Here are my small collection of sealed and unopened tapes where some of them still with the true copy label on it. I'm still contemplating whether shall I open the seal and start to play these tapes in my deck... mmm
Why would you buy them, if you have no intention in opening and playing them . Sorry but i don't get it?
I guess most collectors will pay a premium for something that is new and sealed in the original packing. Then you have the dilemma of whether to open and use it, destroying that value, or not. If you decide to open my suggestion would be to do it carefully (unlike Cassette Comeback who after agonising about it then opens expensive cassettes as if he was unwrapping a cheap bar of chocolate). I have heard of people who collect Lego Minifigures carefully slitting the bag behind the join so to minimise the damage to the bag. At least cassettes aren't like the Matchbox "Models of Yesteryear" which were one of the things my late Father collected. I reckon 90% of all of those made got squirelled away in cupboards in the belief they were future antiques. As a result of this they aren't worth what they cost new Forty years ago and every car boot sale or low end antique place has loads of them still in their boxes. In contrast the Lego sets he bought was a very good investment. Look at the price of new, sealed L:ego sets even from just 20 years ago. p.s. Here is something to puzzle TooCool even more https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/...nyl-dont-actually-listen-to-them-records-2016 I can't criticise. I bought a Laserdisc today despite not having a player !
Since you are not playing these cassettes anyway, just list them for sale and buy some music you actually listen to. Or another walkman The Big Q: to sell now or wait until later??? Sealed (original, before company got bust and resurrected) MFSL LPs and Gold CDs is more difficult to sell nowadays that a lot of their albums got reissued on 180g vinyl or as Japanese Mini-LP CDs
I don’t have such dilemma’s, it’s only a cassette and they are meant to be played. When I buy a pre-recorded cassette it has to be sealed as I don’t buy used, when I get it it’s immediately opened so I can play it. Again all my records are played, not for decor. From a post of mine before, this is what I just did with a TDK MA-R. It's now hanging on my listening room wall near my cassettes. I call this image Hot Metal
Ken80s Price means nothing to me, I would rather enjoy the music than look at it or think I could sell it for more later. Sorry I don’t collect anything.
Most people will opt for first press, that is where the value lies. https://m.ebay.com.my/itm/GAZEBO-Gr...540667?hash=item443dcbc57b:g:Af8AAOSwuLZY4WhC
No issue its just a matter of time I will, as I also have other formats of similar albums. I grabbed them coz so happen I bump into a shop selling new old stock tapes. Now I have the trilogy format of these albums (LP - CD - Cassettes)
As a collector, who's Father was a huge collector of toys and related items I can understand where Ken80s is coming from and are rather surprised there are people here who can't. Maybe they should try Hi-Res audio . A colleague who maintained that Vinyl was far superior to CD was even happier when he moved over to that using a £1000 Oppo player. Sometimes collecting is a result of not being able to afford these things when younger. I overheard a Toy Train Collector explaining "When I was a child all I could afford was a rubbish Chad Valley train set; Now I can buy any set I like". Sometimes it is linked to supply and demand. One of my most profitable Ebay sales was selling a boxed sealed Tomy Zoid that I had bought in a surplus bargain store in the early 1990s for £2.50 to someone in Singapore for over £100. Not quite as profitable as this might be https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254126556796 The question is will the buyer ever open it ? It seems people either get collecting or don't. I worked with one guy for whom the entire concept was completely alien. He was proud that he had once used the case of an original IBM PC to fix his car exhaust. His hobby was putting a huge effort into trying to get things for cheap or free hence the car exhaust. I remember him coming in one Monday in the noughties saying he had spent all weekend downloading a film, only to find that the only soundtrack available on his download was Russian Jorge is right about timing when it comes to selling. A different colleague who does collect things like old telephones, phone directories, and who even added a high end JVC boombox to his collection has a theory that there is a "Nostalgia Wave" peaking around 40 years from when things came out. That ties up with the "Now I can afford anything I want commcnt". I predict that in forty years cassettes will have gone the way of 78s (yes and I know we have at least one collector of those here) and people will be collecting Playstation 4s and XBox ones.
Don’t get me wrong guys, I have no problems with people collecting things I just don’t get it. Let’s take cassettes they are functional things and for me the pleasure is in listening to the music on them, I would not get much pleasure in just looking at it in a shrink-wrap. Since I have no intention in re-selling, the price means nothing to me. Also like people who buy a record and then they say, “I opened it recorded it and will not play it again so it does not wear out” again I will never understand this but again each to his her own.
Don't worry Ken80's, I also get a lot of people asking me WTF? Talk about big money, over in Japan they love vintage unopened tapes and equipment and so do I. Collecting is huge over here, one of big shows is American Pickers where they drive around and find people with "stuff" for sale, which they buy and sell at their stores. One of the pickers, Mike, once said he loved the collectors, those are the guys with the stories, the passion and the enthusiasm. If it wasn't for these people this stuff would be gone and possibly forgotten. I think of when I pulled a Sony PS-2251 or two Jensen Monster 60's speakers out of the trash. I kept a couple of Leslie Speakers, yes those speakers from going away as well. Luckily I was a collector that saved these and yes they were all heading towards the dump, I don't do it for the money, I give away most of my equipment when I'm divesting but I like having it around and it's very satisfying to work on and fix up when I get the time.
It's collecting. The possesion of the article is what counts, not using it. The better condition, the more valuable it is. I understand you, but I also understand him. To me, cassettes, walkmans and all that is all about both collecting and enjoying music. It's like old cars: part of the fun is having it, clean it, the other part comes the day you drive it out.
I am not criticising people that collect things they don’t use, I just don’t get it. I like to use and enjoy things for what they are made for, looking at a cassette or a record in it’s shrink wrap is not my idea of enjoyment or pleasure.
Don't worry, I didn't meant you were critizising, I knew you just didn't get the point ;-) If you ever collected anything, it's highly probable that you don't understand what's the point of collecting. But that's it: you like or not. There's no reasonable reason why you do it. IT can be nostalgia or whatever reason. In my case, its the need to fullfill the never permanent desire to have a decent walkman and deck that I felt back in the days, combined with nostalgia. Not sure if that helps...
And unlike old cars most audio gear doesn't take up much space. I love looking at other peoples old cars but took £170 trade in for a 14 year old car which when I got it was my pride, joy and 40th birthday present to myself. Keeping a car which I am not using would be impractical for me. The main thing putting me off buying a Sharp VZ2500 is the size. In contrast if I see any Japanese personal stereo at a car boot sale I don't even think about whether I have space for it.
I do understand Hugo, my only goal is to get the best I can afford. I don't have the goal to get everything I could get my hands on.
In my case, collecting walkmans doesn't need too much space, even if you have 170+ of them. I don't have so many space at home. I live in a 90m2 flat with two kids so you guess... I don't buy anything I see. I'm very picky and only buy high level models from the best brands and best years. The rest is of no interest to me A friend of mine has 1000+ in his collection. He has much more space than me and doesn't care about the quality of the walkman. Basically he buys anything he find.
