Re: [ARSCLIST] off-topic: guilty pleasure in hi-fi demo records

["Steven C. Barr(x)" <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

see end...
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jack Palmer" <vdalhart@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Steven,
>     Either I've been badly fooled or my collector friends are different than 
> the collectors you describe.  None of them brag about the dollar value of 
> their collection and in fact none of us have ever compared the dollar values 
> of our collections or even special records.  You must be speaking of dealers 
> that you have known.  Jack
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Steven C. Barr(x)" <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2007 10:24 PM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] off-topic: guilty pleasure in hi-fi demo records
> 
> 
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: "D. Blake Werts" <bwerts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: "Steven C. Barr(x)" <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >> <snip>
> >> > Well...what a given phonorecord is "worth" depends on two specific 
> >> > items:
> >> > 1) How badly the buyer wants it
> >>
> >> .. but Stephen you've already made the assumption that there _is_ a buyer
> >> for said item.  Before either of your points are valid, and I'm sure that
> >> you are very aware of this, you have to find someone that shows an 
> >> interest
> >> in the item.  There is a very large gap that exists between 
> >> rarity/scarcity
> >> and a monetary value that can be placed on an item.  For people that care
> >> about value and monetary worth, it is sometimes a painful exercise to 
> >> accept
> >> that what once might have been of interest to a larger group of people 
> >> (and,
> >> thus, likely carry more "value") may today be of interest to a very small
> >> percentage of the former.  The fact that this is happening is exactly 
> >> what
> >> captured my interest in "records" initially--I can add literally dozens 
> >> of
> >> wonderful recordings to my collection for mere pennies; items that used 
> >> to
> >> command much more in terms of "value."
> >>
> > Well, if there are NO buyers, the values is (at least temporarily) $0.00!
> >> The piece that puzzles me the most is trying to separate monetary value 
> >> and
> >> historical value.  To my naive eyes, every recording has some type of
> >> historical value and it literally pains me to see and hear of so much
> >> material getting dumped.  In the short time I've been a part of this 
> >> group,
> >> I've very quickly learned that I (we) can't save it all...
> >> How do we measure historical value of something that can easily be 
> >> purchased
> >> for 25 cents?
> >>
> > True...but there is a third value involved in such sales: "Personal 
> > (nostalgic)
> > value!" I have often seen individuals overbid...sometimes wildly...because 
> > the
> > artifact has some personal nostalgic value to them (often, to them ALONE)!
> >
> > If a given phonorecord happens to be the song to which our mythical Joe
> > Gabroni first danced with the lady whom he eventually married (and stayed
> > married for 50 years or so...!)...and JG happens to have a whole bunch of
> > "spendin' cash"...and he runs across it either on a paper "auction list"
> > or on eBay...well, there will be a bid well exceeding any presumed "value"
> > in "official value guides"...! I once bid seven bucks and change on a copy
> > of Oriole 100...simply because I had no idea such a record had existed,
> > and I was actively researching the early discography of the Oriole label!
> >
> > The hapless dealer may well still put $5 minimums on his early Oriole 
> > discs,
> > eh...?!
> >
> > Second question: even the very common (and thus $0.25) item still has its
> > inherent historical value, based on its position in the history of the
> > record industry! Paul Whiteman's first Victor disc exists in vast numbers,
> > and is thus financially all but worthles. That does NOT change its 
> > "historic
> > value"...!
> >
> > Sadly, the collecting of phonorecords...even, in many cases, 78rpm shellac
> > phonorecords...has become deeply connected with the inevitable 
> > number-based
> > "MY RECORDS are worth more than YOUR RECORDS" interpersonal conflict, 
> > which
> > is based on the dominance hierarchy battle built into Homo Sapiens on an
> > instinct-level basis! And...it is much simpler to compare NUMBERS than to
> > compare abstract/personal-level valuations (aka "THIS is my very favourite
> > record!" et al...!
> >
> > However, consider that this concept of "record collecting" puts our 
> > shellac
> > archives on the same level as our neighbour's accumulation of "Beanie 
> > Babies"
> > (TM Reg'd in all lands!)...where having an original "Jake the Snake" with 
> > a
> > fully-intact and unmarked PUCE tag, as opposed to the later ecru tag, 
> > makes
> > it worth several gazillions of dollars in cash money, as well as a larger
> > amount in "personal hierarchical position"...!
> >
Well, I was mainly talking about VINYL collectors...and their subset who
collect 78rpm copies of fifties "rock'n'roll" hits. Virtually all 78
collectors think only of the musical content of their records (although
that doesn't always apply to modern-day sellers and dealers...as one
can see on eWotsit...!)...!

Steven C. Barr