New $1.00 Shipping To Anywhere In The World

We've lowered the shipping on international purchases of 45 RPM records to $1.oo. Get as many more as you want for 50 cents each additional.

Vinyl Record Talk On Now -- Press Play!!!

Listen Sunday At 7pm ET / 4pm PT

Today's Vinyl Record Talk 8pm ET/ 5pm PT

Jeanie Finlay is our guest. She's making a film about one of the last remaining record stores in the north of England. The store and the film are called "Sound It Out".

Jane and I will discuss all of the 78 RPM records that have pierced the Top 5 in recent months. We'll have this week's Top 5 and news, plus music from Pink Floyd, Dr. Dog, Walter Jackson and more.

Catch Vinyl Record Talk on Radio Dentata.

eBay Boiler #3 - I'm an a-hole, and so are you

So apologize damn it!

This must happen to every eBay seller, but I think what I will describe happens more to record sellers. We are in a business with a customer base that has an atypically low b.s. threshold.

Sometimes when I send a payment reminder for a purchase that has sat for many days, even a week sometimes, I get a message back that would fit in with the tropes of say . . . a North Korean press release spitting venom at the United States. I, of course, am the United States in this metaphor. I am evil . . . rude . . . stupid, according to my customer, for reminding him that he has a purchase from me that he has not paid for.

I have found after receiving this kind of message, that the following is a very effective response. This message has resulted a few times in an apology from the customer.

Feel free to adapt for your own needs:


-------- begin boiler plate -----------
Hi,

I am sorry to be so aggressive. I mean't nothing personal by it. It's just that sometimes buyers seem to drop of the face of the earth, so I've found if I nudge a bit, I don't get lost in the rush of people's busy lives. Again, I do appreciate your business, and know you are a great buyer.

Thanks,

[signature]

-------- end boiler plate --------------

More on why this boiler plate works on Vinyl Record Talk, Tuesday 8:00PM Eastern / 5:00PM Pacific on Radio Dentata.

Vinyl Records Top 5 eBay Sales Week Ending 07/24/2010

All LPs on this week's Top 5, with The Beatles taking the top two spots. The sought-after private press jazz/funk record from Uncle Funkenstein is the only non-rock record on this week's list.

1. LP - The Beatles vs The Four Seasons "self titled" Vee Jay Sealed - $5,858.99

2. LP - The Beatles "Please Please Me" Parlophone UK Gold Black label 1st Stereo - $4,929.28

3. LP - Led Zeppelin "I" Test Pressing - $4,153.00

4. LP - Uncle Funkenstein "Together Again" - $4,000.00

5. LP - George Harrison "Concert For Bangladesh" Sides 5/6 Acetate - $3,702.00

More on this week's top 5 on Vinyl Record Talk, Tuesday 8:00PM Eastern / 5:00PM Pacific on Radio Dentata.

Filmmaker Jeanie Finlay Talks About Her Documentary "Sound It Out", Next Tuesday On Vinyl Record Talk July 27, 5pm PDT/ 8pm EDT

Jeanie Finlay (Goth Cruise The Movie) joins us from the UK to discuss her new film, Sound It Out, and the different ways she's gone about making her films. Jeanie is currently funding Sound It Out, about one of the last independent record stores in the north of England, through indiegogo, where films get made by us, the audience, for as little as $5.00. (We're in for $10 - it's been a slow week. But if we do well with the radio broadcast records we have for auction in our store, we're jumping back in for the DVD.)

Jeanie is best known in the US for her IFC film Goth Cruise. We talk about what its like to make films for the BBC and IFC, as well as her next project after Sound It Out, Orion. Orion is one of history's strangest Rock n Roll icons. He was a sort of Elvis impersonator, sort of not, sort of an insist-I'm-not-an-Elvis-impersonator-so-to-make-you-think-I-am-actually-the-real-not-really-dead-Elvis. I think its a fantastic idea for a documentary. Orion (real name Jimmy Ellis) belongs up on the Pantheon of Strange, next to Syd Barrett, Roky Erickson, and The Legendary Stardust Cowboy.

Join us for a completely entertaining, and informative interview with Jeanie Findlay, on next week's Vinyl Record Talk on Radio Dentata, Tuesday July 27th 8:00pm ET / 5:00 PT.

V-logs For This Week's Vinyl Record Talk Show.

As promised, here's Ian & Sylvia performing "Early Morning Rain" joined on stage by the songwriter Gordon Lightfoot.

Tuesday's New Vinyl Record Talk July 20, 5pm PDT/ 8pm EDT

Special guest Vanguard Discographer Greg Pennell joins us on Vinyl Record Talk this week for a chat. Plus we'll have hiatus hi jinks, killer records, Record Collecting News plus Top 5 Auction Reports to catch up on so Don't miss it! Can't wait for Tuesday? Listen to archived Vinyl Record Talk episodes right now.

Vinyl Records Top 5 eBay Sales Week Ending 07/19/2010

Northern Soul makes its return to the Top of the list, though at $2k less than the last sale of this Walter Wilson record in December of '09. Still, it shows that a nation can't live on Beans On Toast alone (ok, I have no clue if this record sold to a buyer in the UK, but that's the case 90% of the time a Northern Soul record gets big buck). A genuine copy of the most bootlegged record of all time, The Beatles "Introducing The Beatles" on VeeJay made the list. This one was the "blank back" version.


