Record Collecting Update Week Ending 06/30/2007

Some ghosts came out to play this week, with a number of records selling in the $2k range, and interestingly the value on some of them had nothing to do with music.

A tie this week for top seller on eBay, two records sold for $2500.00 with 1 bid each, meeting their initial asking prices. First was a Northern Soul 45 RPM record from Second Ressurrection on the Stanson Label, "You Done Let Daylight Catch You"/"Smoke In The Disco". And next was an original on DOT (only a little over a hundred were pressed) of Jack Kerouac's "Poetry For The Beat Generation".

Right behind the top seller, a private press sixties folk LP, "David Wiffen At The Bunkhouse", sold for $2425.00 with 14 bids from a starting bid of $98.00. Andy Warhol cover art brought in $2325.00 for Mozart 4 Divertimenti on Epic. The record received 27 bids from a starting bid of $25.00.

Next, a resurgence in 78 RPM interest may be in the making, as two showed up this week as top sellers. For more than a month, 78's have made the top five more weeks than not. Ferman Tapp and His Banjo with "Gonna Find Myself A Brand New Sweetie" b/w Kid Brown and Ginger Snapps "Tell Me Why" sold for $2325.00 from a starting bid of $56.00 with 23 bids. And, a Jaybird Coleman blues harp 78 record, "Man Trouble Blues" / "Coffee Grinder Blues" sold for $2225.00 with 11 bids from a starting bid of $9.95.

And finally, while the stock market inspires basements and dens full of idiots to pump a price on a catchy press release or turn of phrase broadcast over a plasma television, the record collecting market suffers few hoseballs, and nutures much paranoia. A possibly perfect, possibly sealed (possibly not authentic) Beatle butcher block - one for the Goldmine standard . . . sealed . . . untouched . . . mint - sold for a pathetic $2175.00.

Record Collecting Update Week Ending 06/23/2007

Here are recipes for crow. It was an amazing week with two one-of-a-kind vinyl treasures selling above $10k. I believed the Sex Pistols had a shot at overtaking the Beatles, but of course fate never shows the good taste it should, and the Beatles White Album #0000006 sold for $21,411.15 with 74 bids from a starting bid of $1452.34. The Sex Pistols "God Save The Queen" promo 45 sold for $11,798.00 with 22 bids from a starting bid of $1025.00.

The graph above shows sales of White Albums numbered less than 100 over the past four years. Two selling points of this record were first that it came from the collection of John Lennon's former limo driver. And second, it was sold by Beatles expert Perry Cox, so one can be as sure as sure can be that the record indeed came from the afore mentioned limo driver.

The top Northern Soul 45 sale of the week went to a Sandy Golden 45, "Your Love Is Everything" / "When We're All Alone Tonight" on Masterpiece. The record sold for $6100 with 7 bids from a starting bid of $2688.99.

Also of note, a Led Zeppelin withdrawn 45 from Japan sold on a Buy-It-Now for $6000.00.

Record Collecting Update Week Ending 06/16/2007

With only 2 copies known to circulate, A garage psych 45 RPM record by The Media sold for $3865.50, receiving 18 bids from a starting bid of $15.49. The seller reports one or both of the songs, "Girl, I Want You" / "Endles Dream", show up on the Gravel #5 CD complilation released by Kumquat May a few months ago. These compilations were released in limited quantities of 500, and are already getting hard to find.

Not much else of note this week. A Sunnyland Slim & Muddy Waters 78 RPM and a Moondawg test pressing acetate sold in the low $2k range. This was the second week in a row that a 78 RPM came in the top three eBay sales, both 78's were by blues legends.

Seems everyone has their eye on the #0000006 Beatles White Album that has taken over the front page of eBay. As of writing this the high bid sits at $12,800 with 35 bidders. Looks like I'll have more to write about this next week. Ok, so the Beatles are still collectible. However, this is a one-of-a-kind thing, so I'll take only half a plate of crow.

It has some competition, and I'll take a bet the White Album will not be the top seller next week.

Record Collecting Update Week Ending 06/09/2007

This week a Northern Soul 45 RPM by The Magnetics received the highest bid for a vinyl record at eBay auctions. "I Have A Girl" on Ra-Sel sold for $5550.00 with 22 bids from a starting bid of $1099.99. The record sold twice in the last two years in the same price range.

A very rare U2 novelty, a red vinyl Unforgettable Fire pressed in Sweden sold for $5231.00. Few records from 80s artists sell in this price range. Less than 10 authentic copies of this record were created, if authentic and created should be used so close to each other in this case. The red vinyl pressing was never authorized or released, and came about as a result of the record plant floor workers making some cool copies for themselves.

Also selling above the $5k range this week, a 78 RPM on Vocalion by Robert Johnson, "Dead Shrimp Blues" b/w "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" sold for $5100.00 from a starting bid of $225.00.

And an unopened copy of Elvis Presley's soundtrack record from Speedway, with the full color picture, sold for an even $5000.

Record Collecting Update Week Ending 06/02/2007

One-of-a-kinds and unreleased treasures topped the record collecting market this week. The top auction close went to an ultra-rare copy of Phil Spector's Philles Records "The Screw" recorded by The Crystals. The 45 RPM record was never released, and was recorded by Spector as an unfriendly farewell to his business partner, Lester Sill. The record sold for $6,677.79, from a high starting bid of $6,577.79, receiving only two bids. Curiously, the record sold out of Los Angeles, CA, and with only a handful of copies known to exist, one can fairly wonder if this copy came from Spector himself.

While technically a soul record, it might be fairer to consider "The Screw" to be a novelty recording.

Right behind "The Screw" was the top Northern Soul 45 sale of the week, with The Tranells "Blessed With A Love" on rare soul icon label Flo-Jo, reaching $6,101.00 from a starting bid of $4,001.00 with 4 bids.

Also worth mentioning, a withdrawn copy of the Rolling Stones' "Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) " with an alternate cover sold for $6000.00.