80s Promo CD Singles

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?

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.

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?

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?

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?

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.