Possession of truly rare records comes at a price You have to bear in mind, scarcity is not the same as quality. There is often a reason why something is rare – possibly it didn’t sell, because it wasn’t very good. To the collector, scarcity has a value all of its own, and exclusivity, being one of the few or only people in the world who owns it. It is a mild version of the art collector, who enjoys being the only person in the world to own that painting,