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CHARLESTON / WAITIN' FOR THE MOON

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/His-Masters-V ... 0871315116

Currently £57!

I do not believe that the seller really knows what they are selling. Listing a record by the Melachrino Strings at £5 seems optimistic. Not including the title of the record in the title of the auction seems a strange choice, though others do the same. It does not seem to have hindered the price of the Savoy disc.

"Charleston" by just about any band / group is just one of those "signature tunes" of the 1920s and it's one of those discs everyone seems to want. The Paul Whiteman record of it seems to be the most commonly found recording of it (although it still isn't what I'd call common!). Over here, we had it by the Varsity Eight on Cameo, Arthur Gibbs on acoustic Victor and others (the Vocalion and Columbia artist names escape me at the moment). They all command pretty big bucks when they turn up for sale, especially in nice condition. I only hope the seller of this one knows how to properly pack records or this could easily end up smashed in transit, which would be a shame.

Sean

£71.09!

I hear what you are saying Sean. It just amazes me that so many people found it without the record title in the auction title. Of course once a few people find it and watch it then eBay will show it prominently to everyone else with a similar interest.

As the seller has made no comment on the inadequate default £4.00 eBay record postage and packing charge, I fear they have no clue. Let us hope that the buyer educates them before the record is dispatched!

You are right too about those "signature tunes" which some people seem to be willing to pay over the odds for. Myself, I would rather buy 71 other records. I guess if someone else's space or money constraints are different, they might prefer a smaller number of more valuable discs. I could not bring myself to play it with a steel needle on an HMV 101. A shame, as many early electric Savoy Orpheans records are just ideal played in this way.

I know if I were the winner, I'd be sending special packing instructions before I paid and made certain as much as I could that the seller will take my advice, although I've had some say they would, then completely ignore my instructions and a smashed record arrived. I'll only buy from certain sellers mostly because of that these days, although not long ago I took a chance on a pretty rare cylinder listed with an incredibly cheap buy it now. I was pleased the seller not only took my advice but was most appreciative.

As for paying what we pay, well, I'd mostly agree with what you say. There are certain records I've come to realize you'll never own unless you're willing to pay. I still prefer to buy records in bulk cheaply and weed out what I don't want and it's always fun, but it's also a lot of work and very space consuming. I've been doing a major collection clean out that is going to take me months or even a couple of years to comprehensively do. I've absorbed quite a few large collections over the last several years and last summer bought a tremendous load of Edison cylinders and discs. The stuff was incredibly cheap, in some cases, free, but I saved it from being tossed. Space is now an issue though, altogether, these collections probably total close to 50,000 discs and cylinders NOT counting my own personal collection which is likely around the same number. I'm currently using 2 bedrooms in my house and a good portion of my basement to store / sort all this stuff and as I've said, while it's fun, I really with sometimes I had a better setup!

As far as playing "the good stuff" with steel needles, well, I have a modern setup and most of the stuff I still buy (and may pay premiums for) will never see steel. I will use thorn or fiber on the EMG for some, but certainly not something like a Berliner, Zonophone, you get the idea. Those get played on my system, not my phonographs.

Sorry to ramble, but the subject of records is always fascinating.

Sean

I love buying decent collections. Sometimes it is interesting to imagine the person who chose these particular records and bought them at full price nearly a century ago, especially if the collection comes directly from a relative of the original owner who can provide a story. It is great to reveal that their "quiet old Great Aunt" must have been quite a flapper in the 20s.


There is another category of eBay 78 seller: those who charge £10-£25 for records that I would happily give away. Who buys these?

For example, see musicuria or takesuback.ltd on eBay.co.uk (you have to tick "records" and then "78rpm" or "10 inch" after clicking "See other items"). What are the economics of this business? They must sell some of them otherwise they would not be there. Does it not take time and money to list on eBay? The vast majority of these must remain unsold, even if they re-list them for a whole year. I do not understand.

