No Economic Crisis In Collectible Jazz Vinyl Market

Now that I have that Bird article out of my system, it’s time to get back to the task at hand, watching rare jazz vinyl on eBay. Here are some of the items we’ve been watching:

Phil Woods, Woodlore, Prestige 7018. As you may recall, this one was sitting at $200 with no bids and I was considering taking the plunge myself. Glad I didn’t. The record wound up selling for $527 — way beyond my comfort level — and, to make it worse, there is now a dispute about the sale, as you can see on the Jazz Collector site under the earlier post. From the same seller was: Charlie Rouse, Yeah!, Epic 16012. If you look at the listing, you’ll have a hard time figuring out the record’s condition. It says both ex+ and ex- and it talks about light scratches that will sound on both sides. Hmm. Someone paid $538 for this record. We’ll see if there’s a dispute about this one as well.

Wow — didn’t expect this record to reach the $1,000 bin: Hank Mobley, Workout, Blue Note 4080. This was an original New York USA pressing, with the RVG and ear in the deadwax. It was in beautiful M- condition for the record and cover and sold for $1,009.99.

This one also entered the $1,000 bin, but not all that suprisingly:

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A Pair of Jazz Vinyl For This Jazz Collector

Here is one of the conundrums of doing the Jazz Collector Web site. I still collect records and occasionally buy them on eBay. So, when I spot a record that interests me, do I dare share it with the world? I usually do. Case in point: Phil Woods, Woodlore, Prestige 7018. This is an original New York yellow label pressing. The record looks to be in M- condition and the cover looks around VG+. This is a nice early Prestige I’ve only owned as a Japanese pressing. The auction closes tomorrow and there are no bidders at a $200 start price. I would pay $200 for this record. I could just lurk in the background, put in a snipe and hope no body else is interested, which I may, indeed, do. But I’d certainly have a better chance for success without blabbing about my interest to the whole Jazz Collector world out there, wouldn’t you say? Actually, I’m surprised there are no bidders yet for this one and there’s only one bidder for this record from the same seller: Lucky Thompson, Lucky Strikes!, Transition 21. This is an original pressing with the booklet. The record is in M- condition and the cover is probably VG++.There’s only one bid at $200 for this. To be fair, the highest price we’ve seen for this in the Jazz Collector Price Guide has been a little more than $300, so perhaps the $200 is not so unreasonable. It just looks like a record that should sell for more, at least it does to this collector.

Updating the $1,000 Bin, Plus a Few More

Let’s catch up on some of the high-end jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

Here are a few from the Jazz Record Center auction: Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This one was in beautiful condition, M- all the way around. It sold for $2,380.99. Sonny Clark, Dial S For Sonny, Blue Note 1570. This was another beauty that was M- for the record and probably VG++ for the cover, depending upon how you view things such as small splits and slight wear. It sold for $2,039. Kenny Dorham, Afro-Cuban, Blue Note 1535. This was in M- condition for the record and somewhat less for the cover. The price was $1,613.88. And the big one: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the record and between VG++ and M- for the cover, depending upon how you grade such things. The price was $3,618.

Here’s a $1,000 record that was not sold by the Jazz Record Center:

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eBaying: Phil Woods, Cliff Jordan, Ray Draper

Here’s some jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

Phil Woods, Woodlore, Prestige 7018. This is one of those great early Prestiges that, somehow, I’ve never been able to find an original pressing for my collection, despite 40-plus years of trying. I do have a Japanese pressing, which sounds good, but an original with the kakubushi cover, how can you ever compare? This was an original pressing from Atomic records. The record looked to be n M- condition and the cover was VG+. The price was $493.88, pretty reasonable in today’s market I would say.

Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This is another in the same category as Woodlore, I’m still searching for an original pressing for my own collection. Gives you a sense how rare these are — in all of my 40 years of exploration to have never come upon a reasonably priced copy of either one of these records. This one was sold by my friend Steve at Roundagain records in Providence and it was in VG++ condition for the record and what looked to be VG- for the cover. It sold for  $632.

