Beatles Box Sets Price Watch

Word from the UK is that the all-up production for the mono box is 75-80,000 units. The 'numbered' editions are something else, either counted within that tally or a separate run.

 

Must be different at the BB you go to. Many catalog type titles are not common at BB and other retailers these days, but high profile ones are Tuesdays at Best BUY always seem to have attention to new stuff

 

I've stayed away from posting in the last few Beatles remasters threads, because the endless speculation and hysteria gets a bit tiring at times, but I have broken down and utilized the bold, yet cunning strategy that you have adopted Mike .

It seems logical to me. If the first box of mono remasters is REALLY limited, we are locked in with Amazon, or as locked in as far as WE can control things, assuming that they get enough sets. If not..hey, we tried, right ? If we get Best Buy's circular on the previous Sunday and they are offering the mono box and the price is SIGNIFICANTLY lower, we quickly cancel our Amazon order.. semi-weasels that we are.

I also will take my chances with the stereo box. If they don't make enough of them, well..they are business pinheads then. Why wait over twenty years to redo these things and then not make enough product to satisfy demand ?

They (probably) don't care in the least about "limited edition" stereo box sets do they ?
I would think that they would want to make as much money as possible.
Beatles/ Apple/EMI/ (whomever) aren't running not for profit charity organizations, or a boutique specialty label, with elves hand pressing these things. I would guess that they want to make some cash.

And, as Andrew mentions, this isn't Microsoft stock or something. I'm going to keep and cherish these babies until the day I die, so who cares if my set is numbered or not ? It's the MUSIC that counts right ? I'm not going to become a bean counter and gouge some guy by reselling the set if I happen to get a numbered set. WHICH EVER mono set I get stays with me. The Beatles and their music means a whole lot more to me than a few lousy bucks.
Thus endith my semi-rant. Peace be with you.

 

I just preordered both boxes from Amazon. Even if they can be found a bit cheaper don't forget that there is no tax from Amazon. I get free shipping as well. The only thing I won't get is delivery on 9-9. I still have the option to buy them elsewhere if I really want them the first day.

 

Great post, Glenn. I agree with everything you said.

 

If I have a choice I'll take the numbered set. It does add some value, and one might want to part with them someday. It's kind of hard to get that excited about 16 bit CDs, no matter how good the mastering is.

 

Aside from numbering, from a purely pragmatic price perspective - in my experience the best discounts have been available through pre-ordering (bear in mind I am not in the US with access to retailers there.)
I'm thinking Dylan SACD box and various others..

 

I'm not worried at all. I am not going to pre-order it. I will just buy it sometime after it comes out.

 

If there are any left!

 

There will be plenty If you want one you will get one.

 

No doubt!

I did pre-order the Mono box however. Just in case!

 

The Japanese pressing is a limited edition. It is identified as such by HMV Japan, CD Japan, and amazon.jp. No mention of a numbered edition, however.

 

All of my recent preorders (in the last few months) have arrived on release date, even when I use the free (well, free for Prime members) 2-day shipping.

Even with the projected "day-after-release-date" shipping estimate I tend to get it when I should get it.

Basically, if there's something I want on day 1 that I know will have widespread availability I'll just go to Target to get it or something. If it's something where I anticipate a difficulty in finding it (or, in this case, I anticipate finding it only at FYE locally since there is no Best Buy here and they'll likely charge full MSRP) I will use Amazon.com.

If I'm really anticipating it enough I'll spring for the $4 next-day shipping and in that situation they usually ship on Monday and it gets there on Tuesday but on the occasion where I'm ordering something I know I won't be able to find locally but can live without for a few days I'll go with the default 2nd-day shipping and more often than not it will go out on Friday and still arrive on Tuesday.

With this being a Wednesday release I wouldn't be surprised at all if the 2nd-day orders shipped on Monday and the next-day orders shipped on Tuesday. I also think the odds are good that Amazon.com will eventually grant the Beatles releases on 09-09-09 their Release-Date Delivery guarantee. If this happens we'll all get emails letting us know that our shipping charges are being waived.

Personally, even if I were reasonably confident that I could get it on 09-09-09 with 2nd-day delivery (and I am, given my recent experience) but the $8 is worth it knowing that dangerous time between Amazon.com's warehouse and my home is cut in half. The less time two pricey box sets are in-transit with the parcel carrier the better.

 

Strange. I would think that if any state would have to pay tax it would be California. I've never paid any tax on Amazon purchases that I can remember. Perhaps I shouldn't say that publicly or some agency will come after me and want money.

Perhaps Amazon is located in your state and that's why you have to pay tax. I do remember hearing that someday this tax exempt loophole for online purchases will close but so far it hasn't.

 

When I pre-ordered mine from amazon uk, my price for both boxes was $452.00 US. Not bad I thought. I just checked cdjapan and the prices are $422.00 US for the mono box and $369 for the stereo box. This is crazy money. I did think that my price from amazon uk was fair. However, I am skeptical that it will be honored. Others disagree with me. We shall see.

 

If having the Cds in plastic cases is important to you, ....will there be a way to have them that way? Will the individual CDs be sold in plastic cases or will they be in cardboard digipaks like the CDs in the box sets?

 

I ordered the mono box set from elusivedisc.com and since the set was my first purchase from the site, I was eligible to use a promo code for free USPS Priority shipping. Amazon was out of the question for me because I live in New York, so we also get nailed with the tax from that site, unless we're buying from one of the marketplace sellers.

My total was $239.99 w/ free Priority shipping. Keep an eye on the left side of the screen when you are on elusivedisc.com and it has a link to click on for first time buyers. It will instruct you on how to enter the promo code and you'll be all set.

As for the stereo, I haven't decided if I'll buy the set just yet, or if I'll just pick up 'Abbey Road', 'Let It Be' and the 'Past Masters' two disc. I might go that route for now as I'm trying to save money, but who knows, there is still close to two months from release, so it's likely that I'll end up with both...

j.

 

No tax for you maybe. Since Amazon is headquartered here I have to pay sales tax.

 

I still wanna know.... is it the BOX that's numbered, or the "White Album"????

 

box

 

If you add up the prices of the individual CDs on Amazon, you get $195.
The stereo box is priced on Amazon at $208. What you get for your extra $13 is the DVD. However, the box CDs are in those crummy digipak cases.
If the individual CDs sell in plastic cases...then isn't buying the individual CDs a better deal if you want plastic cases?

 

This is why I am hoping that vinyl will be available as well.

 

If they came out in jewel cases, then you are right.

But the individual CD's are in digipaks too. No jewel cases.

 

Yup, as a fellow Washingtonian, I like to use California based dealers to avoid sales tax. However, in this case, I wanted to get locked in with someone with an affordable price, so Amazon it is . . . for now.