Featured Image Credit: Henri Leduc via Getty
Oh how we wish we'd kept all those old consoles, DVDs, and LEGO that our mom sent to the garage sale or (perish the thought), threw out. As people get rich on collectibles from yesteryear, just imagine if we had a time machine and could go back to nab a line up of original Star Wars: A New Hope dolls. Sadly, not everyone has a DeLorean or the sense to keep our collectibles in pristine condition.
It can sometimes be a minefield, but there's still a big market for collectible media in terms of obsolete tech likes CDs, DVDs, and even Blu-Rays. Even though most of you won't be sitting on a copy of the Spider-Man Trilogy One Click Boxset or a CD of "My Name is Prince", there could be a few gems just sat gathering dust in your attic.
One place where people often think they can make a quick buck is with Disney VHS tapes. The sad reality is that most of your favorites from the Disney Renaissance (1989-1999) came at a time when VHS production was at its peak.
Advert
This means your average copy of 1991's Beauty and the Beast or 1994's The Lion King will fetch mere dollars on auction sites like eBay. What you really want to be looking for are the rare Black Diamond VHS tapes, which can fetch a not-so-small fortune.
Over on eBay, a lucrative Black Diamond VHS copy of 1991's Beauty and the Beast is listed for an eye-watering $975,000. Imagine nearly becoming a millionaire thanks to one VHS. What pushes this one up is the fact is it's unopened, and in terms of owning a piece of cinematic history, this could be one for investors.
On the auction site, all of the highest-priced Black Diamond listings are for Beauty and the Beast.
Extortionate VHS prices are nothing new for Black Diamond collection, as a rare version of 1961's One Hundred and One Dalmatians is going for $75,000.
A bulk lot of Sleeping Beauty, Bambi, and The Little Mermaid (featuring banned cover art) is listed for $65,000, and a lone copy of Aladdin for $18,000.
According by WDW Magazine, the Black Diamond VHS tapes are worth so much due to their limited availability. The site explains how Black Diamond tapes are officially known as Disney Classics and were released between 1984 and 1994.
They get their name for the diamond on the spine and the title of 'The Classics' in a Hollywood font.
A Black Diamond Beauty and the Beast sold for over $10,000 in April 2024, but considering it was a charity auction, it likely helped fetch this sum.
Heritage Auctions notes that the idea that every Black Diamond tape is worth a fortune is wrong, saying that most animated Disney films released after 1990 aren't worth much: "Only the earliest of Disney VHS produced prior to 1985 hold any value to most collectors."
If you look at WatchCount.com, it's true that most of these listings will go unsold. It reveals that the most expensive Black Diamond VHS to recently be sold was for $800, including two Black Diamond copies of The Jungle Book, one Alice in Wonderland, and one The Rescuers Down Under.
Getting $975,000 from a copy of Beauty and the Beast is a nice idea, but you might be living in a Disney fairytale if you think you're going to get that.
