I'm with you Rob, any money spent on anything other than records is a waste !
On another recent thread about most expensive demo's and issues somebody posted up the popsike Top 50 most expensive list, and I quickly scanned down it and I counted 12 copies of the Sex Pistols G.S.T.Q. Top price was 12,675, and that's with 12 copies out of this list of 50. It's worth noting that this list only contained 3 n/s 45's ( Lady In Green, J.D.Bryant & Jnr McCants)
I can't think of any rare soul 45 that would appear 12 times on ebay and still fetch twelve grand? Are there twelve collectors on the scene who are capable and willing to spend twelve grand cash on one 45 today ?
Slightly off on a tangent, I've got a simple way to decide whether I think a record's overpriced. I ask myself this-
if you went to a venue and it was in a box for a fiver and when you asked the dealer why it was so cheap he said " Oh they've just found thousands of them" would I want to still buy it?
This helps me to decide if I truly like the record, or am I just caught up in the mystique of the rarity of this particular 45. If I truly like the record then to own it you've got to pay the going rate*, or you won't get one, simple. If boxes full of William Powell's turned up @ £5 I'd buy two, just in case something happened to one copy I'd still have one to play.
(* Of course people get lucky and find bargains, and the more effort they put in to their record hunting the luckier they tend to get in my experience, but mostly you have to pay close to book price, or maybe dollars for pounds, which these days is hardly a bargain)
p.s. is it only me that thinks this William Powell tune would make a great inst dancer?