Firstly I would not buy two of everything.The first reason is- spending money twice(and some cds are expensive even at their release).Secondly,as I think you mention,those sealed copies could all have big scratches on them(possible,though unlikely to be all).Third think of all the space you'd save with one copy.Next if you are thinking ahead and about selling them,then a serious collector would still buy an opened cd -provided it was in good condition(I would do this especially if it was the only way to get a much wanted cd).

Damjamcar, October 23, 2006; 9:14 AM

I agree, and be careful what type of case you choose to store the cd's in if you decide to go that route. A lot of the cd books people use to store their collection will put minor scratches on the disc as you slide it into the sleeve. Those scratches add up over time. You could get like a 400 cd carousel type player from somewhere like Best Buy to store them in. Only thing is, you're not really gonna be able to save a lot of space in the end, cause when you decide to sell them, the buyer is going to want the case more than likely. Good luck to you though with your decision.

drakemarone, October 23, 2006; 9:21 AM

Leave them sealed. If you open them up it will defeat the purpose of having purchased a second copy in the first place. As long as you're not moving them around a lot, the loose discs won't get scratched anyways, and if they already are scratched, opening them up won't make any difference.

American.Nightmare, October 23, 2006; 12:29 PM

I wouldn't keep anything sealed unless I planned to re-sell it at a profit. There's too much chance of opening a GEM 5 years after purchase and finding out it's WRECKED!
I just buy lots of replacement CD cases and pitch the broken ones
(there are different styles of CD cases, some of which minimize shipping damage). I don't know why all the sellers still use those
CD cases with the "little teeth" that break so easily in transit.

lilbrucems44, January 3, 2024; 6:08 PM

I wouldn't worry about it. A person can drive him/herself half loopy thinking about such things.

victoravalentine, October 23, 2006; 4:09 PM

First of all, thanks for all your comments and advice. It's much appreciated. Now for some more specific answers

*No, I don't intend to sell any of my current CDs
*Space isn't really an issue for me
*I was thinking of using a combination of those plastic sandwich bags (Not Ziplock), separate CD sleeves, and a small CD case to prevent damage to the CD. I was hoping that someone here would be a little more familiar with particular brands of CD cases that were good or if they were familiar with CD sleeves and whether or not they leave scratches behind.
*Keeping the original CD cases from being cracked has been very easy for me, so that's not really a problem.
*I also wish that CD distrubitors would improve the quality of their cases.
*Trying to avoid that crazy scenario by resolving this issue now.

neko_criminal, October 24, 2006; 3:38 AM

"Why do you concern yourself with such things my friend?...

Life is too short and most precious!...

Enjoy the moments of listening to your music for Pete's sake and snap out of it!!"



LOL... look who's talking!

Believe me, I'm another fellow neurotic anal-retentive soundtrack collector/completist who enjoys collecting and pampering his film score collection but tries (notice I say tries) to ignore all this and with upmost importance enjoy the music first!

Don't get me wrong please... the idea of collecting doubles and even triples! plus making a backup cd-r for the thousands of CD soundtracks and non-soundtracks I personally own has crossed my mind as well but if I ever decide to do such a thing, and I'm putting the monetary and space concern aside, I will really go nuts.

I don't know exactly the rarity and collective value of your CD soundtrack collection or what film scores you keep as double - if not all - but personally I don't think that their monetary value will increase substantially, if any, throughout the years as if you had made the monetary investment of a lifetime unless you somehow got the soundtracks for free in the first place, the same way as if you were collecting stamps or coins or even works of art.

Even if some rare and out of print/deleted CD film scores did increase in monetary value, very few soundtrack collectors in their right sense of mind - and what soundtrack collector is? - would pay large sums of money to acquire them were in fact they could be found at a better offer perhaps not sealed but still mint and unplayed.
Don't forget, CD's do have a limited lifespan and that times and technology are changing and moving at an extremely rapid rate. Like a lot of vinyl manufacturing has, listening to music in CD format in fact might become obsolete in the not so distant future and replaced by other means.

Anyway, I just wanted to write all this since you posted your question but I was witholding and trying not to intefere with your business but I decided to give you my personal and whole hearted friendly advice nevertheless.
I honestly want to see fellow sountrack collector devotees like myself and I'm assuming yourself as well, and not so much 'collectors' per se, appreciate and enjoy their taste in film music without having to worry so much about it.

Anyway, since you are probably going to ignore everything of what I just said, I would simply leave the sealed loose soundtracks the way they are and put them in a safe place and try to leave them alone without moving them as much if not at all.

Personally I believe that soundtracks don't get that damaged inside their confined jewel cases as much as DVD's do since the DVD plastic cases are in fact much bigger and there is more space for the DVD's to move around in.

I've had soundtracks on numerous occassions which were sent to me in sealed jewel cases with broken centers and were the soundtrack CD was flawless and scratchless once opened. As I just stated, DVD's are another story.

You might want to put the loose soundtracks aside which I'm pretty sure are not that many compared to the rest of your sealed intact ones in your collection and think it over a little bit more.

If it is really eating your guts, and I know it is, then you might want to open a loose soundtrack that can be easily found brand new and sealed once more throughout the market to see if it has been damaged and get it out of your system.

That's it for now I guess...

All the best! Enjoy the music!!

Cheers!!!... ;- )))

serifiot, October 24, 2006; 8:26 PM