HOLY F*CK! Treasure trove

[troccoli]

Sorry, but had to post this baby in the main forum, but please move as you see fit.  Thanks first to another user (not sure if they want me to use their handle or not) and thanks to eBay.  You know me, had to open one just to make sure.  So sorry, but as of this moment all copies are spoken for.  There are now 11 confirmed copies.

[hitmanhart408]

what the holy hell....
you asshole   

why didnt I see this on ebay 

[HBK]

GooD

 

[suicide]

This should have been THE cover. I hope to get my hands on one of those one day!!!

[Z?phyr]

Would love a copy of these :-)

[willow]

Damn I missed that one too. Good find Tim.

[estebanf]

they look so much better than the original... i want a copy for me!

[Halo69]

I'm very interested! I want one of those to add to my collection 

[Liquor & Whores]

Hand me that shirt CD

[stvyrayvhn]

Would love to try to get one of these to add to the collection...

[russtcb]

I feel beyond lucky to have stumbled up just one copy of the alternate a few months back. This completely trumps my find! 

 

[D]

Is the inside booklet different? Or just the cover?

[estebanf]

Is the inside booklet different? Or just the cover?

different.

[troccoli]

OK, so here's the full story.  Another forum member advised me of the ebay listing.  Don't want to say who because then everyone will be pming/emailing that member with all kinds of messages.  So my original post and what I just wrote here should tell you that these were not from Bestbuy.  And if you look closely you can see hole punches in the top left corners.  They do this sometimes with promo and/or discontinued items. 

As for why this never got released on a massive level I have no idea.  Hopefullly one day we'll get the answer to that.  For the few people that do have these cds a lot of it is just luck.  I asked the seller if they had any more and they said no. 

I will try to get more info about these cds from the seller.  I realy don't know why I didn't try that already.  He was selling 8, one was purchased by someone else (who I have no idea), the other by the forum member that poinited the listing out to me, and the rest by me.  I bought them all because I did not want someone else buying them and then price gouging the shit out of the rest of us by relisting on eBay for hundreds or even more.  Yet at the same time I could totally understand if someone did this.  I mean, imagine if you went to a record store (like Amoeba Records where another forum member got theirs), and saw it on sale for $5.  And let's say you already own a copy.  Would you tell them it's worth hundreds?  No, you would probably buy it and then sell it on eBay for a profit and really, what's wrong with that especially in this economy these days?  In my case I know people who want one, hence why my OP said that are all spoken for.  But, to satisfy curiosity, here's the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220817274599&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

I think you can see why no one saw this listing.  With shipping, it came out to about $13 a cd.  In the end, I hope there is a warehouse somewhere with a ton of these so one day we can all get a copy of it.  Keep searching, and if the original plan was any inidication, there may even be a third alternate lurking about...

Thanks to Esteban for posting the pics.  For more pics you can go here:

http://www.mygnrforum.com/index.php?showtopic=167678&st=195

[Z?phyr]

The hole punches in the left corner is usually a clear indication that this was a test run (test print) for approval and didn't make it in the end.
Still puzzles me why the version we all have made it though, typos & unapproved by GN'R !

Cheers

[Halo69]

Well as i said before i'm offering whatever money u want for it and i'll send you the SHM-CD as a bonus as well 

And i don't mind to get the unwrapped one, since i'm gonna open it anyways

[estebanf]

You can download high definition scans of the whole booklet here

[Halo69]

Thanks, i want the real thing though

[estebanf]

Thanks, i want the real thing though

wasn't talking to you specifically

and I dont want to spoil a potential sale, but i'm pretty sure they will release this version to the market at some point...

[Halo69]

Thanks, i want the real thing though

wasn't talking to you specifically

and I dont want to spoil a potential sale, but i'm pretty sure they will release this version to the market at some point...

Me too, but i just wanna make sure i get it just in case. Nothing is 100% in the GNR World anymore 

[troccoli]

Greetings.  Well, obviously there is mass interest in these cds.  As I mentioned in the very first post, all copies were spoken for.  After talking to some of the people that I was holding them for, some of them aren't as interested as the rest of you.  So as of right now, there are definitely 2, and maybe 3 that are up for grabs. 

