Tracking Some Very High End Jazz Vinyl
While we were busy buying the Irving Kalus collection, a lot of rare and valuable (and high priced) jazz vinyl was being sold on eBay. Here are some of the high-end items we’ve missed.
Tommy Flanagan, Overseas, Prestige 7134. This is one of the major rarities and it sold like one. The record and cover were both in M- condition. The price was $3,216.66. That’s the first time we’ve seen the record surpass the $3,000 mark in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.
While we’re on the topic of $3,000 records: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for the record and the cover. This is the listing that mentioned Jazz Collector as a pricing/value source, which we appreciate. The sale price was $3,600.
This didn’t quite make the $3,000 bin, but it gave it a good run: Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was an original purple label pressing in near mint condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $2,650. Do you think there’s a distinction between a record described as “near mint” versus one described as “mint minus?” Just thought I’d ask. “Near mint” has a nicer ring to it, IMHO.
One more:
John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic 1311. This was an original black label pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,202. Hard to believe, but after all of these years of collecting I still don’t have a black label copy of Giant Steps. If anyone out there has a nice one available for trade, I’ve got a lot to offer right now.
I also prefer NM, the minus being a minus for what it is.
What do you guys think about the sales ploy “from my own private collection”. Personally I think it to be rather negative than positive. Normally one gets rid of the rotten pears first. At the best it is neutral.
I personally do not see “from my own private collection” as a negative. I add as much in my own listings, with the addition that I am selling off classic rock to focus more on jazz.
Personally,if I pay 3k for something it needs to have 4 wheels and a trunk! Re:”personal collection”-I appreciate someone saying, basically,that “I’ve owned this and can vouch for it’s care”. That’s good. I’m still waiting to see “I bought this lp for peanuts and hope you’ll value it and pay hundreds of $ to own it,thus giving me an outrageous return on my investment. Thanks!” Now THAT would be a seller you could TRUST!
Hi,
this discussion is interesting.
I personaly see the information : coming from my private collection as a huge statement.That means to me that the lp was being taking care of and the owner is proud in saying it.Knowing both sellers, I know that they are telling the truth .Other sellers from other countries are saying that, and you can appreciate it when you do listen to their lps. Contrary to Ceedee, the lp could have been paid a huge amount of $$ and the owner simply decided to sell it for other reasons than cashing in the sense of an outrageous return on investment.
thanks
…So Al, I have a black label copy (sans-DG) and a DG bulls-eye copy of Giant Steps I might be willing to trade for a Blue Note or two… Drop me a line, off-line and we will talk ! 🙂
As for the one above that just sold for $12K, too bad about the misalignment of that front cover slick. At that price it really should be perfect !
My opinion is that who you buy from, and the history that you have with these sellers and their track records (pardon the pun), is very important when collecting rarities such as the Flanagan.
The seller of this record, Ron Rambach, is one of the best that I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with and … similar to Fred Cohen. When somebody like Ron rates a record, I tend to believe him, as he has always exceeded expectations. When someone like Ron releases a record that he felt worthy of collecting himself, and holding onto for many years, I think that it is worth a premium. I’d feel the same way about Fred’s collection if he would ever part with them :-).
…. And to keep an old string going, when a seller like Sunsetstripvinyl releases a record, I feel like complaining to eBay and doing what I can to alert others to this seller and get him out of our community of hard bop vinyl hounds … Again, my two cents worth, but the provenance of the record and the reputation of the seller speak volumes to me.
I once bought a Mingus record from Fred Cohen that came from his collection. The reason he got rid of it, he told me, was he found a better copy. He also told me that I paid a lot less than he did and gave me the provenance of it. For the $50 I paid, I thought it was cool know the history and getting an assessment of the rarity from an expert. Now, if we are talking numbers higher than $1k my thinking on this would be different. But, if I can get some history it makes it kinda cool to me. I also bought to records a few years ago from Atomic Records that they bought from Freddie Hubbards estate. Knowing and trusting that, I paid $200 for an Original of Blue Spirits that I might have picked up for a bit less. I didn’t care, believing that this was Freddie’s copy was pretty cool for me.
If a record comes from the personal collection of a celebrity, it may add to the emotional value, like the Blue Spirits of Freddie H. Mike F refers to.
I have the unfortunate experience with a seller from the Continent, 100 % positive feedback etc., who sells “from his personal collection” on EBay. Well, he is selling garbage; when I complained, there was an immediate refund and apologies.
My view is that this “personal collection” info is just bullshit. If the description of the record is correct, one does not need anything else.
The point that I was making had to do with the track record of the sellers and the confidence that I have in them when buying. I agree that the condition of the record and the cover is the key thing to look for, the vinyl more than the cover to be honest, but these scales are all relative and having confidence and experience with a seller contributes to the value of the record.
Again, this is just an opinion, but a purchase from either Fred or Ron is always a much safer one than a purchase from many of the other sellers on eBay. I say this based on a lot of experience, as I have yet to be disappointed in anything that I have bought from these two sellers, and usually am surprised on the up-side! I agree that others are good, like Atomic, but the results just aren’t as consistent.
Seller reputation has a lot do with purchases. I’ve recently met a seller online through a listing he had. He ended up being local and he had some other LPs that I’ve been looking on the hunt for!
As for Sunsetstrip vinyl….I don’t know if you all have noticed, he has recently made his feedback private. I think buyers are FINALLY realizing that he never had the records in the first place and it was a SCAM.
Al, I am just catching up to your 3,000 record purchase articles. Congratulations! You will always have the memories of this purchase and your wife’s support to remember, and perhaps this might even be more important than the music in some cases. Your articles were simply wonderful, and I really appreciate you sharing them. FYI, while I write this I am listening to Keith Jarrett’s 1973 album “In the Light.” Take care and enjoy! Erich
Al, have you gotten a John Coltrane original black label Atlantic 1311 copy for your personal collection yet? I have two and would be willing to part with one of them. Or perhaps there’s someone else with whom you could put me in touch.
Hi, Stuart. Thanks for the very generous offer. I do have a beautiful black Giant Steps. Wrote about it here:
https://jazzcollector.com/features/a-new-years-adventure-in-jazz-collecting/
I’m sure someone will read this comment and reach out to you.