Is the market value of collectable 12" singles collapsing?

[Rab]

It was only a few years ago that many collectable 12 inch singles were going for some big bucks on e-bay. If you've kept a close eye on ebay you've noticed many sellers can't give the stuff away, with maybe a few rare exceptions. I'm wondering if this has to do with websites like limewire, kazaar, etc. I also noticed limewire has disco song I've ever searched for.

Also, does owning a "cyber" copy of a record suffice over owning the actual vinyl?

I have had friends tell me, "one day your collection will be worth a lot of money" and I would laugh and explain that younger generations will not pay for music that they never had the opportunity to hear....

[Ian Rose]

I watch those sites too, more for knowledge of value then to buy (I'm cheap). Yes, I've noticed the same thing about some stuff that was really hot before not getting bid on now.

IMO....Honestly, only so many new people get into disco, and a lot of people in the big money leauges have what they want already. Only so many people are into paying $100 or more for records, so again, once those people have the records....thats it.

-Ian

[Mixmachine]

I just spent a while going over and saving some of the 'completed' items, seems like still lots of records selling for more than $50.00.

Barrabas Woman

Although this are still the hard to get rare tittles mostly, I saw "Disco inferno" selling high though:icon_eek: and some one paid 50.00 for James Brown "Sex Machine" LP, :icon_eek: this double LP is available re-mastered on CD! Maybe I need to sell my copies, I've got like three of this :icon_lol:

Sexmachine

I also scanned like 10 pages of the 'current' stuff and see many 'no bids' but this are mostly regular hits that pressed thousands of copies that should have never sold for the prices they did before (on Ebay) anyways.

Prices seem to be stabilizing now, still $30.00 --> $50.00 for a 12" that sold for $6.00 BITD is not bad .:icon_mrgreen:

[Ian Rose]

Thats kinda the point Im making....

Woman used to go for around $600 plus, so it fell off a bit due to the amount of people that would buy it. Kids love the Hip Hop so JB still gets more and more money. People that sample can be avid about original copies of breaks. Plus, James Brown has the whole funk/soul lover market too. How many people have ever heard of a Mexican pressing Woman 12" that would pay a lot for it?

[Mixmachine]

Thats kinda the point Im making....

Woman used to go for around $600 plus, so it fell off a bit due to the amount of people that would buy it.

Ian , look at that "woman" auction again :icon_eek:

[Deep_Sang]

I posted something similar to this in another thread recently but I guess I'll say it again. I think yall are missing the point here.

First, the market for 12" records is as strong as ever, but the types of records people are collecting has changed. You are unlikely to see the more common classics going to $50+ too much anymore, but people are still paying crazy money for legitimately rare items.

Also, I disagree with this notion that many big collectors "already have what they are looking for." Talk to any big time collector and they will be able to tell you a laundry list of what is missing from their collections. There is too much music out there to get it all, and true collectors can never get enough.

I would say that "disco fever" in terms of collecting probably reached it's zenith around 2002 or so, when people were paying absolutely absurd amounts for disco records. But at the same time, there were plenty of records that sold for next to nothing at that time that are fetching top dollar now. Tastes change, often hastened by high profile collectors hyping up, comping, and playing new records.

Also, collectors often like to collect things that not everyone has. After a record has been coveted for a long time, as many of the most famous underground disco records have, it tends to get put on a lot of mixes, reissued, or just bought by a lot of people. This has the effect of watering down the market and demand falls.

In sum, collecting goes in waves and it is basically inevitable that disco records will fall out of favor and become less valuable. It happens to all genres. However, I do not think that this time is now.

[Mr Kaplan]

Interesting topic. I agree with many things here, and also noticed some fluctuations ... but both ways. A while ago, you could get the 12 of Papa John Creach - Joyce for well under 100 USD, but it's no longer the case today ...

It's true that "hype" has something to do with it. There's also the frequency of appearance that must be take in account. For example, you're an old disco collector, have doubles, see a hell of a rare track on ebay going for loads of bucks. You decide to sell this record, thinking you gonna make as much money. Sometimes you make more if the hype is still on, but when 3,4 guys do this in a short meantime, the auction lose in interest, the item seems to be not as rare. The first followers were disgusted by the high value of the first one, others decide to wait and expect a downfall etc ... you see what I mean. Also there was a generation of old timers who discovered ebay and it has flooded the market. But when the new generation will keep holding to their records, it will make things as rare as before. Afterwards, let's hope new new generation of people will still pay attention to disco ...

Another factor: unknown sellers selling gems. They're don't do mass mailing, their auction is lost amongst others or came after the big ones. Threrefore the record goes for a much lower price. It influences the market because if another guy sees that, or if it appears on popsike or relatated website, everyone think that they can get it cheaper.

Another factor: bootlegs, it does frigthen some collectors ... for example Jihad Muhammad - Heaven Must Be Like This etc


Overall, I things it will always fluctuate. Rare original goodies, will stay rare and hopefully the demand will remain.

[needlefingers]

There are also more people selling on ebay than there was 5 or 6 years ago. Too much product and not enough demand for a few years.

Actually, I thought there has finally started to be a turn upward. More DJ schools are opening around the country both for wanna-be professionals and as a recreation.

And each day, more and more baby boomers are learning how to search on the internet. Remember, we didn't have computer classes in the '70s.

I also agree with the shift. Another factor: as people go looking for '80's vinyl, there will be less available, due to CD sales taking off.

Get into the late 80's and early 90's, and the arrival of CD turntables, and vinyl is basically only a DJ's product. The public is going straight CD by this time.

And today, so many clubs and DJ's use only CD's. Or laptops and hard drives. Today's vinyl is very much worth collecting.

[Disco Funk]

Being an audiophile, I always look for the best sound quality recording. Even if I can find it on CD, I might just get the vinyl 12" version for a richer sound.

I downloaded a crap load of stuff via Napster, etc... but have since bought many of the original vinyl versions. I'm not a fan of the compression formats that are around today. I wish they could come up with an audio format that was small in terms of MBs but sounds almost as good as a CD.

Disco Funk

[Mixmachine]

I just finished some more research on Ebay checking the latest 'completed' auctions under 'Disco', some 20 pages that ended today, and yes, there are lots of 'no bids' completed auctions, must not even selling for the low opening price of $9.99 USD.

Many classics , some even early 12" from '76 went ignored, including the Jesse Green "Nice and slow/ I get Lifted" :icon_eek: original that is among the first released by Scepter label.

Larry page "erotic soul " sold for 5.99 :icon_eek: "doing the best that I can" Bette Lavette for 2.99 :icon_eek:( I can't tell if this one was the remixed version)

but then others like "Number one" by Patrice Rushen sold for $46.00 and Sesso Matto, "How funny sex can be? " sold for 146.00, ( I'm not sure I own this, for sure I never played it :icon_rolleyes:)


Biggest surprise of the day , Esther williams " "last night changed it all" on a 7" promo single :icon_smile: for $60.00 :icon_eek: this is the highest price I've seen for a 7" vinyl.

Yeah, It looks like prices are dropping, a few years back most of this "no bids" were selling for close to $50.00 at least.

What does all this means for the future of Disco vinyl pricing ?? Beats me..:icon_confused: