I agree with you about the few people who do this,but as a seller,I run into my share of assholes too.I recall this one guy,who I sold two sealed MFSL jazz Lps,to.He bitched and moaned they were scratched up,and/or defective,and that I should have play tested them.I'm sorry,but I do not play test sealed records, especially MFSLs,who are renown for their quality control standards.The guy raised such a stink,that I had to refund his money.Both of the records were returned to me,one looking like it had been gouged with a nail.If the guy's kid,or girlfriend had done this,he could have said so,but it would not have been my fault,or responsibility.
And then there are the people who pay with "offbrand" money orders,from check cashing places and the like,that my bank refuses to cash.
eBay does listen to people's complaints,if enough people make a stink.Bad sellers usually get shown for what they are,and rarely stick around.
As for Royale/Varsity,etc. ,I think everybody here is familiar with them.I own a lot of them,and at least 2/3 of those I own,have yet to be identified.I have bought all,but one,of those I own a thrift stores,or flea markets.All save the Oswald Kabasta "New World", which seems to be an insanely rare title.I bought this on eBay,as a Royale,in gorgeous shape,three years ago,from somebody in Austria, for two Euros.Interesting,no ?
Among the thrift shop purchases,are the "Till Eulenspiegel",by Furtwangler,but I have yet to find the Taschner Beethoven,which I have routinely seen go into three figures on eBay.I may have a nice condition "Le Coq D'or" on Royale.I have a couple of their operas,I've been meaning to stick up,but am not sure where they are right now.All Royales,no Gramophone.
I once met a classical dealer,at a record show,who said he had heard that the Beethoven Piano Concerto No.4,on Gramophone,is a 1950 recording with Antal Dorati,and Wlihem Kempff.Is there any truth to this ?
Roger
"spcv1@xxxxxxxxxxx" wrote: From time-to-time, I have gotten some of the "dawn-of-the-LP" recordings from ebay, which were issued anonymously, or with hokey names.(Royale, Varsity, Rondolette,Halo, etc.) The sellers you deal with are usually honest, but a while back, I bid on(and won)the old Grammophone "Le Coq d'Or"...issued as with the National Opera Orchestra. This source was actually a rare German broadcast. This was stated as being in MINT condition. I was the only bidder, and got it cheap, but when it arrived, it was so filthy, with dirt and mouse droppings in the sleeves, that you couldn't see the surface to determine what sort of shape it might have been in. After several cleanings on a professional machine, and some reconditioning, it still sounded like I thought it would...lousy. You could have probably gotten something out of a land fill in better shape than this. Needless-to-say, I complained to the rip-off artist who screwed me over on
this purchase, and gave him a very negative rating for feedback. This was an obvious intentional misrepresentation of what he was selling. Take care with getting anything on ebay. Normally, it's okay, but there are slime balls out there waiting to send you garbage for your money.
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