1970: The Ulimate Complete Fun House Sessions

I just made the below suggestion to Rhino Handmade. If you think this is a good idea PLEASE go to their "Suggestion Box" and make a similar suggestion:

http://www.rhinohandmade.com/suggestions.lasso

I am sure you have already had people asking this before, but is there any possibility that Rhino Handmade would ever consider reissuing 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions? I'm not sure if you are aware, but the few that are ever been offered on eBay or Amazon are going for as much as $500+. I personally know people who have paid $400+ for used copies. I know that it was issued in a limited edition and you would not want to devalue the original issues, but there is a growing demand for the Stooges music. Maybe it could be reissued in an even more elaborate edition that could include an eighth CD of a live performance from the period, a ninth CD of a live performance of the material from the recent reunion period, a DVD of the performances & a "making of documentary," the remastered LP on 180g vinyl and a high quality serigraph of the poster. You could title it 1970: The Ultimate Complete Fun House Sessions. If fans are willing to pay $500+ for the original box set that sold for $119.98 (heck, presently there is a sealed copy listed on eBay for $718!!), I am sure fans would be more than happy to pay whatever Rhino deemed fair for what I am suggesting. There is a Stooges revival going on right this minute and Rhino should take advantage of that revival and in doing so make a lot of Stooges fans extremely happy. If you ever do consider this, PLEASE email and alert me to this so I don't miss out this time.

This is a fantastic idea. Shit, they should have you on as a cosultant. I would buy this if I had another opportunity. I will send them a similar suggestion. Take care.

Just sent them a heartfelt plea. Thanks again ELRoi!

kaiserken wrote:

Just sent them a heartfelt plea. Thanks again ELRoi!

Thank you my friend. There is also an email you can send questions to "Dr. Rhino" to ask questions:

drrhino@rhino.com

I prefaced my suggestions with a question about the possibility of obtaining a list of "select retailers" of Rhino Handmade titles. Maybe there is some indie record store or big box store that still has one and doesn't know what the going price is for it.

Unfortunately, it is probably the only chance any of us Stooge fans who missed out on the original one will ever have of obtaining one without paying some exorbitant price. And speaking of "exorbitant" prices, there is a douche bag who has a sealed copy listed on eBay for $718. A mere 82% mark-up from the original price of $119.98. It is dicussed in this thread:

https://stoogesforum.forumotion.com/ebay-auctions-trades-sales-f7/complete-fun-house-sessions-now-on-ebay-for-718-t1731.htm

Now I don't call him (or her, but from the dickish responses I assume it is a he) a douche bag because he is asking way more than anyone has or should for this item. No, I call him a douche bag for the responses I have received after making two different offers for said item. I admit the first one was a low ball offer of $199.99 that I was sure would be rejected, but I thought I would give it a try just to see. The response was about what I expected:

$400 used if you can find one and this one is sealed. Sorry but your offer is an insult.

I researched the matter and found what I thought was another sealed copy being offered for sale on Discogs.com at the price of $399.00 by on of this forums posters KootchieKoo on Discogs.com:

http://www.discogs.com/sell/list?release_id=800834&ev=rb

Now I don't call him (or her, but from the dickish responses I assume it is a he) a douche bag because he is asking way more than anyone has or should for this item. No, I call him a douche bag for the responses I have received after making two different offers for said item. I admit the first one was a low ball offer of $199.99 that I was sure would be rejected, but I thought I would give it a try just to see. The response was about what I expected:

$400 used if you can find one and this one is sealed. Sorry but your offer is an insult.

I researched the matter and found what I thought was another sealed copy being offered for sale on Discogs.com at the price of $399.00 by on of this forums posters KootchieKoo:

http://www.discogs.com/sell/list?release_id=800834&ev=rb

Now KootchieKoo had posted a couple of threads (the one above and the one listed below) asking for advice on what other Stooges fans thought would be a fair price to ask for the copy he wanted to sell:

https://stoogesforum.forumotion.com/ebay-auctions-trades-sales-f7/about-to-list-complete-funhouse-sessions-on-ebay-price-t1725.htm

From what I gathered the consensus was that $400 was reasonable. So, KootchieKoo listed it on eBay for $399. However, it apparently didn't sell. So, I was Googleing around and found that he had later listed it on Discogs, again for $399. From the Discog listing it appears to still be available. But I wanted to contact him first just to see if he would consider reducing the price a little for a Stooges forum frequenter. I PMed him and asked if it was still available and if so, would he consider taking less. I didn't hear back from him immediately so I made what I felt was a legitimate offer to the eBay douche bag "immasood," along with an apology for the original low ball offer:

I apologize for the low ball offer. I intended no offense. Here is a sealed copy for $399.00 (http://www.discogs.com/sell/list?release_id=800834&ev=rb) Please consider my offer of the same price for yours. I would prefer to buy it from you.

