Frankie Crocker

Hi James. You have missed the boat on this. The days of returning from the States with hundreds of records are long gone. Sure, there are common records going cheaply, often in unplayed condition, but you can buy those from UK dealers. Much depends on where you go, and the the record stores there. Most have been picked over so regularly, there is little to be had, but you can always hold out for that one item crate-diggers have overlooked. In 1996, I brought back over 500 records from Detroit, Chicago and places around - I carried 200, put 200 in the suitcase when it was a 70lb luggage allowance and the Mrs put a few boxes in her hand luggage. The weight alone makes it a difficult proposition. When the volcano went off in 2010, I was stuck in Texas for an extra week after touring around for a fortnight - that was a great delay as it bumped the haul up to over 300 records, a large proportion of which were duplicates to sell on - it takes a lot of time to find large numbers of records. These days, you are lucky to find 50-100 good records in a fortnight visiting ten stores in five cities. You could achieve similar on eBay and UK websites in a month, but it would only be a fraction of the fun. Top tips for travellers would be to visit any newly opened stores ASAP, chat to the store owners and discover the local contacts, jump at the chance to go to a collector’s house if invited, carry 100 old sleeves marked at 50 cents that look like they came from a yard sale or antique mall and walk through the Green Channel like you have nothing to declare. Be prepared to find little or nothing, but have a great holiday, clock up some miles, see the sights and any records found are a bonus.

Manship Guides, hands down. The prices are now academic but give a relative indication of record scarcity and demand. Manship 5 is good to travel with as it has info on bootlegs. Manship 6 is a bit thinner, on heavier paper but nice to have at arm’s reach for quick reference. Manship 7 is a thumping great hardback tome, fully expanded to include LP’s and with an interesting set of collectors’ contributions at the end. I have only bought the one Essential Guide but it contained some records that did not feature in the Manship series. I have a full set of Manship's books and strongly recommend them for identifying records regardless of prices.

Ah, but some of John’s records are flops, others go for the book price or market rate, whilst a few, the ones we are speculating on, go for stupidly high prices. Yes, these do contribute to rampant price inflation but remember, John's auctions have more of a global reach and way more bidders. Tim Brown’s auctions have high minimum bids so they can fetch high prices if anyone starts bidding in the first place. His copy of Sherri Taylor is at a higher price than John’s went for this week. John’s auctions are the fairest and best around despite the emergence if rogue values that we like to pontificate on. As you say, the person with the most money trumps all comers...

But with sealed bid auctions, price inflation is rampant. It endorses the one big bid only approach, but pay a stupidly high amount. Incremental bidding encourages more measured bids and potentially less expensive records. Sealed bid auctions are for very rich bidders. Incremental bid auctions are for the masses who can not afford to pay through the nose.

Ah but, the winner of John’s auction pays a small increment more than the second bidder. The winner of Pat’s auction may pay £2,500 more than the underbidder - now that’s great for the seller but unfortunate for the buyer.

But the record’s wanted in more than three States... This is what happens in a sealed bid auction. Prices do not rise incrementally so the winner is the person with most money in the bank. John Manship’s auction method is by far and away the best.

The buyer must’ve been ‘In The Mood’...

Especially when the issue goes for £100-125...

But given recent price surges on massive tunes, I wonder if it could have? To what extent was the buyer smitten by the LP - were they just after the single? I also wonder if the records might have made more money had they had been auctioned separately QED.

Isonics - finished at £543 Esther Phillips -WOW Silhouettes - the 45 might have fetched this price on its own perhaps?

In the words of the mighty Jack Johnson, ‘Reduce-Reuse-Recycle...’ I am pleased to offer space for the recycling skip outside my mansion. Reuse all maroon Doo-Wop records for ash trays or Christmas nut dishes etc. Reduce your future need for vinyl by buying everything you can get your hands on, while you can...got a nice pair of Willie Picketts on Eastern and Soul Spot today.

Manship auctioned a copy of Tears a few weeks ago for well over £500. I can’t remember the exact figure but it was nearer £800. Nobody in their right mind would ever put this record in a skip.

