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Slippery When Wet vinyl value

Slippery When Wet — Bon Jovi album cover
Median ask · 1986 830 264-1
$14
Typical asks
$6–$22
Basis
10 eBay asks
Live eBay asks, Sep 21, 2026; sold prices usually close lower. How we price

Bon Jovi — Slippery When Wet: pressings we track

PressingCatalogCountryNotesAsking
1986 Mercury830 264-1Canada—$6–$22
1986 Mercury830 264-1Europe—$6–$22
1986 MercuryVERH 38Europe—$6–$22
1986 Mercury830 264-1Finland—$6–$22
1986 Mercury830 264-1France—$6–$22
1986 Mercury830 264-1FranceReissue$6–$22
1986 Mercury830 264-1Greece—$6–$22
1986 Mercury830 264-1Netherlands—$6–$22
1986 Mercury830 264-1Philippines—$6–$22
1986 MercuryVERH 38Philippines—$6–$22
1986 Mercury830 264-1Portugal—$6–$22
5 more pressings we track (no quoted eBay range)
PressingCatalogCountryNotes
1986 Mercury830 264-1CanadaRed Inner Sleeve
1986 Mercury830 264-1CanadaYellow Inner Sleeve
1986 Mercury28PP-1025Japan—
1986 Mercury28PP-1025JapanWhite obi
1986 Mercury28PP-1025JapanPromo

No quoted range right now (why). Scan your copy in the app for a current read.

58 pressings tracked, 16 shown · catalog of 974,753 releases, August 2026

What separates the pressings

Originals, 198611 first-year pressings (Europe, Canada, Finland, France and 5 more); any of them is an original. Runout on the Canada copy starts “830-264-1A SNB 230 EL DM-34”.
Collector variants1986 Canada: Red Inner Sleeve; 1986 Canada: Yellow Inner Sleeve; 1986 Japan: Promo. Short runs like these often bring more than a standard early copy.
JapanPressed to high standards and collected separately; a copy with the original obi strip is a different record to collectors than one without.

How to identify your copy

Three checks, in the order worth doing them.

  1. 1

    Match the catalog number. It is printed on the spine and the record label. Check it together with the country against the pressings table above: the same number can appear in more than one country.

  2. 2

    Read the runout. The code etched in the dead wax near the label names the exact pressing. On the 1986 Canada pressing it reads “830-264-1A SNB 230 EL DM-34” on side one and “830-264-1B SNB 230 EL DM-24” on side two. Jackets get swapped over the decades; the runout does not.

  3. 3

    Grade the condition. The same pressing can be worth several times more in near mint than in VG. Grade the vinyl and the sleeve separately — our grading guide shows the standard scale.

A 1986 jacket with a later disc inside is a reissue in an original sleeve. Judge the pressing by the runout etching and the label, never by the cover.

Questions

Which pressing of Slippery When Wet is worth the most?

The 1986 originals lead. Scarcer variants (the 1986 “Red Inner Sleeve” and the 1986 “Yellow Inner Sleeve”) can beat an ordinary early copy. After that it is all condition: the gap between near mint and VG is usually larger than the gap between pressings.

How do I tell if I have a 1986 original?

Match the catalog number on the spine and label against the table above, check the country, then read the etched code in the runout groove. On the 1986 Canada pressing the runout reads “830-264-1A SNB 230 EL DM-34”. A period jacket with a later disc inside is still a reissue.

How much is Slippery When Wet worth today?

Sellers typically ask $6 to $22 for the pressings we track; for the 1986 830 264-1 the median ask is $14 over 10 listings (eBay, Sep 21, 2026). Sold prices usually close lower. Scan your copy in the app for the range on your exact pressing and condition.

Not sure which pressing you have? Photograph the label and RecordScout names it, then shows a current value range for its condition.

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