Tiberius

Don't forget the Faro "family" of labels, of which Rampart were a part, belonged to Eddie Davis - https://wwwyoufoundthateastsidesoundcom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/eastside-producers-eddie-davis.html Hector inherited them in 1994, as you can read in the link.

Totally legit. Just more greed on the part of eBay. They're just screwing every last penny out of the seller. Don't worry, eventually it will all come crashing down. I sense they're feeling the pinch already with all the constant offers of free listings, which only used to happen occasionally but now appear to happen every few weeks. But I guess they'll give you a few pence for the occasional free listing then take a few more pounds back in return when your item sells. Bearing in mind they're already taking a cut of the p&p charges from the seller when anyone pays thru eBay owned paypal. Pure unadulterated greed!

https://latinopia.com/latino-music/the-rampart-records-story/ Rampart Records are on facebook, as is/was Hector Gonzalez, owner of the label. There is a fairly incomplete discography here - https://www.discogs.com/label/Rampart%20Records You could fill in a lot of the gaps pretty easily. Four Tempos, Atlantics, Ron Holden etc etc.

Here's a couple from old Billboard magazines which usually contained a good few of these adverts in each edition.

I've seen the Power 45 go through ebay a few times, usually cheaply, but rarely with the sleeve. I remembered a really nice copy on ebay some time ago and sure enough, when I went onto popsike, there it was so grabbed the attached image of the best example I've seen. The copy in the video is my own, credited just to "The Shellets", not sure why. EC102 as opposed to E-102. I assumed it was a 2nd, although period, release. There are several stock label variations along with the white promo? copies which appear in the advert.

I posted this in the refosoul forum recently, The Younghearts - A Little Togetherness advert

Had a couple through this week. Dick Domani and the Demons - I Won't Cry Anymore + New Generation Orch.- I'm No Fool.....bit of a contrast in styles.

I can't say if things have slowed, or not, but I have noticed the market seems to have changed with a lot more of the ebay auction items I bid on going for just the starting price, whereas before the postal increase I would've expected, and most likely encountered, a little more interest/competition on many of these items. So I'm buying more at the mo.

Had one today. La Familia Inc - This Time -BSR

Glass House - I Don't See Me In Your Eyes Anymore - Invictus can often be snagged for a fiver, sadly not easily from the USA anymore due to the postage rates. On his website Manny, usually given to overblown sales hype, says "This'll creep under your skin".........fair comment I think.

I like it a lot, along with a couple of his other 45's. A few other things arrived, 60's garage stuff. Of these possibly J.H. + The Esquires on Mus-I-Col may have some interest to the blue-eyed soul fan, (this one arrived pressed massively off centre but plays through fine once it's been cued,) & a Harry Deal & the Galaxies EP on Lotus, which has a couple of good tracks.

Again, the actual 45 in the video I sold for a tenner. I bought 5 copies for $5 a piece a few years ago now...........well before the US shipping price hike! Edit: I never did master the art of making a good video.

I'd say £5 was a bargain. The actual 45 in the video I sold for nearer £20 as I recall.

I just received a reply from ebay customer services in response to my question mentioned in post #38. It reads - Dear ------, Thank you for contacting eBay about our Global Shipping Program. I understand that you'd like some information about the program’s import charges. I'm more than happy to explain this you. The new Global Shipping program is the most reliable way for sellers to get items to international buyers. It shows the buyer upfront all the costs of receiving the item, with no additional charges being requested from the post office. This means that the appropriate duties and customs fees are paid before the item is shipped, and can be viewed in the order details page for the item. When you buy an item through the Global Shipping Program, eBay will automatically let you know all the charges that are associated with the purchase. This way you'll know about any customs charges and taxes. You'll be able to see the: -- Item cost -- Shipping total -- Import fees (This includes applicable customs duties, taxes, and third-party brokerage) You'll also be able to track your package until final delivery by selecting the universal tracking number (UPAAA00000) located in your My eBay Purchase History. This universal tracking number will show your package location from the seller’s city to your delivery address. How are the import charges calculated: -- Import charges include any applicable customs duties, taxes, and customs brokerage fees. These charges are calculated based on a number of factors, including: the item price, total shipping price, shipping weight, package dimension, country of manufacture, and item classification. How are import charges estimated when the purchase price isn’t known yet? -- For Auction-style listings, members will see the cost based on the current bid; once a member decides to place their own bid, the import charges will then be based on their own maximum bid. -- For best offers, buyers will see the cost based on the offer amount; when you send a counter-offer, it will then be based on the counter-offer amount; a final guaranteed landed cost will be shown at checkout. Here’s more information about the Global Shipping Program: https://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/shipping-globally.html Here are the terms and conditions: https://pages.ebay.com/shipping/globalshipping/buyer-tnc.html I’m confident that this information is helpful and I’m glad that I was able to assist you today. Keep in mind that we’re always here to help you out with your transactions. Thank you for choosing eBay. Have a great day! Sincerely, ------. eBay Customer Service As you can see it's just a bog standard reply & doesn't answer the question as to why a record, listed "buy it now" by a US seller on ebay.com, with a total value much less than the UK £15 HMRC vat threshold, should incur any "import charges" under the Global Shipping Program. I assume it falls under the title "customs brokerage fees" in the reply but have no easy way of knowing as, annoyingly, there's no way to directly reply to the message through my ebay messages. Most likely just another way of ebay & partners raking in cash. I for one will not be buying any more records where the seller insists on using this service. (Edited typo)

