From: Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]>
>> If a CD has the sticker across the top or the "holograph" sticker
>> on the side in the case of early CD's, it can be considered
>> "unopened," especially if it's still in un-damaged shrinkwrap.
> Just to be clear -- I obviously meant unbroken stickers = unopened CD.
I think many of us know that this is not a valid assumption on unwrapped
CDs if the only closure is the top title-strip sticker, or the earlier
"dogbone" hologram sticker across the center of the right side of the
jewelbox. With the top title-strip sticker, most jewel boxes can be
opened without damaging the sticker by slightly loosening the bottom
hinge and lifting the cover up. With the dogbone you had to loosen both
the top and bottom hinge. If they used BOTH it was difficult to get the
disc out, but the industry was stupid enough to discontinue the side
dogbone when they initiated the top title strip.
The large independent book store in Lexington, KY, Joseph-Beth, has an
excellent CD department and they will audition CDs for you, like in the
old days of the 78. Although they now have the players that feed you
the audio from an internet service that uses the barcode to identify the
CD so they no longer have to open it, for many years they would open the
CD for you and play it at the counter. Their price stickers were
peelable, and they would then remove the original wrap, and open the box
by loosening the hinge. If you didn't buy it, they would put the CD
back with the undamaged title strip or dogbone into one of those
re-sealable envelopes that was mentioned, and put the price sticker back
onto it. They were still going to be selling the CD as "New", and the
sophisticated clientele they have understood, but the store realized
that if it remains unsold they would not have return privileges to the
company since it is unsealed. Every year or so they would have
wonderful sales and many of these unreturnable CDs would be at a huge
discount. I got many great things there over the years at these sales,
as well as at full price. And I never partook of them opening a CD for
me, but I did check out the insides before buying any of the discs which
had been opened.
From: "Steven Smolian" <[log in to unmask]>
>>> Marketing sealed CDs on the net via Amazon and eBay involves
>>> their policies regarding truth in advertising, not a bad idea.
This, of course, should also be a concern of that bookstore, but the
clerk would explain the situation to anyone who would ask. I have
occasionally bought "Used -- As New" or "Used -- Excellent" CDs and DVDs
from an Amazon marketplace seller and gotten a sealed package.
Sometimes they actually are new, but some of them have a notation that
they reseal the used discs they sell. If they have a retail outlet,
that helps keep them fresher.
>> By the way, one of the running and enteraining mythologies
>> of the record business is that there are many unpleasant
>> higher-ups around the industry supposedly "responsible"
>> for the annoying sticker across the top of the jewel case.
>> Higher-ups particularly hated are said to be specifically
>> responsible for the kind of sticker that won't peel off
>> easily and leaves sticky residue behind.
That was the major problem with the hologram dogbone, and a slight
problem with the title strip if they include a silver hologram strip.
But most title strips come off cleanly. If they don't it usually is an
indication that the disc had been stored or shipped in a too-warm
environment, or that it is very old. Otherwise I like the title strip
because it is often more readable than the spine, and makes it easier
for me to browse with my so-so eyesight.
That is also why I LOVED the longbox. It raised the disc up higher and
closer to my eyes so I didn't have to stoop over as much. If designed
properly, the longbox was a superior marketing device. The person who
killed the longbox is easily identifiable. He was Wayne Green, editor
and publisher of Digital Audio magazine. He maintained a very vocal
campaign saying that the landfills were being filled with discarded
longboxes. I once had a chance to tell him how wrong he was because
when he published computer magazines like "80 Micro" he never complained
about computer programs that came in large booksized boxes with inner
cardboard stiffeners but only contained a floppy disc. Those were and
still are disgraceful.
On the other hand, I have never discarded a cardboard longbox.
Illustrated boxes were part of the packaging just like picture sleeves
for 45s and book dustjackets. They have to potential to become far more
monitarily valuable than the CD itself, just like what happened in the
45 and book worlds. A first edition of a book that is worth $500
without the dust jacket might be worth $1500 with. A 45 might be worth
$2 but the picture sleeve might be worth $10. I was not too crazy about
the generic cardboard box that showed the jewelbox in windows at the
top, but I have saved them also. The hard plastic longboxes that the
store opened with a "key" and reused did not add anything to the
landfill waste until they were discarded by the millions when Wayne
Green forced the industry to stop using longboxes. The forth category
of longboxes was the plastic clamshell which gave the consumer four
surfaces to inspect in the store. The booklet was taken out, so you
could see its front and back. That exposed the disc, so you could look
at it, as well as see the trayliner back. This was a very good selling
technique. Some stores just stapled these closed and they could open
and reuse them if they wanted to. The heat-sealed ones -- such as
Polygram used -- were often tough to open and were environmentally
wasteful in those pre-recycling days. But I liked them in the stores.
The Europeans on this list are probably wondering what I am talking
about because the longbox never seemed to hit in Europe. Most of the
stores I saw in the 80s there had unsealed CDs with the disc behind the
counter. We could read the booklet like LP buyers used to read the
liner notes. Very civilized.
But pretty soon the only place to buy will be on the internet!!!
Mike Biel [log in to unmask]
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