I will tell you right off the bat that I would gladly trade one of them for either an Appetite tour jacket (http://www.mygnrforum.com/index.php?showtopic=166728; http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/board/index.php?topic=44958.0), a UYI tour jacket (http://vintagetourjackets.blogspot.com/2010/10/guns-n-roses-use-your-illusion-world.html); an Appetite tour leather vest (http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/1973616; http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/1973608), this Aerosmith/GNR jacket (http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/1973611), or this Paradise City record (http://www.troccolitm.com/12ParaBlackUncut.html?1212115573211).  One other thing I would consider trading for is to be your guest to the Metallica December FIllmore shows if you were one of the people lucky enough to win entry to all four nights.  We wouldn't have to hang out once inside if you did not want to, but I'd be cool with it if you wanted to or not.

Other than that, I am torn as to whether or not do some kind of lottery thing where the winner would only pay what it cost me plus shipping (there is a lot of people interested) or to do an auction (if I were on the other end of this I think I'd personally prefer an auction since I usually have shit luck in my life, hence a fuck all chance at winning a lottery).  And of course, I could then use the money generated to buy my way into the Metallica Fillmore shows if necessary.  Hard to decide. 

So let me know.  Of course if you have one of the items above and are willing to trade (high quality photos will be required before a deal is finalized) then great.  Otherwise let me know what your opinion is as far as lottery or auction.  Then, sometime this weekend, I will make a decision as to what to do.  Thanks!

[suicide]

I've got the Paradise City record but it's not the test uncut black vinyl version so you're probably not interested in that.

If I were you I'd go for the auction. I know you've spend a fortune on your GN'R collection and we all know these cd's are very rare so why not make a small profit on them? Although the lottery thing sounds very cool aswell!

[Halo69]

I guess i'll have to go with the Lottery...

I'm not willing to pay a fortune for it (auction), neither i have those items.

In the end this will end up coming out in the stores i believe so... if you want to sell one copy to me. I'll pay whatever amount you desire and i'll give you the SHM-CD version of Chinese Democracy. I think it would be a good deal and an opportunity for you to make some money before it really comes out in full stock...

Let me know if you would be interested

You could sell me the unpacked and then do the lottery with the packed ones 

[troccoli]

Just a little update here.  I actually won tickets for the 1st Metallica show, so at this point I would consider the trade for one ticket to the other three nights (preferred) or one ticket to 2 of the remaining 3 nights.  On another note, a lot of people are asking me things like:  How much?  Or: PM me a price.  Understand this:  I haven't even decided if I am going to go that route yet.  Now for another question for all of you:  If I go the auction route, would you prefer an "open" auction like how eBay does it, or a "silent" auction where there would be a deadline for you to hand in offers to me.  With the silent auction, no one else would be able to see your bid.  Let me know.

[Halo69]

Just a little update here.  I actually won tickets for the 1st Metallica show, so at this point I would consider the trade for one ticket to the other three nights (preferred) or one ticket to 2 of the remaining 3 nights.  On another note, a lot of people are asking me things like:  How much?  Or: PM me a price.  Understand this:  I haven't even decided if I am going to go that route yet.  Now for another question for all of you:  If I go the auction route, would you prefer an "open" auction like how eBay does it, or a "silent" auction where there would be a deadline for you to hand in offers to me.  With the silent auction, no one else would be able to see your bid.  Let me know.

ebay style.

How about you write the name of the people interested in papers and put them in a bowl and randomly select the names? You could do a video and do this on a video and then let us know the winners live or something like that.

The winners would buy Chinese Democracy from you

[russtcb]

You can download high definition scans of the whole booklet here

I honestly can't believe the scans I made are still floating around the internet in so many various forms.

[Halo69]

You can download high definition scans of the whole booklet here

I honestly can't believe the scans I made are still floating around the internet in so many various forms.

Thanks for doing it in the first place 

[Gavgnr]

did you ever get info from the seller about where he got these?