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Catching Up: Sahib, Serge, Newk, Woods

This one almost made the $2,000 bin: Sahib Shihab and the Danish Radio Jazz Group, Oktav 111. This was an original Danish pressing. What was most amazing about this listing was the number of views it received — more than 1,600. It was listed so that it came up on the first page when you would do a search of jazz vinyl, but still, 1,600 views is quite a lot for any record. Also, I have to plead my ignorance about this LP: I’ve never seen it before and know nothing about it, so if anyone has insight to share, please feel free to do so. The record seemed to be in VG++ condition, close to M-, and the cover was also about VG++, based on the description. The price was $1,952.60.

This one seemed to get top dollar: Serge Chaloff, Blue Serge, Capitol 742. It was an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover and it was sold by Euclid Records. The price was $364.88. Finding these records in such

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Are Sales Drooping? Some Items For the Weekend

Is it me, or do things seem slow on eBay? I’m seeing a lot of action on the high-end records, but not much among the mid-tier collectibles. I had a bunch of items this week that I listed for $15, expecting they would sell for $30 or $40 or more, but most of them actually sold for less than $20. I even took advantage of the lull and bid on a few items myself and, fortunately or unfortunately, actually wound up winning a couple. In any case, there are some interesting items on eBay this weekend, so we’ll keep an eye on prices. Here are some of the ones we’re watching:

Phil Woods, Woodlore, Prestige 7018. I had a vigorous internal debate about putting this one on Jazz Collector, since I wouldn’t mind it myself.  It’s an original New York pressing and it’s in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The seller is quite reliable, from my experience. This one closes tomorrow and is still less than $40. As for my vigorous internal debate, obviously here it is on the site. I decided to not show the picture. Small compromise, no?

This seller has a whole batch of items, including: The Dual Role of Bob Brookmeyer, Prestige 7066. This is an original New York yellow label pressing and the item is listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It closes in two days, the start price is $99 and so far there are no bidders. Check out the seller’s other items as well. There are a few in this category, starting price of about $100 and no bids.

Here’s another nice one:

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Price Updates: Lights Out, Zoot, Kenny Drew

Here are some of the items we’ve been watching on eBay:

Jackie McLean, Lights Out, Prestige 7035. This was an original New York pressing with the deep groove and heavy vinyl. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was VG+. It did not have a flat edge, according to an answer to a questioner, but I’m not sure that doesn’t mean it wasn’t original. Anyway, the price was $639.49.

Phil Woods, Warm Woods, Epic 3436. This was an original pressing and it was listed in M- condition for both the vinyl and the cover. The price was $495.

Zoot Sims, Zoot, Riverside 228. This was an original white label pressing and it was listed in VG++ condition for the vinyl and VG+ for the cover. The price was $413.

Here are a few we were watching the other day:

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Prestige Day At Jazz Collector

Let’s catch up on some of the Prestige jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

Sonny Rollins, Moving Out, Prestige 7058. This was an original New York pressing. It was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover and the seller has a good reputation. The price was $197.50. This one has Kenny Dorham and Thelonious Monk. We would have expected a higher price.

Webster Young, For Lady, Prestige 7106. This was an original New York pressing as well. The record was only VG, while the cover was M-. The price was $213.50.

Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot, Prestige 7294. This was an original yellow label pressing with

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For Blue Note, More Prestige Than Prestige

Here are some nice records we’ve been watching. Each of these will be added to the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Phil Woods, Pairing Off, Prestige 7046. This looked to be a beautiful copy of an extremely nice record and it was graded in M- condition for both the vinyl and the cover. The price was $344.90, which actually seems pretty low to us. By comparison, for example, look at this record: The Magnificent Thad Jones Volume 3, Blue Note 1546. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing from a reputable seller. The record was in VG+ condition, at best, for the vinyl and VG condition for the cover. The price was $800. Is there really that big a gap

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