1. 45 - Walter Wilson "Love Keeps Me Crying" / "Not Now But Later" Wand - $4,155.00

2. 45 - Elvis Presley / Jaye P Morgan EPA-992 EPA-993 EP - $3,500.00

3. LP - Michele Auclair "JS Bach Sonates pour clavier et violon" Les Discophiles Francais - $3,205.00

4. LP - The Beatles "Introducing The Beatles" VeeJay Blank Back - $3,000.00

5. LP - Arthur Grumiaux "Bach 6 Sonaten Un Parttien Fur Violini Alllein" Philips Hi Fi Stereo - $2,856.00

More on this week's top 5 on Vinyl Record Talk, Tuesday 8:00PM Eastern / 5:00PM Pacific on Radio Dentata.

eBay Boiler #2, Part 2 - How To Ship Big Crap Around The World

So I was writing about how to send big shipments around the world since the demise of Economy Mail by the post office. If you sell books, records, CD's, comic books, toys or any kind of collectible you remember the good 'ol days of being able to send a 60lbs box of stuff to Europe for around $85.00. We got lots of good business from small stores all over the EU, Japan and Australia. The world loves our crap! And that hasn't changed. But the price to ship that 60lb box can cost as much as $300.00 now.

I left off talking about shopping around to different cities. If you're shipping to Europe and your business is in California (like me), it can be cheaper to contact a shipping company in Boston (from which shipments take one week to reach the UK) and mail your goods to the shipping company. This isn't always the case. In my experience, Italy and Greece are cheaper to ship to from the West Coast, but the shipment time is six weeks.

While insane and complicated, surface shipments can still find their way around the world at a cost effective rate. The key is to look outside your local geography and see if mailing to a shipper in another city cuts your cost. One upside to this process is that once you've mastered it, you'll end up with very loyal customers.

I'll talk more about shipping around the world on next week's Vinyl Record Talk, Tuesday 8pm ET / 5pm PT.

Vinyl Records Top 5 eBay Sales Week Ending 07/10/2010

78 RPM records are continuing to make a stand on the Top 5. Soul has returned with two entries for this week, one of them on the most sought after label in record collecting, Shrine. This copy of The Cairos record sold for a respectable price, but still below the two previous sales of this record.

1. 78 - Willie Harris "Never Drive With A Stranger" / "Lonesome Midnight Dream" Brunswick 7149 - $4,449.99

2. 78 - Dusty Brooks "Tears And Wine" / "Heaven Or Fire" Sun 182 - $3,056.00

3. 45 - The Cairos "Don't Fight It" / "Stop Overlooking Me" Shrine 111 - $2,283.00

4. 45 - High Powered Spirit Band "Be A Winner" / "I Know You Can" Spirit - 2,247.00

5. LP - Sonny Rollins "Saxophone Colossus" Prestige 7079 - $2,125.00

New Vinyl Record Talk on July 20th.

New Interview, Hiatus Hijinks, Shipping Wisdom & Crabby Customers - New Vinyl Record Talk Next Week July, 20th.

New episode of Vinyl Record Talk Radio Show Airs Next Week. Tune in Tuesday July 20, 5pm PDT/ 8pm EDT. Greg Pennell, Discographer for Vanguard Records will be our guest. Norm & I will share a few hiatus hijinks & play some killer records. There's a lot of Music, Record Collecting News & Top 5 reports to catch up on so the show will packed full o' the good stuff. Don't miss it! Oh, & check out Greg's new FaceBook page for all things Vanguard!

Vinyl Records Top 5 eBay Sales Week Ending 07/03/2010

Two garage 45's make the list this week, making all the more conspicuous the lack of Northern Soul 45's showing up on the list for many weeks.

1. 45 - Piece Kor "All I Want Is My Baby Back" / "Words Of The Raven" Laray - $3,785.00

2. LP - The Beatles & Frank Ifield "On Stage" VeeJay Portrait Jacket - $3,000.00

3. LP - Brimingham Sunday "A Message From" - $2,850.00

4. LP - The Doors "self titled" Mono Promo - $2,576.28

5. 45 - The Elite U.F.O. "Now Who's Good Enough" / "Tarantula" MAI - $1582.77

Vinyl Records Top 5 eBay Sales Week Ending 06/26/2010

The world is only getting stranger. 78's hitting the Top 5 weeks on end is unusual, a Hip-Hop record making the Top 5 is more unusual. I'm not stupid enough to think it's just the economy. That might explain Northern Soul's demise (as a high priced commodity, not as a form of music or fandom). The Gods hold on as The Beatles, Dylan and Blue Note classics make the bottom of the list, but it seems new standards and sensibilities are blowin' in.


1. 78 - Handel: The Messiah Columbia Masterworks Box Set MM-666 - $5,000.00

2. 12" - Chuck Chill Out "Chilling with Chuck Chill Out" Ultramagnetic acetate - $2,827.00

3. LP - Beethoven "String Quartets Op.135 & Op. 18 #2" Aarton 8277 German Pressing - $2572.99

4. LP - The Beatles "White Album" Apple compressed mix matrix A28/B28/A28/B29 - $2000.00

4. 45 - Bob Dylan "Blowin' In The Wind" / "Don't Think Twice It's Alright" Columbia 42856 w Pic Sleeve - $2000.00

5. LP - Hank Mobley self titled Blue Note 1568 - $1,925.00

Vinyl Record Talk will be back with a new show Tuesday, July 12th.