[thinkaboutyou]

You can download high definition scans of the whole booklet here

I honestly can't believe the scans I made are still floating around the internet in so many various forms.

Thanks for doing it in the first place 

awesome i'm sure many fans appreciate the scans

[russtcb]

You can download high definition scans of the whole booklet here

I honestly can't believe the scans I made are still floating around the internet in so many various forms.

Thanks for doing it in the first place 

Oh no problem whatsoever. I try to help out when I can (which is very little). When that disc arrived in the mail, I literally had it for about 1 hour before I started scanning everything in to share with everyone.

[Halo69]

u were so lucky to get that disc 

I wish i could have one! Troccoli it's in your hands to make this big collector very happy (me) 

I'm gonna start a video blog soon reviewing cds, it would be so freakin awesome if i presented CD with that cover, damn...

[estebanf]

You can download high definition scans of the whole booklet here

I honestly can't believe the scans I made are still floating around the internet in so many various forms.

didnt know you were the one who scanned them.

and that happens to me a lot with bootlegs... pretty weird to see dvd's you made or audio edits you made being sold at local fairs and almost everywhere in the internet...

[russtcb]

You can download high definition scans of the whole booklet here

I honestly can't believe the scans I made are still floating around the internet in so many various forms.

didnt know you were the one who scanned them.

and that happens to me a lot with bootlegs... pretty weird to see dvd's you made or audio edits you made being sold at local fairs and almost everywhere in the internet...

I can't even imagine that happening, that's got to be weird.

And I was even a little upset about it, I was just genuinely surprised they're still around.

[thinkaboutyou]

You can download high definition scans of the whole booklet here

I honestly can't believe the scans I made are still floating around the internet in so many various forms.

didnt know you were the one who scanned them.

and that happens to me a lot with bootlegs... pretty weird to see dvd's you made or audio edits you made being sold at local fairs and almost everywhere in the internet...

I can't even imagine that happening, that's got to be weird.

And I was even a little upset about it, I was just genuinely surprised they're still around.

Photos on the web can end up anywhere The Facebook guy even tagged jarmo and Beta in one of mine 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2319049939844&set=a.2175696996110.129802.1357383324&type=1&theater

[russtcb]

You can download high definition scans of the whole booklet here

I honestly can't believe the scans I made are still floating around the internet in so many various forms.

didnt know you were the one who scanned them.

and that happens to me a lot with bootlegs... pretty weird to see dvd's you made or audio edits you made being sold at local fairs and almost everywhere in the internet...

I can't even imagine that happening, that's got to be weird.

And I was even a little upset about it, I was just genuinely surprised they're still around.

Photos on the web can end up anywhere The Facebook guy even tagged jarmo and Beta in one of mine 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2319049939844&set=a.2175696996110.129802.1357383324&type=1&theater

 

Haha, isn't that something? Not to sound old as hell, but the internet really amazes me how it brings the world so much closer together. Hell, I remember back in 92 being excited as hell to see a new bootleg of the 91 tour show up in a record store. Nowadays GNR haven't aren't even into their 3rd song half way across the world and we're all on the boards posting stuff like "AUDIO PLEASE!" 

On the subject of the Alternate Release. I think that I'm gonna dig mine out and listen to it front to back today while I travel. It's a crazy thought but I never actually listened to mine so I'm gonna double check and ensure there's nothing different about the audio at all.

[Halo69]

Any news on this?

[troccoli]

Any news on this?

Yeah, the seller never replied, but I am going to try again now.  Let's hope for a response!

Here is my question and their response:

Hey there. Not sure if you remember me, I bought 6 of these from you. Is there any way you could tell me more information about them? How you got them? Did you get them through Bestbuy? Amoeba records? Direct from the record company and/or band/band members? I am a big GNR collector and am always interested in the history of the items I collect. Thanks!

Dear zombie456,

Sorry to much info.

- gevsgarage818

[Halo69]

i mean in the way you're gonna sell them or pick people to get some of those copies from you

[troccoli]

Listed on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190583818347

Decided to sell instead of do a lottery thing in order to cover the costs of seeing Metallica at the Fillmore in December in San Fran.  Damn those tickets are gonna be expensive.  Please understand.  Thanks!

