Soul Detectives

[Ged Parker]

I, like most of you I guess, look at reused packaging on records to see its history. You can find some good new contacts that way. I once had a record delivered in packaging that originaly had been used by a seller in the states who I didn't know when I wrote (Pre email days obviously) to him I ended up with several items I was after at the time. So its something I've always done.

Today I received a record from Richie Andrew who some of you will know. Interestingly the packaging had been used to to send a record from a guy in Detroit to a well known North Wales record dealer's address but not under the dealers own name . Needless to say I'll be writing to the guy in Detroit now I have an address just to see if he has anything of interest.

Anyway between the stiffeners used in the package as well as my new 45 there was an American Express receipt from a record that John Maship sold on 16/09/2003 with the cardholders name written on it. Coincidently he too is called Parker . This was obvioulsy included, as John does, in the package when he sent it out to the buyer. As is John habit the first part of the card # is crossed out but as the receipt is over 3 years old the numbers are visible through the ink.

So I now have an American Express # for a card that does not expire until April this year and the cardholders name . Obviously I'm not going to start buying rare records over the phone with these details but imagine the other Mr Parker's problem explaining the record purchases are not his when he clearly uses this card to buy records.

Just glad these aren't my details in some one else's less scruplious hands. Amazing what you can find out just from the stuff used to pack what we buy isn't it.