8 Track Shack Announces Customer Loyalty Discounts

The 8 Track Shack has announced that they now have a customer loyalty program that is in effect that allows anyone who has spent $100 or more to save anywhere from 10%-60% off of every future purchase, depending on the amount spent in the past. The discount offered by 8 Track Shack will continue to grow as customers make more purchases. You can get more details from 8 Track Shack's Customer Loyalty Discount program page on their website.

Sinatra Jobim 8 Track Tape for Sale on eBay!

Times are tough for sure, but right now, as I type this, someone is virtually giving away a Sinatra Jobim 8 track tape on eBay for an opening bid of $2500! That's right, for about $2000 below the usual selling price of this tape...insane!

I'm not going to post a link, because it would only become inactive two weeks after the auction ends anyway, but if you do a search on eBay.com, you'll find it. The tape comes with its original sleeve and is in pretty nice condition (thought it just blows my mind that the seller is trying to sell something for $2500 and couldn't take the time to clean the scuffs off the tape and according to the listing, never listened to the tape!

Heck, who knows, it might have been recorded over with John Denver's Greatest Hits. Even if the tape has been erased and used as an audition tape for a three year old singing "Old MacDonald" this tape should still be worth the $2500 starting bid, just for the cartridge and labels! The tape...which I did not see until today....was previously listed a week ago with a starting bid of $3000 and ended with no bids. Now you'll have to excuse me, I've got to go and see whether or not I can scrape together $2500 bucks that the wife won't miss.

Rare 8 Track Tape - Mini 8 Track Folding Tape Cartridge

The Mini 8 track tape is something you've probably never seen. The one pictured to the left was recently offered for sale on eBay...and still sealed! This mini folding 8 track was a various artists compilation titled simply "Rock Hits" with five songs:
(I Know) I'M LOSING YOU - Rod Stewart
STONES - Neil Diamond
MOONSHADOW - Cat Stevens
BABY I'M A WANT YOU - Bread
OLD FASHIONED LOVE SONG - Three Dog Night
MAGGIE MAY - Rod Stewart

This particular 8 track was made around 1971. Lear Jet made the format for a short time and only a couple hundred titles were ever made available. This tape recently sold on eBay for a bargain at just under $130. The tape, in my estimation - despite being a compilation - would be valued at five times that price. I've owned over 100,000 8 tracks bought from all over the country and have never even seen one of these in person. The eBay auction only had 76 views, so not many people even knew this was being auctioned off. The high bid before I placed my bid was $16.

Rare 8 Track Tape - John Lennon / Yoko Ono: Unfinished Music No. 1, Two Virgins

This rare 8 track tape is John Lennon / Yoko Ono's Unfinished Music No. 1, Two Virgins. This tape is rare for a number of reasons. First, it is a very early 8 track tape released in 1968, in the infancy of the 8 track tape cartridge. Secondly, the tape has its original cardboard sleeve, 99%+ of tapes that you find today do not retain their sleeve, regardless of title. Also, the tape apparently was one of those tapes that was recalled by the manufacturer. This one it seems was recalled due to moral concerns.

Now, if you've never seen the vinyl copy of this album, and seeing this 8 track make you partially realize a lifelong dream of seeing Yoko Ono nude....well then you are in luck, my friend, because the actual 8 track tape itself had a label affixed to it that shows Yoko all naked in all her glory.

Which is the last thing that makes this 8 track rare, the label was not ripped off or blacked out with marker by parents trying to protect their young-ins from the future disappointment of seeing less attractive humans naked after seeing Yoko's perfection. Appearing on the cover label as well is a nude John Lennon.

The particular copy pictured above recently sold on eBay for a mere $350, which we think is quite a steal. For those interested, the original label artwork appears below.

More Rare 8 Track Tape for the Last Week of February

This past week didn't have the highest priced 8 tracks on eBay, but there were a number of rare cartridges that fetched decent prices.

You can view the ongoing 8 track tape price guide here for a larger list of rare and somewhat valuable 8 track tapes.

Kraftwerk: Ralph & Florian (Sealed) - $60
Bob Dylan & the Band: The Basement Tapes (Sealed) - $57
Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers (Import) - $50
Yma Sumac: Miracles - $45
Rolling Stones: Their Satanic Majesties Request (Sealed) - $40
Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed (Sealed) - $40
Bob Dylan: Self-Portrait (Sealed) - $35
Bob Dylan: New Morning (Sealed) - $35
Beatles: Yellow Submarine (Sealed) - $31
Ramones: Road to Ruin - $30
Jimi Hendrix: Smash Hits (Sealed) - $30
Bob Dylan: Hard Rain (Sealed) - $30
John Lee Hooker: Untitled (Sealed) - $28
Various: Smokey and the Bandit Soundtrack - $25

Rare 8 Track Tape - Bob Dylan: Bringing It All Back Home

Sealed copy of Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back Home 8 track recently sold for $66 on eBay.

