First off, I'm painfully new here and hope I'm doing this right.

I've been looking for this soundtrack forever, but being a father of a two year old and owner of a new house, I could never justify $50 or $60 on a CD, no matter how good. Does anybody have this and would be willing to part for the $15 to $20 range? Would be eternally grateful if somebody would be.

Well it IS 4 CDs so $50 isn't exactly a mint for it, and $20 is pretty cheap.

Well, I've seen (and bought) other 4 disc OSTs like the FF7 and FF8 soundtracks for $25 - $30 new, so I don't think $20 for a used copy is that low. I found somebody willing to part for $30, I just don't have the free cash to spare an extra $10... Especially when CDJapan has it new for around $10 more. You know?

You shouldn't buy luxury articles then in the first place.

I'd do the $30 if I were you. THe FFs you compare to aren't a good example, since they will be perpetually in-stock due to the series' popularity. Alter Code F is not exactly "highly sought after," so you have the lack of demand working against you (keeps the supply low).

In any case $30 is a great deal. So what if it's used? As long as it has everything in order, it may as well be new yes?

A few years ago I wouldn't have been surprised to see someone selling that soundtrack or others like it for $20. The market was shot. But, while the US economy continues to suck, I've seen import CDs slowly on the rise, if only because the yen->dollar exchange is garbage right now.

I just did a quick test and searched for the FF7 soundtrack on eBay (Germany). The only offers that look legit to me are priced at 55 EUR (or higher). The rest comes from Hong Kong (and therefore is most likely a bootleg) or doesn't mention the catalog number (another bootleg indicator).

OK, there is one copy for 35 EUR (from an US seller), which at least mentions the correct distributor (Sony). This is all in EUR though and without shipping.

Official prints are expensive. And I wouldn't part with my Alter code:F copy for just 20 bucks. I wouldn't part with any Naruke soundtrack in the place, but that's a different story

Well...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FINAL-FANTASY-V … 4abdb7a071

I've bought the original Wild Arms OST, the FF13 one, FF8, FF7, Crisis Core, FF7 Piano Collections, and the FF8 Piano Collections from this seller. And they're all legitimate copies, brand new. Check out their store and see what they've got. Some really good OSTs on the cheap.

I also told the guy with the Alter Code F OST that I'd hit him back up when I got the spare cash on hand. Normally I wouldn't have any issue forking out $30 for an awesome soundtrack. My vehicle just keeps having issue after issue. Radiator busting, distributor going bad, thermostat dying, and now the catalytic converter is screwed up. So I'm just a bit short on cash these days.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-CD-CHRONO-CRO … 4abe7a8312

Well, for example that has a picture of the bootleg printing (A&G-128~30). And others seem to also be published by SonMay Records, so they are not legitimate copies, hence the cheap price.

Honestly I don't think that you know what you're talking about. A quick google search reveals dozens of bootlegs reports for this seller. Just because most people are too stupid to notice them (and sadly most are and give a good rating afterwards), doesn't mean the stuff he sells is legit.

EDIT:
see Chudah's corner for general info about bootleggers

EDIT2:
thx@Kim for the confirmation

Are you guys sure? Because I bought the FF7 soundtrack for my brother as I got my own copy YEARS ago. And they look the exact same... I just checked his to be sure. Both even have the slip covers and the artbook that came along with it. If this guy is selling bootlegs, he's selling higher quality bootlegs then anybody else. I mean, I have a bootlegged Black Mages album and it's pretty obviously bootlegged. The cover looks printed, it's only one side. The inside cover is just white. And the disc looks like it was done with LightScribe. These ones I got from this guy all have multipage double sided covers, they aren't blurry like the Black Mages one, and the discs all have the same artwork from original releases.

You should just check the catalog number.

Taiwanese boots historically look basically the same as real ones, outside of the unique identifying stuff.

My favortie "all about anime, etc bootleg" site:http://web.archive.org/web/20080328034905/http://www.digital.anime.org.uk/piratefaq.html

Alas only archived but very useful.

I'd laugh but many of us were ignorant once. It just takes some people longer than others.

Tell us about all those CDs you got from that eBay seller. Read off the catalog numbers. Tell us who the listed publishers are on your physical copies.

Looks like you're gettin ripped off. Hard.

I checked them all out myself. The FF7 soundtrack is real. Rest are fake. Guess I'll never be buying from the bastard again. Oh well.