BORN IN THE U.S.A. Japanese test pressing LP w/ flyers (and advanced promo cassette tape)

Despite the fair condition, this test press sold extremely well
(from actual auction)

Auction watching continues. Regularly checking Yahoo! Japan auction for rare Springsteen collectibles, I saw another case of high competition that has ended early this week (July 13) with the incredible final bid of over $500. The auctioned item was a test pressing copy of Japanese BORN IN THE U.S.A. LP (CBS/SONY 28AP 2850) in a white plain cover with the small custom sticker. The total bid volume was 29 from six competitors (again I was just watching, not joining the auction). Interestingly, at least two bidders seem to have joined the auction of the custom promo-only THE "LIVE" cassette tape which was mentioned on the last blog (July 12).

Playing my favorite sequence of
No Surrender / Bobby Jean / I'm Goin' Down

According to the Lost In The Flood collector's website, this record is "super rare," and admittedly rarer than the aforementioned promotional THE "LIVE" cassette tape. However, I had never predicted this outcome because, as you can see, there are lots of stains and blots on the white LP sleeve that could be evaluated in good condition, at best (if it were just plain white, it could be replaced but there is a custom sticker on it). Even worse, the auctioned copy was not a complete set as it did not come with anything but the vinyl disc, which certainly decreases the value of this particular copy; the test pressing LP should contain at least three papers: stapled two sheets of xerox copies of the Japanese liner note (the same as the one available in the regular LP copies), a two-sided brown/black flyer advertising the album, and a one-sided red/yellow/black sheet announcing the lead-off 7" single Dancing In The Dark (CBS/SONY 07SP 810) from the album. Although not sure, the lyric sheet might have been included as well (which is not found in my set). The matrix numbers of the test pressing are identical to those of the sample copies and regular first pressing.

The custom sticker on the white plain sleeve is also used for the advanced promo cassette package, the fact which would explain at least in part why the sticker size is rather small (so that it fits a generic cassette case).