Visit the 8 track tape price guide for more valuable 8 track tapes, updated weekly.

$510 for a Michael Jackson Thriller 8 Track Tape

This past week an eBay seller sold the Michael Jackson Thriller album, pictured at left, for $510. This was a Columbia House tape club release, still in original shrink wrap. The album was released in 1982, so it isn't even one of the scarcest Jackson albums out there. Did someone really pay $510 for it?

Also this week, a seller offered a lot of Michael Jackson 8 tracks with Thriller included with Off the Wall, ABC, and Maybe Tomorrow. Now these tapes weren't sealed, but the whole lot brought in a whopping $15.  ...and the seller of this lot even had the correct keywords "Michael Jackson Thriller 8 Track Tapes" in the title.

I've noticed that it seems to be, or nearly so, easier to find sealed Record Club tapes from the 1980's than other popular titles from the 1970's. And certainly much easier than finding Leer Jet flat packs in their original containers. I believe (just my theory) that this was due to the fact that many people in the 1980's started the transition to cassette tapes or CD's, but were still subscribed to the tape clubs. Then when tapes arrived, they had already purchased the album in another format (when it was originally released) and so did not open the tapes.

Anyway, look for a flood of Thriller 8 tracks on eBay in the coming weeks once people start seeing that someone supposedly paid $510 for one.

Rare 8 Track Tape - Michael Jackson: Bad

This copy of Michael Jackson, Bad, sold recently on eBay for $153. It was one of those deals where the seller listed it with a title that might lead the buyer to believe it was factory sealed, but it was not. Still, it was in very nice condition. Bad was released in 1987, which makes this one of the last few tapes ever produced, and makes the $153 price tag seem a bit log. I've certainly never seen one in person.

Rare 8 Track Tape - Madonna: Like a Virgin

Madonna's Like a Virgin album on the Sire label. The one pictured was distributed through the RCA Music Service tape / record club. It's a pretty scarce album, released in 1984, near the end of the road for 8 track tapes.

A sealed copy recently sold on eBay for $71, but I've seen unsealed used copies fetch around $100. Values for 8 tracks are like anything, they go up and down and are affected by economic condition and scarcity.

Saw 3D - More Blood, Gore and an 8 Track Tape

No, the player didn't just eat his tape,
he's super glued to the seat.

Watched Saw 3D last night. "The Final Chapter..." ...until next year when they come out with Saw 8. It was just like the other saw movies, entertaining, as long as you don't think too much about them.

But Saw 3D was a bit different in that Jigsaw, or one of his accomplices, recorded a message for one of his games on an 8 track tape. When the subject (this time a racist) awoke, he realized that he had been super-glued to his car seat. There was an 8 track in the player with his name on it that gave him instructions on how to make it through his test....which was that he had to pull himself off the seat to grab a lever, or his car would run over his girlfriend, pull a friend's arms off and then slam into another friend. No spoiler alert for the scene here, in case you haven't seen the movie, but I will say that even before the time runs out he's in a lot of pain.

Every time I watch a Saw film, I can't help but wonder how many recordings Jigsaw has made for people he wanted to be in his traps. He's been dead for awhile in the series, but tapes keep getting used.  And without even starting to think about the engineering marvels that his accomplices produce, I'd like to know what kind of filing system he has so that his minions don't get people mixed up. Heck in the scene with the 8 track, there were four people that had to be gathered up at the same time. Whatever system they use is effective though, you never hear the victim start screaming in denial when Jigsaw accuses them.

Anyway, Saw: The Final Chapter (Formerly Saw 3D), has an 8 track player and tape in it that works, sorta cool, would have been cooler with a 3D TV.

Rare 8 Track Tape - Van Halen: 1984

This rare 8 track tape is a 1984 tape club release of Van Halen's 1984. This tape recently sold on eBay for $50.

Rare Import 8 Track Tape: Beatles: Best of the Beatles

This 8 track tape is currently being offered at 8-Track-Shack.com for $1250.00. It is a scarce Beatles, The Best of the Beatles import from Japan with its original box. Is it worth that much? Who knows, but where are you gonna find another one.

8 Track of the Week - U2 Rattle and Hum

This week's 8 track tape of the week is U2's Rattle and Hum. A sealed copy (pictured) sold this week on eBay for $300. This 1988 record club release is one of the last 8 track tapes that was produced. At that point the cassette tape had taken over and 8 tracks were pretty much a dead format.