Record Store Price Stickers on Used LPs

[Teasing the Korean]

When I was young and immature - about three years ago or so - I could not wait to peel the price sticker off of a used LP after I purchased it. There was always that moment of uncertainty regarding whether or not it would peel off cleanly, without damaging the cover. After a while, you got to know which stores' stickers came off more easily than others. (Princeton Record Exchange was always the worst in this regard; I think they used Gorilla Glue). Anyway, there was always that feeling of minor accomplishment when you got that record you'd been looking for, and without the price tag on it, it truly belonged to you.

Well, that was when I was young and naive. About three years ago. Now, I've moved enough times, and enough record stores are either out of my life or out of business entirely, that I'm grateful for those few albums in my collection with intact price stickers that I was either too lazy to remove, forgot to remove, or couldn't remove (e.g. Princeton Record Exchange). It's like a subtle form of time travel.

Edited June 30, 2011 by Teasing the Korean

[brownie]

(Princeton Record Exchange was always the worst in this regard; I think they used Gorilla Glue).

I gave up trying to remove those PRE stickers a long time ago! Don't know if they use Gorilla Glue but they're evil

[BFrank]

If I remember correctly, Sounds (E. Village, NYC) stickers weren't the easiest to remove, either.

[JohnS]

The worst I found were Dobells (London) sale labels. Not only were they impossible to remove but the measured about 3" x 2".

The copyright stamps on import lps were pretty nasty too.

[Big Beat Steve]

The worst I found were Dobells (London) sale labels. Not only were they impossible to remove but the measured about 3" x 2".

The copyright stamps on import lps were pretty nasty too.

Thankfully Dobells' seemed to have stuck many of their price stickers on the BACK of the covers so they don't do much harm. Quite a few of those secondhand LPs I bought at Mole Jazz in the 90s have older Dobell's stickers and I've left them in place; reminds me of my stays in London in '75 to 77 when I dropped by at Dobell's (with far too little money to spend...).

As for evil stickers, I've come across them too, especially one bright red type stuck on clearout sale LPs in a local record store. Their principle seemed to be "If we let you have a record at 1 euro each we'll make sure you won't get the cover without further damage because the sticker just WON'T peel off without taking a chip out of the cover!" . The glue residues of certain "Special Import Services" stickers (large round ones) that used to be stuck no new LPs sold here in the late 70s or of the one shown below were rather nasty too.

Edited July 1, 2011 by Big Beat Steve

[sidewinder]

Still got LPs with their sale stickers in situ - especially HMV, who had the big "£3.99" stickers which could be tricky to remove from Pathe Marconi Blue Notes. Usually I've removed them (apart from the ones with plastic bag outers where I've left the price on e.g. Mole Jazz 'Collector's Item') but on CDs I've often left them in situ. Mole Jazz, Ray's, Tower Records, Fopp, Duck Son & Pinker/Milsom, Sam The Record Man, A&B Sound - all my old haunts are represented.

Edited July 1, 2011 by sidewinder

[JohnS]

The round 'Import Music Services' fell off after about 25 years!

[sidewinder]

The round 'Import Music Services' fell off after about 25 years!

Lots of 'Imported by Discovery Records' stickers on my LPs too !

[brownie]

Some other very annoying examples were those round stickers which showed world maps that adorned the covers of many Riverside/Japan vinyl reissues from Japan. Gave up trying to remove them after ruining a couple of LP covers

[Unk]

I'd thought...perhaps "hoped"...that this was another pictures/images thread. My price stickers often bring back memories. "Ah yes, I found this on vacation" or some such thing.

[sidewinder]

Some other very annoying examples were those round stickers which showed world maps that adorned the covers of many Riverside/Japan vinyl reissues from Japan. Gave up trying to remove them after ruining a couple of LP covers

Oh yes..... I think one of those swines still adorns my 'Clark Terry In Orbit'.

[BillF]

Sticker on Kenny Dorham, Whistle Stop (Blue Note), which I bought in Calgary, Alberta in 1975, reads "Opus 69 $5.99". Was that your territory, Sidewinder?

Edited July 1, 2011 by BillF

[Teasing the Korean]

But my question is, after you come across your old LPs with the stickers intact, are you glad that some of them remained on, regardless of the reason? I am so grateful that some of my Stereo Jack's stickers are still on the covers.

[Clunky]

The round 'Import Music Services' fell off after about 25 years!

Lots of 'Imported by Discovery Records' stickers on my LPs too !

likewise,

I get bugged by the stickers Oxfam currently use, they charge top prices for the LPs they sell , whatever the condition and then stick 2 unforgiving stickers , one with the price the other for "Gift Aid".

[Big Beat Steve]

But my question is, after you come across your old LPs with the stickers intact, are you glad that some of them remained on, regardless of the reason? I am so grateful that some of my Stereo Jack's stickers are still on the covers.

I've deliberately preserved some of the stickers on the covers of the LPs I bought secondhand if they were there from "way back", sometimes showing the names of local record and radio shops long gone but still remembered by those in the know or interested in such local business histoires, even if they happened before one's time. They have become part of the "history" of the album.

[Chuck Nessa]

I hate it when these stickers are on items I "won" on ebay.

[Big Beat Steve]

I hate it when these stickers are on items I "won" on ebay.

What I hated much more was when I "won" an item at, say, 9.99 or possibly more and then, upon closer inspection of the cover, found that a price of some 50c or even 20c only was scribbled in a corner with felt marker. Which clearly showed the kind of money the seller shelled out at some garage sale prior to reselling it. :D

Like somebody said on ebay: "Avoid the middleman"!

Edited July 1, 2011 by Big Beat Steve

[Bill Nelson]

Then there's the all-thumbs store clerk who proceeds to remove the price sticker AFTER you've bought the item.

This often happens at consignment shops where the removed label serves as proof of sale to the absentee owner.

(I've been known to lunge forward, grabbing the jacket from the stunned clerk while shouting,"Let ME do that!")

[BFrank]

Someone used to have a sticker that said: "Records are your best entertainment value"

Ain't THAT the truth!

[Dave James]

For reasons lost in antiquity, I still have the price stickers on some English LP's I bought years ago. Nothing more than the price, but back then (we're talking the late '60's and early '70's) $5.95 was a lot to pay for a record. It is nice to be reminded of what constituted big bucks way back when.

Talking about packaging issues, what used to drive me nuts were the old "dog bone" adhesives they used on CD's when they first went away from long boxes. You couldn't get some of that left over gunk off the plastic with a laser beam.

[sidewinder]

Sticker on Kenny Dorham, Whistle Stop (Blue Note), which I bought in Calgary, Alberta in 1975, reads "Opus 69 $5.99". Was that your territory, Sidewinder?

Same Province but North of Cowtown. I've heard about 'Opus 69' but think it was long-closed by the time I got there. A&B Sound were the main outlet during my days out West, in both Edmonton and Calgary. They were big in Vancouver too but I believe are also now gone. Most of my Conns were from A&B Sound.

Edited July 2, 2011 by sidewinder

[tjluke68]

Yeah, the Princeton stickers were horrible. I remember the clerks would give tips on removing them - hold the cover onto a 100 watt light bulb for a few minutes until the glue heats up and then you should be able to remove it (yeah, along with half of the cover as well...)

A year or so ago, they finally switched to a more end-user friendly sticker that peels off much easier.

[Stefan Wood]

But my question is, after you come across your old LPs with the stickers intact, are you glad that some of them remained on, regardless of the reason? I am so grateful that some of my Stereo Jack's stickers are still on the covers.

No.

[BillF]

Yes, they add character to a record.