LoveGalore said:

Cindy said:

I just purchased this singles box set and received an email confirmation of my order. I no longer see this as available. Is it sold out?

Apparently. That was extremely quick. Mine was still in the cart. Oh well! "There is not enough inventory to fulfill your request for Sign O' The Times Limited Edition 7" Vinyl Singles Box Set. Please adjust your order." [Edited 6/25/20 18:26pm]

So sorry to hear that! Looks like it did sell out super fast.

muleFunk said:

BartVanHemelen said:

Holy crap, there is a singles box set???? Or is this simply the art for the LP box set? But then why this look & feel?

Did you see the single for The Cross w/ Adore????? Was this a possibility????

The Cross b/w Adore was released as a promo single in South Africa at the time.

SchlomoThaHomo said:

SchlomoThaHomo said:

muleFunk said:

BartVanHemelen said: Did you see the single for The Cross w/ Adore????? Was this a possibility????

The Cross b/w Adore was released as a promo single in South Africa at the time.

Wow man good catch! Both me and Pvault had missed that one (and M. Howe may have as well since it's not on the mixes CD!! I really wonder if the new single is an attempt to recreate this or a coincidence). I put it on the list of things to add on the website!!

This means the promo likely features a specific, different edit of Adore from the one on The Hits. The written length is different for one thing, and also I think these foreign edits were made locally without Prince or WB US being even aware of them. This also means it's very likely the edit on the reissue is the one from 1993 not that one. I'm not even sure if the masters for these occasional odd foreign releases can be located, I guess the edits would have to be recreated or needledrops. Suspense suspense...

LoveGalore said:

7" box set sold out already? Says item not available!

The price (at least the MSRP on the official store) is pretty egregious. It has nothing to do whether one can afford it or not (I know the fatcat high rollers at Prince.org like to condescend at this part of the thread) CDs haven't run twenty-a-pop since Sam Goody was in business, and even in the cash-cow prime of the CD industry the logic would usually be you peel down a couple bucks when you're dealing in bulk diskery.

The OP tracklisting with the 90 discs of material gets me all hyped up like the rest of the first page, but pulling up the actual CDs of material tracklisting/discs... It feels like the 1999 set had more intrigue... I could do with some more Vault.... and we're getting another guitar version of "Crucial"? C'mon, that sax version is definitive, Eric Leeds finest moment on record....

WhisperingDandelions said:

The price (at least the MSRP on the official store) is pretty egregious. It has nothing to do whether one can afford it or not (I know the fatcat high rollers at Prince.org like to condescend at this part of the thread) CDs haven't run twenty-a-pop since Sam Goody was in business, and even in the cash-cow prime of the CD industry the logic would usually be you peel down a couple bucks when you're dealing in bulk diskery.

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Gotta love how people who have no apparent idea of actual box set prices these days have opinions. Go spend some time on https://www.superdeluxeedition.com/ and compare to other box sets.

dayum dayum dayummm!!!

BartVanHemelen said:

Cat Glover has opinions (I've got no idea whether the source of this image is genuine).

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Note that nothing was "rushed". These kinds of things need to be designed and printed, it's not like they can start doing that in September or so. Projects have deadlines for reasons.

Not to take away from Cat's talents and contributions during this era but she wasn't exactly a key component to any of the tracks on SOTT. In fact, she doesn't appear on it all.

Granted she will play a role on the live discs and dvd but what could she add that is vital here that we can't wait and read in Duane Tuhdal's book?

Whoever posted that on her page isn't doing her any favours. It smacks of a warped sense of entitlement/self-importance.

andrewm7 said:

7" box set sold out already? Says item not available!

But my thinking is that folks will turn around and sell this on Ebay for mega bux

Regarding the prices of the Super Deluxe set, this won't be a box set that will be mass produced and you can purchase anywhere at anytime such as a lot of box sets that exist. So yeah the price isn't cheap, but not only do you get a crazy amount of vault tracks and a DVD, you get it all in a collectors edition that won't exist beyond the secondhand market in due time


So I would say that I dunno, I have spent that much on collectors items for things I enjoy before and I feel like it is worth the money for all the enjoyment I will get from its contents and presentation

[Edited 6/25/20 23:34pm]

[Edited 6/25/20 23:38pm]

BartVanHemelen said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

The price (at least the MSRP on the official store) is pretty egregious. It has nothing to do whether one can afford it or not (I know the fatcat high rollers at Prince.org like to condescend at this part of the thread) CDs haven't run twenty-a-pop since Sam Goody was in business, and even in the cash-cow prime of the CD industry the logic would usually be you peel down a couple bucks when you're dealing in bulk diskery.

.

Gotta love how people who have no apparent idea of actual box set prices these days have opinions. Go spend some time on https://www.superdeluxeedition.com/ and compare to other box sets.

