Bootleg LP Album
Price Guide
What is it worth?
As with the grading of sound quality,
establishing
the value of an item where there are little or no precedent sales is a
very subjective thing. The prices that are quoted on this site
are
what one could possibly expect to pay for the piece on today's market
were
it ever to be made available. Keep in mind that this is only a
guide
and not a Bible. If you have recently purchased one of these
items
and paid much more for it don't feel cheated! Remember, most of these
pieces
are not available anywhere at any price. Be thankful that you now
own a piece of history that you may never again have had the
opportunity
to own. Likewise, if you sold one of these pieces for less, you didn't
get ripped off. The prices here are only to give some
relation.
As in any market, a piece is worth what you can get for it. If
the
price listed is $30 and you just sold it for $300, be happy. If
you
just sold it for $5 ... be happy. Either way, you got what you
were
asking
Pricing
If you are using this site to price an item
that
you own to sell, keep in mind that all quoted prices are for an album
that
is in near Mint condition. The NMP in front of the number stands
for near mint price. Please be fair and honest when you are
rating
your piece! If you are not sure how to grade, consult your local
independent
record dealer and/or use our grading scale.
The number that follows NMP is today's fair market value of this piece
in U.S. dollars. Example: NMP30 means that this piece
should
have an approximate value of $30 U.S. if it is in near mint
condition.
The price can dramatically decrease for albums in lesser condition.
Likewise,
an album that is truly mint condition (perfect in all details.
Never
been on a turntable) could be worth much more.
Sealed copies
While the value of a collectible album can
increase
sometimes as much as 50% because it is sealed, that is not true with a
bootleg. The reason being that save for a few quasi-legitimate
European
pieces, bootlegs did not come sealed from the manufacturer.
Sometimes
the bootlegs were sealed by the retailer to both protect the album and
to demonstrate to the public that it was indeed a new album. If
you
bought a bootleg sealed from a store or a dealer and have left it that
way all these years thinking that it will increase in value because of
the seal, sorry!
A final note
Finally, keep in mind that all price guides
(this
one included) are primarily the work of one individual. While I
have
been closely involved in the industry for many years, I am not
infallible.
No one is. Sure, you will find things that you don't agree
with.
I have tried to be fair across the board. I will make one more
statement
and then leave it to the reader to decide as to how best to use the
price
guide. I would never sell a private collection piece of my
own.
But if I ever decided to ... I probably wouldn't sell it as low as some
of the prices in this guide. Conversely, if I found a piece that I
didn't
have, I would most likely not pay as high a price as is in this guide.
That's why it's called a 'Guide' and not a 'Bible'. : )
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