West End Mystery

What do these six images of the Collector's Edition of "West End Girls" by Pet Shop Boys have in common? If you can't spot the problem, don't worry as it probably takes quite specialist and nerdy knowledge to discern what is going on.

The answer is that for all of these records, the 'wrap around' sleeve has been applied incorrectly. This single wasn't issued like this, but the owners haven't been able to work out how to put them back in the sleeve properly. If you search for images of "Pet Shop Boys West End Girls 10 inch" almost every picture looks like this. I'm not sure why it is so difficult to fold the sleeve correctly, but almost everyone seems to get it wrong. Apart from causing me some mild annoyance, this isn't an issue as how people chose to store their records is no concern of mine.

However, if you advertise your record for sale as "mint", "still sealed" or "never opened" using images like these - I know you're lying. This is quite a collectible record for Pet Shop Boys enthusiasts and people will pay anywhere between £25 and £75 for a copy in good condition. So if you're looking to buy this record and the sleeve doesn't look like image to the right, then it is not "mint" and has definitely been opened.

I bought my copy of this 10" twenty tears ago from a well known online retailer (I still have the receipt and cringe at the £85 price tag - but hey, the postage was only £1.85). Even though mine was sold as mint and shows no signs of wear whatsoever, it was nineteen years old when it came into my possession and I have no way of knowing what truly happened during those years. In fact, when I look closely at the photo I just took, I can see the catalogue number is upside-down, which suggests the sticker has been re-applied the wrong way round. So my copy might not be mint either, but at least I don't have a strip of the inner photo showing through the front - which is more than 99% of people selling them can say.

Vinyl in the shed

I've moaned before about sellers on eBay not grading records properly so I'm not about to start again. However my latest haul of wax has led me to question quite where eBay sellers are storing their vinyl.

Having just unwrapped another musty smelling and dust covered album from the 1990's, I can only assume that there are a significant number of people who unplugged their turntables and stuffed their vinyl into a dust filled room for 10 years. A further demotion occurred around the turn of the millennium when the nation's vinyl seems to have been moved into a damp shed.

When people realise there is a full blown vinyl resurgence going on, they fish out those cardboard boxes and list them on eBay.

This means we buyers sometimes get a bargain and other times we end up with yet another charity shop donation. With a bit of love some of these dirty relics can be cleaned up and resurrected but the musty, damp smell remains. I've tried leaving them in a room with a dehumidifier and airing out the sleeves but to no avail.

So if you're ripping all of your CDs to MP3 and thinking of sticking them in the shed; please don't.

Record Store Day - a winner (if you're an eBay seller)

Opinion on Record Store Day seems to be changing. What started as a noble enterprise intended to lure people back into independent record stores, has been taken over by members of the public trying to make a quick buck.

Record store day releases tend to be unique vinyl pressings that can only be acquired by physically visiting a record store. Shops are also banned from listing stock on the Internet for the following week thus adding to the exclusivity. As a consequence of these rules, people queue outside shops from the early hours of the morning. But some of these people are exploiting the rarity of the releases and are buying multiple copies solely with the intention of selling them on the Internet.

One example of this phenomenon is the Pet Shop Boys limited edition 12" of "Fluorescent" which was a UK record store day exclusive for 2014. This 12" carries 2 exclusive mixes of the title track and is limited to 1000 copies - it cost around £7. Before the day had ended, copies of the 12" were listed on eBay at ridiculous prices. There are currently over 40 listing for this record, all of which are selling for massively inflated prices (they seem to fetch anywhere between £40-90 currently).

I chose not to queue outside a record store and was content to take my chances later in the day. I did queue in 2010 to purchase the last Pet Shop Boys Record Store Day exclusive "Love Life". However the record wasn't particularly good and was soon available quite cheaply on the Internet (you can still buy it now for around £20). Thus I decided queueing wasn't worthwhile and stayed in bed.

