Realistic Pricing. Not

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gerryI still have a few records and comments left over from the other day, so here goes.

What are some people thinking? Here’s a listing I decided to watch: Gerry Mulligan, Night Lights, Phillips 600-108. This was a stereo pressing with a promo label. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG+. If you walked into a store and saw this record for $10 and you didn’t have it, you might buy it. The seller had a start price of $126. Seriously. Not only were there no bids, but only six people looked at the listing and I think three of them were me because I was so incredulous. At least there was free shipping.

Spend 24 hours on eBay and you’ll find dozens of similar examples. The seller of this record have had more than 80 all by himself: Lee Konitz with Warne Marsh, Atlantic 1217. This was an original black label pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. A a nice record, to be sure, but a start price of $320? From a seller who calls himself “vinyl realist?” Give him credit, though. He did manage to sell a few records and get top dollar for them.

 

24 Hours on Ebay, Redux

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monkSo while perusing my 24 hours on eBay I found two listings so tempting I had to place a bid. Well, I didn’t have to, but if you’re reading this site you know exactly what I mean. Here’s one of the records: Thelonious Monk, Genius of Modern Music Volume 2. This was clearly an original 10-inch pressing. The seller described it as being in VG++ condition for the record and “very good” for the cover, although the cover looked quite nice in the listing. There were about four hours left in the auction when I came upon the listing and there were no bidders with a start price of $85. I looked again at the listing, and I couldn’t figure out why there was no interest. Then I looked at the shelves in my office and, alas, there is no copy of this record in my collection. Perhaps, I figured, I could get this record at what I would consider to be a reasonable price, which would have been anything under $125 or so. So I put in a snipe bid, waited, waited some more, went onto eBay and, tada, I won the auction at $90. Three bidders came in at the end, but the second highest was only $89. This will be a nice addition to my collection: Another 10-inch Blue Note to fill in a gap. Hopefully my guess about the condition is correct.

I bid on this next record purely for the reason that the bidding seemed to be so low:

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24 Hours on Ebay

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TatumI spent 24 hours on eBay. Well, not really. What I did was I looked at 24 consecutive hours worth of jazz records listed on eBay. I used to do this every single day, particularly when I was active buying and selling. But it’s not the way I look anymore. It was kind of fun. I put a few records in my watch list, which I will share momentarily, and I even bid on a couple of records, which will be the subject of another post. The thing that was most striking was the staggering percentage of records listed on eBay that just will not sell. This is primarily because there is no market for them, but there are others priced so ridiculously out of sync with the market that the seller is just wasting his time and money listing them. What is it, 90% of the records won’t get any bids? That’s my guess. It would be interesting if someone spent some time and did a study.

Anyway, here are a few that either closed earlier or are closing soon, starting with Art Tatum. Benny Carter, Louis Bellson, Clef 55. This was an original pressing with a nice cover by David Stone Martin. There’s really very little interest in Tatum these days, which I will never understand, so I wanted to watch this and see if it would sell. It did, for $42.12 in Ex condition for the record and the cover, VG+ in my language.

These next two surprised me. They are not records I normally watch because they don’t typically fetch collectible prices. They didn’t here, but they also sold for more money than I would have expected:

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A Rare One, A New One & A Work of Art

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barney WilenLots of interesting jazz vinyl on our watch list today, so let’s get right to it, starting with Barney Wilen, Tilt, Swing LDM 30.058. This is an original French pressing is in Ex- condition, which may be VG or VG+, and the cover is probably VG, with very visible ring wear. This is one of the real rare ones and has sold for as much as $2,700 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. Given the condition, this one won’t  fetch nearly as much, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it hit the $1,000 bin, just based on it’s rarity.

I always like to find records I’ve never seen before, and here is another: Jimmy Forrest’s Night Train, United Record Company 002. This looks to be an original 12-inch LP in VG condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. I have a bunch of 78s on the United label, but no LPs. Apparently the label was in existence from 1951 to 1957, out of Chicago. According to Wikipedia it never issued 12-inch LPs, but this would seem to prove Wikipedia wrong? Unless the seller is mistaken? Somebody out there should know this, right? Anyway, the start price for this record, whatever the format, is about $150 and so far there are no takers. Looks like a nice piece of history to me.

I’ll be curious to see if this record sells:

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Finding the Right Price: Some LPs Sell, Some Don’t

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Clifford JordanLet’s catch up on some items we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with: Cliff Jordan, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This is a deep groove pressing with two different labels: One has the New York 23, the other doesn’t. What does that make this? A very early second pressing? This one is in VG++ condition for the record and probably VG+ for the cover, based on the seller’s description. The auction closes in about four hours and, so far, there are no bids with a start price in the $550 range. I know the seller is a reader of Jazz Collector, so, if it doesn’t sell and you want to make a trade, you know where to find me.

We thought this one would end up in the $2,000 bin, but it came up just short: Lee Morgan Sextet, Blue Note 1541. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. Very nice. It sold for $1,845.

