Is There Rhyme or Reason to eBay Pricing Patterns?

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eBay, as I’ve said so often on the site, defines the pricing market for jazz collectibles. I’m sure there are still places running auctions by mail and I’m sure places like the Jazz Record Center still get strong retail traffic, but, by and large, if you want to know what a record is worth, look on eBay  — or, even better, look at our Jazz Collector Price Guide, which is taken from eBay and is more comprehensive. Which is just a long way of getting to the point that, even though I’ve been watching the prices of jazz LPs on eBay for years, I’m still often surprised by what I see. Last week we were talking about a two-tier market — and clearly there is, but I’m not sure it’s so different than it was 15 or 20 years ago — and every time I see further compelling evidence of some record prices dropping through the floor, I see other evidence of some record prices soaring through the roof. Here are a few examples of records I’ve been watching this week:

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Today on eBay: Willing to Gamble?

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Watching some items on eBay this morning. There’s a seller with some good records, but challenging listings. She doesn’t give clear indications of the condition of the records and the prices are quite high, so it’s a bit of a risk: You may be getting something great, you may not. Consequently, some of the prices are not what they would be if the records were listed even in VG+ condition, if indeed that would be accurate. I’ll point out a couple, but you can also check out the links and look at some of the others as well: John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This seems to be an original pressing. The words used to describe the condition are “very nice” and “pretty nice.” It asks for serious bidders only and the start price is $199.99. So far no takers. Here’s another: Lee Morgan, Lee Way, Blue Note 4034. This one is listed in is listed in excellent condition, so it sounds better than the Trane. It also has five bids and a price of $200. It will be interesting to see the final price. You should take a look at the seller’s other listings. They may be worth a gamble.

Also coming up today is this:

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Jazz Collector Honors Sonny With FREE Record

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Okay, if the Kennedy Center won’t honor Sonny Rollins, we will. In honor of Sonny’s recent 79th birthday on Monday, we will be giving away a free copy of one of Sonny’s classic LPs from the 1950s: Sonny Rollins, The Sound of Sonny, Riverside 241. Of course, this is not quite an original pressing: It is an OJC reissue. Still it is a great record, it’s in near mint condition, and it’s available free. As with all of our contests, we have one copy of the record and we will hold a drawing to determine the winner. In order to be eligible all you have to do is comment somewhere on the Jazz Collector site between now and when the contest closes, on September 21. You can comment anywhere — perhaps you want to weigh in on whether you agree with me that Sonny is being short-changed by not receiving a Kennedy Center honor. If you comment on the site between now and September 21 we’ll put you in the running for the contest. It’s as simple as that. By the way, if you want to see a funny out-take from my attempt to photograph the record, read the rest of this article.

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Kennedy Center Honors: Where’s Sonny?

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If you were to honor one living jazz musician for his lifetime contributions to the music who would it be? To me, the answer is simple: Sonny Rollins. He is one of the all-time greats, a constant innovator, a true master. So I was a bit disappointed again this morning to see that the Kennedy Center, which honors individuals for their contributions to the American performing arts, had once again chosen not to recognize Sonny. They did choose a jazz musician this year, and a deserving one, in Dave Brubeck. But to choose Brubeck over Rollins is, to me, a real stretch. I looked up the list of prior winners and out of 168 previous honorees there were eight who could be considered jazz musicians, or at least jazz-affiliated musicians. The awards were first issued in 1978 and the honoree must be living, so that precluded such likely honorees

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Updates: Thad, Beverly Kenney, Evans, Arte & Billie

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Here’s an update on some of the records we’ve been watching:

The Magnificent Thad Jones, Blue Note 1527. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record was in VG+ condition and the cover was VG++. The price was $336. A second copy of this record also sold in the last couple of days. The seller described the vinyl as VG to VG+ and the cover seemed to be about VG+. The price of that one was $199.99.

Beverly Kenney Sings For Playboys, Decca D8743. The record was in M- condition — probably unplayed, according to the seller — and the cover was VG+. The price was $399.99, the highest price we’ve seen for any Beverley Kenney record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Bill Evans, New Jazz Conceptions, Riverside 223. This was an original pressing with the white label as well as the first cover. The vinyl was in M- condition and the cover was listed as VG+. The price was $709.99.

