Sealed MOFI's on eBay


Where did all the sealed Mobile Fidelity recordings that are on eBay come from? It seems that 2 out of every 3 MoFI's listed for sale are sealed, is this possible? Didn't anyone ever buy these to listen to? Is there any way to know for sure these sealed copies are originals? I saw a sealed copy of Led Zeppelin II listed for $495.00! Are these recording worth what people are paying for them? I buy LP's to listen to, something sealed in a plastic bag doesn't excite me!
rickcomer
I have the MFSL copy of "Who are you?" on CD and I think it sounds too congested and muddy. I also prefer the mass produced version of Dark side of the Moon to the MFSL version because the dynamics seem to be stunted on the MFSL version. I still believe that MFSL produces excellent vinyl versions from a master tape, but not CD. Beware of EBAY listing's of MFSL CD's of The Beatles. MFSL was only licensed to produce Vinyl editions of The Beatles albums, but not CD's, so one can only assume that these are some sort of bootlegs. You can sometimes find Dr. Ebbetts versions, which supposedly are transfers from the MFSL vinyl albums to CD. I have heard a few of these and they sound as if some of the music in the midrange is missing! Buyer beware! You have to be crazy to even consider the prices that these greedy folks are asking for these CD's. None of them are worth more than $35.
In that case you're hearing it much better than 99.999% of listeners.I think it's great that companies like Mo Fi did there thing. Nothing is perfect. I've opened many a faulty CD & Album in my time; usually just return them.
Thanks for all the responses!

This thread illustrates the good and bad of the Auddigon forums. The original intent of the posting was why are there so many sealed copies of MOFI's on eBay? The responses covered that topic as well as shrink wrap vs plastic bags, the sonic quality of MOFI's LP's and CD's and even Natilaus recordings.

I was aware of the liquidation of the MOFI stock when they went out of business and I'm sure that many of the eBay listings come from that inventory. But there still seems to be way too many copies of sealed records available.

I suspect there is some re-sealing going on. As for the prices MOFI sealed copies are fetching, I suspect "speculative buying" is taking place. I think these so called sealed copies are being puchased, at exagerated prices, assuming they will be worth more in the future. Only time will tell if this is a wise practice.

I am a vinyl collector and I'm always looking for a copy of any record I don't currently own. My intrest in MOFI's is more about the fact they were released than their sonic quality. I also listen to almost everything I aquire so a sealed copy doesn't excite me beyond it's pristine condition, I'm going to open it and play it. I prefer certain pressings of a recording over others, but my first intrest is to fill out my collection. The prices on eBay have totally reshaped the collecting market.

A perfect example of eBay driving the collecting market was the recent sale of the Rolling Stones MOFI box set. I own this box set and I would place the current value in NM condition at about $500.00. Within the last 60 days a box set in NM condition sold on eBay for over $1250.00! This is amazing! While there aren't many copies of this box set listed on eBay it certainly isn't rare enough to command that price.

If prices continue to escalate I'm listing everything I own on eBay and starting a new hobby!