[July 06, 2009]

Jackson album sales record-breaking [Tyler Morning Telegraph, Texas]

(Tyler Morning Telegraph (TX) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jul. 2--Sandi Riaz has kept close watch on the online-sales frenzy that ensued after pop sensation Michael Jackson's death last week.

Jackson albums she would sell at her Timeless Books & Music, 4129 S. Broadway Ave. in Tyler, for between $10 and $20 have been snatched off eBay for as much as $600 one minute and then $40 the next.

At her store, which sells used albums, CDs, tapes, books and more, customers quickly cleared racks of Jackson music, particularly albums.

"I sold almost everything," said Riaz, who still had a couple of memorabilia books and Jackson 5 albums left at the counter as of midday Wednesday. "They're looking for anything, any books. All of his individual albums are gone." Nielsen SoundScan says Michael Jackson's album sales have exploded, with three of his albums in the top three spots and 2.3 million tracks downloaded in the United States since his death a week ago today, according to an Associated Press story Wednesday.

U.S. album sales for the week through Sunday hit 422,000, up from 10,000 a week earlier. The week's tally was greater than all the Jackson albums sold from the start of the year to June 21.

The top three albums were "Number Ones," "Essential Michael Jackson," and "Thriller." The Black Eyed Peas' latest CD came in fourth.

The 2.3 million digital downloads for the week was a record-breaking rise from the 37,300 the previous week. No single artist has sold more than a million digital tracks in a week since Nielsen began counting in July 2004.

When adding in all Jackson 5 songs as well as sales in Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, digital downloads for the week hit 3.3 million, up from 52,000 the previous week, SoundScan said in the AP story.

In Tyler, Jackson music was sold out not only at Timeless Books & Music but Hastings and Target as well.

Chelsey Tolbert, a Target manager, said her store carries a variety of Jackson CDs, all of which were sold out as of Wednesday.

"It probably wasn't something that we kept a lot of stock before," Ms Tolbert said. "We will be getting more of the merchandise in the coming weeks." Ms. Riaz said that in addition to the usual album collectors flocking to Timeless for Jackson music, young adults ages 18 to 25 have flooded the store the past week. She said Jackson music always seems to stay popular with that age group. She also has been besieged by collectors who want to come in and sell Jackson music and paraphernalia, but she has guided them to the frenzy online, where they might fetch a better deal.

"If you want to get what you want, you're going to have to sell online," Ms. Riaz said. "They all think I'm going to pay high dollar." The Tyler office of the Better Business Bureau earlier this week warned consumers to be cautious when buying Jackson items off the Internet. The BBB warned that "the value of most memorabilia and commemorative items being sold is sentimental and the currently inflated prices for many items will drop over time." The BBB said that according to Smartmoney, sellers before Jackson's death listed an average 200 to 400 memorabilia items daily on eBay, but by the morning after he died, almost 20,000 Jackson items surged onto the auction site, including autographs, gloves, posters, newspapers and even a Cheeto that allegedly predicted his death.

Similar memorabilia sales followed Princess Diana's death in 1997, the BBB said.

Ann Harris, the Tyler BBB's director of standards and practices, said her office had yet to receive calls from local residents caught up in Jackson sales scams.

Ms. Harris cautioned buyers to not get caught up in the thinking that Jackson items will appreciate over time.

She pointed to Beanie Babies and Cabbage Patch Dolls as examples.

"You should never buy memorabilia based on what you think the projected value will be," Ms. Harris said. "In the long run, they may not increase in value."

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