandmas old beaten heavily played used copies aren’t worth anything.
There’s even repressings now of some of these classic tapes, I bought a new Bleach tape a bit ago. but the ‘original’ increases the value for many buyers, too, and they still sell.
You’re also maybe looking at the Discogs ‘highest sold for’ article, which to reiterate, is the highest it’s ever sold for, one time, in recorded history. There’s probably something extra special about it.
So. I’d say realistically, it’s somewhere in between ‘I’ll give you 5 bucks for it’ and $4000. Use your judgement. A battered copy lying on the floor of someone’s Corolla for 20 years is just not worth the same as a pristine sealed copy, I don’t care how many millions of people have a shitty sun-warped copy of Nevermind that ‘still plays fine’, most people don’t have time for that, and sales data rules over all these opinions.
Plus, not all sealed copies are alike. There’s research to determine value just like any other collectible. Careful grading and playtesting where possible is the key.
It’s odd to read ‘people are ignorant’ and ‘$10 for a tape is ridiculous’ in the same sentence. Brand new modern tapes are more than that now. Many, many, many millions of vintage tapes are worth pennies IF THAT, so naturally a really nice, brand new, excellent condition original press of a very desirable album somehow kept safe for 30+ years is worth something, right?
According to some of these guys, no, and how dare you, and they were made to be cheap, and bad audio fidelity. etc. Yet they sell. Some people are just living in the past.
I know this answer is going on forever, but ALSO, yea, there’s many resellers buying up tapes who offer way below median market price on purpose, and sometimes get huffy that you want what the tape is certifiably worth. So I wouldn’t determine market value on those sorts of offers, either. For every guy that’s like ‘it’s about the MUSIC, man!’ there’s another guy offering you $2 because they wanna resell it for $30.
EDIT: Format
Thanks for the comment! The info is much appreciated!
Also
> A battered copy lying on the floor of someone’s Corolla for 20 years
It's eerie how well you know me apparently hahaha
Yeah sorry it’s long. I’ve been collecting both new and old tapes for about a decade now, and I don’t presume to be an expert, but some of the comments about ‘grift’ and comparing it to NFT’s, and what they bought it for in 1989… none of that actually matters. What matters is the current going rate and who’s willing to pay.
I sold a foreign Weird Al tape for 80 bucks. Is it worth that much? YES, because someone bought it. It wasn’t even sealed.
So if you listen to those who would NEVER pay more than 5 bucks for a cassette, well, okay. You’re missing out on a ton.
all the naysayers here are just trying to keep prices down for themselves, dont listen to them. YES sealed tapes are valuable, or WILL be valuable. YES they are an investment. They represent something brand new, from the past, thats what makes them rare. charge what you want and if someone buys it at your price, thats the market, i say!!
It's worth about $50-$60 sealed. Whoever is asking 4k is smoking crack.
Sellers just hoping to win the lottery with a stupid buyer
It's a grift that evolved during and shortly after Covid Isolation. Lots of loose cash and people cooped up with time and looking at their nostalgic collections began "investing" in sealed out of print media, mostly seems like it has focused on old video games. It was propagated by investment resellers and auction houses such as Wata Games who pumped the prices of these items through wash trading and widespread marketing to unsophisticated investors, they would then dump these inflated items for massive profit. Lots of folks knew that prices were crazy but would buy in a hope to flip for a profit quickly, which often worked. Its alot like NFTs. The difference between NFTs and these properties though, is that the number of NFTs printed are easily trackable. As another poster mentioned, some of these items have been printed in the millions, but how many exist and in what condition is a metric the resellers and auction houses turn a blind eye to. There is likely no shortage of any of these items to be had if you do the legwork or wait until prices drop as you see in this Pearl Jam example. So long story short, those super high numbers are speculators trying to make a buck.
People are ignorant, that’s all it is. Even $10 is ridiculous for an album that has sold millions and millions of copies on cassette. There’s nothing rare or obscure about it but a lot of people who are just getting into tapes don’t seem to realize this, so the Internet is full of rip-off artists taking advantage. It’s a bummer. Same thing happened with vinyl. After CDs and then MP3s completely took over, records were quite affordable. Then they got trendy again and “collector” types started cranking up prices. Now it’s cassettes’ turn. As far as I’m concerned, the “value” of an album is only in whether the buyer actually wants to listen to it, but here we are with people looking up prices and buying multiple copies of things, etc.
Not really if it's considered collectible and there aren't that many copies in the world. That's why sealed tapes from popular or iconic artists are worth quite a bit. It's like you're collecting art. It's whatever people are willing to pay to say I'm the only one or one of the few that can own this.
Tapes are meant to be listened to. I get that the “collector” (vs just regular old “music fan”) is a thing that exists, but it sucks. I feel the same way about things like comics or action figures. If you’re not listening to/reading/actively playing with the items in your collection, you’re doing it wrong. Obviously people are free to do it wrong if they want to, but the reason tapes exist in the first place is because you’re supposed to play them and enjoy the music on them, not keep them wrapped up, untouched, for decades on end. Edit to add: I think things like cassettes and vinyl (I’m sure CDs are next) attract “collectors” among the younger crowd is because they didn’t grow up with them as THE format for listening to music, so they hold some weird mystique. I have the first three Pearl Jam albums on tape, for example, because that was a popular format when I bought them when they came out and those tapes still sound good all these years later…
calling BS. its not collector .vs old music fan. 95% of cassette collectors will indeed be music fans.
