Laserdisc Prices

[Chest Rockwell]

Mods, If you feel this doesn't belong in this forum section, I'll understand if you move it.

Anyway, what's the story with Laserdisc Prices? I've got a player shipping from an ebay auction, so I've been trying to track down the LDs I want. From ebay and half.com, they seem to range from $10-$30. Some cheaper...not bad. I posted at alt.video.laserdisc to see if anybody had the one that I'm having the hardest time finding - Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii.

A guy emailed me and said he has it and asked how much I would pay. I said I'd pay $30, and he pretty much laughed at me (OK, he was very polite, he didn't exactly laugh). He said I'd be lucky to find one at that price.

So what's the deal? Are there some discs that are collectors items and, therefore, very expensive? How much was this guy expecting? Can I assume that if nobody is selling a particular disc on ebay, I'm going to have to squoze out $200 to get it?

[Mr. McMinn]

I'm trying to win an auction at ebay.com for a Pioneer Laserdisc player myself. I'm not really in the know that much about Laserdisc, but I learn quick.

From what I have seen on ebay and abroad, LD prices can vary a great deal. I've seen some as low a ten bucks and as high a 50 bucks or more.

The only LDs I want are the Star Wars Trilogy (I'm a converted an now), the Indy Trilogy and the Monster Squad.


Sorry, if I couldn't be of more help to you Chest Rockwell.

[manigrasso]

If it's not on DVD, the owners of a laserdisc feel that the disc is worth more. Bottom line. But sooner or later, they'll need the money or just want to get rid of the damn thing, OR it'sll come out on DVD and it'll be completely worthless to them. So be patient.

[Wirehed]

That "Live at Pompeii" LD is pretty neat. I used to use it to show off my home theater. That was a long time ago.

Good luck though.

I still buy LD occasionally I find them at record stores and I generally pay around $10.

[HTFreak]

Being a Laserdisc owner since 91 (over 200 in my library) I can say what the other poster said to a degree is true. If there is no DVD or one planned for the next year or so you'll pay top dollar for the laser version due to it's the highest quality version out. There are somethings on laser that will always fetch top dollar, the Star Wars Def set, Song of the South, Matrix etc ..

But there are some fantastic deals too so depending on how bad you want something what your comfortable paying is up to you .. the collector.

Happy Collecting!

[brian]

I saw PF Live at Pompeii on LD on half.com ranging between $70-$110. Too bad though, I want a copy too, but not at that price.

[Wirehed]

Originally posted by brian
I saw PF Live at Pompeii on LD on half.com ranging between $70-$110. Too bad though, I want a copy too, but not at that price.

Geeesh, I seem to remember picking this up pretty cheap when it came out. I think it was one of those $31 titles. I remember buying David Lynch's Industrial Symphony the same day, little did I know that those purchases were actually an investment.

[Welles and Ford Fan]

Unless you run across used LD's at a used bookstore/media type place, or a flea market, they will almost always fetch top dollar because they are rare. Audio/Videophiles know that in some cases (as in the Pink Floyd LD you're looking for) the LD is the best (or only decent) version of it ever released, so they get hwat they can for it.

The last LD I bought off ebay was Welles' Othello, which is a better presentation IMO than the DVD version (they used a different and better print), and it had some cool supplements. I got for around $60, which is not bad, considering that it was $99 when it was first released.

If some of you think you can build a LD collection cheaply now that so many people are dumping their laser stuff, think again if you are looking for stuff that is not also on DVD. And ebay is hardly a secret, so the competition there can get pretty fierce. I've had a LD player since '85 (I'm on my 4th and probably last one now) and am hanging on to it in order to play the LDs in my collection that are not on DVD. But if I did not already have one and a LD collection, I don't think I'd get started in the LD hobby now.

[HTFreak]

I don't know, I've seen some fantastic prices on the hardware side. If you know what you want and have a set group of movies you'd like to see in proper widescreen etc and know they won't be out on DVD anytime soon, I think spending the $500-1000 is worth it if you're a series home theater / film collector.

I highly doubt we'll see Star wars 4,5,6 for another couple years, and there's countless back catalog films that will never be released, laserdisc has an excellent opera catalog too. Laser also has some of the best boxed sets that will never be fully duplicated on dvd.

It's getting hard to find many olders titles but check the newsgroups and ebay, anything is possible .. for a price

[Raf]

Originally posted by Chest Rockwell
Mods, If you feel this doesn't belong in this forum section, I'll understand if you move it.

Anyway, what's the story with Laserdisc Prices? I've got a player shipping from an ebay auction, so I've been trying to track down the LDs I want. From ebay and half.com, they seem to range from $10-$30. Some cheaper...not bad. I posted at alt.video.laserdisc to see if anybody had the one that I'm having the hardest time finding - Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii.

I check Big Emma's quite a bit. Also, this LD search engine helped me find Miller's Crossing several times...

-Raf

[Raf]

From Jeff's LD finder...

An eBay auction...

[Chest Rockwell]

That's amazing, Raf. I did tons of ebay searches, I even tried several different spellings and mis-spellings of "laserdisc" when I did ebay searches.....laserdisc, laser disc, lazerdisc, laserdisk, etc... But not once did I think to try "LD", which is why I never got that auction.

Nevertheless, I found somebody else willing to sell. If that falls through, at least there's an ebay auction about...

[BubbleGumUK]

Lowest paid: Space Jam (1.85:1 letterboxed!) for $5.

Highest: $130 for the recalled Roger Rabbit toons disc.

Also: The entire Golden Age Of Looney Tunes sets (five) for around $800. Woah!

[slade]

I'm not sure I have much to add, but I will any way :P

I agree--if it's on DVD with a decent presentation, the LD will be very cheap (i.e. I got JP for like $4). If it isn't on DVD the LD will be more, but I would add that it depends on availability.

For example, I picked up each of the Indiana Jones movies for about $15 each (this required a bit of patience and about 3 months--some of them go for 3 times that amount) on ebay.

I also once bought 2 copies of ANH on LD for $5 each (bid on two auctions at once and won both). I sold one of them for $15 a couple weeks later.

Obviously that Pink Floyd DVD is more rare, thus worth more.

As far as starting an LD collection, I did it because it will be (IMHO) the only way to get the original (not "fixed) versions of the Star Wars OT, but am finding them fun to own. I like the big, hefty discs and the big fun box sets (i.e. definitive collectoin, Sleeping Beauty).