Obi, yes or no?

Music Discussion
#1

The classic question I’m sure all J-music collectors have heard about: what do you think about Obi? Do you make sure to keep them, or do you throw them out? If a second-hand release doesn’t have an Obi, would you still buy it? As an additional question, do you keep the little ad flyers and/or M-cards that come inside CDs (promotions about tour dates, the Fanclub, new releases, etc.) too?

I for one do love Obi very much, but if a second-hand CD I’m buying doesn’t have one then it’s no deal-breaker for me. I like reading the little messages on the Obi, or seeing stuff like hidden illustrations/secret messages on the inside part of it, it’s just one of those little things that make collecting fun for me. I also never get rid of the ads or M-cards (despite the fact that I can’t use the cards lol)

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#2

You’re a heathen if you don’t keep the obi.

But in all seriousness, I keep them and and all my CDs are in plastic sleeves with the obi displayed. A lot of the art is carried over onto the obi and also artists use them to create unity throughout their discography.

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#3

I love Obis! I keep them and try to buy second-hand copies that have them. Something about the way the obi adds to a release’s aesthetic/overall appearance is a really neat concept, and I love seeing when bands incorporate the obis as a part of the album/single’s artwork/etc.

I also love keeping the ad flyers, m-cards, or any other little trinkets inside a release even if it’s no longer valid or useful, haha. I feel like it’s a historical part of the physical CD/DVDs release(s), lol.

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#4

Lol, I didn’t want my post to sound judgemental but people who throw Obis away scare me a little tbh. I prefer keeping it in the case than having it on the spine though, just as personal preference. I agree though, obi do have that special little artistic meaning to them. I remember seeing something about a band who had all of their Obis’ inside designs be a part of a bigger picture and if you collected all of them then you’d have a little mural you could hang on your wall like a poster.

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#5

I always carefully put the OBI inside the case when I get new CDs. I prefer secondhand with OBI, but I’ve gotten to where I’m okay if there isn’t one, especially if it’s cheap enough… but I definitely try to look for with OBI first ^^ I just like feeling like the CD is complete with its OBI, I think!

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#6

Same here, it’s always such a treat! I agree with you on those ads being “historical”, they definitely do capture some little bit of a band’s history, whether it be their tour at that time or anything else. I remember the Obi for Plastic Tree’s Donna Donna has an ad on the back for an Ipod classic with a Plastic Tree logo on it and I was like, “Damn, what a throwback…”. The Ipod classic, now that’s ancient history lmao

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#7

I don’t care about them. I’ve always thrown mine out. They were just useless to me (ex. promos for events that I will never attend because it is only held in Japan)

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#8

I love them in general, my western albums don’t come with too many extras, but the japanese ones are special for giving me a lot of stuff I don’t expect. That’s why I always keep them with the obi and extras in plastic bags.

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#9

All my CD’s I ever bought from Japan are still with obi’s! It doesn’t feel like a whole if there’s no obi.

MEJIBRAY used to have obi’s with messages inside it of every CD release which made it even more special to keep them ^^

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#10

The only reason I buy CDs is the obi

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#11

Might as well throw away the booklet. :triumph:

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#12

I just throw away the CD and keep the obi. Much easier.

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#13

I don’t intentionally throw out anything, but I’m also not obsessive about keeping things. If I manage to not lose it, I’ll keep the obi. Anything that comes in the booklet (ads and such) I keep, mainly because I flip through the booklet once and put the whole thing in the shelf with the rest of my CDs.

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#14

I have bunch of OBIs kept in jewelcases with booklets but i also threw away just as many. Don’t really care about them

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#15

Always keep them. It’s part of the package, part of the release, and plus, JP CDs are expensive, so I’m sure as heck not throwing part of it away.

What I don’t like is when bands put important information like track list etc on the obi and don’t include it anywhere else. Second-hand physical releases don’t always come with an obi, so you’re SOL if that happens.

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#16

I’d like v much to say idc about the obi but tbh I feel a little uncomfortable when I think about whether or not I’d buy a second hand cd without one. I’ve never thrown them away, but tbf when I buy vk cds, they’re mainly for collection purposes and I rarely even touch them after an initial look-through.

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#17

I’ve gotten worse. Early on, I didn’t really care if something had an obi or not - but I would save it if the release came with one. Now, however, I even hesitate to buy stuff if it doesn’t have the hype sticker. It’s a yes.

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#18

Came in to this thread thinking we were discussing Obie Trice.

Although I keep them they’re just kind of ‘there’ but at least the labels go to the effort of having it fit the theme of the cover art.

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#19

always

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#20

I love obi so so so much. if a second handed cd doesn’t still have it then it isn’t a deal breaker, but I’d be willing to pay more for a cd with one, even if the condition quality is worse.

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