The shocking nature of Michael Jackson’s death Thursday instantly sent people to record stores and onlineand record store owners to their catalogs and warehouses — to snap up anything related to him.
“The second it was confirmed, we immediately called our ‘one-stop’ (warehouse), and everything Michael Jackson-related had already been cleared out,” said Paul Epstein, owner of Twist & Shout Records. “There’s already been a ton of calls at our store from people asking to hold his stuff. We’ll sell everything we have by him by this weekend.”
Within hours of Jackson’s death, his “Thriller” and “Off the Wall” held the No. 1 and 2 spots on ‘s best-selling music list. “Thriller” jumped from No. 77 to No. 5 on iTunes’ albums charts.
“The amount of (Jackson-related) things on eBay will go up about 30 to 40 percent, and the value of those items will go up 25 percent instantly,” said Aaron LaPides, a collectibles expert and owner of Fascination Street Gallery.
LaPides, who has sold everything from signed Jackson records to glittery gloves, said the only precedent for such an uptick is Elvis Presley.
