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995wlol
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| Posted: 25 February 2009 at 11:25am | IP Logged
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Is anyone out there actively collecting promo CD singles from the late 80s? About 3 years ago I made a big push and probably purchased about 100 singles over the course of 2 years (mostly through Ebay). Granted, I cut my wish-list roughly in half, but I have hardly been able to track down anything in the past year or so. It seems like the supply of old promo singles has almost completely dried up on Ebay.
Has anyone else noticed this, or is it bad luck on my part?
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Paul C
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| Posted: 25 February 2009 at 12:33pm | IP Logged
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The listing of promotional items has been against Ebay's policy for many years, but it is only recently that they have been vigourously enforcing it. I've bid on a few items recently only to be informed afterwards by Ebay that the listing had been removed, sometimes even after having remitted payment.
Here's an e-mail I received from Ebay just last week, thirteen days after paying for an item:
Thanks for your interest in this listing:
190284286355 - DJ CD Beyonce Diva Jennifer Hudson If This Jamie Foxx +
Unfortunately, the item is no longer available for purchase. This is disappointing for everyone, but sometimes it's necessary to protect you as a buyer.
There are three main reasons why we remove listings:
-- The listing doesn't follow eBay guidelines.
-- The item isn't allowed on eBay or can only be listed under certain conditions.
-- The listing contains pictures or words in it that may have created copyright or trademark issues.
If the seller is able to fix the problem and relist the item, we hope you'll bid on it again.
We apologize for the inconvenience and have many other great deals on eBay. Just go to http://www.ebay.com to continue your shopping today. We hope to see you soon.
Thank you,
eBay Inc.
Please don't reply to this message. It was sent from an address that doesn't accept incoming email.
Edited by Paul C on 25 February 2009 at 12:42pm
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aaronk
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| Posted: 25 February 2009 at 2:07pm | IP Logged
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Recently, there was a big lawsuit between eBay seller "Roast Beast" and the music industry. I don't know if the case has been decided yet or not, but it involved whether or not it is legal for promotional items to be sold.
From what I read about the case a while back, it doesn't look like there is anything in the law that prohibits a person from selling a promotional item, as long as it's the original item and not an unauthorized copy. Even though the record labels put all kinds of disclaimers like "not for sale" or "must be returned upon demand of the record company," I'm not sure if they can legally enforce those disclaimers, and that is what the case involves.
Either way, there are still TONS of promotional CDs listed on eBay; however, the older ones are certainly getting much harder to come by.
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aaronk
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| Posted: 25 February 2009 at 2:23pm | IP Logged
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I just found a nice (long) article regarding the lawsuit, which was dismissed in June 2008. The bottom line is that it is NOT illegal to sell promotional CDs, and eBay certainly does not block sellers from listing and selling promo CDs. I, for one, have sold dozens of promo CDs that I picked up in used record stores for cheap, knowing they would fetch a higher price on eBay.
Essentially, it's the same laws that allow you to sell your original, purchased CDs that allow you to sell promos. Even though the original recipient might not have paid for them, the record label gave them as gifts, since it has no intention or plan of action to collect the discs back from the recipients.
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eriejwg
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| Posted: 25 February 2009 at 7:14pm | IP Logged
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Not sure how it covers subscription services such as Promo Only, RPM Top Hits and TMStudios product. I believe, in those cases, though labeled as promotional and not for sale, can't be sold because it's in a way a 'lease'. I know Promo Only actively goes after people trying to re-sell their product.
When were the first 80's promo CD's created? 1985 or so?
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Hykker
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| Posted: 25 February 2009 at 7:49pm | IP Logged
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The oldest one I have is "Alone" by Heart, which was from 1987.
I don't know about now, but TM-Century used to be pretty strict about selling Hit/GoldDiscs. They're not all that hard to find at record shows, but big surprise. I'm one of the remaining 7 people in America who has never bought or sold anything on Ebay.
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aaronk
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| Posted: 25 February 2009 at 11:44pm | IP Logged
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eriejwg wrote:
Not sure how it covers subscription services such as Promo Only, RPM Top Hits and TMStudios product. I believe, in those cases, though labeled as promotional and not for sale, can't be sold because it's in a way a 'lease'. I know Promo Only actively goes after people trying to re-sell their product.
When were the first 80's promo CD's created? 1985 or so? |
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I'm not even sure that those subscription services could stop you from selling their CDs. Why are those any different from promo CDs issued by the record label? Lease or no lease, they have no intention of getting those CDs back from you. Have you ever heard of them trying to retrieve their "leased" CDs?
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eriejwg
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| Posted: 26 February 2009 at 7:31am | IP Logged
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Aaron:
No, not that I know of.
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Steve Sharp
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| Posted: 26 February 2009 at 11:54am | IP Logged
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Promo Only has their own magazine that comes with a subscription to any of their services. A few months ago, they ran an article on the topic of people reselling materials they've issued. While I don't think criminal prosecution is applied, nor do I know of anyone who has had to return Promo Only discs, Promo Only has managed to halt Ebay sales and subsequently cancel subscriptions of those who were offering to sell. In order words, they cut you off.
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Paul C
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| Posted: 26 February 2009 at 1:51pm | IP Logged
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The CD my post above referred to was indeed a "Promo Only" CD.
I haven't listed a music item on Ebay in two or three years, but it at least used to be that if you tried to list an item in the "Music" category, you first got a message warning you that the listing of promotional items was prohibited.
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EdisonLite
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| Posted: 01 March 2009 at 11:06pm | IP Logged
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<I haven't listed a music item on Ebay in two or three years, but it at least used to be that if you tried to list an item in the "Music" category, you first got a message warning you that the listing of promotional items was prohibited. >
I remember that warning, too. But I haven't sold anything on ebay in a long time. Knowing the lawsuit that was dropped, is ebay still putting that disclaimer on there?
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EdisonLite
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| Posted: 01 March 2009 at 11:10pm | IP Logged
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<The oldest one I have is "Alone" by Heart, which was from 1987.>
The oldest one I have is from 1986 - "Dreamtime" by Daryl Hall - and I'm sure glad I got it because it's about 20 seconds longer than the LP length! And it's not available anywhere else on CD except this promo single!
Though it's from 1986, there are quite a few 1987 singles (that are unique because of their mixes) that were never released as promo CD singles:
Every Little Kiss - Bruce Hornsby...
Holding On - Jonathan Butler
Special Way - Kool & the Gang
Love Lives On - Joe Cocker (this song was never on CD at all!)
and maybe a few others ... and sadly, I have to use their vinyl counterparts because they've never been issued on CD, compilation CDs, foreign CDs or promo CDs.
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Top 40 Music on Compact Disc : Chat Board
Topic: 80s Promo CD Singles
