Below are the 'top' sellers (price wise) on that wonderful auction house ebay. I have had people ask if a record is worth, let's say $100 in the record price guides, then you should be able to get that price for the record if you were to sell it. As I tell all who have read my ebook, "The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting," you will only get what someone is willing to pay. And that also depends on who is buying the record. If it is a record dealer, expect to get about 10-30% of the record price guide value. Why? Because these people are in business to resell the records and make a profit. But let's say you have two or three different collectors bidding on a rare Bob Dylan release that may be listed at $400 in the price guide. The price that the winning bidder may pay could be twice that, especaily in a "bidding war."
There are many other variables that go into the worth of a record. Condition is the most important factor, not only of the record, but the album jacket, picture sleeve and/or contents (for instance, if the record had a special poster or insert inside when it was released). Additionally, the genre of music plays a role. For instance, if you have a rare "Northern Soul" record (and that is a hot commodity right now) you may get more than the 'book value.' Conversely, you may have an old opera recording, and because there is not a huge demand for that genre, you may have to settle for less than book value. Also, what record label it is on can effect the value. But, this is not an exact science. If you get the right bidders, on the right day, truth is, you can only presume what could happen, nothing is written in stone.
That said, let's explore some of he highest prices that have been paid for records at ebay in the last few weeks:
Vinyl Records Top 5 eBay Sales Week Ending 01/05/2008
1) 45 - Freddie Butler "All Is Well" / "Save Your Love For Me" - $5,200.00 Start: n/a Bids: n/a
2) LP - Mariani "Perpetum Mobile" - $2,850.00 Start: $2,500.00 Bids: 2
3) LP - Jutta Hipp "D.G. Flat" Blue Note Mono - $2,534.00 Start: $90.00 Bids: 15
4) 45 - Elvis Presley "That's All Right" / "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" - $1,726.99 Start: $700.00 Bids: 8
5) LP - Billy Preston "Club Meeting" - $1,711.96 Start: $9.00 Bids: 4
An ultra-rare soul rocker from Freddie Bulter topped eBay sales this particular week. The "All Is Well" 45 RPM sold for $5k. Dropping pretty far down in terms of dollars, a more or less psych LP by the band Mariani came in the #2 spot. A Blue Note jazz LP from Jutta Hipp sold for a little over $2.5k. In the #4 spot sits an Elvis 45 on the Sun label. And in #5 comes Billy Preston's very rare live "Club Meeting" LP.
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Vinyl Records Top 5 eBay Sales Week Ending 01/12/2008
1) LP - U2 "Joshua Tree" Swedish Blue Vinyl - $4000.00 Start: $4000.00 Bid: 1
2) 45 - Al Williams "I Am Nothing" / "Brand New Love" Palmer - $3,500.00 Start: $3,500.00 Bids: BIN
3) 45 - Innersouls "Just Take Your Time" / "Thoughts" Plemmons - $2,469.44 Start: $99.99 Bids: 17
4) 45 - Elvis Presley "Milkcow Boogie Blues" / "You're A Heartbreaker" Sun 215 - $2,254.90 Bids:32
5) 45 - Frankie Lyman "I'm Sorry" / "Sea Breeze" Big Apple - $1,901.00 Start: $9.99 Bids: 11
Another oddball Swedish colored vinyl U2 record came in at the top of the list this week. This time the color is blue and the record is Joshua Tree. Some weeks ago a red Unforgettable Fire made the list. Next, one of the gods of high dollar rare soul 45's Al Williams comes in at #2, with "I Am Nothing New" selling on a buy-it-now for $3,500.00. Another rare soul 45 from Innersouls made the #3 spot. And an Elvis on Sun 45 comes in at #4 for the second week. And last is another soul 45 from Frankie Lymon.
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Vinyl Records Top 5 eBay Sales Week Ending 01/19/2008
1) LP - Hank Mobley self titled LP Blue Note - $3500.00 Start: $3500.00 Bids: BIN
2) 45 - Jackie Day "Naughty Boy" / "I Want Your Love" Phelectron - $3,000.00 Start: $499.00 Bids: 16
3) 45 - Iron Maiden "Two Minutes To Midnight" Japanese Promo - $2,895.00 Start: $2895.00 Bids: BIN
4) 78 - Margaret Thornton "Jockey Blues" / "Texas Bound Blues" Black Patti - $2,4000.00 Start: $99.00 Bids: 27
5) 45 - New World "The World To-day" / "J.R." Virtue - $2,178.88 Start: $9.44 Bids: 37
For having only a 500 copy run, this Hank Mobley Blue Note LP changes hands quite a bit. This time coming in #1 and selling for $3.5k. For #2, it's back to rare soul for a Jackie Day 45. The rarest of Iron Maiden collectibles, a Japanese promo 45 sells for close to $2.9K and makes the #3 spot. A 78 RPM blues record from 1927 by Margaret Thornton came in #4. And for #5 we have a rare soul 45 from New World.
As always, I want to thank my source of this useful information:
http://ccdiscoveries.blogspot.com/