Waitl, is this a box set or a super deluxe edition there, bart? Need a little consistency there with the nomenclature, buddy, [Snip - luv4u].

Yep, it's a lot to shell out, but I happily did so. SOTT is one of my favorites, and there are tons of great vault tracks from the era as well.

Not sure what I am most excited about at this stage - the remastering of the album is up there, but hearing tracks like "Wally", "Cosmic Day", "Power Fantastic", "The Cocoa Boys", and "Soul Psychodelicide" has me very excited. I am also extremely curious to see how "Crystal Ball" was edited down for a potential 7" release.

Bring on September!

lottusflower said:

Uk links, new prices: Vinyl Super Deluxe edition: https://amzn.to/31dLXOB Cd Super Deluxe edition: https://amzn.to/3i6rW2H 3cd Deluxe edition: https://amzn.to/31aY9zH 2cd Standard edition: https://amzn.to/3hY1gRq 4LP Deluxe edition: https://amzn.to/3fTFJYk 2LP Standard Edition(Peach vinyl) https://amzn.to/2Nw4Wfa [Edited 6/25/20 16:11pm]

Pricing for UK Amazon for SDE CDs has disappeared and is "currently unavailable".

Perhaps an outry over the fact that the digital download in the UK iTunes is £49? How can Amazon justify charging £149 (£100 extra just for one dvd and packaging - and yes, even including that 120 pg book)?

If price doesn't come back at £100 or less, iTunes gets my money.

ForceofNature said:

And to add onto that -this won't be a box set that will be mass produced and you can purchase anywhere at anytime such as a lot of box sets that exist. So yeah the price isn't cheap, but not only do you get a crazy amount of vault tracks and a DVD, you get it all in a collectors edition that won't exist beyond the secondhand market in due time


So I would say that I dunno, I have spend that much on collectors items for things I enjoy before and I feel like it is worth the money for all the enjoyment I will get from its contents and presentation

What's the logic behind making these not only super deluxe but super limited anyway?

People would still buy 1999 Deluxe if it were easily available... Singles set sells out immediately in a matter of hours, people would clearly still buy that if it were still available oh I don't know maybe for a matter of days instead of mere hours. I thought these people were hurting for money... does the estate have stock in eBay? Why limit incoming funds to selling out by pre-order months in advance?

WhisperingDandelions said:

ForceofNature said:

And to add onto that -this won't be a box set that will be mass produced and you can purchase anywhere at anytime such as a lot of box sets that exist. So yeah the price isn't cheap, but not only do you get a crazy amount of vault tracks and a DVD, you get it all in a collectors edition that won't exist beyond the secondhand market in due time


So I would say that I dunno, I have spend that much on collectors items for things I enjoy before and I feel like it is worth the money for all the enjoyment I will get from its contents and presentation

What's the logic behind making these not only super deluxe but super limited anyway?

People would still buy 1999 Deluxe if it were easily available... Singles set sells out immediately in a matter of hours, people would clearly still buy that if it were still available oh I don't know maybe for a matter of days instead of mere hours. I thought these people were hurting for money... does the estate have stock in eBay? Why limit incoming funds to selling out by pre-order months in advance?

I would say the reason the Singles set sold out right away was precisely because of its limited availability. It was marketed in the press release as the "get them right now" hot ticket for collectors and that hype sold them just as much as the contents I would argue. A combo of both. Just like how at Pearl Jam concerts, their posters are known to be sold in limited quantities so they sell out at concerts like crazy and even flipped on Ebay. If they were just regular posters, the demand and hype for them would be much lower


Regarding the 1999 Deluxe, we don't know the business behind the scenes but if I was a betting man I would say they probably decided that being able to manufacture a specific amount and sell them completely would net them more money than making it a mass produced product you can get anywhere and not having the proportionate ideal sales to go with how many they made

[Edited 6/25/20 23:45pm]

ForceofNature said:

Regarding the 1999 Deluxe, we don't know the business behind the scenes but if I was a betting man I would say they probably decided that being able to manufacture a specific amount and sell them completely would net them more money than making it a mass produced product you can get anywhere and not having the proportionate ideal sales to go with how many they made

[Edited 6/25/20 23:45pm]

Are there those the only two viable options though?

You can't just do that with the first pressing, and then manufacture let's say a second or third pressing based on the metrics of the first? I mean you can even scale back production with each successive pressing if you really want to penny-pinch it... it just seems like money left off the table?

Now on bol.com as well:

https://www.bol.com/nl/p/...oductTitle

https://www.bol.com/nl/p/...oductTitle

WhisperingDandelions said:

ForceofNature said:

Regarding the 1999 Deluxe, we don't know the business behind the scenes but if I was a betting man I would say they probably decided that being able to manufacture a specific amount and sell them completely would net them more money than making it a mass produced product you can get anywhere and not having the proportionate ideal sales to go with how many they made

[Edited 6/25/20 23:45pm]

Are therethose the only two viable options though?

