Another for The $1,000 Bin
I was up in Providence this weekend and couldn’t get over to visit Steve over at Round Again Records on Wickenden Street, which I usually try to do when I visit the city. It would have been a good time to go: Round Again had a very nice copy of Lee Morgan Volume 3, Blue Note 1557, which closed yesterday on eBay. The record was in M- condition and the cover looked like a VG++. The record sold for $1,675 and had nearly 300 views. Like many dealers, Steve puts a lot of his best stuff on eBay these days, for good reason: It’s hard to imagine someone walking into a shop and paying $1,675 for a record, although it happens with increasing frequency on eBay. Still, there are always good items to browse at Round Again, so if you’re in Providence, it’s definitely worth the trip. And say hi to Steve for us.
I have a double mint copy of this Lee Morgan album. What do you guys recommend me to do? Keep it or put it on sale? I sold off my Blue Notes too early. Obtained on the average $ 500 for early originals, but a stronger dollar than today’s. Should have kept them. But sooner or later the turning point will come. I am not optimistic for the future.
Decided to put for sale on EBay last Saturday a virgin Fats Navarro, Blue Note 1531. Let’s see what happens.
Wow ! A double mint copy !! I i had money, i would buy it to you right away ! I sold many of my duplicate Blue Note, and some stereo (i got rid of all my stereo Blue Note) many years ago, and yes, too early. BUt i’ve no regret, because i bought many other desired records with the money…If you do not need the money to buy other records, you should keep it, because i think Bue Note value will not decrease…
It is next to impossible to time the market. People holding lots of Dixieland and Big Band haven’t done well.
I assume that you bought the record for much less than you will sell it for, so there is alot of profit to be taken. What would you do with the money if you sold it? Invest it in something else, take a vacation?
Since I never spend more than a $100 for a record, I can’t get into the psychology of someone who spends $1500.
exactly, the Dixieland and Big Band guys, who held to their records, are big loosers. I paid 20 Deutschmarks for the Lee Morgan and when I would sell it for, say 1500 dollars, my wife would know how to spend it: invest in new heating, go on vacation in Kamchatka, you name it.
So your advise is to sell, I understand. Thanks, Rudolf
Yes, I too would advise to sell. Do you really need two copies. You can make some other Jazz Collector, albeit a wealthy one, happy to have the LP at any price. — al
Thanks Al. I’ll gear up to sell. But not right away. Buyers should really be astounded to see one again. Two in a row will lessen the appetite.
Re 2 or more copies: I have always bought items which I thought could have collectors’ value. But once you have them, you stick to them. I have for instance 6 original copies of Prestige 7129 “Relaxin’ with the Miles davis Qnt”: one NYC original issue (1958), the first N.J. issue (1958) and the 2nd N.J. issue (1960) (all 3 yellow/black fireworks labels), one U.K. Esquire issue and 2 Danish Metronome issues (one small and one bigger groove label). I don’t count the ones in audio version, or in the Prestige P-12 collection.
Do I really need them? No. But it is fun. And if ever one falls from my shaky hands after too much pastis, I still have another one. Kind of an insurance.
I saw your items for sale. There are some interesting items which I am following.
I have 19 items for sale, my nom de guerre: “fiftiesjazz”.
I really love your site, it is fun and you have assembled a nice crowd.
Rudolf
Sounds like a good plan Rudolf to let the interest build back as one was just sold.
It would be great to hear from the non-US collectors how they “find” their treasures.
I spend time at record shows or scrounging around town (Atlanta Georgia) for records. I couldn’t imagine how hard it must be away from where the majority of the records were sold to begin with.
Thank you for the kind words Rudolf. I’ve also been one to buy extra copies of records that have value. For the most part, those are the records I’ve been selling on eBay. The day of reckoning came when I moved several years ago and the movers had to call an extra crew and an extra truck because of all the record boxes. Now I’m trying to be more discriminatory about what to keep. Right now I have on my turntable the LP, Winchester Special by Lem Winchester with Benny Golson. I’ve had this record for 20-plus years and never listened to it. It’s actually quite good, so I’m going to keep it (for now) rather than put it on eBay.
Dave: how do non-US find their treasures? Good question! I would never start again collecting, what I have collected right now. The only source would be EBay and that is too cumbersome and costly.
When I started collecting in 1957 in Europe, it was quite usual to walk into a specialized record shop in Hamburg, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Brussels or Milano and find just about EVERYTHING, from imported Blue Note, Prestige, Savoy, Clef, Norgran or Riverside albums to European versions of Prestige, Columbia, Contemporary, Transition, Atlantic, Dawn etc. This situation lasted until the late sixties.
I started importing myself in the late fifties and bought directly at Prestige, Blue Note and Atlantic for economic reasons.
I found out that the U.S. in terms of availability of jazz records is/was not better off than Europe in the heydays of the ’50/’60-s.
In Europe there are big collections which have been taken care of in an excellent way, just as the Japanese do nowadays. A jazz record is not just an object of current consumption, it is something more, and handled with due care.
I don’t envy those who start collecting only now, I won’t!
Rudolf — I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but how big a collection do you have?
Al: I am not in the numbers game, but a rough calculation gives me some 4000.
I sold 3000 (I know this number because I sold exactly 3000) when I stopped working, because a simple calculation learnt me that I could never play all of them during the rest of my life. It does not make sense to have records and just look at them. And I am still selling off through various channels.
I have had a friend who had over 10000 albums. He tried desperately to sell off his entire collection when he was over 70 years old, but he was not succesful. When he died, scavengers were around to take care of the widow and his collection was gone in 2 days and God knows at what prices!
Thanks for the insight Rudolf. SDounds like being around at the right place and especially right time (1957) got you off to a good start.
I myself only started collecting 4-5 years ago. In some ways I am sure it is more expensive now (the eBay route) but in some cases people are not just dumping their records in the trash anymore, so supply is out there.
Unfortunately a lot of fools are out there too jumping on the return to vinyl bandwagon. I often come across people trying to sell things like their Benny Goodman on Columbia for $50 each.
Record stores have all gone to eBay. Anytime they find a collectible record, they don’t even try to sell it at the store. They just sell it online.
I think the bricks and mortar storefront exists only to buy records not to sell them.