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Record Store Day is intended to raise the profile of independent record stores and increase awareness of increasingly underappreciated physical formats. For some, however, it's an oppotunity to make some fast cash, and this year the money-grabbing has started earlier than ever.

The event takes place on Saturday, 19 April 2014, but releases are already being resold online for hugely inflated prices, with FactMag reporting that David Bowie's Limited Edition 7" picture disc is on sale for $79, while the glow-in-the-dark Ghostbusters theme tune 10" is being touted at $32.50 (not including postage).

DJ Food took to Twitter to draw attention to the issue, after being alerted to an eBay auction of The The's 'Giant' 12" Record Store Day release, which includes his remix of the track was on sale two days before release.

"Really depressing that this is already happening on eBay, 2 days before any of these are on sale," he wrote on Facebook.

As with previous years, Record Store Day 2014 sees a huge number of very rare releases hit the shelves, with emerging artists and iconic stars pressing limited copies of new music and re-packaged classics.

Below: the 24 essential purchases (if you are able to find them) of RSD 2014