Khnud wrote:msp wrote:Rattlehead's auctions always fetch a high premium though
Yes, that's the weird bit. Here you have the exact same record, cheaper, in mint condition, offered directly by the singer, and still people put a higher bid on Rattleheads copy. All the power to him, but man, some of the bidders out there are stupid.
The premium some sellers get is understandable
to a point. There are a lot of rip-offs and jerks out there who inaccurately grade records, sell reissues & boots as the original item, are slow to ship, etc etc. So, given the choice between buying from a guy like Jim, who has a 5-star solid gold reputation as an honest dealer, and buying from someone you've never dealt with before I can see why some people are willing to pay Jim (and others) a little more for the same item.
However, the amount of the seller premium can get pretty absurd. Nothing against Jim at all- I've bought from him for almost 10 years and think he's one of the nicest record dealers I've ever done business with. Still, it is hard to fathom someone paying $50 or $100 more for an item just to get it from a specific dealer (but see below). There's plenty of examples, but 2 stick in my mind
-2 copies of 'lightning to the nations' sold on the same day. Same condition, both 1st presses. Only diffeence: one came with a gig flyer and the other had 1 band member signature on the cover. One sold for just over $300, the other sold about 4 hours later for les than $150.
-2 copies of Zish LP sold within 24 hours of one another. Same condition. One went for over $400, the other sold for less than $30!
I think there are 2 other factors besides 'seller premiums' that cause these big price discrepancies:
1- some collectors really don't care what they pay for the item as long as they get it. If you were earning 6-7 figures a year, would you be worried about a difference of $150 for a diamond head album? I doubt it.
2- some people don't 'shop around'. Lots of people watch Jim's auctions, but they don't search the rest of ebay (or other sites like gem, popsike, etc) to see if other copies are available and to try and get a feel for what the record 'normally' sells for (that's hard to do for rare items of course).
At the end of the day, things only have the value we give them. If someone wants to pay Jim, or any other seller, a premium to buy their item, that's their decision and congrats to the seller.... it just sucks for the rest of us who can't afford to keep up in the bidding
"I'm sorry Sam, we had real chemistry. But like a monkey on the sun, our love was too hot to live"
-Becky