You can't just do that with the first pressing, and then manufacture let's say a second or third pressing based on the metrics of the first? I mean you can even scale back production with each successive pressing if you really want to penny-pinch it... it just seems like money left off the table?

For that, I would say maybe we can ask Mr. Howe about their business models for these if there is ever a Q&A with him where fans can ask him stuff lol. Ultimately it is just guesswork on our parts, but at the same time I know a lot of bands like Jethro Tull for example, are doing the limited edition box set thing and the secondhand markets for those as well can get a bit pricey. And stuff like The Beatles mono box set from 2009 was limited as well - and none of those having any re-prints thus far. So I suppose there is a business model based on that which factors in physical media sales, the cost of production, and if re-prints would be worth it

[Edited 6/26/20 0:00am]

Please note that the link for the digital release seems to work only for Amazon USA right now.

.

WhisperingDandelions said:

ForceofNature said:

Regarding the 1999 Deluxe, we don't know the business behind the scenes but if I was a betting man I would say they probably decided that being able to manufacture a specific amount and sell them completely would net them more money than making it a mass produced product you can get anywhere and not having the proportionate ideal sales to go with how many they made

[Edited 6/25/20 23:45pm]

Are there those the only two viable options though?

You can't just do that with the first pressing, and then manufacture let's say a second or third pressing based on the metrics of the first? I mean you can even scale back production with each successive pressing if you really want to penny-pinch it... it just seems like money left off the table?

.
Limiting production numbers and advertising something as a limited edition is one of the classic marketing tricks. It works. It helps sell MORE stuff and faster. A lot of people wouldn't buy it at all or would postpone their purchase (some of them indefinitely) if they would know the item will continue to be available. 'Ltd ed' is a great selling point and it makes a lot of people buy it as an investment, with some of them buying more than one copy. It just makes things far more desirable.
.
Besides, box sets are rather complex items to manufacture, they require the actual boxes to be made, they require a lot of manual labour to assemble all the contents and their shipping costs are very high etc. Doing reruns of box sets in smaller quantities after the initial run sells out would mean much higher costs/unit, coupled with slower sales and higher risk of returns (with high shipping costs) – neither of them are good for business. So it's just not worth the hassle. The smart thing to do is making it a limited edition and selling them all in one go.

.

WhisperingDandelions said:

ForceofNature said:

Regarding the 1999 Deluxe, we don't know the business behind the scenes but if I was a betting man I would say they probably decided that being able to manufacture a specific amount and sell them completely would net them more money than making it a mass produced product you can get anywhere and not having the proportionate ideal sales to go with how many they made

[Edited 6/25/20 23:45pm]

Are there those the only two viable options though?

You can't just do that with the first pressing, and then manufacture let's say a second or third pressing based on the metrics of the first? I mean you can even scale back production with each successive pressing if you really want to penny-pinch it... it just seems like money left off the table?

.

As if it is as easy as just pushing a button. Look at all the things in this box set. Think of the logistics involved. A second more limited run might be more costly and offer a lower ROI, so why then bother when you can spend that time and effort on another, more profitable release?

.

They've run the numbers and decided that these are the amounts that will gain them most profit. And who knows, maybe they'll get a signal from the market that the demand is far greater than the supply and this box set might get a greater print run (they still have some time, I guess), but again don't expect that number to grow.

.

These kind of box sets are premium items, and thus won't be available cheaply and widely. As it has been for a long time now.

Kares said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

Are there those the only two viable options though?

You can't just do that with the first pressing, and then manufacture let's say a second or third pressing based on the metrics of the first? I mean you can even scale back production with each successive pressing if you really want to penny-pinch it... it just seems like money left off the table?

.
Limiting production numbers and advertising something as a limited edition is one of the classic marketing tricks. It works. It helps sell MORE stuff and faster. A lot of people wouldn't buy it at all or would postpone their purchase (some of them indefinitely) if they would know the item will continue to be available. 'Ltd ed' is a great selling point and it makes a lot of people buy it as an investment, with some of them buying more than one copy. It just makes things far more desirable.
.
Besides, box sets are rather complex items to manufacture, they require the actual boxes to be made, they require a lot of manual labour to assemble all the contents and their shipping costs are very high etc. Doing reruns of box sets in smaller quantities after the initial run sells out would mean much higher costs/unit, coupled with slower sales and higher risk of returns (with high shipping costs) – neither of them are good for business. So it's just not worth the hassle. The smart thing to do is making it a limited edition and selling them all in one go.

.

That was much more detailed than my explanation, yes ultimately this is the case.

For the Dutch and Belgian fans. The 8CD/DVD version is available at Bol.com for 154,99 euro and the big LP version for 284,99 euro. Free shipping.

https://www.bol.com/nl/p/...the-times