Unfortunately my gamble didn't pay off. The single was sold out by the time I ventured to the shops. Looking at eBay I am convinced the reason I missed out was because people bought multiple copies of the single with the sole intention of selling them for a hefty profit. Releases are supposed to be limited to one per customer, but all you have to do is visit multiple shops or have a friend tag along (or both) and you can buy multiple copies of a release quite easily.

However, I am very lucky and live in a city with many independent record stores. I tracked down a retailer with copies of the single in stock and after an anxious wait over the bank holiday weekend, I visited them at 9am sharp Tuesday morning (I was not the only person with this idea). The eBay profiteers didn't beat me.

But many fellow Pet Shop Boys fans have missed out as they either don't live in the UK or couldn't make it to a store. For them, the only hope seems to be degrading themselves on Twitter or paying the prices asked on eBay. 

 

Yes, we live in a free world and there are no rules against buying multiple copies of a record and selling them. But I don't believe that is why Neil and Chris created this 12" and I believe it goes against the ethos of Record Store Day as a whole. The only remedy for this situation would be if Neil and Chris's management team were to announce that there was unsold stock and make them available on their website.

Yet, I fear that there is no excess stock lying around. The store I visited had received a box of singles with damaged covers. They were only bent or creased slightly, but the store had asked the distributor for replacements only to be told there were none.

So Record Store Day has become a cash cow for eBay and its users as well as independent record stores. Personally I would love to see what happened if there was a USA or Japan only Record Store Day Pet Shop Boys release. Seeing revenge being exacted upon these mercenary eBay sellers would be quite satisfying.

Ningear on eBay

Well it's not often you see a band auctioning their unwanted instruments on eBay. Yet Trent Reznor of “Nine Inch Nails” fame is auctioning a number of instruments at the moment.

Amongst the more interesting items are an MPG-80 Super Jupiter programmer, a Novation Supernova II rack and a Waldorf Microwave XT rack. There is also a number of unimpressive guitars, drums and amps, all of which are gaining bids that place them over and above their actual value. Auctions Here

eBay box sets

It seems that some people bought more than one of the 300 ultimate edition box sets of the Pet Shop Boys album 'Yes' in order to make a profit. eBay has two listings currently.

• Listing one
• Listing two

£1000 start price seems a bit ambitious to me. Most 'hardcore' collectors who are willing to pay through the nose for this sort of product already have a copy and I can't see these sets for selling for more than £600. But that is still double what they cost. Not a bad investment.

eBay and GAS

I buy a fair amount of musical equipment (‘gear’ in geek parlance) on an increasingly infrequent basis. Yet recently GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) has resurfaced and I find myself looking through eBay for something interesting almost every day. The one thing that strikes me as I peruse these listings is that the price of vintage gear remains elevated, recession or not.

Around the turn of the millennium, it was still possible to find some great bargains as people offloaded their outboard in favour of software. I can only assume there are an increasing number of like-minded musicians who use the short sightedness of others to acquire bigger studios. Obviously, this has all happened before when digital synths arrived and analogue instruments were dropped like hot potatoes. However, it took many years before analogue became converted and prices inflated. Then some fool went and invented ‘electronica’ ‘rave’ or whatever else you want to call it and eventually everyone wanted a TB-303 (I can’t bring myself to comment on the £1000+ TB-303 phenomenon).

Yet the outboard being off loaded by musicians at the moment is not necessarily iconic or unique and still commands large sums of cash. I will give you some examples:

£300 start price with £40 postage for a Korg 01/W?
It is not 1995 anymore. I want one but only because they should be cheap but cheerful.

£900 for a Jupiter 4 with 24 hours still to run?
Are you people mad or just rich? It says 4 not 8.

£250+ for a Roland SH-101
Back in 1990 I had the choice of a DX100 or an SH-101. Each were £90-100 as I remember. I chose the DX100. I really am stupid sometimes.

£320 for a Korg Trinity
Surely you can find a Triton for less than this?

I am VERY excited about the synth I am currently bidding on. This synth is a long-term target that is very rare and my bids are rather high. Thus, I guess I am as guilty as anyone for pushing up prices. Yet my pulse quickens at thought of owning this one and if I win you’re sure to see it here. Watch this space.