Laser disc sellers like to claim that such-and-such an LD is rare, but this seems to be a subjective call in most cases. As discussed in other threads here, some releases are famous for their limited pressings, etc. But for the most part, even if you had a manifest from each company about the number of pressings released on each title, how could you know what is truly rare, since that is also dependent on circulation?
This topic came up in a discussion with a fellow collector recently. He said he determined what was rare by checking at some of the big eBay shops, and then looked on Amazon for the availability of their DVD editions. I've spent a lot of time scrolling through LD postings, so it's easy to spot a cover I haven't seen before, or haven't seen in a very long time. But that's more anecdotal than an indicator of value.
I always check LDDb for the number of copies of a title currently in shops, and I note how many are in LDDb members' collections or on wish lists, as that indicates desirability. Desirability and value don't always correlate, but how popular a certain title is with avid collectors is a good benchmark for me.
Is there a resource or method you have found to be useful in determining the rareness and value of individual LDs? If so, please share.