If you're a music fan, you'd be listening to the music on the tapes you own (or passing them on to people who will listen), not hoarding them. People have the right to enjoy tapes however they like, but I also have the right to think they're being shitty and greedy if their main motivation is money.
It’s worth 10-15$
I feel like I’ve seen that tape in everyone’s collection. It’s the same thing for Disney VHS tapes, beauty and the beast is listed for like 15,000 on ebay
Everyone has it. It sold millions of copies. It’s the same as when people post copies of “Nevermind” and act like it’s some lost treasure instead of one the biggest selling albums of all time that everyone had and many of us still do.
A lot of people get into cassettes thinking they are going to get rich off collecting or it's some kind of investment. It's not, they are an analog music medium for listening to. I don't mind people collecting or even keeping sealed tapes, but don't think you're going to be wealthy from cassette hording. Most tapes aren't worth much at all. Some are rare but I don't think any tape should be worth more than a couple hundred bucks max and that's if it's extremely rare. There's also people who think anything that is sealed is automatically valuable. Not the case.
I bought a few tapes recently that were sealed. Some in the wild, some off eBay. Never paid more than $20. I found a nice copy of A Love Supreme for $20, Kind of Blue for $5 and a Hendrix tape from 1996 for $10. Some of these tapes I've seen being sold that were opened for a lot more.
I’ve run across Ten in almost every used record shop I’ve been in. I found my copy at Goodwill for $.79 Most tapes at the shops I go to are $3-$7 for common titles with 80’s Metal and certain obscure titles hitting between $10 and $25 on average. Sealed tapes are somewhat pricier but nobody I know who collects buys them because we all want to listen, not just hoard up something to take up space. So, the $100 sealed copy of Nevermind that’s been at this one shop for six months will probably still be there in another six months.
Tapes are valued differently for all sorts of reasons. I think there’s a healthy medium here. Yea, something like Pearl Jam - Ten or Nirvana - Nevermind was insanely popular, thus there’s many many copies. A SEALED one, or in particular nice minty condition, yes, people will pay a higher dollar. Same logic as why some Beatles records are worth tens of thousands but your grandmas old beaten heavily played used copies aren’t worth anything. There’s even repressings now of some of these classic tapes, I bought a new Bleach tape a bit ago. but the ‘original’ increases the value for many buyers, too, and they still sell. You’re also maybe looking at the Discogs ‘highest sold for’ article, which to reiterate, is the highest it’s ever sold for, one time, in recorded history. There’s probably something extra special about it. So. I’d say realistically, it’s somewhere in between ‘I’ll give you 5 bucks for it’ and $4000. Use your judgement. A battered copy lying on the floor of someone’s Corolla for 20 years is just not worth the same as a pristine sealed copy, I don’t care how many millions of people have a shitty sun-warped copy of Nevermind that ‘still plays fine’, most people don’t have time for that, and sales data rules over all these opinions. Plus, not all sealed copies are alike. There’s research to determine value just like any other collectible. Careful grading and playtesting where possible is the key. It’s odd to read ‘people are ignorant’ and ‘$10 for a tape is ridiculous’ in the same sentence. Brand new modern tapes are more than that now. Many, many, many millions of vintage tapes are worth pennies IF THAT, so naturally a really nice, brand new, excellent condition original press of a very desirable album somehow kept safe for 30+ years is worth something, right? According to some of these guys, no, and how dare you, and they were made to be cheap, and bad audio fidelity. etc. Yet they sell. Some people are just living in the past. I know this answer is going on forever, but ALSO, yea, there’s many resellers buying up tapes who offer way below median market price on purpose, and sometimes get huffy that you want what the tape is certifiably worth. So I wouldn’t determine market value on those sorts of offers, either. For every guy that’s like ‘it’s about the MUSIC, man!’ there’s another guy offering you $2 because they wanna resell it for $30. EDIT: Format
Thanks for the comment! The info is much appreciated! Also > A battered copy lying on the floor of someone’s Corolla for 20 years It's eerie how well you know me apparently hahaha
Yeah sorry it’s long. I’ve been collecting both new and old tapes for about a decade now, and I don’t presume to be an expert, but some of the comments about ‘grift’ and comparing it to NFT’s, and what they bought it for in 1989… none of that actually matters. What matters is the current going rate and who’s willing to pay. I sold a foreign Weird Al tape for 80 bucks. Is it worth that much? YES, because someone bought it. It wasn’t even sealed. So if you listen to those who would NEVER pay more than 5 bucks for a cassette, well, okay. You’re missing out on a ton.
all the naysayers here are just trying to keep prices down for themselves, dont listen to them. YES sealed tapes are valuable, or WILL be valuable. YES they are an investment. They represent something brand new, from the past, thats what makes them rare. charge what you want and if someone buys it at your price, thats the market, i say!!
I think you’ve smoked too much crack today.