Now, I stated that I would prefer to purchase it from him merely because I am not familiar with KootchieKoo and for the fact the this turd has 466 eBay transactions with a 100% rating. I figured I would give him one more try. While waiting for a response from Mr. Douche Bag, KootchieKoo finally replied to my PM that he had already sold his copy on eBay for the $399 that he had originally wanted. So, with this in mind I waited for a response from Mr. Douche "immasood" Bag and this is what I got back today:

It looks like you made the ad on Discogs yourself. Sorry it just seems a little too perfect. Still sealed Stooges Box Set and coincidentally a brand new member etc but you would prefer to buy from me. I found that in life when something looks like shit and smells like shit it must be shit! Best of luck to you.
- immasood

So, as anyone can plainly see this guy is a total asshole. I have nothing against someone trying to make a decent profit on something they have that others want, but a frickin' 83% mark-up. That's basically $102 per disc! But hey whatever, right? My problem is that this jizz bag had the balls to accuse me of creating some fictitious ad in an attempt to fool him into selling his copy at a lower price. A price by the way that most people on this forum agree is a reasonable one. Anyway, the point to all this is that if you are considering buying anything from this ass wipe, I beg you to reconsider it in an effort to stop the spread of douche baggery in the sale of Stooges material. I feel so strongly about this I am going to start a tread in the "eBay auctions/trades/sales" section specifically dedicated to this individual:

https://stoogesforum.forumotion.com/ebay-auctions-trades-sales-f7/douche-bags-and-their-efforts-to-profit-from-the-stooges-t1867.htm

ELRoi,
Hey, 400.00 is too much to pay for any piece of music.
I can't site anyone for asking what they can expect to get for a rare item, but it's just songs, music in the end. That kind of price takes away from the true value of something special like the Stooges, Velvets, etc. This kind of stuff means alot to people who are true fans of great, life-changing rock. It's like a rare guitar to me; You can sell a 1960 Les Paul to some person who can afford it, and it can be displayed in a case somewhere. The guitar is worthless in the true sense until somebody plugs it in and makes the sound come out and sing. A sealed Funhouse box set is the same thing-hasn't been played, useless until it's opened.

I do hope you find one within your pricerange. Maybe Rhino will put it out again.

kaiserken wrote:

ELRoi,
Hey, 400.00 is too much to pay for any piece of music.
I can't site anyone for asking what they can expect to get for a rare item, but it's just songs, music in the end. That kind of price takes away from the true value of something special like the Stooges, Velvets, etc. This kind of stuff means alot to people who are true fans of great, life-changing rock. It's like a rare guitar to me; You can sell a 1960 Les Paul to some person who can afford it, and it can be displayed in a case somewhere. The guitar is worthless in the true sense until somebody plugs it in and makes the sound come out and sing. A sealed Funhouse box set is the same thing-hasn't been played, useless until it's opened.

I do hope you find one within your pricerange. Maybe Rhino will put it out again.

Thanks my friend. Truer words have never been written. What good is it to that jackass. He probably doesn't even listen to music, he just makes a living off of taking advantage of poor music lovers like myself. He probably bribes homeless people with day old sandwiches from the deli to stand in line for concert tickets so he can scalp the shit out of them. I was truly willing to pay $400 and that douche bag not only felt that it wasn't enough, but felt obliged to question my honesty in a very offensive fashion. So, as far as I'm concerned he can stick that awesome box set up his ass.

Yes, maybe Rhino will come through and said ass hole will have to sell it for far less with an even better edition box set on the market. Not to mention you, me and a lot more Stooges fans will get the opportunity to by that ultimate edition box set at the retail price. That is if they don't all get grabbed up by punk ass flippers like Mr. Douche "immasood" Bag.

i can sympathize with you on this. i have always said if an item is listed on ebay at a normal starting price (not something right away like say $700 for this particular piece), and jumps up to $700+ that is fair game.

if you think this is bad there is an original 1996 EP from the finnish band HIM called, 666 ways to love: prologue. it was only released in their country of finland at 1,000 units. it only contains 4 songs. back in 2000, it used to sell for around $40-50 (i wish i had grabbed it then!), which i passed on because honestly, i have seen so many bands with "limited releases" in the 1k range that don't go for *that* much. now in today's auction sites, you're lucky if you get one for under $450. there is currently one listed on ebay for $700. the average price is usually $550 - $600.

although the price for the funhouse box set is ridiculously expensive, i still feel that this shouldn't be re-released. it is what it is. that is just my two cents though.

as i said in my sales thread, good luck in finding one at a decent price in excellent condition without a ridiculous price.

The worse part about this sort of thing is that half the time it isn't someone who purchased the item because they were into the band and just need to sell it because they need the money. It is often these frickin' flippers. I put them on par with ticket scalpers. Some jackass with a wad of dough that pays some homeless people $10 a piece to go grab the first 10 or 20 spots in line and buy up the best seats for a concert then scalp them for ten times the price. Unfortunately, the damn corporations are in on it and the real fans never get to sit in the first 10 or 20 rows.

As far as Rhino reissuing the CFHS in a more elaborate box set, I guess it is selfish of me. I seriously doubt they will do it, if that make it any better.

ElRoi wrote:

As far as Rhino reissuing the CFHS in a more elaborate box set, I guess it is selfish of me. I seriously doubt they will do it, if that make it any better.

i can see where you're coming from with it. i don't think you're selfish for it, i just feel the original is what it is. and for the "pay homeless people to stand in line" guy, i've been there too. it sucks.

I made a few suggestion to Rhinohandmade about re-issuing the CFHS. Then after years of searching, I found one used for $250, and figured that was the cheapest I'd find it. Now I can understand why Rhino wouldn't spend more money on putting out this product again. Firstly, the label specifically states that their Handmade titles are a one shot deal. No reprints ever. Secondly, in the 10 years that this box has come out. I seriously doubt that even a third of the 3000 sets has come up for resale. I'd say it's maybe been around 500 (ebay, private, used stores and whatnot) re-sales since then. It's just a guess, but I usually never saw more than one box for sale on ebay at a time. And there were sometimes great lulls inbetween auctions (I had it on my saved searches for a few years, always wanting it cheaper). So I don't think it would be worth their while to repress the box for such small sales.

Besides which, the moment you find a copy for yourself at a halfway decent price (anything under $300 is a bargain these days), you're not going to care about who else gets one. Believe me, it happens with every rare acquisition.