OK, I am tipping my cards here to demonstrate just how anal retentive I can be.
Firstly, I really missed the boat on the surround revival of the early 2000s. The reason is that the house I lived in did not have a favorable space for a surround setup. In 2009 I prepared to move after 20 years in the old place, and so I started to look into surround. To my dismay things were already starting to disappear. On the upside, some places were clearing out inventory at fire sale prices, but I really did not know the lay of the land in terms of what was good and what was poorly mixed, so I was just putting my toe in the water when I should have been deep sea diving. My first systematic purchases were in April of 2009. I have kept very good records of all the surround discs I bought, the date, place, and price as well as condition of the disc.
For this thread I have skipped the early purchases, such as Avalon for $20 sealed or Zeppelin How The West Was Won for $24 sealed since anyone could have gotten the same deal around that time. Below I have arranged a selection of purchases ordered by the current market value of the disc. This assumes that Amazon or eBay listings actually represent this. Which in fact I actually don't believe. I have seen many vendors post a disc for sale at an absurdly high price, and no one pays it, so the listing just sits there forever. I could have tried to use all eBay completed listings as a benchmark, but it took me long enough to do it the way I did, so just take the current valuation with a grain of salt. All paid prices (the first dollar figure) represent the price I paid including shipping and taxes. Amazon shipping generally adds $4.00 to the quoted current valuation.
Here are some of the best deals in my collection. It's also an interesting snapshot of some current asking prices. Note that if I bought it sealed, I compare to a sealed copy for sale, even though you might be able to pick it up used more cheaply:
Ray Charles - Genius Loves Company: SuperDisc $5.42 including shipping New Sealed on eBay in 2013 (currently $14 + shipping on Amazon)
Sting - Sacred Love: DVD Audio $5.43 used at a record store in 2011 (currently $19 + shipping on Amazon)
Gaye, Marvin - Let's Get It On: Hybrid SACD $9.78 New Sealed at a record store in 2012 (currently $22 + shipping on Amazon)
Neil Young - Greendale: DVD Audio $5.43 used at a record store in 2011 (currently $24 + shipping on Amazon)
Marian McPartland - Silent Pool: Hybrid SACD $4.24 New Sealed at a record store in 2012 (currently $25 + shipping on Amazon)
Tierney Sutton - Dancing In The Dark: Hybrid SACD $6.36 New Sealed at a record store in 2013 (currently $24 + shipping on Amazon)
Boz Scaggs - Fade Into Light: Dual Disc $8.56 used at a record store in 2012 (currently $27 + shipping on Amazon)
Nickel Creek - Nickel Creek: SACD $10.94 used at a record store in 2012 (currently $30 + shipping on Amazon)
Seal - Seal [1991]: DVD Audio $13.97 used at a record store in 2012 (currently $30 + shipping on Amazon)
Rod Stewart - It Had To Be You: Great American Songbook: DVD Audio $5.77 used at a record store in 2012 (currently $32 + shipping on Amazon)
Mickey Hart - The Best of Mickey Hart: DVD Audio $13.13 used at a record store in 2012 (currently $33 + shipping on Amazon)
Spyro Gyra - Wrapped In A Dream: Hybrid SACD $6.36 New Sealed at a record store in 2011 (currently $37 + shipping on Amazon)
Emmylou Harris - Producer's Cut: DVD Audio $5.43 used at a record store in 2011 (currently $39 + shipping on Amazon)
Elvis Costello - North: SACD $14.49 new sealed on Amazon in 2011 (currently $40 sealed + shipping on Amazon)
Michael McDonald - Motown: DVD Audio $10.97 used at a record store in 2011 (currently $44 + shipping on Amazon)
Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue: Hybrid SACD $7.61 used at a record store in 2012 (currently $45 + shipping on eBay for the edition I got)
Fleetwood Mac - Live At The BBC: DVD Audio $13.13 used at a record store in 2012 (currently $48 + shipping on Amazon)
Humble Pie - Live At The Whisky A-Go-Go: DVD Audio $10.98 new sealed on Amazon in 2010 (currently $50 sealed + shipping on Amazon)
Kitaro - Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai: SACD $3.29 used at a record store in 2012 (currently $53 + shipping on Amazon)
Seal - Seal [1994]: CD & DVD Audio $9.62 New Sealed at a record store in 2012 (currently $55 + shipping on Amazon)
Boz Scaggs - Dig: DVD Audio $11.15 used at a record store in 2012 (currently $55 + shipping on Amazon)
Jackson Browne - Running On Empty: DVD Audio $14.76 used on Amazon in 2010 (currently $55 + shipping on eBay)
Sting - Nothing Like The Sun: DVD Audio $10.73 used at a record store in 2012 (currently $60 + shipping on Amazon)
Queen - A Night At The Opera: DVD Audio $10.86 used at a record store in 2011 (currently $63 + shipping on Amazon)
Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead: DVD Audio $9.68 used at a record store in 2011 (currently $64 + shipping on Amazon)
Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms: Dual Disc $10.75 used at a record store in 2013 (currently $66 + shipping on Amazon)
Bonnie Raitt - Nick Of Time: DVD Audio $5.43 used at a record store in 2011 (currently $72 + shipping on Amazon)
Big Phat Band - XXL: DVD Audio: $6.96 New Sealed on eBay in 2012 (currently $79 {new} + shipping on Amazon)
Paul McCartney - Band On The Run: Official DTS $10.00 used at a stereo equipment store in 2012 (currently $83 + shipping on Amazon)
Steely Dan - Everything Must Go: DVD Audio $14.81 New Sealed at a record store in 2013 (currently $94 sealed + shipping on Amazon)
Kitaro - Best Of Silk Road: DVD Audio $8.97 new sealed on Amazon in 2012 (currently $95 sealed + shipping on Amazon)
Shania Twain - Up: DVD Audio $18.01 New Sealed at a record store in 2013 (currently $101 sealed + shipping on Amazon)
Ryan Adams - Gold: DVD Audio $15.87 New Sealed at a record store in 2013 (currently $150 sealed + shipping on Amazon)
Fleetwood Mac - Live At The BBC: Dual Disc $13.96 new sealed on Amazon in 2010 (currently $160 sealed + shipping on Amazon)
Mary Chapin Carpenter - Time* Sex* Love*: SACD $12.46 new sealed on Amazon in 2012 (currently $207 sealed + shipping on Amazon)
In the end I really just want the music, but it is interesting to see these things traded like stocks & bonds. Especially when in some cases the exact same music in two channel can be "valued" by the market at a penny plus shipping. Weird times. But this is why I believe that the music industry should have more interest in surround. Look at what is holding its' value!
Fourplay