I recently got a rather pristine copy of They Might Be Giants’ 1996 single S-E-X-X-Y, mostly for a few bonus tracks unavailable on streaming. Like, it was in shrink wrap with hype sticker, albeit shrink wrap on its last legs - good enough that the rest of it was still in near mint condition, but too damaged for it to be worth keeping on, so I took a 2400 DPI scan of the hype sticker and removed it. Don’t worry - I kept the hype sticker.
I want to keep it very fresh - I ripped the CD to my PC and plan on never taking it out of the case again. For now, I have put a zip lock around the case to prevent it gathering dust or getting fingerprints from handling.
However, since it’s an FLP case, I am more worried about the case being crushed than a typical jewel case. While I don’t plan on getting too ruff with it, I want something a bit harder.
Thus, I was wondering if any of you guys have any particular strategy for this case?
I’ve looked into CD display cases, but am otherwise having trouble finding results that aren’t just CD jewel cases. I was thinking maybe something like the anti-theft containers retailers keep video games in, if they ever made a CD-sized version.
Check out their CD supplies. Should have exactly what you need. https://www.bagsunlimited.com/
Are CDs actually this coveted and valuable? I have a crate of hundreds that I haven’t touched since I digitized them all at the start of the millienia.
What’s an average, alternative/punk, CD going for to collectors? I might be poised to clean house like I did with my records a while back. I didn’t think we’d ever want to use CDs again.
Are 8-Tracks anywhere on the horizon? I have Van Halen “Women and Children First” that I’ve kept as a historical artifact to illustrate the folly of ancient man.
8 tracks suck to collect. I tried. The foam sponges all disintegrate, you need to open them to replace it, the tapes are hard to open, the metal foil splice falls off and your tape gets eaten by the machine. The sound is okay though. It has a very rich sound. I’d still prefer a well-mastered digital recording. As for punk CD’s it heavily depends. I won’t buy remasters because they usually suck so I tend to be drawn to earlier CD presses which cost a lot more. Earlier ones are usually worth more.
I’d say it depends if you can find the right person and what CD it is.
I got this for about $15 with shipping included from someone downsizing their TMBG collection - I’ve been seeking out a few singles/EPs from this band that never made it to streaming due to a label breakup and cancelled rarities compilation back in the 90s, so my CD collecting has been very specific. My CD collection is thus very limited.
From what I can see, a typical non-mint used CD runs $5-10 for more common albums. CDs actually do tend to still be produced for a lot of new albums (or at least what I listen to), though if I have to purchase an album, I usually go for digital download from artist website or their BandCamp.
For me, besides the hard-to-find tracks (besides through YouTube compression), the desire to keep it in good condition is less for resale value and more because I appreciate it as an art form.
But if you do downsize your collection and have two oddly specific CDs…
Anyhow, I don’t totally know about 8 tracks, but who knows - someone out there could want it. The band who made my CD actually did a limited run of their 2021 album on 8-track as well as a cassette run.