[suicide]

USD 611, looks like a good price to me! Congrats to whoever won the auction and enjoy the Metallica show Troccoli!!!

[russtcb]

With the prices these are going for, it's SO hard to hold on to mine!

[Montrealrocks]

Yeah.  I would sell it before they re-realese it...lol...If they re-release it it you are gonna say:  DAMN' I should have sell it!   

[russtcb]

Yeah.  I would sell it before they re-realese it...lol...If they re-release it it you are gonna say:  DAMN' I should have sell it!   

That's kinda the boat I'm stuck in; if they re-release with the proper covers I'll be thinking "GODDAMNIT! I should've made money while I could!" but if they never do I'll probably be saying "CRAP! I had a super rare item and sold it!"

Decisions decisions.

[troccoli]

Yeah.  I would sell it before they re-realese it...lol...If they re-release it it you are gonna say:  DAMN' I should have sell it!   

That's kinda the boat I'm stuck in; if they re-release with the proper covers I'll be thinking "GODDAMNIT! I should've made money while I could!" but if they never do I'll probably be saying "CRAP! I had a super rare item and sold it!"

Decisions decisions.

LOL, yeah tough call I suppose.  But IMHO, they are not going to rerelease this.  I know the stage setup has interesting things these days, but the stage setup had alternative artwork for years and nothing happened.  Also they had the greande shirt and rifle shirt for a while and still no rerelease.  And if they did a rerelease, I highly doubt it would be the same disc that we have.  So either way you have a collectible item.

[russtcb]

Red hand cover listed on eBay for sale:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chinese-Democracy-ALTERNATE-ARTWORK-BOOKLET-/220873619034?pt=Music_CDs&hash=item336d17f65a

[gunns1]

wow

[Montrealrocks]

Red hand cover listed on eBay for sale:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chinese-Democracy-ALTERNATE-ARTWORK-BOOKLET-/220873619034?pt=Music_CDs&hash=item336d17f65a

They are completely fucking nutcases

[Limulus]

650$ starting price???  now (as on mentioned on gnr twitter) this is a rip-off indeed!

[troccoli]

650$ starting price???  now (as on mentioned on gnr twitter) this is a rip-off indeed!

When was this on GNR twitter?  Must have missed it.  Can you post the comment.  Thanks in advance.

[Limulus]

[NicoRourke]

IF I had one, I would never sell it.

[cotis]

That is what they were talking about, with the grenade on the front - not the one with the red fist.

 

[thinkaboutyou]

The grenade booklet looks grainey to me regarding the printing
I originally thought the street of dreams was too but that was the desired effect

[troccoli]

Red hand cover listed on eBay for sale:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chinese-Democracy-ALTERNATE-ARTWORK-BOOKLET-/220873619034?pt=Music_CDs&hash=item336d17f65a

They are completely fucking nutcases

Well, it sold.  What's weird is that the starting price was $650, there were 2 bids, and it still only sold for $650. 

[cotis]

If the same person bids once, then wants to re-up their max bid I believe it stays the same but lists as 2 actual bids.

[serp616]

wouldn't mind having that copy, but THAT was a total numbnut price......the only cd i would even consider paying that much for is Burzum - Det Som Engang var.....

[Halo69]

That price is just outrageous. I would pay a maximum of 150 euros... about 200 dollars. And i actually think it's a little bit too much.

[MNGS717]

This is all NEW to me!  Very cool!!  I remember when Best Buy had a pre-order online for different versions, but I ended up just buying it at the store and forgetting about it.  I am curious about the "Grenade" design?  I have the t-shirt but notice the grenade in this alt booklet as well.  The words printed on the grenade, "Good Morning America, How Are You?" could be lyrics from the Steve Goodman song, "The City of New Orleans".  Anyone have any ideas about it?  It's one of my favorite shirts! 

[thinkaboutyou]

It really depends on what the future holds I think the $650 one was probably purchased same time as troccolis the guy had 8.