Roger,

Thanks for the info.  I'll certainly keep it in mind if I buy or resell any 
old CD's.  I believe there are lots of people who still don't know about 
this.  See also my reply to Mike, also posted today for more comments.

Sincerely,

Ron

At 12/6/2006 11:50 AM -0800, you wrote:
>This is all very old news,that has been discussed for years since the 
>early 90s,in regards to CDs.I can't speak for DVDs,but I would imagine 
>it's very similar.I first read about this probem, in "Goldmine",and "The 
>Absolute Sound",two magazines well known for their  anti-CD bias,where it 
>was discussed extensively.There were pro-CD advocates,who called us 
>alarmist and luddites,but the increasing number of CDs from the 80s,that 
>are now unplayable bear us out.
>
>I have tried selling older CDs ,on eBay,and I must say it's a crap 
>shoot.Earlier this year,I sold one of those pre-1986 Columbia Paul 
>McCartney CDs,pressed by Sony in Japan.It was returned to me as 
>unplayable.Before I tossed it out,I popped it in my computer to play 
>it.Indeed there were large sections of the CD,where there was dead 
>silence. Comparing the surface to a new CD,there was indeed subtle,but 
>noticeable discoloration.Was this caused by oxidation,or electronic altering ?
>
>The collector CD market is going under,but it is still there for now. I 
>would never recommend selling an older CD without playing it 
>first.Lamination peel,and leaching of paint into the disc's playing 
>surface are both very common problems.
>I remember encountering the latter problem as long ago,as 1989,when I 
>worked in a record store,and bought used CDs.
>
>The archival quality of gold as a medium,is well established,and companies 
>who make audiophile CDs that sell for 4-5 times what a regular CD 
>does,have been using 24k gold on thier CDs,since about 1988-89 or so.
>
>
>
>                                       Roger Kulp


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