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Stitt and Braith and What is Collectible (and Why?)

September 23, 2016 Al 30 comments

Interesting discussion on the previous post about buying/selling records on eBay and dealing with returns. I haven’t sold on eBay in about six years, ever since my real business took off, but when I did I offered a full return policy and typically also included postage. I had a couple of people take advantage, but most transactions went very smoothly. Like Bill, I tended to under grade the records a bit just to avoid any problems. If I felt anyone was scamming me, or if they were returning records frivolously, I blocked them so they couldn’t bid on any more of my records. Anyway, back to business: Sonny Stitt, Stitt’s Bits, Prestige 7133. This was an original New York yellow label. It was listed in M- condition for the record and the cover, but it’s clear from the photos that the cover is not M-. This record sold for $405. I don’t recall too many of the Stitt records selling for this amount, and not this one. I’m a Stitt fan, but I know he’s never been popular among collectors, so what is the story here?

This one also fetched a relatively hefty price, all things considered: Read more

Nothing Aberrant in These Prices

September 20, 2016 Al 30 comments

I’d like to get back to some of the records we were watching, starting with Duke Jordan, Flight to Jordan, Blue Note 4046. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing that was in VG+ or better condition for the record, and probably around VG++ for the cover. When we looked at it the bidding was in the $300 range and we were surprised it was that low, expecting it to eventually end up at or near the $1,000 bin. It did, selling for $960. So what may have seemed like an aberration, was just a product of later bidding, which has been de rigueur on eBay for many years, so no surprises. Same with this one: Doug Watkins at Large, Transition 20. This was an original pressing with the booklet. The record, cover and booklet were all in about VG+ condition. The bidding came in late, but about as expected, with the record selling for $809.

Blue Note

Keeping an Eye on Jazz Vinyl Pricing Trends

September 14, 2016 Al 19 comments

The seller Bullsite2000 has several interesting auctions closing today. I’m surprised at some of the bidding — at both levels, some higher than expected, some lower than expected. For example, Stan Getz, More West Coast Jazz, Norgran 1088. This is an original yellow label pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding has reached nearly $200, which is more than you would typically see for this record, which has never seemed to be one of the Getz records that has been particularly coveted by collectors. The seller took some nice pictures, and the condition does look pretty flawless, so there’s that. Then again there is Read more

Back to Jazz Vinyl Reality

September 7, 2016 Al 29 comments

Sorry for the long delay between posts. The Lovely Mrs. JC and I took a much-needed vacation and I am just getting settled back in. Didn’t go too far, just to Provincetown on Cape Cod, but it felt like a million miles away. Anyway, I’m going to swing over to eBay now and see what may be of interest to me and, of course, to you loyal readers who keep the site going even whilst I’m away. So, thank you all.

Here’s one from near the top of my want list: Walter Davis Jr., Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in Ex condition for both the record and the cover, which sounds like VG++ to my grading sensibilities and nomenclature. The bidding is in the $470 range with more than a day left, but it has not yet reached the seller’s reserve price. Read more

Tracking a Trio of Jazz Vinyl Gems

August 22, 2016 Al 10 comments

Back to eBay: Tina Brooks, True Blue, Blue Note 4041. This was an original pressing. The record was listed in VG condition and the cover was listed as VG+. The seller intimated that the record might be closer to VG+ than VG, but the pictures of the cover made it look like the cover was closer to VG than VG+, so if I were bidding I would have stuck with the VG. The final price was $1,390.

Tommy Flanagan, The Cats, New Jazz 8217. This was an original purple label deep groove pressing that was listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. This record, of course, features John Coltrane as a sideman. This copy sold for $410. This is one of those records that has really increased in value and demand during the time period (eight-plus years) we’ve been doing the Jazz Collector site on a regular basis.

Now These Are Some Heavy Hitters

August 16, 2016 Al 9 comments

I missed this one last week: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing that looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $4,054. You don’t find many records breaking into the $4,000 bin, but certainly more than there used to be. Then again, there was that copy of John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577, that sold for $4,717.89 a couple of weeks ago. Amazing. Then there was The Return of Art Pepper, East West JWLP 10. We were watching this one the other day and there were no bids at a start price of about $500 with just a couple of days left on the auction. I predicted it would sell, which was not that hard to do. But I would not have predicted that the price would have been $2,026.01. Amazing. It was also noteworthy that there were only three bidders and three bids, and they all came during the auction’s closing seconds, the winner and second place finisher presumably using some kind of sniping software.

Trane, Pepper, Hank and Ike: Another Day on eBay

August 12, 2016 Al 25 comments

These are some of the rare jazz records we are watching on eBay now, starting with John Coltrane, A Love Supreme, Impulse A-77. This is an original orange label pressing listed as “close to NM” for the record and probably VG+ or VG++ for the cover. The bidding is in the range of $325 and closes in more than two days. Following our popular Blue Note tracks list last week, we may follow up with other labels. Perhaps this whole album will appear on the Impulse list. The same seller has some other nice items as well, including Ike Quebec, Soul Samba, Blue Note 4114. This is an original New York USA pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding is already over $400 with more than two days left on the auction. I’m somewhat surprised that the market for Ike Quebec Blue Notes has spiked so much over the past few years, but, then again, nothing in the world of Blue Note should surprise any of us anymore.

Another Stupid List: Favorite Blue Note Tracks

August 5, 2016 Al 32 comments

This will be fun. Last night I had another one of those very pleasant listening sessions up in The Berkshires, fueled by a few beers, a few vapes and the knowledge that I could play my music as loud and late as I pleased with no neighbors or anyone else to complain. I was watching politics on television as I do so often these days, taking particular delight in the latest polls showing that the blowhard, maniac, crazy man at the top of the Republic ticket is in steep decline and, IMHO, may not even make it to election day without having some kind of collapse/mental breakdown, if, indeed, we could even tell the difference between a nervous breakdown and the behavior he exhibits every single day on the campaign trail. After a couple of hours of this I had enough and decided to enjoy some music. Read more

Watching a Pair of Heavy Hitters

August 4, 2016 Al 2 comments

I’m back on eBay and have a couple of heavy hitters on my watch list, starting with Jackie McLean, Swing, Swang, Swinging’, Blue Note 4024. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The seller has a start price of about $700. There are more than three days left on the auction and so far there are no bidders. I’m pretty sure this one will sell and perhaps even break into the $1,000 bin. I love this record. It’s a bit of an aberration for Blue Notes of the era because it is mostly standards and just one original. Not sure what Jackie was thinking at the time because none of his subsequent Blue Notes followed the same pattern. Maybe he just needed the cash? In any case, a great album, and one that I’ve never been able to acquire in this kind of condition. My own copy is kind of VG or VG+ and I’d love to upgrade. Someday, maybe, but not this week.

Prices Down? Methinks Not

July 27, 2016 Al 14 comments

I know this one has already been all over the previous post, but I wanted to get it into a headline and separate post so that it would come up in searches: John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This has the New York 23 label on one side, which makes it an original pressing. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was VG++, with some writing on the back. There were nine bidders, 13 bids and the final price was $4,717.89.

Not sure who said that prices seem down on the previous post, but that’s certainly hasn’t been the case for the records I’ve been watching. Here are a couple of examples: Jackie Mclean, 4, 5 and 6, Prestige 7048. This was an original New York yellow label listed in VG++ condition for the record and Ex for the cover. It sold for $1,144.

And how about this one:

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