From the Onion:

Tourist Experiences City By Buying Used CDs
October 4, 2006 | Issue 42•40


CHARLESTON, SC—Tourist Alex Pratt decided to "get the feel" of the historic South Carolina port city of Charleston by making the rounds of its local used-CD stores Tuesday. "I found a Marshall Crenshaw CD I didn't have, and really lucked out on The Feelies' The Good Earth—I haven't seen that in years," said Pratt, who has also shopped for music in Boston, San Francisco, Gettysburg, PA, and Kansas City. "I like this place. It's a lot like my regular used-CD shop back in Chicago." Foregoing a ferry-ride to nearby Fort Sumter, Pratt said he intended to spend the remainder of the afternoon peeling the protective plastic off the CD cases and enjoying a sandwich from a local Subway restaurant.

Why would used cd's have protective plastic on them?

I think they have some sort of protective value

Nothing says "mint condition" like a new layer of shrinkwrap over a hole-punched-through-bar-code demo copy sold to Jackies Tune Hut by your out-of-drugs little brother.

I spent nearly half of the "fun money" I had saved on CDs during my West Coast trip.