Ebay Watch: Prices are Down, Another Cycle?

If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines on eBay waiting for prices to come down, now may be the time to jump in. I don’t have any hard data, but I’ve been watching eBay almost every day for a while and it’s clear that prices for jazz records are down quite a bit from where they were 12 months ago, six months ago, even three months ago. I see it less in the highest-end collectibles, and more in the second-tier records, which either are not selling at all or are selling at lower prices with fewer bidders. I’ve seen these cycles come and go many times before and just when you think, uh-oh, the bottom’s going to drop out of the market, there’s a resurgence. And, given the state of the worldwide economy, it should be no surprise that prices of collectibles would go down. Still, there’s always the concern: Will the market come back again this time, or is there something more fundamental going on? What do you think?

Ebay Auction From Jazz Record Center

I’m on an email list for the Jazz Record Center in New York and they ping me every time they have a new auction on eBay. I got such a ping the other day. They have some interesting records and autographs on eBay now, closing next week. You can click here for a peak. This is not necessarily something we would do all the time, but if you’re posting some interesting items on eBay, feel free to let us know, either by commenting on the Jazz Collector site or by sending an email to al(at)jazzcollector.com.

Today on Ebay: Fuller, Parlan and McCoy (For Sale)

SHHHHHHHHHH. It’s so quiet on eBay today we wouldn’t want to disturb any of the sleeping buyers and sellers. I have a sense that the economy is starting to wreak a little havoc on the jazz collectibles market — not on the high-end collectibles — but in the mid-tier. We’ll see. These things tend to go in cycles. Perhaps it’s a good time to be buying. Anyway, it is quite quiet on eBay today, but there are a few things worth noting, including:

Curtis Fuller, Bone and Bari, Blue Note 1572. This is an original pressing in M- condition, both record and cover, and it features an autograph by Curtis Fuller. Not to mention the presence of Sonny Clark on piano. The opening bid price for this record is about $140 and, as of now, there are no bids. In the Jazz Collector Price Guide we’ve seen this record sell for nearly $700 in M- condition without an autograph. So maybe it is a time to be buying.

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Mrs. JC Sounds Off

 

Mrs JC, Incognito

Mrs JC, Incognito

We turn the post over to Mrs. Jazz Collector:

 “I really have just one question: Are you all as crazy as my husband?

When our kids were growing up, every family vacation we would drive around looking for record stores. In Boston, LA, San Francisco, Toronto, London – wherever – we’d search for record stores, Al would run in and leave us sitting in the car, no matter what the neighborhood. He’d go away on business trips and come back loaded with records. One time he went to Chicago and bought 300 78s and had to buy an extra piece of luggage just to lug them home.

Where we live is always a function of whether there is room for Al’s records. We bought one house because it had a huge living room with high ceilings. Al had floor-to-ceiling cabinets built, with a rolling 

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Hank Mobley, Dippin’: And The Winner Is . . .

OK, no new comments since yesterday, so it’s time to take the eligible names and place them in a hat (actually, we’ll just strew them across our desk) and ask Mrs. Jazz Collector to come in and pick a winner for the free LP, Hank Mobley, Dippin’, Blue Note 4209. So there are 15 entries — all of whom have commented on the Jazz Collector Web site in the past two weeks — and the winner of the record is . . . . 

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Win a Free Record: Last Chance Today!

We’ve been so busy with life, we almost forgot that there’s a contest going on at Jazz Collector to give away a free record. The record is Hank Mobley, Dippin’, Blue Note 4209. It is not an original pressing, but a nice reissue with the West 63rd Street address on the label and the original linter notes and packaging. The record and cover are both in M- condition, and are being offered free to one lucky reader of Jazz Collector. As with all of our contests, all you have to do to be eligible is post a comment anywhere on the site. So far, we have 15 readers eligible for the contest: Mike Young, Jason, Mike Moore, Dan Hodina, Bland Alexandre, Bethellodge, Michel, Rudolf, Mike P, Jon Weintraub, Tom Konar, Ann, Erich Schultz, Davel Sockel and Brian. If you would like to add your name to this illustrious list, please post a comment on the site — anywhere — by the end of the day today. Then, tomorrow morning, we’ll have the infamous Mrs. Jazz Collector pull the winning name out of the hat. Again, it’s all free, we pay shipping, everything. The idea is to promote discussion on the site, and it seems to be working a bit: The 15 entries is the largest number we’ve had so far.

Catching up With a Few More Warhol Covers

We’ve been watching prices for albums with covers by Andy Warhol. Here are a few more that sold recently on eBay:

Johnny Griffin, The Congregation, Blue Note 1580. This was an interesting one in that the record was listed as in only G+ or VG- condition, which means it is probably something most of us wouldn’t put on our turntables. The cover was listed in VG+ condition. It sold for $311.

J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding and Bennie Green, Trombone by Three, Prestige 16-4. This was an original pressing and a very rare 16-RPM LP. It was in VG++ condition, both the record and the cover. The price was $290.

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