Sealed MOFI's on eBay

Qdrone is right and for some it would be simply an impulse buy they would be very pleased with and they wouldn't consider selling any part of it. Might even keep it sealed for their kids. u nvr no.

They don't call if flea-bay for nothing. Shill bidding is a problem at every auction anywhere. That's why I like this site; you just negotiate a deal (or not).

You never really know on Ebay if one or more bidders are conspiring to drive up the price.

There's a good chance that $1250 Stones box set never really changed hands.

Ebay can be a shell game folks. Don't believe everything you see.

1250.00 is chump change to some people in this world. Also if the person bought it and then sold the selections in the box he did not want he would still break even or even make a profit and keep the few Stones albums he coveted.

Thanks for all the responses!

This thread illustrates the good and bad of the Auddigon forums. The original intent of the posting was why are there so many sealed copies of MOFI's on eBay? The responses covered that topic as well as shrink wrap vs plastic bags, the sonic quality of MOFI's LP's and CD's and even Natilaus recordings.

I was aware of the liquidation of the MOFI stock when they went out of business and I'm sure that many of the eBay listings come from that inventory. But there still seems to be way too many copies of sealed records available.

I suspect there is some re-sealing going on. As for the prices MOFI sealed copies are fetching, I suspect "speculative buying" is taking place. I think these so called sealed copies are being puchased, at exagerated prices, assuming they will be worth more in the future. Only time will tell if this is a wise practice.

I am a vinyl collector and I'm always looking for a copy of any record I don't currently own. My intrest in MOFI's is more about the fact they were released than their sonic quality. I also listen to almost everything I aquire so a sealed copy doesn't excite me beyond it's pristine condition, I'm going to open it and play it. I prefer certain pressings of a recording over others, but my first intrest is to fill out my collection. The prices on eBay have totally reshaped the collecting market.

A perfect example of eBay driving the collecting market was the recent sale of the Rolling Stones MOFI box set. I own this box set and I would place the current value in NM condition at about $500.00. Within the last 60 days a box set in NM condition sold on eBay for over $1250.00! This is amazing! While there aren't many copies of this box set listed on eBay it certainly isn't rare enough to command that price.

If prices continue to escalate I'm listing everything I own on eBay and starting a new hobby!

In that case you're hearing it much better than 99.999% of listeners.I think it's great that companies like Mo Fi did there thing. Nothing is perfect. I've opened many a faulty CD & Album in my time; usually just return them.

Psacanli, I'm playing it on a Meridian 508.24.

hey Cyclonicman, what are you playing it on?

I have the MFSL copy of "Who are you?" on CD and I think it sounds too congested and muddy. I also prefer the mass produced version of Dark side of the Moon to the MFSL version because the dynamics seem to be stunted on the MFSL version. I still believe that MFSL produces excellent vinyl versions from a master tape, but not CD. Beware of EBAY listing's of MFSL CD's of The Beatles. MFSL was only licensed to produce Vinyl editions of The Beatles albums, but not CD's, so one can only assume that these are some sort of bootlegs. You can sometimes find Dr. Ebbetts versions, which supposedly are transfers from the MFSL vinyl albums to CD. I have heard a few of these and they sound as if some of the music in the midrange is missing! Buyer beware! You have to be crazy to even consider the prices that these greedy folks are asking for these CD's. None of them are worth more than $35.

The overseas market is at least partially what is driving the price up.I have had The Beatles White Album on my ebay watch list for about a year now waiting to catch a "sleeper" that "accidently" sells for around $50. If someone lists that they are willing to ship worldwide I won't even bother watching it. I have several mofi's,many of which I bought years ago when I worked for a hifi store.I remember using Fleetwood Mac,Crime of the Century, and Dark Side of the Moon to sell speakers to the point that I never wanted to hear them again! Interesting that the regular record shops very seldom acknowledge any extra value for audiophile recordings.I have bought some used Mofi's for as little as $2! While the covers are generally not mint,the vinyl is quite often still in resonable shape. Interesting the difference in value perception between collectors and audiophiles......

Agree with Viridian on plastic wrapping. Not only was the plastic loose, it was extremely thin. American Beauty never sounded so good.

Later MoFis (Anadisc 200) had loose, heavier gauge plastic sleeves with the perforated edge. This made removal of one side easy and you could reuse the sleeve. Again, not your run-of-the-mill shrink wrap.

UHQRs I believe were the only ones with typical shrink wrap. Buyer beware.

Relax, have a New Glarus Smoke on the Porter, and listen to Johnny Winter...

MoFi Led Zeppelin II in my opinion was recorded pretty damn good and for it's day kicked the crap out of the original American release my a mile. When I want to hear Led Zeppelin II even to this day it's the one I grab.
I own over a hundred sealed MOFI's and CBS Masterworks and Natilaus 1/2 speeds as well as over a hundred japanese Blue Notes never played with obi's on them. Because I own the original pressings of these albums counterparts I never played the others when purchased. There are some real sealed ones out there but your right they don't come in a plastic wrap,they come with loose fitting plastic,some with hard plastic sleeves with a sticker that proves its never been open and others with loose fitting celephane Also because record collecting in my day was my life I found open copies of 1/2 speed masters in mint shape for 1/4 of the new price and played those keeping the others sealed. We all have a method to this madness.

With the way that most MFSL reissues sound it is not surprising that no one opened them to listen to them. If they did they would find that the majority of them are sonically inferior to most original pressings. Like the poster above stated, the power of suggestion that they are special makes the uninformed think they are indeed special. I am amazed for the prices they sell for. I have the entire collection and should sell it.

If you read some of the ads carefully, they do say that they are alleged to be from Gary Georgi's "personal stash" and are selling for huge $. We all know that lots of stuff sells for way too much on flea-bay. Given the prices, I would not be surprised if someone gets the idea soon to counterfeit them. Caveat emptor, as they say.

Post above should have said it was auctioned for $47 when you can mail order for $34.99.

All of Zep's albums (mostly the early ones) were recorded with overload conditions on the multitrack and mixdown masters to one degree or another, so none of them are worth it. When you do this, it has a certain sound and compression effect that Page wanted, but the 3rd harmonic distortion rises noticeably. It's a real shame Jimmmy insisted on doing this to such great music - it will never sound like it should, it is too late.

MoFi is also currently releasing material on vinyl. A copy of Coleman Hawkins "The Hawk Flies High" was just auctioned on Audiogon when you can mail order it for $34.99. Go figure.

I have heard some of these recordings the MOFI's throughout the years, and from what I have heard. I would not part with this kind of cash for Led Zeppelin II listed for $495.00. It's your money and you can spend it the way you likeI would buy the cd and if they are recorded on Sacd than buy the both. This is alot of scratch for a minimal if better sound?

Many of the MOFI recordings suck a la Aja and Sticky Fingers.

There are exceptions, of course, such as Crime of the Century which is spectacular.

A great majority are valued for their collectibility not sonics.

It just hit me! They could be forgeries!

when the original mofi went under, its distributer liquidated 1000's of records.

I'm with Rick - Sometimes NOS is ridiculously priced and not worth it when you're going to play it anyway.

Frankly, sealed albums, expecially single records, can be warped unless they were carefully stored (temperature) because the shrink wrap can really shrink after it heats up and then cools down again.

Otherwise, a sealed record implies (but can't guarantee) that it's a perfect copy. It does insure any inserts are still inside ;-)