Vinyl Records Top 5 eBay Sales Week Ending 04/19/2008

Top 5 List:

1. LP - Bob Dylan "John Wesley Harding" Red Vinyl LP - $10,655.55 Start: $9.99

2. LP - The Bachs "Out of the Bachs" Private Press LP - $8,450.00 Start: $8,450.00 Bids 3

3. 12" - Madonna "Like A Virgin" alternative jacket hand crafted by Basquiat - $8,100.00 Start: $1.00 Bids: 56

4. LP - The Savages "Black Scorpio" INDIA Psych - $3,200.00 Start: $24.99 Bids: 23

5. 45 - Nirvana "Love Buzz" Sub Pop - $2,950.00 Start: $0.01 Bids: 19

Never did goofing off at work reap so much, at least in terms of collectible records. A unique, possibly one-of-a-kind "John Wesley Harding" sells for well over $10k and gets the #1 spot. This is not an official release from Columbia, and most likely is another product of plant workers having fun and making their own records.

In the #2 spot, one of the holy-grail Psych records, "Out of the Bachs" bids up over $8k. While not a quest I would go on, even with coconut shells, I offer a track from the CD of this gem below:

Next, another unique record, this one a "Like A Virgin" with a hand crafted jacket by Basquait sells for a little over $8k.

In the #4 spot is another rare Psych LP, this one from India, "Black Scorpio" by The Savages. This record tops at $3.2k.

And last, an old friend to my blog, Nirvana's "Love Buzz" bids up just under $3k.

Looking at the last year . . . (see 04/19/2008)

See blog for 04/19/2008 for graph and list:

The top record for the period of April 2007 through March 2008 (the one year period since beginning the eBay Top 5) is a copy of the Beatles White Album #0000006, selling in June 2007 for over $21k. The seller reports at the time of the auction that the record had originally been given by John Lennon to his driver.

Many of the records fetch their prices because of the stories behind them. The Misfits record from Janurary of this year had been signed by Glenn Danzig, and as only 25 copies of the record were pressed, this copy of "Horror Show" is likely a one of a kind.

While at least one Northern Soul 45 makes the top 5 almost every week, only three are represented in the monthy tally. The highest seller is a copy of the Limelights "Don't Leave Me Baby" which bid up just below $7k.

Three classical records make the list, two from Mozart, one from Bach. These are very rare European pressings from the 1950's and 1960's and cannot be found on other media.

Two more Beatles records make the list, another White Album, this one an acetate, and a Butcher cover. And two other gods share a spot each on the list, The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen each making it with very rare 45's.

This year will be interesting for collectors. For those who are technical analysts of financial graphs, a definite downtrend is apparant. On the other hand, the first Record Store Day got a lot of attention, and that can't hurt (#9 on Yahoo's top searches for April 19th). Sales of new vinyl records are increasing as sales of CD's are decreasing at a faster rate, and downloads hold steady. Though in terms of units sold, CD's and downloads dwarf vinyl records. I'm not looking for Target to start carrying vinyl, however it does look like true music lovers prefer mp3's for outdoors and vinyl records for home listening. True music lovers have never been the mainstay of the music busness, hardly more than an annoyance. Yet, vinyl records may outlive the CD, that nemesis that many remember as the harbinger of the end of true music.

Happy Record Store Day - Top Monthly Ebay Record Sales April 2007 - March 2008

Top Monthly Sellers:

April 2007 / 45 - Rolling Stones "Street Fighting Man" Pulled 45 w picture sleeve - $15,200.00

May 2007 / LP - Mozart Oubradous Pathe Box Set - $11,300.00

June 2007 / LP - Beatles "White Album" #0000006 - $21,411.00

July 2007 / 45 - The Counts "Peaches Baby" / "My Only Love" - $6,776.00

August 2007 / LP - The Beatles White Album Acetate - $5,478.00

Sept 2007 / 45 - The Five Crowns "I Want You" / "Hillum Bay" De'Besth - $5,900.00

Oct 2007 / LP - Beatles - Yesterday and Today Butcher - $10,000.00

Nov 2007 / LP - Bach Cello Suites, Andre Levy Box Set - $20,000.00

Dec 2007 / LP - Mozart a Paris Oubradous Pathe 7 LP Box Set - $7,230.00

Jan 2008 / 45 - The Misfits "Horror Business" (Signed) - $14,301.38

Feb 2008 / 45 - Bruce Springsteen "Spirit In The Night" / "For You" Columbia - $5,100.00

March 2008 / 45 - The Limelights "Don't Leave Me Baby" / "(Time Has Passed) You Don't Love Me Anymore" Uncle - $6,889.10


Got any of the these? More on the above soon . . .

