in the
record industry, this pertains to a category of merchandise that never seems to leave the stores. either the album's a complete
flop and doesn't sell well, or too many
copies were distributed. so the company will buy back the
cds,
lps, or
cassettes and
alter the packaging in some distinguishable way, either cutting or marking the casing or
sleeve (this is akin to those books you can buy in
bargain bins that have a
hole punched into the cover, but i don't know if it's for the
exact same
reason). they'll then sell these copies, at a discount of course, back to the
music stores to be offered to discriminating (ok, just plain
cheap) customers. the reason they mark the merchandise is to distinguish discount items from regular-priced
music, avoiding the problem of customers returning their cds and getting a full
refund.
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Alley/4370/yktrfaq.html told me so...