Comments on: And Four Blue Notes, For a Price

By: Bobh812

Bobh812 — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 19:09:48 +0000

There were certainly some crazy prices. I guess time will tell if whoever shelled out serious cash for that copy of Cliff Craft will be happy with something that could end up being more suitable for hanging on their wall than playing – I was glad I took the time to message C Soul and find out how bad the marks were on that copy amongst several other records I asked about. “Many light marks and a decent number of deeper marks, especially on Side 2.” Glad I decided to pass. Again, best to be as informed as possible and even more so when it comes to albums graded that low (VG-). Just my $0.02.

By: rl1856

rl1856 — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 16:12:29 +0000

IME Carolinasoul is a fair to conservative grader. However they are not under the radar any more….

By: Bobh812

Bobh812 — Fri, 06 Oct 2017 21:08:25 +0000

Follower of Al’s great site, although I don’t chip in as much as perhaps I should….I think Carolinasoul is a very nice seller. Ask questions and they’ll get back to you if you want details on condition. Their grading system states that if there is even one feelable mark they grade the records VG- (how it should be of course). I called them and asked a question about a few albums and they said that typically if the record has multiple deep marks they would grade the records lower than VG- though which was good to know. But it never hurts to just shoot them a message when looking for further details I’ve found.

By: JOK

JOK — Fri, 06 Oct 2017 17:12:16 +0000

I agree with David. Only once have I bought a record from Carolina Soul that I thought was mis-graded, but that may have been on me since it was a record I really, and I mean REALLY, wanted. I think my expectations exceeded the reality. Otherwise, I get some records I don’t normally see here in the Pacific Northwest at a reasonable cost and sometimes, an unreasonable steal.

By: Woody

Woody — Fri, 06 Oct 2017 16:24:36 +0000

Thank you for your reply David..

By: david j

david j — Fri, 06 Oct 2017 03:40:46 +0000

Carolina Soul is a nice group of folks. Grading lately has been ok, but historically has been hit or miss. Not wildly off, but not as good (by good, I mean both consistent from record-to-record and, to me, accurate) as others (ain’t namin’ no names). They have always been pleasant to deal with when the grading has been off. There is another seller that has been regularly reviewed herein that always gets high marks (again, no names), and whom I like very much in terms of my interactions with them, but my most recent purchase experiences were automatic returns since the grading was so poor relative to the description. I’m not sure if I’m getting picky in my middle age or if some seller’s reputations are based on something other than strict grading standards.

By: Woody

Woody — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 16:14:27 +0000

Has anyone bought from Carolina Soul lately? I’m wondering how what your opinion of his Lp grading, does he over-grade or under-grade playback quality. He seems to give a lp grade but no details except for a visual label description.

By: Gregory the Fish

Gregory the Fish — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 15:25:36 +0000

sean, stop it! all of my potential scores are getting exposed! 🙂

By: Sean

Sean — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 18:24:37 +0000

Carolina Soul has a few nice records up for grabs. Malagasy & Jef Gilson, Norma Winstone, Cliff Jordan sealed Strata..

By: Joseph

Joseph — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 05:39:00 +0000

Sorry just wanting to clarify something from my first posting. What I was meaning to say was that Blue Serge is not in the price territory of say Blue Note 1568 or 1550 or 1530. Why heck, it’s not even in the range of Riverside 9399. ( We all know who these Great artists are) But it can still be had for a bargain if you are savey.
Peace.