Lockieftw

Now that I picked up the 7" at the farewell tour, the collection is complete once again:
 

Hey guys, just to clear up so no one thinks its sketchy (bc asking for multiple copies Is at any rate and id be like wtf too) i had a total of 9 stolen, 3 panic and 6 fob, a set of fob for me, my gf ( which got called wife and got a kick out of it so i didn't correct) and my 17 yr old sister. That's why I asked for so many and promise there will be no flipping of any kind.
we were actually going to send pics of us holding our records with the tracking # for your presents next month but hadn't decided if it was weird or not
Btw guys
Merry Christmas you solid awesome vc dudes

In case anyone is wondering what road records will take if they continue to mirror what happened to baseball cards.
 
-Production will increase, but variants will continue to get shorter. (i.e. one album with dozens of variants in limited run. Black /500, Red /400, Blue /300, Clear /150, Green /100, Purple /75 Gold /10, Test Presses /1
-Variants will be inserted randomly. Collectors will have to buy multiple copies and trade or wait til someone pulls the one they want and buy it off the bay
-Serial numbering will be more common but it will have to be somewhere inside the packaging. Serial numbering will no longer be done in sharpie but printed.
-Autographs and random crap will be inserted into the packaging. This may include "redemption cards" for music memorabelia. (Send in this card to receive a guitar or something signed by the band!)
 
Eventually everything special will be overdone to the point that things that were once worth a lot (like a record limited to 100) will be so common that they essentially lose value. At one time having a Ken Griffey Jr. card serial numbered to 100 was worth $500.
 
Once the market is saturated and companies run out of ideas for doing something special fans will lose interest. Record interest will dip as companies struggle to keep people's attention. It won't go back to the things they once were. In fact companies will keep prices high to hang onto the market that is hooked on it. Every now and then some over-the-top promotion will keep people interested. Like an expensive piece of music history or redemption cards for a concert only for people who find redemption cards, etc.
 
Fuck they'll probably buy a guitar owned by Kurt Cobain and give it away via a boxset where they're guaranteed to make a profit with people looking for it.

or maybe he just continues pressing them? with all the money hes raised selling copies he "found", he could have easily done more pressings. 
 
i almost wanna make a petition asking people if they own a white copy of YFW, first press, to see if it goes over 100. Cause it sure as hell feels like there are more than 100 (just based on how many theyve sold on ebay alone in the last few years)

I think it's pretty arbitrary to what kind of "collector" you are.  I know a few people actually detest the idea of "collecting" vinyl.  I didn't "collect" CDs as a kid, you know?  For a lot of people, this is just their preferred medium for music.  And there's no harm in that, obviously.  Many people - myself included - would say that the world would be a better place if every release, new and old, could remain in print on just standard black wax.  Nothing would be special or rare... and subsequently, neither expensive or overpriced.  There are tons of albums, out there, that I'd love to just own a single copy of.  No bells, whistles, or brag rights necessary.
 
But at the same time, where's the fun?  You can't deny how incredible a properly constructed vinyl package is.  A crisp gatefold jacket with spot gloss finish, colored inserts, and 180 gram vinyl tinted to match the album art or packaging: there's nothing quite like it.  At that point, I think, it becomes more than just tossing the record on for the sake of music.  It's those prestigious packages and alluring variants that let the listener immerse themselves in the album.  I don't know about you, but I've definitely purchased an album on vinyl - despite having owned it for a while, digitally - and fallen in love with it all over again, thanks to extensive liner notes, elaborate packaging, and just an overall sense of "completeness" while revisiting the music on wax.  Nothing really compares.
 
But, unfortunately, it's not practical or financially possible to retain that quality for each and every press of a record.  And even limiting colorways and variants to a first or second press, one must note that there is only a finite amount of copies to obtain.  So I think it becomes a balancing act of sorts.  Do you want a product that's more or less just the music you pay for, that's readily available to the world?  Or do you want something that's over-the-top-awesome, albeit limited?  Surely, there's a healthy medium.
 
Deathwish, in my opinion, nails this dilemma.  They often release their fair share of limited and deluxe versions of albums, while [usually] allowing a cheaper, standard copy to remain in print after the dust has settled.  Me, personally; I enjoy the scramble for their limited releases.  I get a kick out of vying for rarer variants or certain colors, and there's always a bit of a thrill when "competing" for pre-orders.  Seeing who's got the quickest trigger finger, and what everyone else ends up with.  Is it all the same music, at the end of the day?  Yes.  Does any color sound better than another?  Of course not.  So in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter.  But the variants add some spice to life, in my opinion.  I can't imagine Converge's latest album being pressed on 7,000 copies of black, standard weight vinyl.  The collective "rush" to pre-order would be pathetic in comparison.  And gone would be the appeal of trading colors, completing a collection, or appreciating individual copies.  Everyone would - to no one else's surprise - receive a black copy.  Which would still be in stock.
 
I do agree that vinyl has regained enough popularity that limited pressings have become rather bothersome.  If a label knows that there's a great demand for an album or a repress, it doesn't make any sense to only press 1,000 copies.  [Assuming they can, indeed, afford to press more.  Large labels like EVR have no excuse to release timid amounts of Circa Survive represses, for example.]  That simply fuels the rarity-factor you mentioned, which then creates a headache while trying to own just one copy of an album for leisure listening.
 
As far as the final part of your post goes... I can't speak for everyone, but I've absolutely purchased records at retail price when I was "financially comfortable", and then sold them for considerable profit - years down the road - when unexpected expenses arose.  Hardly anything I can foresee, you know?  There's a gentleman selling four variants of Coheed & Cambria's IKSOSE:3 in the Sale forum, here at VC.  He's looking at $1,100 for the four of them, with a day left on the auctions.  I'm sure the dude needs the money, plain and simple.  And I'm sure he couldn't have predicted that need for the money when he bought those four copies, years back.
 
If you're splurging on rare variants and selling them a month later, though, that's another story.  I'd say that falls into the financial irresponsibility that you suggested.  And I've seen it happen, for sure.

hahaha. I thought about that but I'd just annoy everyone.

Napster, bearshare, limewire. Teehee.

my coke bottle clear extra copy has been sold below cost to a man in need. 

Had the choice for white stock or foil ones when it first dropped....wasn't a big fan of the foil and ended up getting the prints on white stock. 

Just spent $165 getting both foil posters. fml.

I duct taped a poster tube to my crutches so my posters didnt get damaged at the show. Best idea ever.

Would love the poster bundle print, but shipping is $30.99 to UK!

1:25am here, alarm just went off. Keen!

Still have this album in my car, great listen for old times sake.