Soul records will be the last into the skip, and the rarest will be safely stashed away. The shortage of decent contemporary releases for the masses will encourage the more discerning youngsters to embrace vinyl. Turntables, LP’s and 60’s/70’s pop are already attracting converts - good soul 45’s will always be favoured by those seeking out the best sounds. The skip will fill up with Doo-Wop, Country, surplus chart singles that sold by the million, 80’s and 90’s picture sleeves of little interest, CD collections, just about everything apart from rare soul. Sadly, tons of Motown, Atlantic and Stax will end up in the skip as there are not enough buyers for it all. Rare soul records could last for hundreds of years if cared for properly and played on high quality turntables.

Eleven copies on Popsike - one sold in December 2020 for $30!!! A member on Soul Source was asking for one a short while back - I hope they got that one...

So, which side did the bidders on Samuella Williams go for? Younghearts fetched more than expected for a common classic. Otis Lee went for the going rate or thereabouts. Kenny Wells went for less than expected but you can’t win them all.

If Dave Flynn moved back to the UK, there would be more killer collections in Australia I reckon.

Ah, but it’s not just about the prices. Some of the final values are ludicrous for the discs in question as they are not scarce and/or lacking in quality. Many of the items are simply not auction items. Just lately, some of the records have not been in ‘tip-top’ condition - more than a few have sold for less than top dollar. Some of the records, presumably sold on commission, will have realised less than the owner was hoping for. Some of John’s hype exaggerates the merits of records up for grabs but is always worth reading. Each stupidly sky-high price distorts the market and encourages greedy sellers to up their prices. John’s weekly auction is still way more interesting than others around - that’s what prompts discussion.

Very sad news. So glad I caught her act in the USA summer of 2019. Excellent tribute to her by music journalist Neil McCormick in today’s Daily Telegraph (10/2/21). Her contribution to music will live on forever.

The rule is an ‘ass’ then... I bet eBay rubbed their hands together... The goods are a physical entity so can be assigned a value. The postal service is an ‘invisible’ of no value once the transfer has taken place. VAT was always a misnamed tax when it was introduced to replace Sales Tax then upped following the Poll Tax Riots; it was not reduced when Council Tax replaced the Rates Tax.

Just another Set Sale Jack Montgomery, Bobby Garrett and a couple of others not really auction items.

Very sad news. I enjoyed his posts on Soul-Source. Evidently one of life’s characters and a man of the people who spoke his mind.

Valid observation Clive. Has anyone else noticed how eBay are now flying planes from hubs in the US into Germany and Switzerland. UK customers will pay overseas shipping rates expecting the US Postal Service to take care of the mail. US packets go to the hub for a local postage rate, then eBay fly the mail across the Atlantic, no doubt making further profits. No wonder eBay are so keen to charge 20% on postage as well as VAT as it’s more money for them. As Clive has pointed out, the relabelling process at the hub involves a different value being put on the ticket, something UK importers might want to think about carefully. All this seems to be independent of the Global Shipping Programme which is another rip-off in itself, and no doubt a failure of sorts that has prompted eBay to implement the the innovation currently under discussion.

Royal Mail have been charging this fee for years, so it’s not just a recent thing. Now the Post Office has been privatised, they have become another bunch of rip-off scammers. The organisation is now run by bonus-boys who move from firm to firm getting golden handcuffs and handshakes. Ask yourselves, why does the price of a stamp go up so frequently? Want to know why there are so few post offices? Sell them off so the balance sheet looks healthy, and hey presto, up goes the bonus...

Earl Jackson - £1,342 Charlie McCoy - £446 Theron and Darrell - £1,428 Earl Jackson has broken the sound barrier...now I’ll never own a copy. Charlie McCoy has his day in the sun. Thought the Gallahads would go for more as it’s seriously rare. No worries mate. You do a brilliant job.

About as much use as a chocolate teapot when it comes to pricing. The range of prices thrown up over a long period of time can confuse both sellers and buyers. Useful for estimating the scarcity of a particular record or the ratio of demos:issues. Interesting to analyse the bidding history to track major finds, heightened demand etc. Totally misleading to sellers who think they will achieve maximum prices for their records. Of some use in suggesting what to bid to win an auction. Like price-guide books, Popsike is of interest to us collectors but must be used with an open mind.