First record I always think of for a the price of a packet of fags, (Little) Carl Carlton - Why Don't They Leave Us Alone

I've returned to this thread to highlight an issue with ebays Global Shipping scheme. I noticed, when posting previously on this thread, I was over charged for "import charges" under the Global Shipping by ebay/Pitney Bowes. On investigation it appears they charge import duty whether or not it is actually due. I have currently found records priced @ $3 + $15.92 shipping which, according to the ebay listing, will incur "import charges" of $4.37. After the "import charges" amount in the listing it states "amount confirmed at checkout" but, in my experience, the "import charges" stated don't alter at checkout, so what you see in the listing is what you get charged. Bear in mind that in the above example the total cost of the item + shipping equates to less than the UK's £15 threshold & therefore should not incur any charges from HMRC. Hence ebay/Pitney Bowes should not be charging a penny for "import charges". I've sent a message to ebay customer support but I'm not holding my breath for a positive response.

Got quite a few things in the post at the mo but one did arrive in the last couple of days. Smokey 007 - My Precious World. Clearly one for the deep soul collector. After being on my wants for a while it's the second copy I've bought recently and, although a bit rough, was a good price so I couldn't pass it up.

Pretty sure JOB Orquestra is a different OM label to The Oracles. Oracles is Hollywood, JOB Orquestra New York?

For Tim Harris you could also add the Timco release of the song and possibly the Menzola 45 too, although I'm sure I''ve seen something else on Menzola. Anything else on OM apart from The Oracles?

Whilst this thread as been reactivated, along with the (old) White Cliffs thread, I thought it would be a appropriate to mention the Cosimo Code website - https://cosimocode.com/ I'm sure any additional information,label scans etc will be gratefully recieved.

While this thread has been reactivated I'd like to give a plug to The Cosimo Code website - https://cosimocode.com/ For anyone who isn't already aware this is an ongoing project to document the work of Cosimo Matassa and his recording studios in New Orleans.

£40 - £60 on ebay and probably circa £100 on lists. Marsha Stanley just sold one (Ex con) on ebay.com $75. Pretty sure I've seen for it less than $30 on ebay in the past but can't remember in what condition and also that was before the US postage rates went up.

As you rightly say, the ball is in the buyers court as things stand. I wrote, "At least sellers currently have a choice" and my point at the time was that US sellers can choose which shipping service to offer, but maybe in future, ebay, in their drive for yet more profit, could make it more "attractive", if not compulsory, for those same sellers to use the Global Shipping Program. My fear being that although the buyer can decide at the moment whether or not to purchase an item from a seller who uses the Global Shipping Program, ebay, in their wisdom, could potentially take the choice away by pushing sellers down the Global Shipping Program route. Of course this may never happen.....who knows! As a slight aside, naturally buying items where a seller is using the Global Shipping Program makes more sense in the case of "buy it now" goods, where the total costs can be seen and evaluated prior to purchase, rather than for auction items, where clearly the overall total cost, including any duty, vat etc, can't be worked out until after the winning bid and auction close.

Contact the bidder yourself and ask if they have read all the listing. You can perhaps get a feel for the individual from their response and take it from there. I've sold to several 0 feedback bidders over time and, touch wood, so far not had a problem. It does make you feel a little nervous but I guess it's all about trust at the end of the day. It might be possible to send the item via one of the premium tracked mail services (International Signed For or Airsure), at extra cost to the buyer, but if this wasn't specified in the listing it could lead to potential problems as these services cost a lot more and the buyer may object. I'm not sure if you can enter additional postal services into a listing after a bid has been placed. You can specify extra "buyer requirements" when listing an item on ebay but in terms of feedback it will only let you block bidders with a feedback score of -1 or lower, which to my mind is hopeless as anyone with that kind of feedback should have their account closed by ebay themselves. You might want to see if there are a few of the other buyer requirements that you can apply in future just to be on the safer side.

You said in your earlier post you use Isopropyl alchohol after applying polish and playing the record. This is most likely what's getting into the grooves to do the actual cleaning not the polish. Applying polish, which are normally either wax or silicon based, is just adding a glossy layer to the surface of the vinyl. In the worst case scenario if this is too thick, ie wax based, it will just fill the grooves, which your needle will proceed to plough through and pick up. Purely from a time/cost/cosmetic aspect I don't see the point of 1st spraying on a glossy finish only to remove it straight after with isopropyl alcohol. As I said earlier.....whatever works for you.