Calexico
Headphoneus Supremus
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You think he'd have more success if he sold the albums individually? Or by artist?
Check out this man's huge record collection.
- Thread starter Hellacious D
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RockCity
1000+ Head-Fier
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Is there anyway Head-fi can pinch in to at least lease the records from the person? One person can not listen to all them in his life span.
Wmcmanus
President treasurer secretary and sole member of the Cayman Islands Head-Fi Club.
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Quote:
Not sure about 'deserves' or 'only' $3 million. He's been trying to sell it for 12 years and has yet to receive a serious offer. When there is a market, it tends to speak, and this one has been silent for a long time.
It's an amazing collection, but apparently is filled with a lot of junk because it has been picked over for 40 years. On top of that, one of his conditions for any sale has always been that the collection stays intact. Thus, the buyer must agree essentially to throw $3 million away because he can't break it up and sell off what he doesn't want (or someone else wants more). Of course, there is also the need to pack it all up, arrange a shipment to the buyer's own warehouse, and then years and years of future storage costs.
All for a $3 million investment that can't ever be sold until the would-be buyer finds another generous soul just like himself who will be ready to pay even more for the pleasure of ownership of something that - as we all know - cannot ever possibly be enjoyed by one person in a lifetime. Too bad a wealthy person doesn't buy it and contribute it to a museum (or start one for this purpose) but don't expect a private buyer to step in any day soon.
I agree that is was a touching video and a life well spent. Hey, you've got to do something with your time here on this planet. Might as well follow your passion! Bravo to him. Seriously. It's an amazing story. But none of that means that somehow he should now get his entitlement, which seems to be his attitude.
I've read several other accounts of this story over the past couple of years, and the prevailing attitude seems to be that he's been a rather miserable guy whose prices are invariably way too high. Great place to visit for the spectacle of it all, but not a place to go if you're looking for deals on used or NOS vinyl. Ask him a question or try to talk him down on a price (even if you're willing to buy a bundle of stuff) and he bites your ear off.
| Originally Posted by Planar_head /img/forum/go_quote.gif Darn... This guy deserves something, even if he only gets 3 million. |
Not sure about 'deserves' or 'only' $3 million. He's been trying to sell it for 12 years and has yet to receive a serious offer. When there is a market, it tends to speak, and this one has been silent for a long time.
It's an amazing collection, but apparently is filled with a lot of junk because it has been picked over for 40 years. On top of that, one of his conditions for any sale has always been that the collection stays intact. Thus, the buyer must agree essentially to throw $3 million away because he can't break it up and sell off what he doesn't want (or someone else wants more). Of course, there is also the need to pack it all up, arrange a shipment to the buyer's own warehouse, and then years and years of future storage costs.
All for a $3 million investment that can't ever be sold until the would-be buyer finds another generous soul just like himself who will be ready to pay even more for the pleasure of ownership of something that - as we all know - cannot ever possibly be enjoyed by one person in a lifetime. Too bad a wealthy person doesn't buy it and contribute it to a museum (or start one for this purpose) but don't expect a private buyer to step in any day soon.
I agree that is was a touching video and a life well spent. Hey, you've got to do something with your time here on this planet. Might as well follow your passion! Bravo to him. Seriously. It's an amazing story. But none of that means that somehow he should now get his entitlement, which seems to be his attitude.
I've read several other accounts of this story over the past couple of years, and the prevailing attitude seems to be that he's been a rather miserable guy whose prices are invariably way too high. Great place to visit for the spectacle of it all, but not a place to go if you're looking for deals on used or NOS vinyl. Ask him a question or try to talk him down on a price (even if you're willing to buy a bundle of stuff) and he bites your ear off.
Uncle Erik
Uncle Exotic
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Wayne, there are no restraints on alienation. A buyer could break up the collection... which probably will end up happening. I think the best bet for this guy would be finding a university with a strong music program and a large archive. The university could give him an annuity, killer writeoffs and probably a bunch of other perks. That's the only way I could see the collection being preserved. Even if an individual bought it, it would be broken up at some time. A divorce or judgment could force it into a judicial sale, let alone what heirs would do with it.