It does not bother me except for curiosity. Oh, and except for when I walk around car boot sales, and someone has searched eBay, seen 78s selling at £25 each, and then tries to sell them to me at £8 each thinking they are being generous. Sadly most of these optimistically priced records will be broken in the boot of their car long before they will ever sell at such silly prices.

Savoy Orpheans - one of many examples where my knowledge of rarity and value is poor - but I'm aware that some of their records are valuable, some are not (just as some are really hot and some very dreary).

dd2u wrote:I love buying decent collections. Sometimes it is interesting to imagine the person who chose these particular records and bought them at full price nearly a century ago, especially if the collection comes directly from a relative of the original owner who can provide a story. It is great to reveal that their "quiet old Great Aunt" must have been quite a flapper in the 20s.

There is another category of eBay 78 seller: those who charge £10-£25 for records that I would happily give away. Who buys these?

I love it when you feel a past "presence" like that from a collection, it happens often with me. It seems a pity when some are assimilated into my collection and others are cast off, and that identity is lost... Occasionally I will make little notes to that effect though.

The oceans of wildly overpriced 78s on UK eBay are SO annoying for all sorts of reasons, not least having to trawl through them when I want to browse - also when something I want is way too expensive! For example right now there's a Pierre Bernac record of Debussy songs accompanied by Poulenc at £50 which I would really like, but even serious specialists like Raymond Glaspole or Mike Comber would sell for around the £5 to £10 mark. Grrr.

Orchorsol wrote:For example right now there's a Pierre Bernac record of Debussy songs accompanied by Poulenc at £50 which I would really like, but even serious specialists like Raymond Glaspole or Mike Comber would sell for around the £5 to £10 mark. Grrr.

This is just as common in the US and it is on UK eBay, I'm sure. Page after page of utter junk being offered by ignorant and greedy sellers. I used to enjoy looking at random record listings and I just can't any longer, except for those by dealers I trust. I'll admit I have a few of the ones saved that want to price everything sky high just in case I want a good chuckle. Whenever somebody tells me they have "some really old records", I have a hard time holding back. I've said this elsewhere on here in the past, but if someone was really serious about actually wanting to sell the stuff they have and not just milk the most money out of something, list it low and see what happens. Most people with a box of Grandma's records want to believe that they're all worth a pile of money no matter what somebody with experience tells them. I generally don't offer any advice to these kinds any longer beyond asking for a random sample of 10 artists.

I sell on eBay when I have the time and I know I have something worth posting, lately I've sold off some very obscure classical stuff that doesn't interest me and I was amazed by what they brought. I can only think of a handful of times out of several hundreds of sales where nothing received bids, either. In those few cases, I'd relist once and if it didn't sell again, it either went with a "bulk lot" or out to one of the "giveaway" boxes. I don't have the time or the energy to keep relisting something like others do. Then again, this isn't a money driven hobby for me. When I want something gone, I just want it gone.

Sean

I thought this one might of gone higher. I have seen copies of this record go for nearly GB200!!! But that was at the peak a few years ago. It is a great record though...I have two copies one in e+ condition which I play only on my modern deck and a G+ one which I play on my ordinary gramophone.

I hope the seller does pack this one carefully and not just inside an LP cover as its only protection....

Swing Band Heaven wrote:I thought this one might of gone higher. I have seen copies of this record go for nearly GB200!!! But that was at the peak a few years ago. It is a great record though...I have two copies one in e+ condition which I play only on my modern deck and a G+ one which I play on my ordinary gramophone.

I hope the seller does pack this one carefully and not just inside an LP cover as its only protection....

I was waiting for you to chime in, I was pretty sure you had told me once you had a copy!

Sean

LOL, yes - i've only just woken up and all this thread has occurred whilst its been night time here

I think what adds even more to this record is that it must be one of the earliest HMV's that was electrically recorded (and fantastically well too)as I have other S.O. disks recorded in the same year which were acoustic. I'm not sure when exactly when HMV issued their first electric disks and I won't hazard a guess for fear of being accused of being "ignorant"