Sonuvfunk said:

So, just before Prince passed I bought a sealed copy of the Madhouse 8 CD for what was a great price at the time...$34. I had my suspicions that maybe it could be fake but at that price I figure it was worth the risk. My question is, is there anything I can look for on the outside covers that can determine conclusively if it is a legit copy? Since it is now fetching 10x what I paid for it I think I should try and find out for sure! Thanks! Kris

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Can you post a link to the auction? That might help.

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Also, you can click through these and see if they help you. https://www.discogs.com/m...view/16356

My guess is it's a copy. Seller has sold 4 since Prince's death. Also description says it is sealed. When these CDs came out in 1987, they were packaged in a longbox (which was sealed - the CD itself would not have ever been sealed. At least in the US it was that way. This title was long out of print by the time CDs were being sold in a sealed shrinkwrapped condition (1993).

So I would say it's a fake. Sorry.

[Edited 5/14/16 6:48am]

fms said:

My guess is it's a copy. Seller has sold 4 since Prince's death. Also description says it is sealed. When these CDs came out in 1987, they were packaged in a longbox (which was sealed - the CD itself would not have ever been sealed. At least in the US it was that way. This title was long out of print by the time CDs were being sold in a sealed shrinkwrapped condition (1993).

So I would say it's a fake. Sorry.

[Edited 5/14/16 6:48am]

I don't remember if CDs were sealed inside the longboxes or not, but, I agree that if the seller sold 4 of them, that is a red flag that it is a pirated copy.

Loads of pirated copies of 8 and 16 around over the past few years, but particularly 8. I bought one off eBay for £10, pretty sure it was a copy. It was. Luckily enough, I found one in a London shop 2 years ago for £7 - this time a real pressing.

I have the exact same CD, purchased personally by myself from a retail store in the states back in the 80's ... same way I purchased every other 80's Prince-related music I bought back then.

The UPC in the Ebay listing doesn't have the same numbers or even the same length as the one I own.

In fact, looking at every Prince CD I bought from retail stores back in the 80's ... they all have the same length and same first few numbers and same check digit number as the Madhouse8 CD I own.

So yeah, not sure why the UPC in the Ebay listing is so different.

Lianachan said:

There are details of the genuine article here that might help. https://www.discogs.com/M...ster/16356

I live for Discogs. They really do have detailed information on every single release of something. That should be a go-to for anyone looking for a particular version of something, or a geniune article.

i bought 8 and 16 off ebay about 12 years ago for £50 each.

There's some information on here about real or fake copies

http://web.archive.org/web/20101220230916/http://moquake.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=31