A recent article posted in USA Today has people scrambling to see what VHS tapes they have lying around to “cash in.” While it’s true that some VHS tapes go for some money and some of the ones featured in the article are actually going for thousands of dollars, not all of them are so it’s hit and miss.
For years a VHS tape of The Little Mermaid with its original, discontinued cover has been valuable, but recently some other films have suddenly shot up out of nowhere.
Let’s look at the examples featured in the article:
Beauty and the Beast – $35,000
This one is odd. A few went for thousands, with one reaching over $99k, but someone else had a lot of nine sealed copies, and they only went for $128 total.
101 Dalmations – $9,999.99
Like everything else, it’s a wide range of prices. Some have sold for up to 4k, but most stay in the $500 or much less range.
It is not the same case for all of the examples, though.
The Lion King -$3,825
The truth is while one went for $2,499, most don’t go for more than a few dollars.
A stack of The Lion King VHS, along with The Little Mermaid, sealed only sent for $100 total.
Pinocchio for $10,000.
First of all, it is brand new. Secondly, it hasn’t sold; it’s just the asking price.
When you search for the sold items, most of them only go for a few dollars. Even the most expensive ones didn’t come anywhere near $10k. One was $550, and I don’t even know why it went that high. The second highest was $79, and that one was graded in a special case.
Dumbo for $20,000
Again. No. Except for one that went at $500, opened, which makes no sense at all, these go for a few dollars.
Even a graded 8.5, new, Dumbo went for less than $79.
This is another example of one person asking that much but the VHS is not actually going for that much.
Why could these VHS tapes be going for so much?
There could be a couple of reasons these are going for a lot of money. The first reason is nostalgia. The 1990s, kids are getting nostalgic and buying up toys and tech from that era. The Nintendo 64 even made a hot toy list for 2023. It stands to reason that they will be wanting the VHS tapes and players as well. But even if that is true, some of these prices seem too high.
Maybe the ones selling unreasonably high are for reasons other than the item. We saw this with Beanie Babies, too. Some were going for ridiculous prices, but only one or two, while the rest were normal. One theory I heard was that people were using the item as a cover to actually purchase something else and cover their tracks. Of course, I can not confirm that, but I’ve heard the theory.
It could even be that an influencer talking about the products drove the demand up. It could explain why some titles are actually selling for high prices while most are not.
Who knows. But I can tell you that just because something is listed for that price doesn’t mean it will actually sell for that much. Always check sold prices first and see if it is a consistent pattern or if it’s a couple of one-offs.
From the looks of it, yes, some are selling for hundreds to thousands. If you can get $500 for an old VHS tape, why not right? Even if you get that for ten, it’s still a pretty good sale.
Maybe you want to try selling yours. If so go for it. Just be prepared for them to not sell for high prices just in case. Most of these have more selling for under $10 than not. Doesn’t hurt to try, right?
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
Source: USA Today
Pirates & Princesses (PNP) is an independent, opinionated fan-powered news blog that covers Disney and Universal Theme Parks, Themed Entertainment and related Pop Culture from a consumer's point of view. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of PNP, its editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. PNP is an unofficial news source and has no connection to The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal or any other company that we may cover.
