e-Baying, One More Time
We don’t usually harp on the sales from one seller for so long, perhaps with the exception of the Jazz Record Center, but those auctions from the seller zero.street were quite enlightening, so let’s keep the discussion going. Among these, what were the biggest surprises:
Sam Rivers, Fuschia Swing Song, Blue Note 4184. This was an original mono New York USA pressing with the ear in the deadwax. The record was in M- condition and the cover was probably VG++. The price was $711.01.
Duke Pearson, Profile, Blue Note 4022. This was the one WITHOUT the deep grooves or the ear in the deadwax. It was not an original pressing, probably a Liberty pressing that used the old West 63rd labels. It was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $777.45.
Dave Brubeck Quartet, Time Out, Columbia 1397. This was an original mono pressing with the 6-eye label. It was in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $305.
Andrew Hill, Black Fire, Blue Note 4151. This was an original mono pressing that did have the ear in the deadwax. It was in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $461.78.
There were many more on this seller’s list. Click on one of the above links and then look at the other auctions. Feel free to list other items of interest in the comments.
The Pearson Liberty is the most surprising to me. I collect to listen, not to display, so I have Libertys and like them; but anyone who pays $777 for a Liberty with W. 63rd labels is obviously paying for the labels, not to regularly listen to the record itself. And $777 is a helluva lot to pay for labels.
This one surprised the hell out of me this morning.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LARRY-YOUNG-Of-Love-and-Peace-LP-BLUE-NOTE-4242-New-York-MONO-RVG-ORIG-/290835900455?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item43b72ba827
I honestly think this was a feeding frenzy. Good records in a time that’s been a little dry.. Plus it was a nine day auction, which probably added to the aire of anticipation, I think this may have jacked the prices up a bit.
IMO, this isn’t indicative of the market as a whole.. just one of those burps in the eBay world that happens every now and then.
Yes, Andy, that Larry Young is a shocker. I’d put that one up there with the Duke Pearson in the “Huh?” category.
I agree with you, Andy. I think these anomalies come along every now and then where all the stars align for a lucky seller. I think it’d be foolish to rush product to market right now expecting those same prices. Besides, not sure if the same buyer won a lot of those, but either way some big spender(s) are now probably tapped out for a little while.
The lengthy nine-day auction time with so many nice titles was smart. Gets buyers antsy.
Lucky ? Yes the seller was lucky, but let us not forget the quality of the listing, the sharp pictures (good light,good focus,front and back cover), accurate description. And above all, the exceptional quality of some records listed : its been a long time since we have not seen such beautiful copy of ‘Fuchsia Swing Song’. Frenzy was somewhat justified.
I think the large number of nice titles all on the same time frame was the key. Anybody who looked at any of that stuff looked at all of it. I bid on about 30 of those records, didn’t win any. Having “Look through this Collection” right up top was good marketing.
Pfff… Just for the hell of it I browsed eBay for Brubeck’s Time Out this morning. It’s amazing how many copies have the “newly listed” icon next to it.
Definitely a Liberty pressing from a seller with some pretty high expectations. Will be fun to watch this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hank-Mobley-Workout-Vintage-Jazz-LP-Blue-Note-Vinyl-Record-4080-Mono-W-63rd-/330855155243?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item4d0881062b
Ebay has again made several changes in the set-up of their site. Does anyone know where they have hidden the “completed listings” feature? Or does it no longer exist?
I bought a record from zero street at a price nearly double the current rate!
Rudolf, just click on “show only”
Thanks Michel, I found it: first special attributes and then “show only”. Too complicated to be practical.
Rudolf,you were not alone! I,too,struggled for qauite some time trying to play the “find the completed listings column” parlor game. It’s the kind of idiocy that makes you wonder if the techie changes there are made by USERS or people that never actually USE the site.(How else could such glitches go w/o repair,or at least a mention in the ANNOUNCEMENTS section that “we know a problem exists,and we’re working on it”? Sheesh…
Incidentally,the mono 1st press on the Brubeck is the one w/ the black border on cover,right?
Michel: personally, I think it’s crazy to sell valuable records like these and not take a second to take sharp close-ups of both labels. Plus I don’t believe this seller was an honest (or educated) as they could have been by writing “original” for Blue Notes without the Plastylite “P”. A friend said they could have just been referring to the *labels* as being original…come on.
If I had to guess, the auction for the Duke Pearson LP was a battle between two novices who thought they were getting a real 1960 original, which they weren’t. Back in the fall I saw a real Plastylite original in VG+ condition go for about $350–THIS makes sense.
That being said, I’m sure this early Liberty pressing sounds amazing in M- condition.