Old laser discs= no value, right?

[mrsklamc]

I think I need to just toss these-- I keep
thinking the Cinderella one might be worth something to a collector but I doubt it...What do you think, trash?

 

[PinkRhombus]

Check ebay...they're going for, well, 1-cent.

 

[mrsklamc]

Yeah...that's what I thought...

 

[AllesonWonderland]

Don't you hate it when you hold onto something just a little too long and miss the window of resale opportunity? But, my luck is--I finally decide to get rid of something and THEN I need it or find a use for it or see it for sale. *sigh*

Good luck OP!!

 

[heatherleigh]

I had to look this up to find out what it was. I wasn't aware of such a thing. One interesting fact: They were almost named, "discodiscs" or something like that.

 

[mrsklamc]

Don't you hate it when you hold onto something just a little too long and miss the window of resale opportunity? But, my luck is--I finally decide to get rid of something and THEN I need it or find a use for it or see it for sale. *sigh*

Good luck OP!!

Well, I received them for free a few years ago so I'm not out any $. I will probably freecycle the majority (if there are any takers) but maybe hold on to a couple just because; I kinda want to keep the Cinderella one and I think DH wants to keep James Bond.

 

[JB2K]

Unfortunately, LD's downfall began with the rise of DVDs (which happened around the late 90's) -- the recent arrival of Blu-ray into the mainstream pretty much made those old LaserDiscs obsolete, for good.

Plus, the format never really took-off in the U.S. (sales of LDs were often relegated to very small sections at places like Musicland/Sam Goody, while mass merchandisers such as Walmart never gave LDs a second look).

However, there are still many LDs out there which never made it to DVD or Blu-ray (most notably, Disney's "Song of the South", which saw a Japan release) -- it's reasons like that why there is still something of a niche market for LDs.

My advice to LD owners is if you have a laserdisc that has since been re-released on DVD or Blu-ray (such as Cinderella), I would treat it like a VHS tape and relegate it to the yard sales.

If you're not certain as to whether or not your old LD collection has ever seen the DVD or Blu-ray treatment, you can check right here.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

ah..........the laserdisc................

There was a time when they were used at Epcot inside of Spaceship Earth to show us a Blondie performance.

 

[bettymae1121]

My DH actually collects them now that they are so cheap to get. I tease him about it, actually, that he's going backwards in technology rather than forwards. I think he only pays a dollar or two for each disc, he got the players for something like $30 each (he has several). There are a few, like the previously mentioned Song of the South, that may go for more because they aren't available on DVD, or a disc that has special footage that wasn't included in the DVD release.

 

[mrsklamc]

My DH actually collects them now that they are so cheap to get. I tease him about it, actually, that he's going backwards in technology rather than forwards. I think he only pays a dollar or two for each disc, he got the players for something like $30 each (he has several). There are a few, like the previously mentioned Song of the South, that may go for more because they aren't available on DVD, or a disc that has special footage that wasn't included in the DVD release.

Well if he wants to drive down here he can have them! Don't tell my DH he can get a player for that price though or I won't get them out of the house.

 

[bumbershoot]

Don't trash 'em. Just keep looking at ebay, perhaps find if there are any collectors in your area (I found a guy who repairs players about an hour from my house).

My first stepdad loved tech stuff, and our family was an "early adopter" of the laser disc (if they were called a discodisc it never made it to public knowledge back then), and I inherited them when my mom died. I have a large collection.

And yes, we found our Pioneer player (one of the two best, we found out after buying it) for $50 at a used CD store, after my mom's massively expensive Marantz player was broken in transit when my stepdad (second one) shipped her stuff out.

 

[kaywoody]

We still use our laserdisc player- because it is a 5 disc CD player and still works great. It's over 19 years old, but still chugging along just fine. We no longer have any laserdiscs, ours warped one summer when I put them in storage for a few weeks. I might have to check ebay and see if there is anything worth buying.

 

[hoffmann2828]

I would try eBay.

Right now, anything you list under .99 is a free listing fee. You could try and list some of your more rare titles and see where it goes. If it sells, hopefully there will be some decent bidding, otherwise, it will just go unsold and you aren't out ANY money.

Jenny

 

[Lewisc]

The Star Wars Collection might have some value. Purists don't like some of the changes Lucas made to the movies when the DVD versions were released.

 

[Huff]

Laserdiscs were widely used in video games such as Dragons Lair. At the time there wasn't anything else that could do what they could. VHS tapes certainly couldn't. They were too costly for the mass home market and by the time cost lower DVD's were available.

 

[lroger01]

Are they still in the covers? If so, how about framing some of them?

 

[SnowWhite2]

Ah...laser discs. We decided to stop waiting for technology to go mainstream and plunked down $800 for a laser disc player and a free movie - Top Gun. It was really impressive in it's day. I have some smaller discs that have Wham! singing some songs. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.

That's why I don't embrace technology quickly anymore. Someday I'll get an Ipod.

 

[mrsklamc]

Holy COW! According to the previously posted website, two of them are worth BIG BUCKS. Of course, that would assume I could find a buyer at those prices.

Thanks for the info...We might frame some- like Fantasia and Cinderella...

Wish I could find a player around HERE for $30...

 

[seashoreCM]

I know a lot of us are wishing that Disney would re-release Song of the South. I have the laserdisk version. There are still VHS versions on eBay but you need something just about as esoteric as a laserdisk player these days (2014), namely a PAL (european format) VCR.

RE: Discodisc
One label (brand) of laserdisks was Discovision. As it turned out, Discovision disks tended to be of poorer quality than most other labels; the thin foil layer inside on many would oxidize and then the disk would get a lot of errors (skipping) when played.

RE: Laserdisk player that could also play 5 CDs
If you ever want to use it as a laserdisk player again or sell it to someone who still has laserdisks, then don't use up its finite lifetime playing CDs.

I have a good sized laserdisk collection. I bought players secondhand, I think the most I paid for one was $200. when equivalent models were $600. new. That player came with a few dozen movies that the seller had copied to VHS tape before selling it all to me.

 

[mrsklamc]

Wow...this is an OLD thread. And the sad thing is I never did do anything with them.