Jazzkats

Thanks All, just be sure your heirs know the value of vinyl today. Most people do not. DG said "we live to circulate the music." I love that. and please see below. Yes that's right and thanks for the encouragement. And yes, he's coming to Portland Oregon from Chicago to pack it up! He's bringing boxes. Perhaps Jim pulled a few heavenly strings. Allen, I don't know. Jim had music friends here and all over the world whom he traded and bought and sold with. To whom did he supply them? Were they lost items that were provided to a company that then distributed them? I know one of his local friends, Don Manning had a lot of unreleased material and did provide some of it to companies that distributed it.

Dear Board Folk, I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed this last bit of the conversation. With laughter and damp eyes. You have all spoken all of my own thoughts on this. Thank you! Yes, "It's Complicated". In the interest of your spouses/heirs, I will share a bit more. What you don't know is how long it has been that I have held on to this collection, intending to find the time to sell on ebay or some other way that eliminated the middle man. I did want to realize more from it than I was offered by dealers because it has so much value to me. I have been very attached to the music because Jim was so devoted to collecting and got so much pleasure from it. And when he was ill off and on over a period of a few years, the collecting and listening meant even more to him, and therefore, to me. Recently my new husband Nick (who knew Jim) reminded me that Jim would want the music to be in other's hands where it could be heard and enjoyed. Really hearing that, along with awareness of the declining value, finally got me to let go enough to sell. And the fact that the bucks will come in handy at this point. And knowing that sometimes holding onto things can block new things from opening up in one's life. It's been 7 and a half years. I have a new beloved (also a jazz man, and he's a jazz drummer and afrocuban and salsa bandleader, a different world). But I still did not want to let the music go. And selling it for money seemed so crass because the love of the music has little or nothing to do with money. Yet I did not want to donate it either, and I did want some return for the money that had gone into it. I did post a few on ebay and found it time consuming (though I had some success with a few sets a few years back). I hired a friend to post about 50 on ebay a year ago but things didn't sell. In 2010 about 3 years after Jim passed I did have a sale and averaged about $5 apiece which was great. Plus a few sets sold. We sold about 1200 items that day and the people who bought were so happy to have the music and to have something of Jim's. It was a public sale here in Portland, with a live band in a wonderful space. It was a celebration, and a lot of Jim's friends and my friends were among the couple of hundred people who came. And dear friends and family stepped up and helped with the event, taking money and helping to transport the collection, etc. If I remember right, we did it as a silent auction. Of course there were promo and event expenses, but it was worth it. It was challenging but the social nature of it was also supportive. So...I talked with our great local music store folks last week, and after posting here talked with Stereo Jack (not interested), and Dusty made the fairest offer. There are quite a few items in the collection that are low end, as well as some special items, and it is great that he is taking all of it. I may continue to second guess myself until it walks out the door. Did I mention he is going to come out here and pack it in boxes and ship it? It feels like a real blessing that we don't have to do that and I don't have to ask someone else to do it for me. And I don't have to pack and ship them individually! It's still a challenge to let it go but I am determined that it has to happen. I still have the jazz books, and some of the others (and the zen books) and may post those on the book forum and see if there are takers, but not right away since they are stored where not easy to get to. Well, I hope this isn't too much info...I share in hopes it will benefit you and your families (way in the long distant future), and in gratitude for the place to have had this great conversation with people who have so much in common with Jim.

Once again a HUGE thank you to all who replied to me. I have made a deal with Dusty Grooves, and am pleased because of course my husband was a fan of theirs and frequently bought from them. Thank you for all the fine suggestions. I'm happy to still share the list but will not be selling any items separately. I am sending the link to this forum to a friend who also has a collection she is selling, so more may come of this to benefit you. Best wishes! Laurie

Hi Everyone, thanks for all the great suggestions. Several of you requested the two lists (Mosaic list and big list) but most did not include an email address so I am not sure how I would send to you. The list is too big to attach. If you send me contact info I will send it out. Am in the midst of some negotiations now. thank you! Laurie

(I once thought that was a turkey, but it's a thumbs up!) Thanks to all of you for the kind advice and friendly welcome! This seems like a great list and just the sort of place that Jim would have frequented had he only known about it. I have heard from one of you so far who knew him, and I'll bet there are others. If you long ago were on rec.music.bluenote, or the Ellington bulletin boards or west coast jazz or jazz-L, then you did know Jim Andrews. I have liked having the collection for its connection to him, but It's long past time to let it go now, and it makes it easier knowing that he would want the music to be enjoyed and listened to by jazz lovers. I love the music, but rarely sit down to listen to recordings. So thank you for the wonderful feedback, advice and camaraderie. It's just what I needed. I plan to go ahead with putting the Mosaics on Ebay. I tried to attach the small spreadsheet of the mosaics and other large box sets, but it says that type of file is not allowed to be attached. Suggestions? I'd like to post it. Feedback on pricing for Ebay is very welcome. For the other 7500 items, plus or minus, I am happy to provide the excel spreadsheet of that list. Those of you who offered to review it, or if you enjoy browsing such lists (like he did!) -- the file is too big to attach, so let me know an email address and I'll email you the excel spreadsheet showing the rest of the collection, including the smaller sets and individual CDs. Yes, I would very much appreciate feedback on which items on the list stand out to you as possibly being of higher value. Then I can look things up to see what they were selling for. I don't need top top dollar for every item on the big list, but I would rather not sell something worth $50 for $5, just because I was uninformed. Pricing advice is also very welcome, both for individual items that you notice or for the whole list. I would consider offers for the entire list in the spreadsheet (not including the Mosaics and other higher end large sets which are in a separate list), and maybe also for subsets of it (like maybe all the material from a certain artist, for instance). And at some point I would probably consider selling individual CDs from the spreadsheet list. But at the moment I don't plan to sell individual CDs because it could make it harder to attract a buyer for the whole thing or subsets. A few (5 to 10) of the CDs on this list may have been sold previously and at the moment I don't know which ones they are. They are generally sorted by alphabet, but locating individual items could be challenging. I love having the referral to Stereo Jack, and might ask them for a price on this whole group. But shipping to Massachusetts? Not sure whether it would make sense. Still if they gave me a ballpark number, that would help. Thanks again!!! Laurie (jazzkats)

LOL and oh so true too. Yes, all the future jazz collector widows need good advice. Will do!

Hi, I have about 40 mint Mosaic Box sets (CDs), that I am ready to sell. Trying to figure out the best place to get info on pricing and whether to sell on Ebay, Amazon or perhaps Discogs? Most of them were only played once, to make a copy for listening, and some have one or more factory sealed jewel boxes. Most or all are OOP. I put one up on Ebay, with a reserve. Of course they charge to have a reserve but it seemed like the best idea. It's the Complete Eddie Condon All Stars CBS Recordings, # 152. I want to post where the most jazzophiles will be browsing and buying. I also have another 7500 CDs in his collection, with quite a few rarities and imports. That will be the next step. I have these entered into an excel spreadsheet and in Delicious Library. It would be cool to be able to post them for sale by uploading the spreadsheet someplace, but only if it is the right place. I can attach the file here if that's appropriate and helpful. Jim was a jazz DJ, fan, and collector here in Portland, Oregon, and handled his collection with great care. Thanks much! Laurie (Jazzkats)