Ub3rMario
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How do you know it's filled with junk? I would think it definitely is NOT due to the fact that he never would sell the last copy of anything. Thus all the good ones are still there. Right?
Wmcmanus
President treasurer secretary and sole member of the Cayman Islands Head-Fi Club.
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Quote:
I understand all of that from a legal point of view. But as a practical matter, this has always been an important condition in his mind. He's obviously a strong personality type, and he has always carefully evaluated any potential buyers in terms of their intent (whether stated or not). He won't sell it to someone he thinks will break it up.
In fact, the last time this topic came up at Head-Fi, I seem to remember reading something on his website about wanting to find a university or museum to buy it, for this very reason. I think you've got it right in terms of paying him an annuity for life that would allow him and his wife to live comfortably. It doesn't seem like he wants anything more than that, but it's hard to say.
| Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wayne, there are no restraints on alienation. A buyer could break up the collection... which probably will end up happening. I think the best bet for this guy would be finding a university with a strong music program and a large archive. The university could give him an annuity, killer writeoffs and probably a bunch of other perks. That's the only way I could see the collection being preserved. Even if an individual bought it, it would be broken up at some time. A divorce or judgment could force it into a judicial sale, let alone what heirs would do with it. |
I understand all of that from a legal point of view. But as a practical matter, this has always been an important condition in his mind. He's obviously a strong personality type, and he has always carefully evaluated any potential buyers in terms of their intent (whether stated or not). He won't sell it to someone he thinks will break it up.
In fact, the last time this topic came up at Head-Fi, I seem to remember reading something on his website about wanting to find a university or museum to buy it, for this very reason. I think you've got it right in terms of paying him an annuity for life that would allow him and his wife to live comfortably. It doesn't seem like he wants anything more than that, but it's hard to say.
milkpowder
Headphoneus Supremus
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I have a cynical view: He's just sick and tired of having to manage this. Poor chaps lived a full life and at the age of 69, maybe he just wants out. $3M will be a nice sum of money to add to whatever is left in his retirement fund and should see him out in comfort. The problem is no one else is willing to take on the massive logistical challenges of transporting, cataloguing, etc. $3M is a paltry sum of money to a huge number of individuals, companies and institutions. If you had $3M spare, would you really want to buy this collection? Sure it's impressive, but imagine the number of sleepless nights... It suddenly became more than just something to boast about within your social circle.
archosman
Songs From The Crystal Cave
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That was really well done.
japc
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You mean he put his entire collection on sale at once? Any links?
just makes me sad
collection probably went to some boomer/yuppy, of which there are many in our hobby
collection probably went to some boomer/yuppy, of which there are many in our hobby
nick_charles
Headphoneus Supremus
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Quote:
I read up about this chap and his collection, there are hundreds of pages about this on the web, it seems he frequently bought 10, 20 or even 50 copies of the same title often indiscriminately, so among the good stuff there is bound to be a load of dreck and a huge amount of duplication.
Also it is completely impossible to find out what is in the collection, there is a database but you have to get permission to view it i.e you cannot see it unless he thinks you are serious about making an offer, which is of course fair enough. Viz he says it is worth $50M but there is no independent way of verifying that, nobody else has appraised the collection. He should just sell the rare stuff and have a clearance sale on the rest.
| Originally Posted by Ub3rMario /img/forum/go_quote.gif How do you know it's filled with junk? I would think it definitely is NOT due to the fact that he never would sell the last copy of anything. Thus all the good ones are still there. Right? |
I read up about this chap and his collection, there are hundreds of pages about this on the web, it seems he frequently bought 10, 20 or even 50 copies of the same title often indiscriminately, so among the good stuff there is bound to be a load of dreck and a huge amount of duplication.
Also it is completely impossible to find out what is in the collection, there is a database but you have to get permission to view it i.e you cannot see it unless he thinks you are serious about making an offer, which is of course fair enough. Viz he says it is worth $50M but there is no independent way of verifying that, nobody else has appraised the collection. He should just sell the rare stuff and have a clearance sale on the rest.
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