Collectors of anachronistic media rejoice: what’s old is new again, and VHS tapes and cassettes are now worth checking for value on the secondary market. Read on to learn about the hottest sellers in S.O.S. (Surplus Old Stuff): VHS and cassette tapes.
VHS & Cassettes: 1980s Big-Haired Fun
VHS and cassette tapes hail from the same neon-colored, big-haired era of the 1980s. While for decades they rotted on shelves with little resale value, today’s hipsters have finally rediscovered the magic of magnetic tape. I’ve been seeing piles of VHS and cassette tapes at local vintage shops and markets. Sometimes, shops will even have a vintage all-in-one TV/VCR running an old movie during store hours.
Not to divulge my age, but yes, I am a proud child of the 1980s and had a solid childhood filled with racks of cassette tapes from Sam Goody as well as just a few VHS movies (not too many—they were too expensive). Cassettes were reasonably priced enough for me to head to the local record store to pick up the newest release from one of my favorite bands. Believe it or not, I started getting into music with big hair metal bands like Bon Jovi and Cinderella, whose releases were only on vinyl. Once my tastes matured into bands like U2, my acquisitions started bridging between vinyl and cassette tape. For instance, I bought 1987’s The Joshua Tree on vinyl, yet 1991’s Achtung Baby on cassette. Fast forward several years of adolescence spent working at coffee shops and movie theaters and ensuing disposable income, and next thing you know, I had a cassette collection in the hundreds.
The Breakfast Club to Michael Jackson’s Thriller
What about those giant VHS tapes? As a teenager, I had little use for purchasing many of those since I was never that into Disney movies, although I do recall purchasing The Little Mermaid on VHS so I could watch it over and over again at my leisure.
As for other favorite movies, well, we just had a small stack of blank VHS tapes that I’d pop into our VCR to record a favorite movie when it was shown on TV. The main film I recall recording was The Breakfast Club, which I’d watch repeatedly on Saturday mornings once I’d outgrown The Smurfs and He-Man cartoons.
One type of VHS tape that I did like to purchase was music-related, such as a special music video by an artist in conjunction with a new album. I was not into Michael Jackson, but a friend’s family purchased Making Michael Jackson’s Thriller VHS tape, which I remember all crowding around the big box TV to watch. It was groundbreaking for the time.
One-of-a-Kind Recordings
So, what VHS and cassette tapes have the most value today? As I mentioned, the virtue of both VHS and cassette tapes is that you cannot only listen to them but also record on them—a major change from, say, vinyl records, which were just for listening. As a result, some of the most valuable vintage cassette tapes are those one-of-a-kind examples of a recording of a show, interview, or similar.
For instance, John Lennon/Yoko Ono cassettes often show up on the auction block and sell for thousands of dollars. Or how about this Prince answering machine tape that sold for over $6000?
As you sort through your cassette collections, watch for any formerly blank cassettes with handwritten labels or inserts in case you have concert recordings or other special examples. For specific artists, keep an ear to the ground for big music news, such as the death of a famous singer. Morbid as it is, prices always spike after a star’s death.
Beware the Disney Black Diamonds
Buyers and sellers should exercise a bit more caution when purchasing VHS tapes. Old “Black Diamond” Disney VHS tapes are notorious for having falsely inflated resale prices. In any event, use common sense when perusing an old VHS collection. Evergreen series, characters, and genres are all often good bets when it comes to value.
Can you believe a factory-sealed 1982 copy of Star Wars sold for $114,000? Classic 1980s films on VHS format also frequently have solid value, such as The Karate Kid, Halloween, and Back to the Future.
Nostalgia always sells, especially when it comes to S.O.S. (Surplus Old Stuff): VHS and cassette tapes!
Amy Moyer is the proprietor of Antmuffin: Art, Antiques & Collectibles. She holds a B.A. in Visual Art from Brown University and lives in Boston.
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