Obsolete tape format- and a possible collectible tape?

[MarkWComer]

Probably nobody remembers the "PlayTape" format, similar to 4/8 tracks that pulled from a center hub and then rewound to the outside of the tape "pancake". In the mid 60s, there was an offbeat format called PlayTape, a two-track 1/8" mono format with maybe 10 minutes of program material. As I remember, Volkswagen offered an in-dash player for this odd format, and there was a minor assortment of battery-powered portable players available.

I browse ebay the same was most people walk through a flea market- I pick a category and wander through the listings just to see what outrageous crap I can find. Since I'm a record junkie, sometimes I look for odd record formats such as the Philco Hip Pocket Record, a 45rpm flexi disc format (manufactured by Eva-Tone) that didn't go very far. From that, I jumped to PlayTape and found this little oddball: http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Beatles...018?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item234beba602. Four tracks from the Beatles' Revolver album.

Notice the track "All The Lonely People." Undoubtedly a mislabeling of "Eleanor Rigby." So- what say you guys about this odd fish being a collectible? It's a little pricey for what is physically, not in great condition, but... It's the Beatles! And the song name is wrong!

 

[orange]

You have to consider these things...

1. Rarity
2. Popularity
3. Condition
4. Did you actually want to play it/is there a player out there?
5. Price

$35 and no bids with two days and change left means that

A. Nobody is indicated as watching (or eBay finally stopped annoying us with that).
B. If there is interest, the price is thought high.
C. The lack of knowledge about it's playable state has diminished it's worth to browsers.
D. It may have been a fairly common title for the format, meaning that there is less interest among the existing collectors.
E. Both B. and C. may be due to lack of research or knowledge on the seller's behalf
F. If they are a pawn outfit or even not they customarily try to sell for 3-4 times the pawn loan or purchased price...which may not bear fruit. That is how a pawn shop make a profit and likewise they give you less for it to cover the risk of the loan and keep up operating margins.

Do you have a player? I gather it might somewhat work using channels 1 and 3 on a stereo 8 player, if the guard band between channel 1 and 2 corresponds to the ones you need on a stereo 8, otherwise you will have mixed audio from both programs.

Can you find a player in working or fixable shape?

Have you found any other instances of the title to compare prices?

 

[orange]

If I remember of the top of my dandruff well enough, this was a FISHER-PRICE product and short lived, and the Beatles title might have been the most produced title. I'm not sure the typo is as big of a deal.

Have you ever been to 8-track Heaven? I did find the archived version of the old version of the site and it led to this... http://web.archive.org/web/20120415081329/http://www.rarebeatles.com/photopg6/twotrack.htm

http://web.archive.org/web/20130420142802/http://8trackheaven.com/?q=node/4

http://8trackheaven.com/

They may be rare indeed but the players are even rarer now, making it an expensive quest. I don't tend to collect stuff I can't actually play and at least save to something.

 

[Lazarus Short]

Steven, that is astonishingly wise advice!

 

[MarkWComer]

Orange: Yeah, that was pretty much my assessment of the thing. There are actually a bunch of players on ebay for this cartridge- but they don't seem to gather much interest. There's even the Sapphire in-dash player with AM radio for the Volkswagen listed.

Once in a while, you'll see a 78rpm Beatles shellac record from India. Played to death, worn out, generally horrible condition- but seller is still asking $1000 for it.

A thing's value is determined by what some fool is willing to pay...

Correction: $3000 for the Beatles 78. They don't show the groove of the disc, but the deadshellac looks kinda shiny. Still not worth $3000 unless you're a rabid collector.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/THE-BEATLES...472?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item540b282258

More insanity:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/United-Ways...b29f98&pid=100010&rk=1&rkt=24&sd=360964432472

 

[Lazarus Short]

Mark, this is all over eBay - page after page of items, none of which have a bid, and yet sellers are still asking top dollar for their items. The market will get real in time, when the economy gets to such a state that sellers feel the pinch, but by then, people will have other things to worry about than on-line auctions...

 

[BlazeES]

Sometimes I wish there was a show similarly structured like that PBS 'Antique Roadshow' gig - just for music related medium and playback gear.
I'd be a glued to my set for a show like that ...

But back to the little Beatles EP PlayTape;
you can bet there are at least a few die-hard collectors with shrines set up in a spare room or basement, that probably have that little memento
and any other releases on that format. And when you consider it's starts off relatively cheap compared to the stratospheric pricing on a lot of other collectable items,
something like that would probably make a collector fanatic smile ear-to-ear.
I tip my hat to the dedicated folks who go after every little oddity with a story behind it.

Never heard of PlayTape; something to learn about. Thanks for positing!

 

[orange]

Orange: Yeah, that was pretty much my assessment of the thing. There are actually a bunch of players on ebay for this cartridge- but they don't seem to gather much interest. There's even the Sapphire in-dash player with AM radio for the Volkswagen listed.

Once in a while, you'll see a 78rpm Beatles shellac record from India. Played to death, worn out, generally horrible condition- but seller is still asking $1000 for it.

A thing's value is determined by what some fool is willing to pay...

Correction: $3000 for the Beatles 78. They don't show the groove of the disc, but the deadshellac looks kinda shiny. Still not worth $3000 unless you're a rabid collector.

More insanity:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/United-Ways-Red-Feather-78RPM-LP-American-Railroad-Community-Chest-RED-VINYL-10/140957820713?_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109&_trkparms=aid%3D555012%26algo%3DPW.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131231084308%26meid%3Dec365cc8542a41278d49fc9797b29f98%26pid%3D100010%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D24%26sd%3D360964432472

I think the same seller has a new, factory sealed copy of Rory Gallagher-Calling Card on Chrysalis 8-track for under ten bucks... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rory-Gallag...artridge-Chrysalis-8CH1124-1976-/131419478430

HINT...when you get to the ? after the item number you can cut all that extra crap and it works.

 

[MarkWComer]

Mark, this is all over eBay - page after page of items, none of which have a bid, and yet sellers are still asking top dollar for their items. The market will get real in time, when the economy gets to such a state that sellers feel the pinch, but by then, people will have other things to worry about than on-line auctions...

I hold that truth to be self-evident!

 

[orange]

I'd just like to have that Rory Gallagher 8-track!