The sealed LP... what is the point?

It seems like a strange dichotomy to be vinyl "collector" for value and a true vinyl appreciator at the same time. My first impression is that they are two different camps.

I can totally understand someone collecting vinyl for the sake of collecting just as I can understand a stamp collector who collects stamps that he never intends to use, but rather to look at and enjoy owning with the possibility of reselling at a higher price.

A vinyl appreciator obviously realizes that there can be financial value in keeping the LP sealed for later resale, but there is more value to an appreciator in actually listening to the music on the album. It's a quick cost/benefit analysis with the cost being the lost financial value of the LP versus the level of benefit that the individual would get from enjoying the musical qualities of a pristine record.

So there are 3 drivers in place here: the enjoyment from having a collection of things (sealed or unsealed records), the enjoyment in the possible financial gain of collecting "physically perfect" things (sealed records), and the enjoyment of listening to great quality music. I would say that most audiophiles fall into the first and third categories, with the people in the second category supplying the goods for us. ;)

-Dusty

I think it points to the fact that, like it or not, an LP's surfaces start deteriorating the minute it is played,

I don't know about the rest of you. But i live, and listen, for today. Therefor i open!!

Here is another question. How often do you play the open LP that you have as a dupe and then realize it is not what you thought, sell the dupe as well or keep?