Blue Noting on eBay
I tentatively put all my original Blue Note together on two shelves, in catalogue order, and I must say it is a nice way to organize them. It does make me notice some of the holes in the collection, but it also makes me appreciate how many I have. Here are a few I’ve been watching on eBay that could fill holes in my collection, but the prices . . .
Duke Jordan, Flight to Jordan, Blue Note 4046. This was an original pressing in VG++ condition for the record and M- for the cover. It sold for $755. I do own this record, a Japanese pressing, which is not on the shelf with the originals.
This one I have, but could use a condition upgrade, one of my favorites: Jackie McLean, Swing, Swang, Swingin’, Blue Note 4024. This one was in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover and sold for $833. It’s interesting how the market has changed since I started doing Jazz Collector nearly 10 years ago and began recording prices. When I started, this record routinely sold in the $300 to $400 range in this condition. Now, it rarely goes for less than $600 in this condition and has already passed $1,000 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. That seems fairly typical of the collectible Blue Notes — prices doubling over the past few years.
ATTENTION! VINYL FRAUD! There’s a seller named sunsetstripvinyl on eBay who’s selling the LP Hank Mobley (BLP 1568) and he’s using an old picture from Popsike and claiming that it’s of the actual records he’s selling. I remembered the Nautiluso fraud where he used images from Popsike. I got suspicious when I saw the image of the record and I know I’ve seen it somewhere and I contacted the seller for more images and he says that he doesn’t send additional images of the records he’s selling because “other people had used them in their own auctions”. He has cropped the image a bit from the one at Popsike but you clearly see that’s the same image. Follow the first link to the eBay auction and then the second to the Popsike page and compare for yourself: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HANK-MOBLEY-LP-BLUE-NOTE-BLP-1568-RARE-RVG-EAR-DEEP-GROOVE-/300662293247?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item4600de82ff#ht_806wt_1309 POPSIKE: http://www.popsike.com/Hank-Mobley-on-Blue-Note-1568/300537375001.html
Yup, the telltale dot under the n of hank… it’s at the bottom of the image, cropped a bit. Nobody bid on this guy’s records!!
Thanks for bringing that to our attention. Also notice how he calls 1568 “Cool Struttin” in the description.
I am not sure … what is his motivation?? He has more than 5000 positve feedbacks, if he wanted to quit the operations on ebay with a massive theft, why wouldn’t he list 20 or more fake holy grails at the same time (nautiluso case)? I will watch this one…
Gandi, it’s up to you man, but he offered me to buy it now straight away which seems very suspicious for a record of this calibre and there’s no buy it now on the listing to begin with. And why the hell would he lie about that it is the cover of the actual record he’s selling, unless he’s the one who bought the record from the auction listed on Popsike, which I very much doubt as, wouldn’t he just take a new clean image of the front cover? Here follows what this guy said in our first conversation:…” I don’t provide additional photos, due to the fact people just copy the photos and use them in other auctions to fraud people. It’s like taking photos from the web and using them. This is an original deep groove label, with RVG and the ear in he dead wax. No “r” or inc on the label. Buy it now price, shipped with insurance and tracking is $3100.00…” AND I asked him this: Is the photo you have online now of the actual front cover of the LP you’re selling? HE ANSWERED: “Yes, that is my album.”… HM? … it just doesn’t feel right. Would you really risk that kind of money if you’re not 100% sure or at least 99% that the seller is trustworthy and that he actually has the record?
ATTENTION AGAIN!! The Sonny Clark Cool Struttin’ that he (sunsetstripvinyl) has for sale has also an image from Popsike, look here and compare: EBAY AUCTION: http://www.ebay.com/itm/300662292151#ht_806wt_1141 …and POPSIKE: http://www.popsike.com/Sonny-Clark-Blue-Note-1588-4763rd-Original-1st/4822782518.html… What should I do, confront him with the evidence or should anyone contact eBay or the police?
The last link to Popsike had some dots in the end, it should be: http://www.popsike.com/Sonny-Clark-Blue-Note-1588-4763rd-Original-1st/4822782518.html
I remember a french seller who was selling top collectible Blue Note records using Euclid records images and paste/copied description. I warned Euclid and asked the guy provide picture. Eventually, the story was that the dumb @ss actually had the record but was too lazy to take picture. Mamma Mia !
The problem though, is that he lied when I asked him if the picture of the record is of the one he’s actually selling on eBay. Why, oh why would he lie about that? If he had the record and was too lazy to take a picture, wouldn’t he have told me just to make everything clear? He’s telling me that he’s afraid someone will use the images, but for gods sake, he’s stealing images himself from Popsike. And it’s regarding 2 of the most sought after jazz vinyl collectibles there is. It just feels wrong to trust this guy when he’s lying.
Not sure if this changes any opinions, but I recently won an auction from this seller and received the LP as described in timely fashion. Obviously not in the same league as the current listings.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/300651172344
i got seriously burned on a 1568 last year on ebay- it was a legit copy, no cover, just plain disco jacket- bought it now for 280, but it was relisted for like 380- didnt find that out till months later, the guy strung me along about the post office losing it. have his address but wtf can i do, hire a lawyer thatll charge me like THREE 1568s? pfft.
also dude dont keep all yr Blue notes in one place. u dont want them all vulrnable all in one spot. mine are peppered about between all my other records. so when im trying to find like a Spirit lp, all of a sudden i stumble on some 1500 series and its like- WOW! 1500 series! it makes it so much more fun, and security wise its a better bet too.
yeah theres a sicko in california who did the same thing to me. screamharley is his handle or something like that. kept my money for months before refunding
So,Chewy..the question now becomes “What kind of characters are you letting in your home where you have to scatter your Blue Notes under the sofa cushions and amongst the potted plants?” (lol)
no ones commin’ over, i just live in an urban area
I don’t know enough about ebay to judge whether the concerns raised above are well grounded, but having listened to FLIGHT TO JORDAN over the w/e I am left wondering why anyone would pay 800 dollars for such a mediocre record!
Alun, there’s two possible answers.
1) It’s a Blue Note.
2) Someone can hear something in that record, you cannot.
I would assume, that it’s a mixture of both.
Listening to music and buying records is always a personal thing.
Alun – It’s a collectors item for sure. If you just want the music buy the CD.
Alun’s remark re “Flight to Jordan” being a mediocre record obtaining a high price, captures concisely the actual market situation. People are paying top money, not for the music, but for a totem (a Blue Note with ears, RvG, DG, no Inc. etc.) I am not there to make any judgment though.
Flight to Jordan is a fine album, good hardbop music. Nothing revolutionary there for sure.
Rudolf, I suppose it is arguable that eventually the inherent artistic quality of any collectible — a painting, a record, a book, anything, really — becomes detached from its commodity value, its value-as-object.
This is clearly what is happening with Blue Notes and other collectible records.
Prices vary according not to the quality of the performance or the combination of musicians — although these play some part for some collectors — but simply driven by rarity value and “desirability”.
I guess it has always been this way and will always be so. We are simply seeing market values exert an ever greater dominance in all fields of collecting.
Alun, you are absolutely right, there is more and more a dissociation between artistical value and collectors’ value.
RE: Flight To Jordan-I remember having a copy WAY back when and unloading it. I thought the compositions were too lame. Even the title tune was done up in a finer fashion by Art Blakey’s Messengers on the album Tough,which I think was on Cadet. Just my opinion,though-“your results may vary”.