Back on eBay and Ain’t it Grand

Now that I’m back in the business of watching rare jazz vinyl here at Jazz Collector, and doing more writing about it, I’ve become interested in expanded my experiences. Not necessarily ready to start selling records on eBay again, which is how the whole Jazz Collector thing began more than 20 years ago, but buying records on eBay? Well, that, of course, is another story. Buying records is easy, fun, and not typically harmful to one’s health, tat least not physical health, and while it does damage to one’s pocketbook, some things are just worth taking a plunge. Besides, I can always say I’m making sacrifices for my lovely audience here by testing the waters and using tools such as the GIXEN free eBay auction sniper. You may recall a few weeks ago, I bid on a record on eBay for the first time in years. I was too gun shy to use GIXEN for the first time, so I sat down at my computer, and waited for 15 minutes, watched the countdown and put in a bid with six seconds left for the record of my desire, The Unique Thelonious Monk, Riverside 12-209 from the Jazz Record Center. I bid $411 and lost. The winning bid was $416. I was disappointed, but no disheartened. I decided I would try again, this time using the GIXEN app to see if it really worked. And I did. And it did.

The following week, doing my regular posting here at Jazz Collector, I came upon this record: Donald Byrd, Fuego, Blue Note 4026. This was a deep groove pressing with the West 63^rd Street address. I had a copy of Fuego for years. I specifically remember buying it at the Titus Oaks store in Flatbush, Brooklyn. I probably paid five bucks for it, but it was in meh condition at best, with a less-than-meh cover. I’d always vowed to upgrade it if I ever found a suitable replacement for a reasonable price. Yada, yada, yada, 40 years later, no suitable replacement at no reasonable price.

Then, in 2023, I decided to shrink my collection and sold a bunch of records through Carolina Soul Records. One of the criteria I used in deciding which records to sell was this: I went through all of my shelves, and if there were records that were in poor condition that I wouldn’t want to put on my turntable, I would sell them and let some other collector deal with them, even if they were original Blue Notes.  Especially if they were original Blue Notes because, as we’ve all learned, even an unplayable original Blue Note can sell for big bucks. Is there a point in owning the record just to own it even if you’re not going to play it? Please don’t answer the question – it is both rhetorical and existential, and, if you’re taking the time to read this on JazzCollector.com, we all know that the answer is yes.

In any case, that Byrd Fuego had always caused me to cringe when I went past it. Something about the tape on the front cover, the dirt on the back cover, knowing that the record was in poor shape. I put in the pile to sell and felt better immediately that it was off my shelf and out of my collection. But there was a hole where it departed, and I knew that hole had to be filled someday.

Then, I saw this copy on eBay. As I noted in the post (Eric Dolphy Autographs (?), Blue Notes And Other Stuff), I believed the record might sell for a “reasonable” price. The seller had a good reputation, the cover looked really clean and was graded in VG++ condition. Right away, I knew I’d feel much better just looking at that record on the shelf. As for the vinyl’s condition? I wrote at the time that the record looked to be in VG or VG+ condition and probably VG based on the seller’s description. In thinking about bidding on the record, I assumed VG, but was hoping for (expecting?) VG+.

Anyway, I decided to use GIXEN and see what happens. I put in a bid for about $250.  What the heck, it was an original Blue Note with Jackie McLean in his prime, probably a very good record, and if it was in VG+ condition, I would have considered it a bargain. Besides, the whole point in bidding for the record on GIXEN was to serve my starving audience at Jazz Collector with firsthand, on-the-ground, in-the-trenches, personal journalism. Right?

I used GIXEN and forgot all about it. Completely. Until I got a note informing me that I had won the auction at a price of $202.50. Surprise! GIXEN did its job. Now I had to do mine. I paid. The record arrived about a week later, pretty fantastic delivery, considering it came from France during the Christmas season. I finally got around to listening to it yesterday, on my nice system in my living room, with the Linn Sondek record player and the Wilson speakers. The verdict: Well, the seller was accurate. The record looked VG+ or even VG++, but it played at what I would grade VG. Nothing terrible, no big clicks or scratches, just enough surface noise in spots to take it out of the VG+ grade, IMHO. The music itself is good, kind of what you would expect out of a Blute Note from 1959, a little bit of funk, a little bit of blues, all original compositions. I love Jackie, so it’s nice to have a listenable copy of the record again. VG is fine for me. And the VG++ cover. Now, when I look on my shelves through the Donald Byrds, I no longer have to cringe and can just smile, knowing that 40 years later, the hole has been adequately filled. Of course, if I find a cleaner copy, well, need I say more?