Lonboxes / cut outs

[Rev Jones]

I swear it's only today I fully realize what exactly long boxes are, what they were meant for and what cut outs are


I only started visiting wrecka stows in 1995, when that whole fad had already faded



did all CD releases circa 1988-1993 come in long boxes? did even the new albums have cut out marks in the jewel cases?


do you still own (m)any long boxes?


I was also wondering, were you forced to damage the packaging to get to the jewel case inside? or do they open like 2 disc long boxes do now, with an upper lid that you can just lift off the case?


also, no extra material was ever put inside those long boxes was it? I was thinking like maybe fold out posters, extra CD bootlet etc? I assume then it was just the jewel case that was kept in place by a plastic holder that filled the inside of longboxes?


sorry for what must seem like obvious questions lol. I've never seen/opened an actual long box from the 80s/90s


was the first wu tang album still released in this format?


I was also wondering if this format was just used in the US? never sever een that kind of packaging in second hand stores in Europe afterwards (unless this could be explained by the fact you'd have to rip open the longboxes in order to get to the jewel case, in the process destroying those longboxes)


were cassettes sometimes released in this format too?


if some new money comes in (lord knows when lol, I'm in pretty deep financial doodoo right now *le sigh*) I'd want to go scour duh internets for some long boxes from my fav artists to add to my collection

[Rev Jones]

also anyone ever seen this format?



found the pic thru reddit, comment reads "They are small, for CD singles, and fit in the smaller inset depression of your CD tray."

I swear I never saw this format before lol

[Pattch82]

I think all CD releases initially came in the long box format. It was a way that record stores could display them in the same racks they used for vinyl records because the long boxes were 12" tall. I think it was supposed to be a transitional thing.

I also read somewhere that the long boxes were also supposed to be a deterrent to shoplifters because it was a bigger package and harder to conceal.

I don't think 36 Chambers was released in longbox format because the long boxes were being phased out from 92-93.

I bought 2 or 3 long boxes back in the day but I was only 8 years old at the time (around 1990) so the outer boxes just got totally destroyed trying to get to the CD!


The Mini-CD was mainly used for storing things like device drivers and small computer programs, etc but it was sometimes used for CD Singles too because it could store around 24 minutes of music. I've seen a couple of mini-CD's with usb drivers and stuff on but I've never actually seen a CD single one.


Peace!

[Rev Jones]

thanks for your input Pattch!