Vinyl Records Top 5 eBay Sales Week Ending 04/12/2008

Top 5 List:

1. 45 - Ty Karim "You Just Don't Know" / "All In Vain" Romark - $4,300.00 Start: $1,999.99 Bids: 5

2. 45 - Tolbert Rojac "Lucky Man" / "I've Got It" Rojac - $3,250.00 Start: $999.00 Bids: 12

3. LP - The Beatles "White Album" Parlophone - $3,050.00 Start: $2,750.00 Bids: 2

4. 45 - Nirvana "Love Buzz" Sub Pop - $2,901.50 Start: $9.99 Bids: 31

5. 45 - Eddie Whitehead "Just Your Fool" / "Give This Fool Another Chance" Black Jack - $2,684.00 Start: $9.99 Bids: 17

Doesn't matter about the economy, there'll always be somebody with money. That is advice my grandmother gave out, along with if you package dog shit just right you can make a million dollars. Even if some boxes I open do have an odor to them, I don't mean to equate the above vinyl treasures with dog shit -- though some of that private press Psych stuff . . . excuse me, in matters of taste there's no argument. Enough cliches. Anyone able and willing to spend a few thousands dollars on a record will always have money, and his heart will always want another record. Ok, that is my own. I'm done now. Yes, the masculine preposition is deliberate. In my professional experience, the people buying records are men who've gotten a divorce. The ones selling their collection are getting remarried. Ok, I'm really done now.

I bring up the above cliches because I've noticed a trend the past several weeks that I think silly, and ocurring mainly because of fear. That is the trend to start bidding high. The top three records this week all began with opening bids of $1k or greater. First, it is typical that most auctioned records on the top 5 start under $100.00. I believe high opening bids to be unnecessary and I believe they insult our customers. Ok, I've never made the top 5 myself. $1.2k is my personal best. But then I've never spent more than $2.00 on a record, and never started bidding at more than $25.00. That's just my way of doing things. However, in the past year of keeping this blog, I have not seen so many records start so high on the top 5. Maybe this week is just a fluke. My gut says sellers feel fear, fear for the economy. If that's the way you feel as a seller, put your inventory up on Craiglist, suck it up, and go scrap for the day jobs all of us have so far been so dishonorably able to avoid. Those who spend the money to put the records in the top 5 list are spending it to have fun, and we don't belong selling the records unless we are having fun too.

For the most part I'll let the list speak for itself this week. Save for one fact. The Nirvana "Love Buzz" that gets the #4 spot this week, sold for over $700.00 more than the one that sold the week ending 3/22. Opening bid for this week's = $9.99. Opening bid for week ending 3/22 = $1,795.00. I'll spell it out again. There'll always be somebody with money.

Vinyl Records Top 5 eBay Sales Week Ending 04/05/2008

Top 5 List:

1. 45 - Bruce Springsteen "Spirit In The Night" / "For You" Columbia - $4,000.00 Start: $9.99 Bids: 26

2. LP - Stephen David Heitkotter self titled Private Press - $2,999.99 Start: $2,999.99 Bids: 1

3. LP - Frank Ballard "Rhythm & Blues Party" Phillips - $2,950.00 Start:$9.99 Bids: 22

4. 78 - Louie Bluie and Ted Bogan "State Street Blues" / "Ted's Stomp" Bluebird - $2,946.00 Start: $8.00 Bids: 37

5. 45 - Hayes Cotton "Black Wing's Have My Angel" / "I'll Be Waiting" Resist - $2,750.00 Start: $19.99 Bids 17

The rare 2nd Bruce Springsteen 45 takes the #1 spot for the second time this year, selling for $4k after receiving 26 bids. Next, a private press Psych LP recieves a single bid to sell for a penny below $3k. A former #1 from last November, Frank Ballard's "Rhythm & Blues Party", gets the #3 spot this week, bidding up over $2.5k. A rare blues 78 gets the #4 spot, also jumping the $2.9k mark. And last, a Hayes Cotton 45 sells for over $2.7k.

Vinyl Records Top 5 eBay Sales Week Ending 03/29/2008

Top 5 List:

1. 45 - The White Stripes "Lafayette Blues" / "Sugar Never Tasted" White Vinyl - $4,485.00 Start: $0.99 Bids: 24

2. LP - Furtwangler Beethoven Sym.9 VSG D010851 - $4,322.31 Start: $9.99 Bids: 28

3. 45 - Shamus M'Cool "American Memories" / "American Humor" Perspective - $3,600.00 Start: $500.00 Bids: 7

4. 45 - Celebrities “I Choose You Baby” / “I Choose You Baby (Instrumental)” Boss - $3,118.65 Start: $9.44 Bids: 21

5. 45 - Joe Jama "My Life" / "Sleep Late My Lady Friend" Optimum - $3,030.00 Start: $199.99 Bids: 24

Close this week, closer than any other week, but so far the 21st century is not represented in the top 5. From 1998, one of the original 40 White Stripes "Lafayette Blues" 45's tops the list a hair under $4.5k. Next, from an extinct country, a Beethoven USSR LP sells for close to $200 under the #1 spot. Shamus M'Cool's "American Memories" 45 bids to $3.6k and gets the #3 spot. #4 and #5 spots are occupied by Northern Soul 45's, with Celebries and Joe Jama selling over $3.1k and $3k respectively.

