Do You Own One Of These VHS Tapes? If So, You're About To Be Rich
Just pray you didn't throw them out.
Stop what you're doing immediately and call your parents.
No, not to tell them you love them—to make sure they still have the copies of your favorite Disney classics on VHS, of course. If you happen to tell them you love them, well then I guess you've killed two birds with one stone. Nice!
But really, why do I want you to inquire about your old Disney VHSes you surely haven't thought about in 15 years? Because they could be worth hundreds—or even thousands—of dollars. If you've got old copies of "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," "The Fox and the Hound" or one of several other plastic-cased Disney tapes, you might be able to turn a ridiculous profit on eBay. Trust me, it's worth the call.
Do you still own any of these tapes?
If by some miracle you haven't thrown them out or donated them to Goodwill, this might be the one time you've come out on top by not doing a good deed.
Recently, just one of these tapes—a "Beauty and the Beast" copy—has been listed on eBay for enough money to pay my very expensive rent in Chicago for a year (mom, if you're reading this, check the tubs in the basement).
There aren't actually any bids on the tapes yet, though, which seems odd. So while you could just end up listing your old VHS tape for an astronomical price and looking like a fool, it's totally worth it on the off chance some collector just has to have your specific tape.
Don't believe me? Check out this copy of "Cinderella." It's going for $2,500.
That's a pretty fun night in Vegas. What better way to thank childhood you for saving the VHS than by engaging in most of the deadly sins?
This copy of "The Little Mermaid" is going for the same price.
In case you're curious about what the "banned cover art" thing is about, Snopes has some interesting things to say about it.
There's a bit of a catch though: not all your Disney tapes will be worth something.
The tapes are drawing so much attention because of collectors—collectors who are very specific about what they want. If you look to the left side of the cases beside Walt Disney's signature, you'll see little black diamonds with the words "the classics" printed in white. That's what the collectors are really after.
According to a collector, "Disney Black Diamond VHS Video's [sic] were Disney's first attempt to sell directly to the home market." This means these tapes have the original cuts of the films (which were often changed, remastered and/or added to in later years). People just gotta have that true nostalgia.
If you thought $2,500 for a copy of "Cinderella" was outrageous, check out this copy of "The Fox and the Hound."
$8,000. Outrageous. Seriously, do yourself a favor and see if you have any of these laying around.
The most expensive tape I came across? The original version of "Beauty and the Beast" for $10,999.
Do I think it's worth it? Absolutely not, but I'm not a collector, and if I end up trying to sell some tapes my mom hopefully still has, I won't be asking any questions.
Yeah, it definitely seems a little too good to be true—especially since the tapes don't have any bids yet. But a "Beauty and the Beast" tape did sell for $9,000 once, so here's to hoping!
MRW I sell all my nostalgic childhood Disney tapes:
Money is way better than memories.