Footsurg

T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday Blues" Bluesway BL-6008 Mono 1967

Bertrand, To answer your question. Yes I am. Does my screenname give it away? Mark

Thats what Popsike does for you. My question is how accurate do you think the Popsike data actually is? I have no idea what they include/exclude from their database. I would never sell a rare record and don't pay premium prices for LPs, so it is just for fun anyway. I am with you. I have never actually sold a record before. I have traded a few times, but never sold. I have done my share of buying however! I like to cruise Popsike just to see what kind of appreciation I am getting on the records I bought in the past, Sort of like someone who is always watching home prices in their neighborhood, but does not intend to sell their own home. I may be tempted to sell off a few titles from this collection I just bought however. The reason I have never sold a record before is because all my records were chosen title by title based on music I enjoy. I have never bought a collection before. This was an all or none deal. I had to buy them all. So there is obviously going to be some records that are not my taste. I have to say so far.....I have not found any discards yet. Everything I have cleaned and played up to this point is going to be a keeper. I still have 550 records to go through however! Mark

Thats what Popsike does for you. My question is how accurate do you think the Popsike data actually is?

I recently aquired a large jazz and blues record collection and have been going through it for the last few days to see if there is anything included that is truly rare and valuable. I don't intend to sell anything out of this collection unless it turns out to be something valuable and something that I know I won't listen to. Anyway, I have been using the usual methods to determine value. Checking past ebay auctions using the search completed items, the Goldmine record guides and Popsike. Some of the information on Popsike seems too outlandish to believe. I checked the price of a record that I played the other night on Popsike. It was Hank Mobley's Soul Station on BN. NM cover/NM record, W 61st on label and cover. There was one that sold in mid December for $1050 according to Popsike. Then there were a few that sold in early December and late November in the $400-600 range that looked to be in identical condition to the one that sold for $1050. Then in August there was one that fetched $1750. I find it hard to believe that anyone really paid over 1k for this record. I wonder how many of the Popsike listings were auctions where the high bidder did not pay and the item was relisted later. I know any auction has the potential to get crazy especially if its a record that is rare, clean and is seen infrequently. This can be compounded if there are Japanese bidders involved or if its an Anthony Pearson auction. I just have a hard time believing that someone actually forked over $1750 or $1050 for this record. Even $400-600 seems obscene. I know all Popsike does is copy ended ebay auctions and organizes them so they can be searched, but it seems that the majority of the auctions they track are for the records that sell for the outrageously high prices. The instances where a record that for example sells for $500 then later another copy sells for $40, both auctions don't always appear on Popsike. They will list the $500 one, but not the $40 one. This to me gives the illusion that the hypothetical record in question is more valuable than it really is. See where I am going? I was just curious if anyone else ever questions what they see on Popsike. Mark

One deal comes to mind when I lived in San Francisco. I found a totally MINT Beatles MMT in Mono in a record store for $3. This was a record store that sold mostly indies and alternative rock music, so they did not know what they had. Immediately after buying this I went to another record store across town that sold a lot of nice jazz. I negotiated an even trade for a NM/NM Horace Silver Six Pieces of Silver with Lexington Ave addresses on both album and cover. They had the HS record for over a month with no buyers. They were asking $300 for it in 1993. Thats probably why. They sold the MMT I traded the next day for $250. Go figure. Mark

How do I get the album cover to appear full size in the post? The one I attached has a "click to enlarge" message on it. How do I get rid of that? Mark

This one seems pretty obvious. Mark

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I will have lots to talk about in the coming weeks. I just purchased a large Jazz and Blues LP collection from a local guy who did not want the records taking up space in his home. These have not seen the light of day since the early 70's. He had just over 600 records. I am pulling about 5 per night. Cleaning them up and slapping them on the turntable for a listen. I already have about 1500 Jazz recordings in house on Vinyl. A lot of these are reissues and later pressings. This new lot are all mostly first pressings in mono. What a difference in the way these originals sound!! Now I can see why some folks are paying the big bucks for originals. Mark

Last night I spun: Hank Mobley "Soul Station" Wild Bill Moore "Wild Bill's Beat" Joe Henderson "Mode for Joe" Johnny Hammond Smith "All Soul" Roy Ayers "Virgo Vibes" I have been lurking this board off and on for a long while. I don't know why, but I am tired of lurking and want to start contributing. Mark