Month: May 2010

‘Tis Better To Have Bid And Lost . . .

2 comments

These records all have one thing in common: I bid on them and lost:

I thought I could sneak this one in because the picture accompanying the listing wasn’t clear and perhaps that would turn people off: Alto Madness,  Prestige 7114. This features John Jenkins and Jackie McLean and I do not own an original copy. It was not getting a lot of action and I threw in a bit of about $130. Not even close. In the end there were 13 bids and the winning bid was $405.

Louis Smith, Smithville, Blue Note 1594. I mentioned this one yesterday and posted the picture. For some reason, this record was not getting much action. With several hours to go before it closed it was in the $100 range. I thought perhaps the listing wasn’t clear as far as the condition and there was something in the listing about price guides and $100. Anyway, there was light action, so I used by BidNip sniping service — if you bid on eBay you really should be using one of this — and put in a bid of about $360. Well it sold for $811, so I wasn’t even in the game.

I tried to sneak this one in at about $20: Frank Rosolino, I Play Trombone, Bethlehem 26. The vinyl was only VG, but it had a nice cover and the seller didn’t mention the presence of Sonny Clark

Read more

And A Bunch More Blue Notes & Prestiges

Leave a comment

While I’m cleaning my eBay queue and updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide, here are a few more Blue Notes and Prestiges for your perusal. No links here and also the prices have been rounded. Some good stuff:

Sonny Clark, Sonny’s Crib, Blue Note 1576. This was an original West 63rd pressing in VG+ condition for the record and the cover. The price was $589.

Lee Morgan, City Lights, Blue Note 1575. This was an original pressing. The record and cover looked to be in VG++ condition. The price was $1,058.

Sonny Rollins, Movin’ Out, Prestige 7058. This was an original New York yellow label. The record was in VG++ condition and the cover was VG++ as well. The price was $283.

Tina Brooks, True Blue, Blue Note 4041. This was an original pressing in VG+ condition for

Read more

Catching Up: More Blue Notes & Prestiges

6 comments

We’re updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide, and here are some odds and ends we’ve been watching:

Here’s a Blue Note you don’t see too often: Harold Vick, Steppin’ Out, Blue Note 4138. This was an original New York USA pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $373.

Someone on the Reader Forum was looking for Booker Ervin records. Could you go wrong with this one? Booker Ervin, Groovin’ High, Prestige 7417. There wasn’t much description in the listing, but there was just one bidder and the price was $9.99. This won’t make the price guide, but it probably made one collector quite happy.

The price on this also seemed a bit low: Lee Konitz, Prestige 7004. This was an original New York yellow label in VG+ condition for he record and the cover. It sold for $87.59.

Here’s a few more Blue Notes:

Read more

On EBay: Hank & a Pair Of Lees

3 comments

Here are the results of a jazz vinyl few items we’ve been watching on e-Bay:

Lee Morgan, Indeed!, Blue Note 1538. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing with the flat edge. The record was in VG+ condition and the cover was VG. The price was $1,247. This seller had about 300 records for auction at one time. Not sure how that works as a selling strategy. I generally tend to spread my listings out a bit more, but I can see where it makes sense to do a lot at one time. You can combine shipping costs, which always helps, and sometimes buyers figure if they’re buying a couple of records from you, the may as well bid on a few more. But it’s putting a lot of eggs in the basket of who may be active on eBay that particular week. In any case, it didn’t seem to impact the price of this Lee Morgan LP. In addition, these were from the same seller:

Read more

Lee, Newk, Pepper For the $1,000 Bin

Leave a comment

Here are a few recent eBay sales we missed:

Lee Morgan, Volume 3, Blue Note 1557. This was an original West 63rd pressing that looked to be in VG+ condition, perhaps a little better, but not nearly mint. It sold for $1,704.

Here’s another copy of Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This was an original pressing in VG+ condition. It sold for $1,425.

Art Pepper, Modern Art, Intro 606. Based on the description it sounds like this record was VG+, although it was listed as VG++. The price was $1,300.

