I have what appears to be a very rare jazz record and have some questions

This is an album by the French jazz sax player, Barney Wilen. The album is called "Barney" and this is the original RCA French recording from 1959 and it seems that some collectors will pay big money for this LP. My grandmother met him in Paris and he gave her this copy of the record which she gave to me when I was maybe 15-16. I never played it in all those years but did today and it's pretty crackly. I don't want to mess with it cleaning-wise as it looks quite clean and the dust jacket is in at least 8 out of 10 condition.

The album is in a MoFi inner sleeve and MoFi outer sleeve. It's this album: popsike.com - Barney Wilen ?33 tours RCA ?430.053 original de 1960 en état NM - auction details

Anyway, if it's truly as valuable as that, I would be wise to offer it for sale but I have never sold one of my records and never sold anything on the big auction site.

I sure could use some advice here.

 

So this is the forum where threads go to die...

 

Barney Wilen - Barney

Advice about what?

 

If you are not looking for the maximum amount but more safety contact Fred at Jazz Record Center, he will sell vinyl on consignment and he has a bunch of repeat customers that pay well. I'm not sure if he will do it for a single LP but it can be worth asking if you don't want to sell it yourself.

 

Thanks, just the kind of info/advice I'm looking for.

 

Have a look at the discogs link posted by Veni Vidi Vici. Make sure your copy is the original pressing. There haven't been many reissues (outside of Japan) and if your Grandma got it directly from the artist, it probably is an original. But best to make sure.

Have a look at other popsike listings. That was a high selling auction, others went for a lot but for less. Condition will be key.

Even though I've had experience selling online, I would still be cautious with something this expensive. I'm not sure what the collector market is where you are so it might be difficult to sell locally. If you are interested in safety, perhaps @hvbias suggestion is a good place to start.

 

I agree with all suggestions so far. The OP's copy sounds like it is in better condition than the one copy that sold on Discogs. Have a look on eBay also - it's difficult to gauge what is a fair price when so few copies have come up for sale. Although letting a dealer handle the sale feels like leaving money on the table, it's probably going to be a lot quicker and less aggravation or risk than selling it yourself. You might also consider listing it here!

 

I've went on Discogs as well as barneywilen.com and am a member at Discogs even though I've never sold a record. I did my homework and this is an original first pressing. The dust jacket is in great shape for 60 years old but there is crackling on and off throughout the record and on the first side there's some distortion in parts of the first track. The surface looks great but it's there. I played the album on my SL-1210GR with an AT450NE cart tracking at 1.25g. So it's not pristine and I am not going to try cleaning it with my usual handwashing method. Problem is, I have no idea how good this original recording was pressed back in 1959/60. Is it a bad pressing or was it played on a bad record player in the distant past and was damaged?

 

Ok not a novice then Good luck on the sale. Shame you can't document the lineage. A copy owned by the artist might be a bigger draw.

 

I'd keep it as a memory but when I'm dead, one of my sons will dump it at the local thrift mixed in with Jim Neighbors Christmas records and the Best of The Mormon Tabernacle Choir records. It would be a horrible thing...

 

Consistent with others' comments here, I think it's pretty clear what you have: a valuable LP whose jacket appears to be in great condition, vinyl in VG condition, and an exceptional provenance that unfortunately cannot be confirmed or documented sufficiently to present it as guaranteed provenance to a buyer.

There's also the slightly complicating fact that you don't have an established record as a seller anywhere online where you might sell this (not criticizing you for that - just stating the fact).

So... discogs appears to be the best informational source here: A VG copy and VG+ copy both have sold for the exact same amount there, 600 Euros (aka about $667 right now). And they sold for that amount three years apart. That tells you that the item is rare, and it also gives you an unusually clear sense of the likely sale value, since it is not typical for two items sold so many years apart on discogs to have sold for the exact same price.

So I would say you could probably sell it on discogs for a pretty penny, although you might want to ask a bit less than the prior sales because your lack of a selling history will likely make some buyers hesitant, especially with vinyl (where grading and shipping-packaging are more crucial than CDs, and so buyers really tend to rely heavily on a seller's past feedback).

If I were in your shoes, I would list it on discogs for $600 and be patient.

 

Nothing wrong with that as one of us will scroe.

like the time I had a dollar off a gallon and gave it to my son who proceeded to put five bucks in the tank.

 

My problem is that prices have been all over. Some copies have sold this year for $2000+. My intention is to do some research as suggested here with dealers of rare jazz records and see what's what. No rush to do anything having owned it for so many years. The provenance is the story my grandmother told me, she met him at a club during one of her trips to Paris (she was an American living in NY who studied French in college and liked traveling there as often as she could). She met him at a club and he gave her (perhaps sold her) a copy of the album. It's not signed so it simply may be like so many working club musicians do, they had albums to sell at the gig and she either bought one or was given one. She would have been in her 60's at the time but was a very engaging and popular sort of woman. Long gone now so I can't go by anymore than my memory.

 

I would also say: until you give it a proper clean, you don’t really know the true condition of the disc. As long as you have some experience successfully cleaning records before, in your shoes I would go for it.

As a buyer I prefer buying from a seller who has photos. This can provide a lot of reassurance. The more detailed the description the better. And on Discogs (maybe eBay also) you can set a minimum rating as a seller that buyers must meet to be able to place an order. Set it at 100%/50+ purchases and you can winnow out some of the potentially more troublesome counterparties.

 

Thanks for the additional thoughts. I am leery of cleaning this record as the collector world is different than the one I live in. I would rather have full photos or the dust jacket, label, record surface, and as accurate a description as I can give of playing condition. With things like coin/stamp collecting, guitars, etc. original condition is key, not cleaned up and repaired.

 

I may be interested, but I cannot message you. You can message me to start a conversation if interested.

 

I wonder why you can't message me. I'll check my settings...

Looks like I had it turned off. Give it another try.

You're not the John from Grant's Pass I spoke to on the phone yesterday, are you?

 

I contacted Fred today and will see where we go. He expressed immediate interest. I will post up pictures as soon as I get them on Flickr.

 

Nice, Fred is good people. If you're ever in NYC swing by his shop, if he is still running a physical store.

 

I decided to give it a light clean and it was a good idea. Other than some distortion within the first minute on Side 1 with the trumpet and some sibilance with the high hats the last 20 seconds or so of Side 1, the playability seems to be pretty pleasing to me. Some slight pops and crackles. Understand, this is a mono recording from 60 years ago and I'm playing it on a Technics 1210GR with an AT450 cart with a .3 x .7 nude elliptical stylus tracking at 1.25g. I think it would sound even better with a mono cart. I think a really deep clean would benefit the album but a light clean was all I was prepared to try. I looked at the LP with a 10x loupe and saw enough crud within the grooves that a person with the ability to do a deep cleaning will get a lot more out of this than I can with my TT and cart.