It always makes me laugh when we talk about how rare a record is. How does anybody know?? Just because[excuse the pun] there were a few copies for sale 20 years ago, doesn't mean there's thousands of them out there. If it wasn't for the internet, nobody would see the copies for sale. And even if it isn't rare, demand obviously outstrips supply, and so the price goes up. That's life I'm afraid. If there were loads of copies about nobody would pay £500 for it. If you want something badly enough, you'll pay the price.
Another reason for these price rises, is in the 80s, ther were only a few collectors. Today rare soul collecting is massive worldwide, thousands of collectors chasing the same titles. My mate tells me stories of the scene in the 80s, very few events, attended by the same hard core. Big ticket 45s for sale at nighters, some that didn't sell for months. Go to most events now and you never see heavy weight 45s for sale. Most boxes are just the same old Pye Disco Demands, and cheap box fillers. I actually think that most of the big collectors don't actually go out anymore.
Sorry to go off on one, but I just don't know how anyone can possibly know how rare a record is, or isn't.
Phil