Thanks for all the responses!
This thread illustrates the good and bad of the Auddigon forums. The original intent of the posting was why are there so many sealed copies of MOFI's on eBay? The responses covered that topic as well as shrink wrap vs plastic bags, the sonic quality of MOFI's LP's and CD's and even Natilaus recordings.
I was aware of the liquidation of the MOFI stock when they went out of business and I'm sure that many of the eBay listings come from that inventory. But there still seems to be way too many copies of sealed records available.
I suspect there is some re-sealing going on. As for the prices MOFI sealed copies are fetching, I suspect "speculative buying" is taking place. I think these so called sealed copies are being puchased, at exagerated prices, assuming they will be worth more in the future. Only time will tell if this is a wise practice.
I am a vinyl collector and I'm always looking for a copy of any record I don't currently own. My intrest in MOFI's is more about the fact they were released than their sonic quality. I also listen to almost everything I aquire so a sealed copy doesn't excite me beyond it's pristine condition, I'm going to open it and play it. I prefer certain pressings of a recording over others, but my first intrest is to fill out my collection. The prices on eBay have totally reshaped the collecting market.
A perfect example of eBay driving the collecting market was the recent sale of the Rolling Stones MOFI box set. I own this box set and I would place the current value in NM condition at about $500.00. Within the last 60 days a box set in NM condition sold on eBay for over $1250.00! This is amazing! While there aren't many copies of this box set listed on eBay it certainly isn't rare enough to command that price.
If prices continue to escalate I'm listing everything I own on eBay and starting a new hobby!