Some High Tickets: Dexter, Helen Merrill, Jackie

We were running out of the house yesterday and we had about 10 minutes to do a quick perusal of eBay, so we did a search of the records ending soonest with the highest prices. This is not a search we normally do, but it was interesting because most of the records that came up were records that could be purchased immediately for a Buy-It-Now price. Most of these were quite high-priced (after all, that was the search criteria), but it’s an interesting way to find something that might be at the top of your want list. In any case, we watched a few of the auction items, and were surprised to see some of the high prices, given what we’re seeing these days with our own auctions on eBay. 

This one was the biggest surprise: Dexter Gordon, One Flight Up, Blue Note 4176. This was a mono pressing, New York USA, with one side deep groove. It was listed in excellent condition, record and cover, which we generally translate to VG++ in our terms. The record sold for $415.90, quite a high price for this record. We have previously followed four copies of this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, and it’s never sold for more than $200 in the past. Anyone have any idea why this copy would sell for such a high price in this supposedly down market? I have a NY USA stereo pressing of this record in VG++ condition, and would happily take $200 for it if anyone is interested. Seriously.

Among the other high-ticket items from yesterday, there were:

Helen Merrill, Emarcy 36032. This was an original pressing, with the blue writing on the back cover, and it was also listed in excellent condition, with some surface noise. It sold for $460.

Jackie McLean, Lights Out, Prestige 7035. This was an original New York pressing in M- condition, both record and cover. It sold for $572.