Discogs has launched a new Exclusives marketplace dedicated to rare and limited releases.

The platform is currently being trialled in a beta format, with a limited number of releases on sale. Billing it as being "for the true collector", Discogs says that music fans will be able to get hold of rare and out-of-print records or test pressings amongst other items.

Speaking to The Vinyl Factory, Discogs' Jeffrey Smith explains the platform's purpose in more detail. "We would have intense conversations with people working within the indie/major label communities; people who were Discogs devotees and passionate collectors themselves. There was a common story evolving. They have access to something neither we nor the Community have access to: test pressings or tiny amounts of out-of-print stock that can be hard to find — even in our own Marketplace.

"It felt like there had to be something we could do to help bring this stuff into the open for collectors everywhere, not just those with connections."

So far, amongst the items available for purchase, are a John Carpenter cassette box set from Sacred Bones Records, which collects all of his full-length albums, and two test pressings of the White Stripes' 2007 album Icky Thump.

You can check the site here.