Vinyl Records Top 5 eBay Sales Week Ending 03/22/2008

Top 5 List:

1. 45 - The Limelights "Don't Leave Me Baby" / "(Time Has Passed) You Don't Love Me Anymore" Uncle - $6,889.10 Start: $24.99 Bids: 20

2. LP - Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n Roll Trio Coral Mono - $2,495.00 Start: $9.99 Bids: 18

3. 45 - Nirvana "Love Buzz" Sub Pop - $2,226.20 Start: $1,795.00 Bids: 12

4. 45 - Trace Of Smoke "Treasure Mind" / "U.R." B.J. - $2,000.00 Start: $2,200.00 Bids: Best

Offer

5. LP - Georges Enesco Bach Sonatas Continental CLP 105 - $1,999.99 Start: $1,999,99 Bids: 1

It has been many lonely weeks for the graph, and again this week the #1 knows no history. An extremely rare Northern Soul 45 from The Limelights gets bids up to almost $7k. In the #2 spot, a Johny Burnette LP sells for just below $2.5k. Next, the famous and rare Sub Pop 45 from Nirvana sells for $2.2k. Another soul treasure, from Trace Of Smoke, makes the #4 spot getting $2k. The #5 spot goes to a George Enesco Bach LP on Continental, selling for a penny below $2k.

Vinyl Records Top 5 eBay Sales Week Ending 03/15/2008

Top 5 List:

1. 45 - The Cure "A Forest" + Tourists, Midnight Oil Promo 7" - $5,211.00 Start: $0.99 Bids: 13

2. LP - Art Pepper "Modern Art" - $3,350.00 Start: $5.00 Bids: 12

3. LP - Lawrence Marable "Tenorman" - $3,049.99 Start: $5.00 Bids: 20

4. 45 - Elvis Presley "That's All Right" / "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" Sun 209 Sample - $2,386.11 Start: $9.99 Bids: 25

5. 45 - Soul Incorporated "My Proposal" / "Message To Michael" Cocnut Groove - $2,325.00 Start: $10.00 Bids: 17


With only 50 copies pressed, a mixed promo 7" from Australia featuring The Cure, The Tourists and Midnight Oil lands in the #1 spot selling for over $5k. Next, a couple of rare Jazz LPs sell above the $3k mark, only a few hundred dollars apart. The first from Art Pepper sells for $3.3k, and then "Tenorman" from Lawrence Marable sells for a little over $3k. Another sample copy of Elvis's "That's All Right" 45 on the Sun label gets the #4 spot, selling for almost $2.4k. And in the #5 spot, a rare Northern Soul 45 from the Washington DC area sells for $2.3k.

Vinyl Records Top 5 eBay Sales Week Ending 03/08/2008

Top 5 List:

1. 78 - The Beatles "I Saw Her Standing There" / "Don't Bother Me" Columbia 78 RPM - $6,000.00 Start: $6,000.00 Bids: BIN

2. 45 - Buddy Cantrell "You Ain't No Good" / "Why Did She Leave Me" Tuska 104 - $4,037.77 Start: $8.00 Bids: 15

3. LP - Jimi Hendrix TMOQ LP - $3,350.00 Start: $600.00 Bids: 13

4. LP - Lalo & Tchaikovsky, Leonid Kogan Columbia SAX 2329 UK - $3,339.99 Start: $199.95 Bids: 21

5. LP - Night Shadow "Square Root Of Two" Private Press w/ 45 - $3,250.00 Start: $3,250.00 Bids: BIN

A Beatles 78 RPM turns up the #1 spot this week. Most of these originate from India and the Asian Pacific, however this extremely rare 78 comes from Columbia, selling on a Buy-It-Now for $6k. Beatles 78's are enigmatic. The early Beatles singles come at the very end of the 78 RPM's life in the record store. Unlike Elvis, no Beatles 78's had been pressed for commercial distribution in the US, UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, etc (with a small number having been manufactured for jukeboxes). Labels have few if any records describing what formats "third world" countries had used in pressing records. Every so often, a Beatles 78 will pop into the marketplace from a country heretofore unknown for having Beatles records in the 78 RPM format.

In the #2 spot, a Nothern Soul rarity sells for a little over $4k. Next, for the first time in keeping this blog a bootleg makes the list, a Jimi Hendirx TMOQ gem selling for more than $3k. Personally, I horde all the bootlegs I come across for posterity. Some 75+ years in the future, providing Congress doesn't keep Mickey Mousing copyright law, Christie's and Southeby's will be dealing in bootleg LPs, and my great great grandkids will be put through college.

Showing a little bit of everything makes the list some weeks, a classical UK LP makes the #4 spot, selling for a few dollars less than the Jimi Hendrix LP. And last, a private press Psych LP sells on a Buy-It-Now for around $3.2k.