Here’s another that may not sell: Sonny Rollins Plays, Period 1204. This is an original deep groove pressing. The record and the cover are both listed in VG+ condition. The start price is around $500 and so far there are no takers with four days to do.

This one did not sell and has been relisted:

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Speculating on Some Rare Jazz Vinyl

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LeeHere are some jazz records we’re watching on eBay, starting with this beauty: Lee Morgan Sextet, Blue Note 1541. This is an original deep groove Lexington Avenue pressing in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. There are more than two days left in this auction and the bidding is already more than $1,100. Think this one will surpass $2,000? I do. I’m sure the seller hopes I’m right.

Not sure what to make of this one: Eric Dolphy, Outward Bound, New Jazz 8236. This is an original purple label pressing with a couple of oddities. One, it has a “Preview Copy” stamp on the back, which looks original. But is also has a cutout hole through the cover and the label. Usually the cutout hole was used for returned copies, not preview copies. I can’t recall owning any other Prestiges with both a Preview Stamp and a cutout hole. Perhaps Rudolf, who had the rare distinction of buying copies directly from the Prestige warehouse, can shed some light on this?

Wonder if this one will sell:

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A Yellow Book And One (VG) for the $3,000 Bin

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bookOK, I just went to my Watch List on eBay and it looks like they have changed the view, all with the idea of trying to get you to buy more stuff. Lovely. Progress, I guess. I think I can still find things, such as: Booker Ervin, The Song Book, Prestige 7318. This was an original pressing with the yellow label, one of the last of the yellows for sure. It was in Ex+ condition, which I assume is pretty close to M-, for both the record and the cover. This is quite a great record, certainly one of Book’s best. It sold for $263.99.

And now we enter the $3,000 bin: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad-Lib 6601. This was an original pressing in VG++ condition for the record and only VG — VG — for the cover. It sold for $3,050. I thought collectors cared about covers. I know I do.

Cool cover on this one: Miles Davis Quintet, Prestige 185. This was an original 10-inch pressing in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ condition for the cover. It sold for $268.

 

 

Priced In and Out of the Market

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hancockCeeDee sends me occasional links to auctions, accompanied by somewhat cryptic messages. This one was titled “boo hoo” with the additional note “I am slowly being priced out of the market, for the moment.” The LP in question: Herbie Hancock, Inventions and Dimensions, Blue Note 4147. This was probably an original pressing, with deep grooves, which I guess is acceptable for this record, based on the Fred Cohen guide. The record was in M- condition and the cover was probably VG++, with the signature of a previous owner very prominent in black marker on the back. I, for one, would not pay $605 for this record under most circumstances, and certainly not with someone else’s name etched forever on the cover in black marker. Neither, I assume, would CeeDee. But somebody would and, indeed, somebody did.

Here’s one I would have purchased for $605, and probably been quite pleased, although that would be more than I’ve ever spent on one record: Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This was an original pressing in what was described as VG++ to M- condition. My guess is it was probably M- and the seller was trying to be conservative. My $605 wouldn’t haven won the record, of course. Neither did the top bid of $1,025, which failed to meet the seller’s reserve price.

 

 

Temptation: A New Jazz & A Test Pressing

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bennyI spent a couple of hours perusing eBay the other night and put a bunch of items on my watch list and even placed a snipe bid on this record: Benny Golson, Gettin’ With It, New Jazz 8248. This was an original pressing that was probably in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. I bid on the record primarily because I don’t have it and I thought it might sell for a reasonable price. It’s also a record I used to own and, frankly, I can’t remember why I don’t own it any more. But I don’t. When I placed my snipe the bidding was at $87 with several hours left, and I thought maybe I could get a nice original New Jazz. My snipe was about $160 and I thought I would get the record. I didn’t. The top bid was $190.50.

I was watching this one, not because I was interested, but because I wanted to see how high it would go, which was plenty: Grant Green, I Want to Hold Your Hand, Blue Note 4202. This was an original mono New York USA pressing in M- or so condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $511.11. Here’s the existential question for today: Why?

Our friend CeeDee sent this link to tempt me:

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Blue Notes, Prestiges, Jazz Collector Price Guide

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Bone & BariSorry. I had promised more updates for the Jazz Collector Price Guide and then got distracted by the lovely holiday weekend up in The Berkshires. So here are a few more that will go into the Price Guide soon:

This is a new high point for this record: Curtis Fuller, Bone & Bari, Blue Note 1572. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street and NY 23 labels. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was VG+. The final price was $1,789. I have an M- copy of this record. Would I sell it for $1,789? Hmmmm.

This one also sold for quite a hefty price: Ray Bryant Trio, Prestige 7098. The record and cover were only in VG+ condition, although the cover certainly looked nicer in the photo. Good lesson to be learned here: Spend some time on the photos if you are going to list on eBay, and make sure they are nice and clear. This record sold for $987.77.

Jerome Richardson, Roamin’ with Richardson, New Jazz 8226. This was an original purple label with the deep grooves and the record and cover both seemed to be in M- condition. This one sold for $374. Frankly, I thought it would fetch a higher price.

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