How much did these cost brand new???

[pasta]

How much was a gatefold Impulse LP in, say, 1967-1969? A Blue Note?

[Harold_Z]

From $3.99 TO $4.99 at store's that discounted.

[Eric]

You know what is really amazing ...

I was thinking about that Mobley 10" that went for ~ $3k on ebay the other day.

Let's assume it sold for $5 in 1956. What kind of return is that?

Oddly, it is only 14% annually. In other words, if you had put $5 in the bank and earned 14% every year since, you would have $3,000 today. I'm not saying you could have found a bank to pay 14%, but it is a lower return than I would have expected. The fact that 49 years have passed is what makes the difference ...

[7/4]

From $3.99 TO $4.99 at store's that discounted.

←

Man, those were the days.

[pasta]

Pasta jumps into a time machine, heads back to 1969 or so, then goes nuts with depression when the record stores won't accept his 21st Century currency............................

[Rooster_Ties]

So, adjusted for inflation, what would $5 in 1956 dollars -- be worth today in 2005 dollars??

Any while we're at it (again, adjusted for inflation) what would $4.00 to $5.00 in 1967-69 dollars -- be worth today in 2005 dollars??

Thanks!!!

[pasta]

pasta cries himself to sleep, picturing those delicious bins full of impulse lp's, all pretty orange and black, sob sob sob!

[Eric]

So, adjusted for inflation, what would $5 in 1956 dollars -- be worth today in 2005 dollars??

Any while we're at it (again, adjusted for inflation) what would $4.00 to $5.00 in 1967-69 dollars -- be worth today in 2005 dollars??

Thanks!!!

←

$5 in 1956 would be worth $55 in 2005 dollars, assuming 5% annual inflation.

$5 in 1966 would be worth $34 in 2005 dollars.

I know it seems kinda counter-intuitive, how could $5 in 1956 be worth $3,000 at 14%, but only $55 at 5%. The power of compounding over 49 years is what does it!

The other point is that if you accept 5% inflation, CDs are pretty cheap today on an inflation-adjusted basis.

Edited October 20, 2005 by Eric

[Rooster_Ties]

Yeah, that's based on 5% annual inflation -- but have we really had an average of 5% inflation over the last 50 years?? (Maybe we have, but that seems a little high to me. Maybe 3% or 4% tops would be my guess.)

[Michael Fitzgerald]

1956:

[JSngry]

Newspaper ads w/checklist boxes. Love it!

[Chuck Nessa]

Pasta jumps into a time machine, heads back to 1969 or so, then goes nuts with depression when the record stores won't accept his 21st Century currency............................

←

You really want to set that machine for 1968. That's when all the companies dumped the mono pressings. I remember about 3 bins of mint BN monos in my store.

Hey, they had phoney stereo and that's what folks wanted.

[Harold_Z]

According to a table at this site, $5.00 in 1965 is worth around $30.00 in todays loot.

I guess those gigs I was doing back then didn't pay so badly after all.

Inflation Table

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Problem is that people got paid $50 for a cheap gig back then and they STILL get paid $50 today!

Mike

[Michael Fitzgerald]

1968:

[Harold_Z]

Problem is that people got paid $50 for a cheap gig back then and they STILL get paid $50 today!

Mike

←

Yup !

[PHILLYQ]

Yeah, that's based on 5% annual inflation -- but have we really had an average of 5% inflation over the last 50 years??  (Maybe we have, but that seems a little high to me.  Maybe 3% or 4% tops would be my guess.)

←

You have to keep in mind that for awhile in the late 70s/early 80s we had wild inflation of around 16%+. That could bring the average up to 5%.

[medjuck]

As i remember it, when I first started buying Lps in the mid fifties they were $3.98. Then when stereo came in they were $3.98 mono and $4.98 stereo. That was in Canadian dollars.

[patricia]

=medjuck,Oct 20 2005, 09:13 PM]

As i remember it,  when I first started buying Lps in the mid fifties  they were $3.98.  Then when stereo came in they were $3.98 mono and $4.98 stereo. That was in Canadian dollars.

←

You're right, but Canadian and American dollars were pretty well even back in the fifties. The exchange rate, as I recall, was negliable.

I remember spending 99 cents for '45s and anywhere from $1.98 to $5.98. I belonged to Columbia Record Club during that period, though I don't remember if the records were cheaper. I do remember that the main attraction was the initial sign-up when I received I think four or six records for 99 cents. Then the records after that were I think the going rate. Then, when I tried to quit, after the agreed to six records were ordered, they kept on sending the monthly selection, until I sent a double-registered letter.

[brownie]

To keep things in perspective, a 1960 issue of Down Beat cost 35 cents. Same price some ten years later...

[GA Russell]

The orginal question asked about 1967-69 prices. That period is particularly apt in my case.

In New Orleans in the 60s, when I was in high school, the list price for most LPs was $3.99 for mono and $4.99 for stereo, but only a sucker paid list price. I don't recall a store ever selling at list. They all discounted the LPs a dollar. So the going rate was $2.99 for mono and $3.99 for stereo. The cheapest store sold stereo for $3.59.

But your question asked about gatefold Verves and Impulses. They were a dollar more than most LPs. They were priced higher because of the quality of the vinyl used, according to the stickers.

Prestige was priced at the standard rate. I can't tell you about Blue Note, but I think it was the same.

However, I went to college in 1968 in Washington, DC. DC was the home of a major wholesaler, and as a result there was one less middleman. So stereo LPs went for $2.89. I was in heaven, except that I didn't have much money. My New Orleans retailer told me that $2.89 was his wholesale price!

When mono was abruptly discontinued in 1969 (I think), the ones still in stock went for $1.99 in DC, just to clear them out. I got a few of my favorite Prestiges and Riversides that way.

edit for spelling

Edited October 21, 2005 by GA Russell