Pretty cool so far: Three records for the $1,000 bin and none of them

Read more

For the $1,000 Bin: Jimmy Smith, Blue Note

5 comments

I entered this one into the Jazz Collector Price Guide the other day and I had to give it a special call out: Jimmy Smith, A New Sound, A New Star, Blue Note 1514, Volume 2. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing with the flat edge, deep groove and all of the other markings that would guarantee that this would have been an original pressing. It was sold by a reputable seller and it was listed in M- condition and, in fact, was noted to be in “superb” condition. I cite this record because of the sales price, which was $1,074. It was quite a surprise to us to see one of the Jimmy Smith records, even an original Blue Note, in the $1,000 bin. In addition, this is a record that does not feature any of the Blue Note hornmen, so that this would be the Jimmy Smith record to break the $1,000 barrier was equally surprising. But, there it is. Just goes to show the power of original Blue Notes in today’s market.

Here’s another that came up just short of the $1,000 bin:

Read more

Catching Up: Flanagan, Dorham & A Signed Max

9 comments

Let’s catch up on a few more eBay sales:

This one did sell for more than $1,000. Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7134. When we were watching it the other day it was at about $400 and we speculated it might sell for less than $1,000. It sold for $1,440 in VG+ condition for the vinyl and the cover. Perhaps that can be considered a bargain in today’s market?

The Arrival of Kenny Dorham, Jaro 5007. This was an original pressing in VG++ condition for both the vinyl and the cover. It sold for $457. We’ve never tracked this one at more than $1,000 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, but we’re pretty sure it has probably cracked the $1,000 barrier at some point. It’s a nice record and quite rare as well.

This one was autographed. Still not sure if an autograph enhances the value of a jazz record. Collectors can be quite picky about having their records untouched and pristine:

Read more

More Big Blue Notes, More Big Prices

One comment

Shall we Blue Note this evening? Here are some recent sales:

This one set a new high for this LP: Joe Henderson, Page One, Blue Note 4140. This was an original pressing and it was listed in M- condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $565.58.

Another high one: Benny Green, Back on the Scene, Blue Note 1587. This was also in M- condition. It sold for $620.

Kenny Dorham, Unas Mas, Blue Note 4127. This was an original mono pressing and it was listed in VG++ condition for both the vinyl and the cover. It sold for $283.

This one just ended, as we were typing:

Read more

On Ebay: Lou, Lee, Overseas

4 comments

Here are some items to watch on eBay:

Lou Donaldson, Wailing With Lou, Blue Note 1545. Love this record. This is an original pressing. The cover is VG- and the vinyl is somewhere between VG+ and VG++, based on the description. The current price is around $100 and it is closing today and it is quite tempting since the copy in my collection is a Japanese pressing. Somehow I have to re-convince myself that I am to be getting rid of records, not acquiring them. Speaking of which . . . I did well yesterday. I stopped in at my favorite local store, Infinity Records on Long Island, and he had there a copy of Elmo Hope Quintet, Blue Note 5044. This is a 10-inch LP featuring Frank Foster. I had this at one point and, regrettably, sold it for about $400. My copy was in excellent condition. The one in the store yesterday was VG for the record and maybe VG- for the cover. The price was

Read more

Price Updates: Hank, Jackie, Farmer, Moody

Leave a comment

Just spent the morning updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so there are a bunch of new records we’ve been watching, including these, all of which have been mentioned before:

Hank Mobley, Mobley’s Second Message, Prestige 7082. This was an original New York pressing. The record and cover were listed in VG++ condition and the price was $482.

Another nice Prestige: Webster Young, For Lady, Prestige 7106. This was in M- condition and sold for $529.

Almost bid on this one: Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing and it was in VG++/VG++ condition. It sold for $678.

Zoot Sims, Down Home, Bethlehem 60. This was an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $435.

Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This was an original pressing of this very rare record. It was

Read more

1 2 3