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OBI’s on Japanese Albums - To Buy or Not
Posted: August 6th, 2025, 8:47 am
by FanFrom'61
Apparently, the idea behind the creation and use of the Obi strip, initially was a “throw away” idea. It was regarded as a great sales item but was originally meant to be discarded. The buyer, would explore the details of what they were looking to purchase with the information provided on the strips, then, make their purchase, and either the retail employee would discard of the Obi for the customer, or it would be sold with the item and the buyer would discard of the Obi themselves, at a later time. They were never meant to be kept; they were meant to be disposed of – they were trash.
But it seems to have created on-going and increasing phenomenon and is something unadulteratedly contrary to the original prescribed fate of the Obi-strip, which has become a mystical characteristic called “Collector Value" because it seems that many albums especially early releases when Obi’s first arrived did in fact meet that discarded fate, so finding them with an Obi is harder, if it is really important to the buyer.
So if you buy Elvis Japanese albums, how important is it to you to get them with an OBI, even if the price seems to increase significantly with them on, as opposed to those without them. Or if you collect Japanese Elvis albums, are you just happy to get the release with the best price and sleeve/record quality being the deciding factor. I recently saw a thread over on a music forum and there were mixed feelings and then out of interest, I checked out a copy of Aloha without an OBI for around $60 which seemed pretty reasonable, whilst one with OBI was over $115 and both were graded as VG+.
So would you, or do you pay up to 100% more for a paper belt that goes around the sleeve?
Re: OBI’s on Japanese Albums - To Buy or Not
Posted: August 6th, 2025, 9:03 am
by elvis4life
For those that don't know what an OBI is, read this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obi_(publishing)
Re: OBI’s on Japanese Albums - To Buy or Not
Posted: August 6th, 2025, 9:13 am
by On Tape 1972
I own the Japanese Papersleeve Collection (2005) and just recently disposed of / recycled the OBIs. They were just too much of a hassle to handle and I was unable to store the albums in their box with their respective OBI at the same time. I still own 3 or 4 sealed titles of an earlier pressing with the OBI of course being intact.
Re: OBI’s on Japanese Albums - To Buy or Not
Posted: August 6th, 2025, 11:00 am
by Bilbobaggins
I like to visit record fairs and, sometimes, searching discogs marketplace for nice vinyl. I always prefer records with the original inner sleeves, booklets, hype stickers or OBI's. That makes the record complete, at least for me. It's not that I will not buy records that are 'incomplete' but I prefer complete ones. And indeed, they cost a little more... but for me that's part of the fun in collecting vinyl... finding a record that makes me smile. It doesn't have to be perfect, like mint, but complete is a big + for me.
Re: OBI’s on Japanese Albums - To Buy or Not
Posted: August 6th, 2025, 10:02 pm
by elvis-fan
FanFrom'61 wrote: August 6th, 2025, 8:47 am
Apparently, the idea behind the creation and use of the Obi strip, initially was a “throw away” idea. It was regarded as a great sales item but was originally meant to be discarded. The buyer, would explore the details of what they were looking to purchase with the information provided on the strips, then, make their purchase, and either the retail employee would discard of the Obi for the customer, or it would be sold with the item and the buyer would discard of the Obi themselves, at a later time. They were never meant to be kept; they were meant to be disposed of – they were trash.
But it seems to have created on-going and increasing phenomenon and is something unadulteratedly contrary to the original prescribed fate of the Obi-strip, which has become a mystical characteristic called “Collector Value" because it seems that many albums especially early releases when Obi’s first arrived did in fact meet that discarded fate, so finding them with an Obi is harder, if it is really important to the buyer.
So if you buy Elvis Japanese albums, how important is it to you to get them with an OBI, even if the price seems to increase significantly with them on, as opposed to those without them. Or if you collect Japanese Elvis albums, are you just happy to get the release with the best price and sleeve/record quality being the deciding factor. I recently saw a thread over on a music forum and there were mixed feelings and then out of interest, I checked out a copy of Aloha without an OBI for around $60 which seemed pretty reasonable, whilst one with OBI was over $115 and both were graded as VG+.
So would you, or do you pay up to 100% more for a paper belt that goes around the sleeve?
If you're a collector, you want to buy the album as it was originally issued. Here's an excellent, reputable seller in Japan that I've purchased from in the past on ebay... 90% of the stuff they sell is EX or NM... here's a EX copy of Aloha complete with OBI and the poster for 38USD:
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/187248161653?it ... SwG5RoMHR-
Re: OBI’s on Japanese Albums - To Buy or Not
Posted: August 7th, 2025, 9:39 pm
by Troubleman
I only have a couple of Japanese albums, but both have the obi, which I prefer. It makes the album more complete in my opinion.
Re: OBI’s on Japanese Albums - To Buy or Not
Posted: August 8th, 2025, 1:36 am
by FanFrom'61
Troubleman wrote: August 7th, 2025, 9:39 pm
I only have a couple of Japanese albums, but both have the obi, which I prefer. It makes the album more complete in my opinion.
But if you were after a particular album and the only one available came without the Obi, would you buy it or wait to see if one with an Obi became available and at a higher price.
Re: OBI’s on Japanese Albums - To Buy or Not
Posted: August 8th, 2025, 4:52 pm
by Troubleman
FanFrom'61 wrote: August 8th, 2025, 1:36 am
Troubleman wrote: August 7th, 2025, 9:39 pm
I only have a couple of Japanese albums, but both have the obi, which I prefer. It makes the album more complete in my opinion.
But if you were after a particular album and the only one available came without the Obi, would you buy it or wait to see if one with an Obi became available and at a higher price.
Yes i would. For example I wanted the original US G.I. Blues album with the Wooden Heart sticker on it. I never bought any other version, and skipped the ones that were sold at expensive prices. i waited for years but eventually got one on E-bay at a reasonable price.