Two Rare Record Finds Fetch Academy Records over $15,000

It sounds just like an episode of Storage Wars except this time nothing was planted. Cory Feierman of Academy Records went record shopping and struck gold—not once, but twice—cashing in his finds for over $15,000.

The first time, it happened outside a bodega on 1st Avenue in New York. Tucked away in one of the crates, he found a Yoko Ono / Plastic Ono Band’s Open Your Box record, one of only six that exist. It had been on sale for a few days from—get this—a former record store owner, making it even more incredible that no one had snagged the find. As soon as Feierman came across the rarity, he listed it on eBay through Academy Records, selling it for $1,703.99. Not bad for a day’s work.

The second (and even better) find came at a New Hampshire Goodwill, where Feierman found Stonewall’s self-titled release with Tiger Lily Records. The story behind why the record is so valuable goes like this: Tiger Lily pressed a bunch of records but claimed they were “unsold” so they could write them off as a tax loss and continue to stay profitable (also known as tax evasion). This meant that the label released unsigned demos that bands found out about only years later. Most of the music involved in the scam was caught, but some, like this Stonewall release, fell through the cracks.

The last time someone found this record, it sold for $5,000. This copy (the sixth one found) was again sold by Academy Records on eBay and became one of the most-watched items on that site (unusual for a record). It went on to sell for $14,100, putting Feierman’s total catch at more than $15,000. Not bad for two days spent crate-digging.

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