Spending some free time cataloging my records on discogs. It’s a bit of a slog, trying to determine pressing plants, and reissue info, etc… I don’t have a collection like many of you; maybe 800 records or so.
Anyway, when I came to my copy of CSNY Deja Vu I noticed it was a promo release. When I looked at discogs, I see there’s one for sale for $300. Not Antiques Roadshow worthy, but pretty cool.
We all have plenty of albums that are meaningful, but this was a surprise.
I have UHQR Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Sgt Pepper LP Box
Mint condition. Played it maybe 3 times.
I guess I have a few hundred meanwhile rare reissues between 100-400$ worth (my originals are rather between 50-200$ worth), I guess one of the most valuable single albums might be the Miles/Kind of Blue Grundman 45RPM 4LP reissue which still might go for 400-500$, but around 10 others (some boxes included like the Bill Evans Mosaic) are also round about that.
My treasure continues to be a copy of Steve Miller’s Fly like an Eagle MoFi UHQR reissue from 1979. I found it at Acoustic Sounds in the sealed out of print category and snapped it up at a non-trivial price. MoFi from that very early era when the pressings were being done in Japan by JVC are simply unmatched by any other label. Stumbling on a sealed copy left me dumbfounded. Were I to put it back on the market I wouldn’t hesitate asking $400+ for it. I’m not putting it back on the market.
I hate to disappoint you, but fly like an eagle never was a UHQR, but a normal series 1 MFSL. It’s worth around 80$ as you can see on eBay.
I stand corrected. It is a limited edition, half speed mastered disc. JVC pressed. There are no sealed copies available on eBay that I’m aware of.
Ah if it’s sealed, it’s higher. Check Popsike.com, how sealed copies recently sold.
Not to everyone’s taste, but my absolute favorite record is a copy of Lemon Jelly - Lemonjelly.ky 2000 UK original.
They’d released all the tracks as a couple of EP’s previously, and it was 2000 when people were really starting to wrap up vinyl sales, so they only produced 1000 of them worldwide. There was actually a sticker on the front saying “If you own the EP’s this isn’t for you”. Of course, only DJ’s really knew them by their EP’s but the album was a runaway success and the vinyl became a total collectors piece. They’ve never repressed it.
I didn’t properly start collecting vinyl until 2017 (I’d bought a few EP’s and singles up until then, had maybe 100) when I was bought my record deck for my birthday. One of the first records I looked for was .ky on discogs. I looked and looked, but they were all VG or worse copies owned by DJ’s and I wasn’t willng to sacrifice sound quality.
And then, out of nowhere, like a shining light from above, there was one solitary US seller who flashed on my screen… Mint vinyl, mint cover? I messaged him to verify, he sent photos. A STILL SEALED COPY complete with hype stickers, the only damage being some of the shrink wrap had torn away.
So after a moral dilema between me and my wallet, I parted ways with fantasy children’s college fund, and blamo, there it was in my hands.
First thing I did? Ripped off the wrapper and played it, and that was the best feeling in the world!!
It’s a trifold sleeve 3LP
Including the folded insert
Great cover!
I have the original Mobile Fidelity Beatles Boxed Set. I have played it only once when I made cassettes from them. Now, I don’t have a cassette player or a turntable. I should probably sell them.
I remember I sold the Stones box about 20 years ago for an equivalent of 1000$…guess this is still the price, maybe a bit more…and the Beatles Box comparable or a bit more.
I haven’t checked the value but I have an original release of Troutmaskreplica that is in decent shape.
Just because I spun a few Steely Dan records today…there are some records which are valuable because they are from very popular artists, great music, good masterings, great sound and out of print.
The heightening in this regard is, if those records were never officially released for license reasons or similar.
Such a record is this one. A never released Bernie Grundman mastering, RTI pressed 180g great sounding test pressing of Steely Dan/Katy Lied. Can’t say what it would cost today if I’d auction on eBay.
I’d really be interested how this Deja Vu promo compares in sound quality to my Classic records reissue (which by the way went for 580$ in a January 2019 EBay auction, crazy 
)
Never released makes them much more valuable. Be sure to list them on discogs.com, where this sort of thing is highly valued.
Now that is a special record in almost every way, pressing, content… that’s quite something! 