We had mentioned yesterday the Arte Shaw LP on Clef:

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Free Bird LP: The Winner Is . . .

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OK, the summer is over, the living is no longer easy, and it’s time to give away our latest free record: Charlie Parker Memorial Volume 1, Blue Note 12000. This is an original pressing with the deep red label and the deep groove. It’s not in mint condition, but it is quite nice and quite listenable. As we have mentioned many times before, all you have to do to be eligible to win our record contests is to post a comment on the Jazz Collector site — anywhere on the site — from the time the contest begins until it ends. The idea is to encourage visitors to comment on the site. The concept seems to be catching on: This time we have our highest number of eligible contestants, and the amount of commenting on the site is clearly growing (as is the overall traffic, by the way). Anyway, those eligible to win this week’s grand prize are:

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A Question About Norgran Labels

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Jason asks the following Norgran-related question:

“Al — I recently picked up two copies of Stan Getz / Interpretations #2 on Norgran. Here’s a question I haven’t been able to answer though. The label on the first lp is printed with a slightly smaller font and reads “Norgran Sales Corp.” at the bottom. The vinyl also feels slightly lighter than the second LP. The second LP reads “Jazz at the Philharmonic, Inc.” at the bottom and the vinyl feels more like slate in terms of weight. Other than that, the LPs are identical. Given the attention collectors give to what a label says, how it’s printed, etc., I was wondering if you or anyone on your site could add to what little info I have in terms of the significance of the variant labels. I also find it odd that such meticulous care is given to detailing the variations among certain labels (i.e. Blue Note), but others like Norgran seem to be ignored. Thanks for your time. — Jason”

So I looked through my collection and found my copy. That’s mine in the picture.

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Today on eBay: Tadd, Zoot, Fuller, Miles, et al

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We’re back from The Berkshires after our successful gig in the Monterey General Store and it’s time to get back to the ever-lasting grind that is eBay. We took a look at listings over the next couple of days, and it’s actually pretty quiet out there, although our friends at Euclid Records have a few nice items closing today. Here’s some of what we’re watching:

Tadd Dameron, Fontainebleau, Prestige 7037. This is an original New York pressing that is in M- condition for both the record and the cover. This one is not usually among the higher-priced early Prestiges, but the bidding is already at $162, which is nice to see for a nice record.

Zoot Sims and Joe Newman, Locking Horns, Rama 1003. This is a rare record on a rare label. The vinyl is listed as M- and the cover is VG++. The price is nearly $300, with more than an hour left.

Miles Davis, Miles, The New Miles Davis Quintet, Prestige 7014. This is the album that introduced John Coltrane to

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Keep Those Comments Coming

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Geraint apologizes in an earlier comment for mentioning another seller’s auction on this site. No reason to apologize — actually, I really appreciate it when you share other listings on Jazz Collector. The whole idea is to create a community where we share information, so please feel free. The only thing I’d prefer not taking place is the out and out bashing of eBay sellers, simply because I don’t want the site to be misused by someone who may have an axe to grind. However, if you spot sellers who are consistently inaccurate or deceptive in their listings, that to me is fair game, focusing on the listings. It’s been gratifying because I’ve been offline for a couple of days and the comments are continuing to roll on even when I’m not putting up new posts myself. Keep it up, everyone, we’re all doing good work.

For the $1,000 Bin: Hank, Sahib, Griffin, Warhol

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Here are a few more items for the $1,000 bin.

Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address and all of the other markings that go with it. It was a tough one to assess in terms of condition because the seller notes that it has a couple of marks, one of which was feelable. That would cause me some concern if I were bidding for it, but I wouldn’t have lasted long in the bidding because this one eventually sold for $1,593. The cover was listed in VG+ condition and the vinyl was listed in VG+ to M-, if only it didn’t have the marks. This is one of the really rare Blue Notes and it has previously sold for more than $2,600 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we can see why someone would want to take a chance on this album.

Here’s another interesting one we’ve been watching: Sahib Shihab, Sahib’s Jazz Party, Debut 101. This one was being offered

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