Record Prices - Some musings on the subject...

[Billy Jo Jim Bob]

Back in the early nineties I was approached by someone who was intending to start a new soul fanzine, with a request to write an article on record prices. This was prompted by a discussion we had and some observations I made. The fanzine never materialised and I long ago lost the article, but I do remember the gist of it. I thought writing a truncated version might be of interest and start some debate, but please keep it friendly and polite.

As a collecting nerd I used to receive paper lists and catalogues from all of the main dealers, and some of the lesser known ones too. I saw them primarily as a source of reference to compensate for my lack of knowledge at the time. They were eagerly read and then filed away under each dealers name and so on, which made it easier to keep track, although my wife didn't share my enthusiasm for the task. She noted my loss of focus when the lawn needed a trim.

Around the mid to late nineties, I had noticed that when comparing record catalogues from one particular dealer, record prices had suddenly increased significantly. A £5 record had become £10, a £20 record had become £40 and so on, but I couldn't really figure out the reasons behind it. The only conclusion I came to at the time was that the numbers returning to the scene had steadily been increasing and maybe there was increased demand for 45's. There is of course a more cynical explanation but lets not go there. 

This got me thinking as to who actually sets record prices ? At the time the online auction platforms were in their infancy and selling sites like Discogs yet to materialise. There were of course sources, mainly based in the US, that were advertised in the like of Goldmine, and you sent your money and got the paper list through the post. However, these mainly followed US price books, which in many respects was good for me. But if a UK dealer had a copy of a record how did they come to the asking price ? What were the factors they considered ?

At the time I think (in my humble opinion) there were really three main criteria for pricing:

1. Rarity - enough time had passed from the beginnings of the soul scene to figure out what records were rare and which not, and this was reflected in the asking price. Obviously the rarities tended to be more in demand, so commanded higher prices, but we will look at 'demand' below. There were of course records that were around in quantity, which have subsequently disappeared and are now considered rare. To me this is confusing rarity with availability. A record could be sitting in hundreds of collections and not be 'available', this doesn't make it rare.

2. Condition - it has always been the case that records in mint condition fetched high prices than the same 45 in VG or G condition, and I once saw in Goldmine their estimate of price reduction percentage against the mint price for lesser grades. US price guides often gave similar information.  However, the soul scene has not always taken grading Vs price information into consideration when selling or buying. Today, some rare records in very poor condition are selling at near mint prices or even above.

3. Demand - this criteria somewhat muddies the waters in terms of rarity and condition. Some collectors and DJ's were, and still are, extremely keen to have the latest big tune and are prepared to pay to get it, even if its not in the best condition. Here the general rarity and condition based rules tend to get ignored. Prices of once cheap records quickly become inflated, even though they may not be rare in the true sense, or in the best condition. 

This situation remained the same for many years, and still does continue today, but following the growth of the internet, auction sites, selling platforms, websites and so on, we have seen further factors influence the price today. In my opinion, there are three more categories that have come into play today:

4. Globalisation - there is no doubt that the growth of the internet has been one of the key factors in terms of supply, demand and pricing. Sellers and buyers have gained access to new sources and markets, and this has increased the competition for the vinyl. Increased competition usually equates to increased prices as there are finite quantities of the original vinyl copies. Since the inception of Ebay many US dealers have taken up the opportunity to gain a wider audience and probably a higher price for their wares. In many ways this is positive as collectors get to bid for the record straight from the source, and the price is out there for everyone to see.

5. Different scenes - the audience for all types of soul music is wide and varied, with multiple scenes worldwide. Traditional Northern, crossover, modern, sweet, group, deep, boogie and so on have their own following, and the relative price is often different. For example a standard northern tune may have an in demand group flip, so this will affect the selling price. What may be a £50 record to most, could be a £500 record on other scenes. I think we've all sat watching an item on Ebay go crazy and scratched out heads as to why.

6. Price books - there is no doubt that these have had an influence, not necessarily positive, particularly on buyers. Savvy sellers in the US were quick to latch on to the early books and many of them tell me it was an eye opener. However, UK dealers were also affected on US buying trips, where many years ago one of them I spoke to was furious that his regular US suppliers, who he had been visiting for years, had suddenly either increased their price significantly or decided to sell elsewhere.

These are just my musings, and I'm sure there are other factors which some of you may have come across or feel that they are an influence. I'm sure we've all had our share of head scratching and soul searching, no pun intended, thinking how did that record sell at that price ?

Feel free to discuss - politely.   

ATB

Andy

Edited October 4, 2022 by Billy Jo Jim Bob