Christmas Candy and Other Vinyl Treats
Back to eBay: Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record and cover are probably in VG+ condition and the listing has the now-familiar bobdjukic imprimatur, so you have to read carefully to find the relevant details through the various typefaces, colors and hyperbole, which all seem to work very well for Bob, so, I say, more power to him for getting strong interest and high prices for his listings. The bidding on this one is at $755 with more than a day left on the auction, but it has yet to meet the reserve price.
Bob must have acquired a pretty nice jazz collection, because there are several other nice items on his auction list, including Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, Columbia 1355. This is an original white label promo copy that looks to be in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. There are already 33 bids and the current price is at $520.
Then there is Sonny Clark, Sonny’s Crib, Blue Note 1576. This one is listed as an original pressing, although it is not quite because it does not have the New York 23 labels, so it is an early West 63rd Street pressing, still rare and still valuable, but not what Blue Note collectors and aficionados deem to be “original.” This one looks to be in VG+ condition for the record and VG+ or VG++ for the cover. The bidding is at $580, with the auction closing tomorrow.
There was that copy of Ornette Coleman, The Shape of Jazz To Come, Atlantic 1317. This was in unplayed condition and still in its original seal. The ask price was about $200 and the record did not get any bids. I still owe you all the story of how I came to have a copy of this record and a broader piece of Ornette’s collection in my home, and I am slowly reaching the denouemount of this story, which will likely take place early in the new year, when I will be unencumbered by records and other restrictions and free to tell the complete end-to-end story.
I think Bob is selling records sent to him from collectors, and taking a cut for himself. A typical commission these days is 30%, which includes ebay and paypal fees.
paul, i agree. a lot of sellers do that, and bob must be an attractive consignment seller.
His auctions are too wishy washy, no refund on this auction and that whole statement on him not debating the weight ,pressing etc … further down he says there is 30 day refund, i’m not taking a chance on a auction with no refund from someone who does not know hat it sounds like or who clearly does not know that this record is not a true first pressing
Paul — so if you own the record, you are only paying 30% and that includes fees, and you are pocketing 70%? That’s a pretty good deal for the owner of the records, IMHO, although one could make the argument that the owner could just do eBay himself or herself. Still, for all the work and aggravation, seems like 30% is a pretty reasonable fee.
I sold a couple of things for a now deceased friend a number of years ago on eBay including a nice copy of the Dizzy Reece LP on Tempo. I took 10% after all the eBay and discogs fees so I guess that worked out to be 25% to 30% overall if you factor the fees too.
I did it as a favor and would I ever do it again I’d probably want 20% as selling on eBay is, as you say Al, a lot of hassle!
Al – Overall I think that the numbers work in favor of someone having Bob ebay their higher end records. He consistantly gets higher than average prices for big ticket items compared to other sellers. Although they give up 30-35 percent of the final sale price, the 65-70 percent they keep is what they would’ve gotten if they had sold the same item themselves……without all the work and hassle of dealing with ebay.
“OUR DEFINITION OF THE FIRST BLUE NOTE PRESSING MAY SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFER FROM YOURS” states Big Bob BUT, he also states that this copy of 1576 has “NO Registered Trademark symbol [®] at the bottom part of the label !”
Side one of this record HAS ®, as well as INC.
Do I miss something?
well, my personal definition of first Blue Note pressing differs a lot from Bob’s.
this copy ain’t first nor second, at least third.
If I were a seller (I’m not, yet), I think I would be tempted to send the records to someone like Bob, who would get significantly higher prices than I ever could. However, my preference would be to send them to someone who specializes in and has expertise in jazz vinyl. Fred Cohen fits the bill. Ron Rambach used to be a go-to person.
On the other hand, it is possible to be a private seller and get consistently high prices. One outstanding example was the ebay seller Bullsite, from Italy. He/she was scrupulously honest with grading. Also it didn’t hurt that he/she had an amazing jazz collection.
I just purchased a record from Bob for the first time. I haven’t received it so I can’t comment on the grading just yet. But one thing I can say is that he is a gentleman and very accomodating. I’ve been quite sceptical of him previously but I’m happy with his professionalism and willingness to help. For example, he never play grade his records, but after I asked him to do so, he duly complied. Up to this point a very nice experience. I hope the condition is as advertised and that his grading is on point.
Happy Holidays everyone!
Paul, Bullsite2000 was Giacomo Battistella owner of The Black Saint jazz record shop in Milan. Sadly, he wasn’t old but he left for an heart attack more than a year ago. He sold record on EBay for his customers: I personally know the collector that gave him many top titles, I saw his collection before this person decided to sell and it was unbelievable
Stefano, thank you for that information. I purchased a number of those records over the years, and they are some of my best. The representative I always interacted with was Luisa, a wonderful person to work with.
I’ll never bid in one of Bob D’s auctions. Having read his snarky commentary in his listing, and his no-return policy, I’ll pass. Too much risk, especially when the photos tell all.