The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I buy records from this guy on a regular basis, but the bidding on his records gets higher all the time. I had expected this particular record to sell for more than average (because of the "Charleston" title), but not this much

http://cgi.ebay.nl/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... K:MEWAX:IT

umm, perhaps I might dig out my spare copy and sell it

It is the quintissential tune of the 1920's and in excellent condition is very disirable....but two people must of wanted this very very badly. Glad I bought my first copy when the price was still in just double figures...and the other copy was in a stack of records I bought and paid only £10 for the whole lot.

Crazy!

EDIT: Crazy - particulalry as its not the best condition - with a noisy left groove wall and whispers of grey. Copies turn up reasonably regularly and there is sure to be a better condition one in the near future. In fact this record breaking price may well smoke a few copies out of the closet LOL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK-E6usM ... ideo_title

S-B-H

I don't know anything about the record linked to your post but I can tell you that there are a bunch of collectors with far more money than common sense. I collect Victor records from the 1900 to 1926 era (acoustic) For the last couple of months there have been 2 guys on eBay that bid against one another on Victor Pre-Dog & Dog and Ribbon discs. They get into biding wars to win records that should sell in the $20 to $40 range. The end result is a sale price ranging a ridiculous $100 - $140 for nice, clean $30 records. They seem to bid on any pre-dog record with a pretty label. For the sellers it is obviously a wet dream-come-true but it's REALLY a bummer for those of us who budget ourselves from $30 or $40 a month to splurge on our hobby. While I realy like the pre-dog records I find that the single sided records from 1905 and 1908 are the best deals of all. They are still VERY early and have the charm of the single sided yet usually don't cost any more than the and Patent labels and Batwing records.

Over 200 pounds for a less than mint copy is ridiculous. It is one of the earliest electrically recorded HMV's, allright it was a very popular number and the Savoy Orpheans were at their very best at that period. But this definitely looks like shill bidding. The man sells lots of interesting records and his pricing is quite reasonable for the quality he offers. And he has a 100% track record, which is a is a sign of his trustworthiness. And no, I'm in no way involved in his business. He's British, I'm Dutch and I don't collect 78s anymore. I lost my collection of over 3,500 discs through misfortune and I now only have my music solid state. Far easier and a lot less hassle. Thousands and thousands of numbers on just a few USB sticks.

The price for this disk is over the top...but over the last two years copies of this disk have sold for between £80 and £150. Although this is significanlty higher than that I have no reason to suspect shill bidding is involved. I know this seller well both as a customer and as a personal friend and I would be careful making such accusations unless you have proof of such activity. This looks more like two people getting carried away to me.
S-B-H

I didn't accuse the dealer of anything. In fact I mentioned his 100% track record specifically. But I've seen cases where others were driving prices up to prevent specific collectors from buying items. Or to make them pay ridiculous amounts for that one item they needed to complete a collection.

Wow, significantly more than even the Paul Whiteman version on Victor, which goes for $30-50 usually (sometimes a bit less).

syncopeter wrote:Over 200 pounds for a less than mint copy is ridiculous. It is one of the earliest electrically recorded HMV's, allright it was a very popular number and the Savoy Orpheans were at their very best at that period. But this definitely looks like shill bidding. The man sells lots of interesting records and his pricing is quite reasonable for the quality he offers. And he has a 100% track record, which is a is a sign of his trustworthiness. And no, I'm in no way involved in his business. He's British, I'm Dutch and I don't collect 78s anymore. I lost my collection of over 3,500 discs through misfortune and I now only have my music solid state. Far easier and a lot less hassle. Thousands and thousands of numbers on just a few USB sticks.

Yes, music on HD's is lot's easier than the actual records. Takes up less storage space, also. But you miss the "magic" of choosing a record, putting it on the turntable, lowering the arm, and seeing it spin while it plays. But one of the main reasons I started collecting these records is because I wasn't satisfied with what's available on cd's with reissues. Lot's of artists you won't find on cd (you can buy the almost complete Paul Whiteman output, but what about, for example, Johnny Hamp's Kentucky Serenaders?) and a lot of material that is available has been digitally processed and remastered to death. There are only a handful of labels that offer cd's I find listenable, even enjoyable. I mostly play my own home made compilations.