The band have once more asked for thoughts on how much interest there would be for a special edition vinyl box set of album number two onwards. You can see the quote below and click here to see the post and comment.
Crazies…we wish to turn back to a subject first broached late last year, a proposed vinyl box set. We had tremendous response on this page to the idea but now that we have a bit more in the way of tangible information, we want to mention some of the particulars. Some of this has changed a bit since we last spoke on this subject.
We would be offering a 10 album set, running from “Senor Smoke” through to “Mustang.” This would include “Absolute Pleasure” as well as a TBD bonus album (we’re not sure yet what we’ll do with that one but it’ll be something good). It would not include “Human Zoo” because Metropolis is still selling through their copies. Some of these albums would consist of two record sets due to running length. Artwork will be the same as the CD covers for each particular release. The records will be pressed on 150 gram colored vinyl…colors will be varied but each one will be consistent across the set (so, for example, all “Senor Smoke” copies could be royal blue).
The cost of the set will be $250 plus shipping and handling. Now, this is where we need you to really think for a minute. Domestic (US) shipping isn’t any big deal…best as we can tell, it looks like something in the neighborhood of $15 or so. Canada is a little steeper but still double digits in USD costs. Everywhere else is where it gets expensive. While we can’t commit to an exact number because so much of the weight is still in flux (we need to have a specially designed box made to house this set and we don’t yet know exactly how much that will weigh), we have seen enough to believe that international shipments other than Canada will be in the low to mid $100 range It will vary some depending upon destination…Australia is more expensive than the UK, for example), given the weight and dimensions of the package. Assuming we go through with this campaign, you would be given an exact shipping cost to add to your pledge at that time, so there will be specificity but for now, this is a best guess.
So, the bottom line is this isn’t going to be cheap. It won’t be cheap to buy and it won’t be cheap to produce. Our costs and the effort involved is substantial as well, so given that we now know a bit more about what we’d be looking at, we come to you again asking for feedback. Are you interested in something like this, keeping in mind the cost inclusive of shipping and in some instances the potential for customs fees? Again, as in previous campaigns, we are required by law to indicate bona fide value of the contents of a package for customs purposes for international shipments. We’d need to sell a good number of these to make it viable, as you need a certain amount to have economies of scale kick in and get the per unit price to press up a piece of vinyl at a reasonable rate. So, we need to hear from you once again…if we don’t see a good level of interest here, we’ll likely conclude that the concept may just not be viable but please, give us your HONEST feeling as to your interest.