Collectors of anachronistic media rejoice: what’s outdated is new once more, and VHS tapes and cassettes are actually price checking for worth on the secondary market. Learn on to study concerning the hottest sellers in S.O.S. (Surplus Previous Stuff): VHS and cassette tapes.
VHS & Cassettes: Nineteen Eighties Huge-Haired Enjoyable
VHS and cassette tapes hail from the identical neon-colored, big-haired period of the Nineteen Eighties. Whereas for many years they rotted on cabinets with little resale worth, right now’s hipsters have lastly rediscovered the magic of magnetic tape. I’ve been seeing piles of VHS and cassette tapes at native classic outlets and markets. Typically, outlets will actually have a classic all-in-one TV/VCR operating an outdated film throughout retailer hours.
To not reveal my age, however sure, I’m a proud youngster of the Nineteen Eighties and had a strong childhood crammed with racks of cassette tapes from Sam Goody in addition to only a few VHS films (not too many—they have been too costly). Cassettes have been fairly priced sufficient for me to go to the native report retailer to select up the latest launch from one among my favourite bands. Imagine it or not, I began stepping into music with large hair steel bands like Bon Jovi and Cinderella, whose releases have been solely on vinyl. As soon as my tastes matured into bands like U2, my acquisitions began bridging between vinyl and cassette tape. As an example, I purchased 1987’s The Joshua Tree on vinyl, but 1991’s Achtung Child on cassette. Quick ahead a number of years of adolescence spent working at espresso outlets and film theaters and ensuing disposable revenue, and subsequent factor , I had a cassette assortment within the a whole lot.
The Breakfast Membership to Michael Jackson’s Thriller
What about these big VHS tapes? As a youngster, I had little use for buying a lot of these since I used to be by no means that into Disney films, though I do recall buying The Little Mermaid on VHS so I might watch it time and again at my leisure.
As for different favourite films, effectively, we simply had a small stack of clean VHS tapes that I’d pop into our VCR to report a favourite film when it was proven on TV. The principle movie I recall recording was The Breakfast Membership, which I’d watch repeatedly on Saturday mornings as soon as I’d outgrown The Smurfs and He-Man cartoons.
One sort of VHS tape that I did prefer to buy was music-related, reminiscent of a particular music video by an artist together with a brand new album. I used to be not into Michael Jackson, however a good friend’s household bought Making Michael Jackson’s Thriller VHS tape, which I keep in mind all crowding across the large field TV to look at. It was groundbreaking for the time.
One-of-a-Type Recordings
So, what VHS and cassette tapes have essentially the most worth right now? As I discussed, the advantage of each VHS and cassette tapes is that you just can’t solely take heed to them but additionally report on them—a significant change from, say, vinyl data, which have been only for listening. Consequently, a number of the most beneficial classic cassette tapes are these one-of-a-kind examples of a recording of a present, interview, or comparable.
As an example, John Lennon/Yoko Ono cassettes typically present up on the public sale block and promote for 1000’s of {dollars}. Or how about this Prince answering machine tape that offered for over $6000?
As you kind by your cassette collections, look ahead to any previously clean cassettes with handwritten labels or inserts in case you could have live performance recordings or different particular examples. For particular artists, maintain an ear to the bottom for large music information, such because the demise of a well-known singer. Morbid as it’s, costs all the time spike after a star’s demise.
Beware the Disney Black Diamonds
Consumers and sellers ought to train a bit extra warning when buying VHS tapes. Previous “Black Diamond” Disney VHS tapes are infamous for having falsely inflated resale costs. In any occasion, use frequent sense when perusing an outdated VHS assortment. Evergreen sequence, characters, and genres are all typically good bets in relation to worth.
Are you able to imagine a factory-sealed 1982 copy of Star Wars offered for $114,000? Traditional Nineteen Eighties movies on VHS format additionally often have strong worth, reminiscent of The Karate Child, Halloween, and Again to the Future.
Nostalgia all the time sells, particularly in relation to S.O.S. (Surplus Previous Stuff): VHS and cassette tapes!
Amy Moyer is the proprietor of Antmuffin: Artwork, Antiques & Collectibles. She holds a B.A. in Visible Artwork from Brown College and lives in Boston.
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