[78-L] Record Pricing Guides: not a new story

[Malcolm - Venerable Music]

Maybe a price guide was used when figuring out what all these old records 
are worth? - http://tinyurl.com/mzvgz2
Binder 5 is empty - a drag, but at least he's throwing it in. In his 
defense, I think Docks had scene 5 of the Virginian Judge at somewhere 
between $5-$42,000, but where is he getting the other $1000 from?
The not funny thing is that there are a few records in that lot I wouldn't 
mind bidding on.
Malcolm

Venerable Music - http://www.venerablemusic.com/
Venerable Radio - http://www.venerablemusic.com/samphpweb/index.html
On Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/venerablemusic


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cary Ginell" <soundthink at live.com>
To: <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 1:55 PM
Subject: [78-L] Record Pricing Guides: not a new story



Found this while doing research:



"Let us consider the several record price guides. The extraordinary ambition 
of such guides is nothing less than to be accepted as a final authority on 
the value of out-of-print jazz records. Anyone with the slightest experience 
in record collecting is well aware of the innumerable difficulties of 
establishing even an approximately fair price on a rare record. But when 
someone publishes a book that is supposed to contain the precise value of 
several thousand hard-to-get records, such an attempt, no matter what the 
qualifications of the author may be, is bound to create general confusion. 
On what basis do these people arrive at their prices? What kind of wishful 
thinking gives them the illusion that they can take upon themselves the role 
of Final Arbiter in such a delicate and essentially subjective matter? Every 
experienced collector has his own opinion about record values and will 
naturally ignore such misdirected efforts. But here is where such a book 
causes much harm: it fall sinto the hands of a new collector who takes the 
listed prices seriously and follows them in his tradings. Thus he has 
started his collection with an entirely wrong perspective, and it will be a 
painful awakening for him when he realizes how mistaken he has been about 
the worth of his collection. I ahve been told of dealers who follow the 
prices of such guides to the letter, asking preposterously high prices, just 
because it says so in The Book, for records that are in terrible condition. 
I am also told that the author of one of these booklets does not follow the 
prices shown in his guide in his own record dealings. Record values are in a 
constant state of fluctuation. Even if some of the prices quoted in such a 
book would be accurate at the time of publication, after a certain period 
they would lose their relevance. In my opinion, the majority of the prices 
listed in such books range from inaccurate to fantastic. I protest against 
all of them and advise you to avoid them."



Nesuhi Ertegun

The Record Changer

September 1947





Cary Ginell

_________________________________________________________________
Hotmail® is up to 70% faster. Now good news travels really fast.
http://windowslive.com/online/hotmail?ocid=PID23391::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HYGN_faster:082009
_______________________________________________
78-L mailing list
78-L at klickitat.78online.com
http://klickitat.78online.com/mailman/listinfo/78-l