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Grading | Abbreviations | Bidding Procedures | Notifying Winners, Payment and Shipment | Are You Selling a Collection? | Other Services GRADING Records on our auction lists are graded using traditional 78rpm standards. Grading is done conservatively and our goal is accuracy and satisfaction of the customer.Grading is done visually, but if there is a significant difference in aural grading it is also done that way. We grade aurally if the value of the record warrants it, and if it obviously "plays different that it looks". This is most important on laminated pressings such as Okehs, Columbias and many foreign pressings especially Australian and French issues. Similarly on a record of higher value we may listen to see how it plays using a standard 3.2 mil stylus. All this is done in order to give the most accurate grading possible. Grading is as follows: N Absolutely NEW, store stock copy. This is rarely used unless the history of the record is known as having come from an old dealers stock or has otherwise remained unplayed. If there is a doubt the grading will be N- and a notation 'looks unplayed" will appear. This means that it is almost certainly new, but it cannot be verified. N- As good as new. Free of any wear, and perhaps played once or twice, carefully. E+ The best grade for a used record. Very minor evidence of playing, no major scuffs, scratches, wear. Music 90%+. Perhaps played a small number of times and well taken care of. E A very satisfactory copy. Has very minor wear on 10% of the surface, but very little compared to the music. E- A bit more wear- greying &/or light scratches on about 10-25% of the surface. V+ Still a very listenable copy. Wear and scratches audible, but still enjoyable. V Music to noise ratio is becoming a factor here, but some good sound to be had. V- Significant wear &/or scratches compared to the music on about 65% of the surface. Good, Poor Much lesser quality. Not much music left. Records in this condition are usually only listed if they are very rare or worth having in a collection despite the problems Solos, personnel or other interesting facts may be sometimes be pointed out, or additional comments made especially on records that may not be as well known. ABBREVIATIONS EC or RC: Edge chip or rim chip. GVS: Grooves. HLC: Hair line crack. INTCR: Internal crack, usually pressure crack from under the label. LAM: Lamination crack on pressings such as Okeh and Columbia. Most of these do not affect play. LBL: Label. MX: Matrix number- the internal number assigned to the recording by the record company. NAP: Not affecting play. SCF: Scuff. SCR: Scratch. SOL: Sticker on label. WOL: Writing on label. BIDDING PROCEDURES Bids may be made by email by contacting us at alan@jazz78s.com, or by US mail. Bids are accepted till midnight on closing night, and emails are checked often. Please check accuracy of bids before submitting them. Our computer program is keyed to item numbers and not artists or song titles. If you wish to supply the latter, that is fine, but they will be entered according to the item number. If a wrong item number is used by the bidder, they will be awarded the wrong record and should be prepared to honor the bid. If a mistake is made in entering here, of course the bid will be cancelled when the error is discovered. If you are mailing bids, please allow adequate time for the letter to reach us. The postal service is sometimes not as fast as we'd like. There are no minimum bids, but we reserve the right to reject any bid which does not approach the value of the record. This rarely happens as in the wide universe of collectors that our lists reach, the record generally brings what it is fairly worth. NOTIFYING WINNERS, PAYMENT AND SHIPMENT Approximately one week after the closing date, winners will be notified of the amount of their winnings plus postage, packing and insurance charges. The winner is generally notified via the same method that bids were placed- email, fax or postal service. E-mail is the preferred way to do this. Media mail rates will be quoted for domestic parcels, and upgrading to priority mail or other services can be requested at this time. On overseas wins surface and air price quotes will be offered at can be selected at the winners option. Payment is accepted by check, money order, bank wire transfer, cash (not recommended, but if used should be sent registered), foreign postal money order (payable at a US post office), overseas check or bank draft (payable at a US bank). Shipping is done in a timely fashion, in order of payment received. As there may be several hundred boxes to be sent per auction, and shipping services are sometimes erratic, please allow adequate time for a parcel to reach you ARE YOU SELLING A COLLECTION? We are actively seeking to purchase collections- the bigger the better. Anything from good private collections to radio station libraries. We buy what we sell, primarily 1920s and 1930s 78s- jazz, blues, dance band, personalities, rare labels, Edison, ethnic, country, radio transcriptions, airchecks, early Vitaphone and soundtrack discs, etc. We are also interested in LPs of original issue jazz of the late 40s, 50s and early 60s, as well as 78 collections in other genres such as classical or opera. Although we do not currently list these categories, that may change in the future- or your collection can be referred to experts in those types of records. We also purchase paper material related to vintage 78s and performers- posters, window cards, memorabilia, catalogs, catalog supplements, autographs, magazines, books, etc. Another interest is 16mm film. We purchase all types of 16mm film from old home movies to 2 reel comedy shorts, to school libraries, to early television kinescopes,etc If you have or know of a collection for sale, please contact us. We have purchased collections from as far as 3000 miles away, so distance is of no concern for the right material. Collections can either be picked up by car or truck if within driving distance, or shipping instructions and packing materials can be provided. OTHER SERVICES: CONSIGNMENT AND APPRAISALS We accept records on consignment and seek better records in nice condition for our auctions. Our services for this type of listing include pickup or assistance in shipping, storage, sorting, preparation for listing which may include light cleaning and re-sleeving, preparation and mailing of auction lists, processing bids, packing and shipping records. Most importantly it includes access to our lists which reach the top collectors in the world. Our fee for this is 40% of the high bid. We also provide appraisal services for valuing collections. Information and fees can be discussed upon request. Alan Cooperman Record Auctions PO Box 310 Millington, New Jersey, 07946 Phone (917)662-4360 Email: alan@jazz78s.com |