Obi strip

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Cover to 1978's Ace Frehley, with obi strip.

An Obi strip is a loop of folded paper usually found around the left side of a Japanese LP record, music CD, CD Video Game, or book. It features, translated into Japanese, the title and other information, such as price and catalog numbers etc. Obi Strips are also commonly but incorrectly called spinecards.

Though this is a purely functional item in Japan, product that features an obi strip has become somewhat desirable among collectors from around the world. Whenever the Japanese edition of a CD by a Western artist that is exported to other countries for sale in retail outlets (or offered for sale via online retail outlets), it may attract a premium price from dedicated fans who prize having the Japanese edition of a cherished CD. The sales pitches that extol the virtues of owning the Japanese edition invariably refer to it having an obi strip - giving an otherwise similar-looking product with often parallel artwork, a distinctive appearance that immediately identifies it as a Japanese edition.

Recently, Taiwanese importers have begun to make use of obi strips as well. Record collectors do not consider Taiwanese "obi" actually called "dai" to be as valuable as a real obi^{[citation needed]}. remember, obi is unique to Japan Only, not Taiwan.