Benelew

Spot on Pete! I received the 45 this morning and even though it looks like STYRENE in the scan it is indeed on VINYL and has C102 scratched in the run-out! Not a bad attempt despite the fundamentals being wrong? I wonder how many more there are? I've been promised my money back so it will be returned forthwith! benelew

Thanks Bri, I appreciate it, just checked a couple of mine from same period (Jerry Butler, Lorraine Ellison) and they have stamped YW then serial number, then 1 or 2 for A or B side. Picking disc up from PO tomorrow morning when all will be revealed! Cheers! Benelew

Thanks Bri, I appreciate it, just checked a couple of mine from same period (Jerry Butler, Lorraine Ellison) and they have stamped YW then serial number, then 1 or 2 for A or B side. Picking disc up from PO tomorrow morning when all will be revealed! Cheers! Benelew

Simsy, as I'm the buyer of this 'dodgy' 45, are you able to tell me what I should expect to see in the deadwax on the orig as opposed to the Contact boots? Cheers, Benelew

Thanks Big Chris, I e-mailed the vendor and he was apologetic and believed himself it was legit. He's offered me a refund to protect his reputation which is good of him.

Yeah, call me a fool but I'm the rash young man who bought this! I should know better and yes, on reflection, the label typeface certainly looks dodgy but I've only ever noticed white demos before - must have had a few beers too many! I'm usually pretty careful and just assumed it was legit. The 45 hasn't arrived yet but looks like I'll be demanding a refund (even though the listing of course says no returns for the item). Hello Mr Paypal!

Harry, yeah with the additional fast intro before the opening bars. Always asumed it was taken from original masters or just re-mixed but it's not a legitimate release on 45 is it? Think it was on the Goldmine CD Big City Soul Vol 4 with all the Scepter, Wand & Musicor stuff which also included Platters version of Johnny Hampton. Think it was also released on a Goldmine reissue 45. Regards Jorge

Yeah, also Chuck Jackson "Only get this feeling" has variants on the blocks label. 45s were issued in blue "building block" sleeves different from the Green ones the regular issues came in. Obviously a short-term re-branding that the boys changed minds about. Jorge

Great informative post and intrigued by "Disco enthusiasts have long pointed to Not me baby as one of the earliest examples of that style...." eh!

Great tune the PPM - had one in my box for a few years - sold it recently having a clear out. Available on the album and 45, and should be easy to get hold of (forget the book price - s/b no more than 20 bucks, album a bit harder) Jorge

Some good points Chris, of course I've ordered my copy too and am looking foward to reading it (I remember I took the first edition on holiday with me and spent a week with it on a beach - people thought me mad but when the OCD kicks in there's no stopping us!). From a punters perspective I too question the need for another guide but JM's not daft. Why is the Guiness book of hit singles or whatever re-packaged every year - because people will buy it. As a collector it gives me an idea about what I should be paying. As an ebay seller the guide is pretty meaningless to me. The record sells for what it sells for. The higher end items usually reach a price that is dictated to some degree by what it says in the guides (minus a certain % for condition and reality!). But for lesser value items the guide is irrelevant. Anything "valued" at under £30 especially 70s stuff will sell for as little as 0.99. So it depends on whether you believe the true price to be what it says in a record dealers book or what a final auction price is that's been dictated by the widest possible market - ebay? Personally I think the latter, and that the price guides have been used to shore up prices for established set-sale dealers. For me, the guides should cut out the crap and start at £50 and above for genuinely harder to find disks but from the publishers point of view what's the business sense in that? Having got that off my chest I'll eagerly await the postman!

Seems mad doesn't it, but great news for me! got a copy in a $20 "soul pack" a few years ago!

Sandi Sheldon isn't it? when she was cozy with Van MCoy (Isn't it a mis-spelling on artist - was supposed to be Vanettes?)

Thanks for the reply and for the youngster reference! Yes I understand the demand at the time driving releases like Grapevine etc as I was one of those buying the stuff in the late 70s (before I could afford "real" records). My question was more about the connection (if any) between the two sides. Jorge

Ian... so what's the relationship between Towanda Barnes/Sam Williams/Ohio Players given that Towanda sang on the OP version of love slipped, OP also did the version of You don't mean it (on compass wan't it?) and Towanda - You don't mean it/Sam Williams - Love slipped, were put back to back on the grapevine release of the late 70s? Thanks. Jorge Lewis

Good value but I prefer A4 copy paper boxes from work - free!

