Benelew

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

Yeah, second that - Blue with Bunky's pick and a "Star" I think. Had one when I was at school (all I could afford in those days!)

Good debate folks and some good calls thoughout the thread. Can I join in. Surely we're into the old supply and demand argument aren't we? If there's a need - fill it, if not, don't bother. Living in Somerset, I don't have the luxury of choosing where I go to dance and it usually involves a car journey of at least an hour. I rely on trips back up North to get my fix where there's always plenty of choice, maybe too much now. Are we nearly at saturation point? I think so. Has the popularity of the scene reached it's maximum? Yes, probably - the scene has certain attractions for those of a certain age (me included) who can have a good laugh with like-minded people and get a dance to boot which for most others in our age group is not necessarily available. That said, I think it's only a matter of time before that bow wave subsides once the more "casual" punters have had their fill. For me, I'll keep going but not for long if I get the same DJs with the same sets every week (I don't care how rare their records are!), if I get venues with bad dancefloors and poor sound systems, and if I get tired oldies and am told "you weren't there" cos I'm too young to have gone to the Twisted Wheel! Only time will tell and people ultimately vote with their feet. We don't have to go back very far to remember that the die-hards on this scene are relatively very few in number. Let's enjoy it while we can.

Yep, was in a container going to a buyer in Taiwan I was told. Must have come across those South China Sea pirates methinks.

One US seller I buy from regularly has ditched Paypal after a shipment of 10000 LPs went "missing" and PayPal found in buyers favour. Seller now says I can send UK cheque which they can cash without charge. Done it a couple of times recently and no problems either side.

Come on Harry, we all know you're a closet Andre Brasseur & his multisound organ fan!

Goods to hear Pete. I like to think that I'm one of good guys when it comes to selling (and hopefully buying too). I always try to give the benefit of doubt to the buyer, but sometime's it's the buyers that p#$* you off, especially those who leave neg feedback because the items are not what they were expecting with no communication and without trying to resolve the issue first. Even when you inspect a 45 under a lamp before listing you don't always pick up hairline cracks and you certainly can't control what Royal Mail do with it (apart from insuring more valuable items). Sure there's plenty of con men and shysters out there but I like to treat everyone as honest and reliable until I know different.

Great R&B side on SAADIA (same as Little Beaver on same label?) - had if for years but never seen listed or in any price guides - anyone got a value? Thanks.

Christ was it that long ago Harry? I remember you lending me one or two of those from that collection so I could tape them - hope I returned them in one piece! That was quite a playlist you had in those days mate - didn't realise young dez was so clumsy! Do you remember my Yvonne Baker demo didn't make it home from Wigan in one piece about the same time. Hope you're doing Ok and might bump into you again one of these days..... Jorge

You think as bad as that "Love from the Far East" bilge Jorge

I thought that Reckless Records in Berwick Street got most of them when the BBC auctioned off all their "Dup" copies a few years ago. Jorge

John, fair point about the million sellers but isn't the question of finding MINT condition copies of hit 45s another issue? - surely the fact they were hits suggests that most sold copies were well played/used making it harder (relatively speaking) to find Ex or better quality copies. Jorge

Yeah, I've got a few with notes and a Christian name same as the artists - maybe the artist giving them away to mates/girlfriends? On a similar theme, not a rare soul 45 but I've got a New Zealand Jay & Americans "Living..." with New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation sticker complete with record library index card and stamps showing each time it was taken out of the library in 1967! Anyone got any other record library anecdotes?

Fascinating topic guys, I'm enjoying the education. Some interesting stuff about bb holes, shop scams and artist royalties. One thing springs to mind; of all the 1000s of rare soul 45s that are out there and pass through our hands, what percentage of them were actually purchased at a traditional point of sale? Anyone hazard a guess? Continued thanks for filling my lunch hour. Jorge

Nice one Sean! Yeah, twas about the same time I bought my Yvonne Baker West Coast Demo for £12 then some goon decided to use my holdall as football and cracked it! Also reminds me of the Tomangoes I was offered for £15 but didn't want it cos there was some writing on it - fool! It never entered my head that the Chubby could have been recorded in UK. The production and recording certainly bears little resemlance to the UK Pye mid-60s output that was often clynical in the extreme. Jorge

Sorry for jump in on your thread again.... Am I reading this right? Surely the US copies have been around for years haven't they? Recall one for sale in Casino record bar circa 80/81, westcoast DJ of course, a bit rough - for about £50. Still... I've lost a few brain cells since then, and that time of my life's a bit of a blur! Jorge