Laser Discs: Memorabilia Or Rubbish? Keep Or Bin?

UP TO 2,400 VIEWS  

 20 PLUS COMMENTS

It used to be called MPH or Malaya Publishing House, a building along Stamford Road where book lovers and students used to gather to get their fix. Those were the earlier years  and books cost a few dollars. Name the books and MPH would have them in stock. Not all though, because in Singapore some titles were banned remember? Even some classic pieces couldn't be found on the shelves. Well...

                               Old MPH building with a new look.

As the years went by the shop sold other things as well. In the 1990s, after buying a book or two from the ground floor, I would amble to the first floor and target the LDs or Laser Discs on display.  They didn't come cheap and would cost as much as $50 (big money then) or more a piece. 

Since movies were also my concern I would eagle for these shiny and large silver discs.  Take one out from the sleeve and this humongous CD would glitter under the display lights. It was heavy too.

Buying the old Elvis Presley movies was more exciting than buying a new book. But since they cost a bomb I could only purchase one or two pieces each time. Images below show some of the titles I have. 


While doing a CNY spring cleaning recently and looking at my LDs I thought I had spent money on a worthless collection since they are the precursor to DVDs and are obsolete today.

Question: Is an Elvis LD counted as Elvis memorabilia?

But I realised I would never discard them. These LDs are harder to come by as more people are keeping them as memorabilia. There are also companies on the internet that are willing to purchase them for the same price and store them in their Laser Vaults (whatever that means).  With enough space to keep books, records and travel mementos in my home I have decided not to get rid of them.  

As I was surfing the net searching for comments about the status of LDs, I found these gems below:

1. I sold mine for next to nothing and regret it. For the money you'd get, you might as well keep them. 

2. Still have mine and my old player although haven't used it for ages. Not sure what the e-bay market is like, it went through a boom and then collapsed a couple of years ago, not sure if that's changed.

3. Just like vinyl records, the laser disc may have little value, but the cover may end up being worth something, depending on the cover art. 


4. It's the vinyl of the movie world. There is a magical quality to it, and who cares if your kids scoff at it? There's no way I'd give up my vinyl collection, no matter how many million songs you can fit on an iPod. 

A Laser Disc Player @ $450 a piece in the 90s.

5. What galls me is seeing some of the discs I paid $60-$100 for selling for $10 and under. Sigh. Oh well, I enjoyed them at the time.

6. Another vote for hang onto them. You won't get much and laser discs are lovely things to hold.

7. If space isn't a problem I'd say keep them as well...  I agree that Laser Disc packaging looks lovely, so it would a huge shame if you did end up binning... 

8. I've begun collecting laser discs recently, however only movies that are not on retail DVD, so I can convert them to DVD on my own.

Fun Information on LD sleeve covers.

For me? Another good reason why I will keep them. The sleeve notes are fun to read. And informative too. And once you hold them in your hands you wouldn't want to part with them. 

Then again you could store all the songs and movies in a thumb drive?

Silly huh? So how? Keep or throw away? Let me know.
        
Comments from: http://forums.thedigitalfix.com/forums/showthread.php?t=587970

                  You Tube Video: Elvis' Memories by Wanda Harrell.

Elvis Presley Memorabilia:
The novelty retro items and vintage toys produced red in the mid 1950s reap the best value for money and have potential to greatly increase in value. The genuine posthumous Elvis stamps too are collectibles.

Walk The Music Memory Trail. Check other postings
by browsing the Content Bar on the right.