Fraud? Sony will print extra copies of the Complete Masters 30CD box

[Albert]

Elvis Presley Masters SOLD OUT, 2nd edition for 2011



Good to hear that the limited first edition 1000 release of The Complete Elvis Presley Masters is sold out. However, due to popular demand, SONY will be releasing an unnumbered second edition in January 2011.
The second edition will be equal in quality and design to the limited edition first run but it won’t be individually numbered nor will it contain a limited edition certificate of authenticity.

Click here to order now - Follow the links and enter "Legacy10" at check out to receive 10% off. Offer valid until 11:59 PM EST December 7, 2010.
The second edition is priced the same - US$750 plus postage.

source: http://www.elvisinfonet.com/elvis_complete_masters.html

I haven't bought the box because of the high price. But people who did buy the set, bought a limited box. This way they had something that only 999 other people have.

Sony earned 1000x $750 for releasing this boxset. The work on the remastering isn't lost on this box, because these songs will be used in remastered quality on other cd's in the many years to come.

Is this fraud? They (Sony) found buyers for this set because they offered it as a 1000 limited release. But now, an unknown amount of extra boxsets will be released. I find it very cheap of Sony towards those die-hards that paid 750 hard earned dollars (or euros).

[Tigerman1975]

yes it is. Any of the fans who bought it would have a hard time doing anything with it in a US court of law. Sony,being a larger wealthier entity, would just wait the law suit out until the fan(s) went broke paying for the case.

[monk37]

No, it's not fraud, it's marketing - but it's often difficult to tell the difference.

this was a limited edition release - it's not just the content on the cd, but the packaging as well.

They can do endless re-releases of all the discs or in batches or singles in different packaging.


Much like that the silver box of 8 albums Elvis Aron Presley was supposed to be a limited edition of 100,000 worldwide.

Well, I bought it when I was 12 from my babysitting money at a Sam the Record Man - if there were really only 100,000 copies, how did one even manage to get to a store near me? And, that they have re-released it on cd now, doesn't make my LP set fraudulent.

I noticed that the numbering on the silver box included an alpha and numberic code

so that means there's A0000001 to A100000 all the way to Z000001-Z100000 out there.


It's akin to having an original pressing and a later reissue

[Tigerman1975]

They can do endless re-releases of all the discs or in batches or singles in different packaging.

Thats pretty much what they do now anyway. At least in my opinion.

[See See Rider]

I am enjoying this set. They did say however, at the onset of the release that after the 1st 1,000 copies were sold that they would re release the set again. Only problem is they did not give any details on how it would be rereleased. I thought it would be a smaller version perhaps without the book maybe a few box sets with different years of recordings. I do not feel Sony has taken advantage of fans who bought the set, because most fans purchased it regardless of its limited edition run. If you can purchase this set, I recomened it.

[See See Rider]

I also have the franklin mint set that I can now do away with since I have the Sony masters.

[Raised on Rock]

No, it's not fraud, it's marketing - but it's often difficult to tell the difference.

Lol, and that's the true. But no it is no fraud.

What I do really wish for is THAT BOOK!!!! looks fantastic!!!

[Jungleroom76]

No, it's not fraud, it's marketing - but it's often difficult to tell the difference.

PRECISELY MONK37!!!

I think the thing that makes this particular situation border on fraud though is the fact that the second run of this set will still cost the buyer $750!!! And from what press I've seen about the second pressing, the only difference between the first run and the second run is that the second set won't be numbered!! Personally, RCA/Sony should drop the price on the second pressing because the 1,000 people who bought the first set paid $750 to have a LIMITED EDITION package, which naturally will be worth more in the future then just the run-of-the-mill second pressing. It's kind of the same as buying Elvis' vinyl albums, in my opinion. The albums were re-issued but if you look at the record buying price guides, generally the re-issued albums aren't worth as much as the original first-pressing albums. So if a vinyl collector pays more money for a first-pressing vinyl record, it's because that pressing is more valuable because it was the first pressing. Does that make any sense??

Anyway, the TRUE way for RCA/Sony to have handled this would have been to release the 1,000 copies of the set and that would be the end of it!! But alas, we know that RCA/Sony of course wants to get as much money out of the consumers as humanly possible, so they'll keep milking this thing for all it's worth!!

TCB!
Mike

[Jungleroom76]

It's akin to having an original pressing and a later reissue

Sorry my friend...I missed this part of your post before I posted mine about comparing this set to collecting vinyl...

TCB!
Mike

[monk37]

no worries Jungleroom76 - we are on the same page.

did you know that the modern marketing was developed by Dr. Freud's nephew in the 1940's?

He worked a lot for Lucky Cigarettes - he organized a women's march for equal rights and at the end of the march, the women demonstrated their equality by lighting up a cigarette.

most of the advertising ideas used in the tv show Mad Men, set in the 1960's, were actually done in the 1940's.

[Jungleroom76]

no worries Jungleroom76 - we are on the same page.

Thanks my friend! Just wanted you to know I wasn't stealing your thoughts...just completely missed it in your post...

did you know that the modern marketing was developed by Dr. Freud's nephew in the 1940's?

He worked a lot for Lucky Cigarettes - he organized a women's march for equal rights and at the end of the march, the women demonstrated their equality by lighting up a cigarette.

most of the advertising ideas used in the tv show Mad Men, set in the 1960's, were actually done in the 1940's.

Interesting...I did not know that!! Thanks for teaching me something new today!!

TCB!
Mike

[T_J]

PRECISELY MONK37!!!

I think the thing that makes this particular situation border on fraud though is the fact that the second run of this set will still cost the buyer $750!!! And from what press I've seen about the second pressing, the only difference between the first run and the second run is that the second set won't be numbered!!

Surely that makes it less fraudulent? I know if I'd bought the first run, I'd not be all that happy about the second run coming out a huge amount cheaper. As it stands, those who bought early got a more collectable, numbered version for the same price as the second run.

[Billy Budd]

Fraud? No. That is what you could expect from a big company like Sony. Money rules over "a limited set of 1000 bla-bla-bla". The Complete Masters box is a beautiful and unique package well worth the money for every Elvis fan. The only difference from the limited edition to the new second release is the signed certificate from Ernst in the limited box. You'll miss that in the second run.

What you can complain Sony about in this case is the lack of information about the numbering.

[monk37]

well, it was easily predictable that there would be future runs

so, it was a choice they made to get a first pressing - what later editions sell for, doesn't change anything about their first pressing set - it's not diminished in any way