Think I know who's 45s these are and if I'm right they'll be the real deal. Jorge

Yeah CSPs, surely legit re-issues? had a few of them (Poppies, Shane Martin, French Fries, Dana Valery etc) before I could afford to buy real stuff. CORRECTION - before I made myself destitute buying real stuff! Jorge

Yeah, a difficult one - Speaking as a seller, it's all about how you treat your customers isn't it? If you treat them like shite they'll not buy from you. I find that if you treat people fairly then generally you get treated likewise (but you can't mitigate against arseholes/idiots) I lost my 100% positive feedback (over 1400 transactions) to someone who had their cheque to me returned undelivered i.e they knew I hadn't received the money and gave me Neg feedback anyway! Without making excuses up as a seller I may sometimes get the grading wrong. I sell a lot of cheap items and don't always play the track all the way through - life's too short - I give it a thorough visual look under the lamp and play maybe 10-20 secs before deciding on the grading. Of course I'm more careful with more expensive items. Over the last 5 years, I've only had a handful of people contact me to say the 45 is damaged or has a crack or is not as good as they expected. I accept that I'm fallable and make mistakes, especially when listing 45s at midnight! I think I've learnt to spot the timewasters but I treat everybody the same - I offer a full refund and postage if I want the record returned. Remember one man's Mint is another man's EX. As a buyer I always do a thorough check on feedback score (and comments) before I buy but I can see that maybe for cheaper items the temptation is to take the risk. As others have said - you can't beat having the thing in your hand before you buy it.

Lots of decent rare stuff not in the catalogues Ady (plus lots of shite that shouldn't be!) Jorge

Bloody hell Harry! are you feeling alright? I'll get that CD to you asap, we'll have you in the Modern Room yet! Jorge

Yeah, really great album, German only 73/74 ish release I think. Another excellent 50p junk shop find for me. Interesting selection of tracks (Nolan Porter) and particularly sleevenotes with German perspective of the day. Even so, can't see I'd get much more than a tenner if I Ebayed it.

Had one like this out of an Oxfam shop in London years ago. Styrene with Monarch. Ebayed it a couple of years ago got £5 I think. Always assumed it was a boot.

Harry... we won't be seeing this lad on the The Apprentice then? Yeah lot's of Bananas' stories around. I had a day over there a few years's back while the missus went shopping elsewhere. Fortunately was before Manship's guides although the guy still had what was probably a US Goldmine guide. His daughter had just started cataloguing all his stuff which probably forms the basis of his internet site nowadays. Had most fun across the road in his "cheapies" warehouse but still managed to get a decent stash for about 250 bucks. Obviously Levine and Co had cleaned up there while I was still going to Sunday School. Needless to say my purchases were insignificant compared to what the missus spent in Florida Mall. Jorge

Harry... how the hell are you? Yeah, good topic and probably due another airing. I'm sure you'll stimulate some interesting views on this one. Here's my take: I don't consider myself a dealer but I've been importing in bulk from a small number of US sources for a number of years (not just Soul - Doo Wop, Garage, Rockabilly etc) and doing the Ebay thing - you know, small time - as a hobby. Apart from the odd item, I don't really get any big value stuff any more and rely on selling volumes of small value. My experience tells me not to put much store in price guides but to emphasise the point, you only have to look at the number of so called £30-£50 Manship guide items going on Ebay for peanuts. 70s - you can't give it away! I recently listed a lot of four 60s (admittedly not well known) 45s all in EX condition that added up to about £180 in Manships. The winner got all four for £17.50! Although I expect the bigger "trophy" items to hold their price for some time yet, I'm bemused when I see the (high) prices some dealers are asking on set sale lists - they're having a laugh! - I know if I'm patient I'll get one of those off Ebay for two thirds that price within a short time. Any lowering of prices or slowing down in sales was always inevitable due to a number of factors: 1) The expansion of the rare soul collectors market to include more "casual" buyers would always contract eventually and will leave the hard core collectors all chasing the same few really rare records, 2) The market's flooded, certainly at the lower end, with more records than potential buyers - sure, me and lots like me and the Internet have contributed to that, 3) The economy is slowing down - less cash for luxuries, more caution. I'm sure there are a few more reasons. As there are other calls on my hard-earned cash (Mortgage, Missus & Teenager) my hobby (collecting and selling) has to be self-supporting - I'll keep selling as long as I make enough money to pay for the stuff I put in my collection, but I'm not sure for how long that's gonna be. Keep smiling! Jorge