GoCollect Blog: Hakes November 2022 VHS Auction (hakes-november-2022-vhs-auction )

Hakes has a ton of amazing auctions going on this month, including a VHS-specific auction! Running until November 14-15, Hakes is giving collectors a chance to add to their growing collection. If you've been following the collector's scene, you know how big VHS collecting has gotten. Certain graded VHSs go for thousands of dollars -- but even ungraded tapes can fetch a serious amount of money! As a fan of VHS, this new frontier excites me daily. With more auction houses including VHS in their offerings, this brave new frontier will be able to grow and flourish!

Star Wars VHS 1984

Star Wars changed the world when it was released in 1977. While it wasn't the first space opera to be released, Star Wars truly changed the landscape of pop culture, and still defines several genres to this day. With Disney now in control, the Star Wars universe has seen gracious expansion -- yet even before that, cartoon shows, books, video games, and of course comic books allowed fans to dive deeper into the series.

This VGA 85+ NM copy is the horizontal overlap VHS with the blue CBS-Fox Video watermark. While this wasn't the first VHS release of the series, it's still an early example. Copies of this VHS with the white CBS-Fox Video watermark have sold for high dollar amounts in the past. In December of 2021, a white watermark copy with a VHSDNA grade of 9.6 sold for $57,600 on Goldin. In June of 2022, a white watermark copy with a VGA 85 grade sold for $22,500. Other high-graded copies without the white watermark fall much more conservatively and can range from $600 - $2000.

Home Alone

Just in time for the holidays, this 1990 Christmas classic was written by the legendary John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. This movie has become a holiday staple, as has its follow-up Home Alone 2. The idea of being left alone for days on end with no adults around to watch you was enticing -- but seeing Kevin face real danger, and evade it -- was pretty cool to see as a kid. We had both movies on VHS, and to this day I routinely find them in thrift shops.

This VHA 80+ NM copy is the blue overlap cover, which some collectors think is harder to find. This copy presents beautifully. As I said this VHS is pretty easy to find, though graded copies can be a challenge. In September of 2022, an IGS-graded 7 box/6 seal sold for $85 on eBay. That same month, an IGS-graded 7.5 box/7 seal sold for $102. If you're the lucky winner, you could get this high-graded copy for a deal!

Purple Rain

The theatrical debut for music legend Prince is regarded to this day as one of the best musical films, and as of 2019, the film was selected by The Library of Congress to be preserved in the United States National Film Registry. The film's soundtrack also features the titular hit single Purple Rain, as well as When Doves Cry and Let's Go Crazy. The film and soundtrack remain culturally relevant today -- musicians still pay homage to the late musician, and countless television shows, photographers, and comic books have parodied the famous poster.

Prince items have commanded top dollar even before his passing. Sealed VHS copies of Purple Rain typically sell for under $10, but in October 2022 a sealed, ungraded VHS sold for $88. While this was most likely a fluke, graded copies of the VHS could potentially go for more.