Blue Note Vinyl, Continued
Just back from a brief holiday in San Francisco and lovely Creede, Colorado, where my son directed a play. I seem to be picking up exactly where I left off, with another note from Ceedee bemoaning, in a jocular way, the latest adventures in Blue Note prices. Let’s start with Miles Davis, Volume One, Blue Note 1501. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing listed in M- condition for the record and Ex for the cover. The final price was $1,125. No surprise there. I have to admit to you all that I recently passed on a lovely collection that contained a copy of this record in even better condition. The records in the collection were in beautiful condition but, unfortunately for me, there weren’t enough records that I didn’t already own to make it worth my while. I would have had to spend months on eBay to get back the return on my investment and I would have added some gems to the collection but, as you can probably surmise, I am just too busy with my regular work to devote my energies to selling records these days.
Plus, the woman selling the collection had already received a couple of offers from dealers that surprised me because they were really quite high, much higher than I would have expected considering the potential return, although, as I said, there were some real gems, including this Miles record and a gorgeous Saxophone Colossus. I’m sure we’ll be seeing some of these records on eBay soon and, if I recognize them or the dealer, I’ll point some of them out. Speaking of Sonny, this one was also in the note from CeeDee: Sonny Rollins at the Village Vanguard, Blue Note 1581. This was also an original pressing in M- condition for the record and Ex for the cover. The final price was $588.89, which, all things considered, seems fairly low to me. Finally, there was also Curtis Fuller Volume 3, Blue Note 1583. This was another original pressing listed in probably VG++ condition and VG+ or better for the cover. The final price was $771. Again, nothing out of the ordinary and, if anything, perhaps a bit low.
Al – please tell us more about the collection you turned down (if you can, obviously). I like those stories.
I second Richard!
And what about your son’s play- what production was it?
Al, have you ever thought about “subcontracting” the eBay selling of a collection to a JC reader or friend, paying a “commission” from the proceeds, to have someone else do the heavy lifting of getting the LPs into postings, and following the auctions through shipment to the buyer(s)? Just a thought.
Answers: OK, when I get a chance I’ll tell the story in more detail. My son directed the musical She Loves Me. I have thought about “subcontracting” and I’ve done it on occasion. I’ve also passed on tips about collections that either weren’t of interest to me or were out of my geographic location. In this case, however, there were a couple of very high bids already in for the collection and the woman was in a hurry to close the sale. I was there to either buy the collection or offer advice and, since the price was already out of my range, I wound up just offering my advice, which was basically that she wasn’t getting ripped off, which she wasn’t.
Is it just me or is there a bit of a lull on ebay? Perhaps people have followed Atomic’s lead and stopped posting items online?
Why did Atomic stop posting on eBay?
According to one of the owners they were having too much trouble with fraud. People claiming packages never arrived or that records were in worse condition than advertised. They haven’t had anything of note in more than 6 months.
@Mark, not sure but it could be because the post office that used to be right next door to them closed. They also seem to be very busy in store the last few times I’ve been there.
If anyone wants to point any collections located on the Gulf Coast that are only being dealt locally in my direction I wouldn’t hate you for it. I finally got my first Blue Note at a garage sale, after about a decade of collecting records and garage sailing. It was super collectible (Grant Green-Alive) but still a good rush.