It's the completion backward principle. It belongs there, it's original, it looks damn good and
nobody can decipher what's written on it. Except for a japanese friend of mine who once told
me that on some of these strips there's complete nonsense.

coma, January 20, 2006; 7:43 PM

"It belongs there, it's original, it looks damn good and
nobody can decipher what's written on it."

HA! I couldn't have said it better myself. LONG LIVE THE OBI!!!

American.Nightmare, January 21, 2006; 10:08 AM

What about Rykodisk, are those also considered obi-strips? I personally keep those too as well as the green tinted cd jewel case with the logo on the back whenever possible and if not broken. Does anyone else keep them? If obi is an acronym what does it stand for?

serifiot, January 21, 2006; 11:36 AM

Obi-strips are a worthless nuisance. I had dozens of them that I kept in a box and after a couple
of years just threw them all away. You should keep the CD sealed it you're a purist. Obi is
probably the japanese name for paper-slip or something. It's just something to attract the
buyers attention in the shop. Records had them too and so do books in Japan. In Japan they
mostly throw them away with the plastic sealing, the only sensible thing to do.

chris, January 22, 2006; 11:47 AM

My Japanese friend sent me this answere;
"Obi means tie that binds your waist when you wear kimono. Well, I guess you know it,
anyway, for CDs, collectors keep the obi so that they can sell more expensive. I do not throw
away neither, while most people do not care. For CDs, obi is just a paper cover on the left side of
CD, so that you can read the title in the shelve, by wrapping original foreign (if it is foreign CD)
languages in a manner we can read easily or for the record companies to sell well."

chris, January 22, 2006; 12:59 PM

I am always glad to have the obi as something extra, but in fact most of my (few) Japanese CD's don't have it anymore (the same goes for the Rykodiscs), as I don't see it that much essential and prefer having the CD without the obi that nothing.

However I truly don't like it when people are throwing the obi away, as I see it very selfish and unfriendly towards the others - you can never guess when your CD changes its owner. Of course you don't have to care about that, it's just me who does.

42zaphod, January 23, 2006; 1:51 AM

The only reason to keep them is that if you decide to sell a CD later, some people will pay far more for the same music if it has the silly strip of paper included!

betenoir, January 23, 2006; 9:37 PM

Hi everybody!
Does anybody know of platforms (shops, sites etc.) specialized on buying & selling obi strips? Or online image databases related to this subject, similar to allcdcovers.com, freecovers.com and the like?
Some of the releases I got over eBay are missing those pesky strips and compulsive- completist-me would like to add them... =)
Many thanks in advance.
Valentin

valentin.stanescu, August 12, 2010; 2:26 PM

I guess it will be nearly impossible to find separate obi-strips. You
should better prepare yourself to buying another copy of the
respective CD, that still has the strip. (I must admit, I was silly
enough to do this myself some times...)

Perhaps you'll enjoy this site: www.obiland.com/


Cheerz,

David

coma, August 12, 2010; 2:37 PM

Thanks David! :)
I too went for a second copy of a release sometimes, just to call a 'complete' edition my own...
That being said, now I'm trying to replace that solution by looking for scanned images of these pesky sheets of paper, in order to print them myself. No easy task, it seems... :o)
Thanks again.
Valentin

valentin.stanescu, March 6, 2011; 12:12 PM

I've found that the OBI strip contains the barcode as well as some other
information about the CD, such as track information, other albums, etc.

I like having that strip, therefore, because it *IS* part of the CD information from
the front and back art, as well as disc information you may not have otherwise.

It's easier to locate CD information if you have the barcode...
It's easier to get a second copy if you can look up the same information...
and it's something [almost] uniquely Japanese, and can help verify authenticity.

Reprints aren't on the same paperstock, and are almost proof you're buying
bootleg or illegal copies, especially from online auction sites such as eBay where
the seller might have a ton for sale. Just like some are supposed to come with
posters, stickers, etc., the OBI is part of it. That's part of what made it worth
buying the CD, rather than download the music.

You don't buy milk without an expiration date on the label
You don't buy a coat that won't close
You don't buy shoes missing the sole

I try to get my Japanese CDs with the "belt" or "sash" that's supposed to come
with it.

That's all there is to it.

yremogtnom, December 24, 2015; 1:21 AM