1969 press kit

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alfredovu
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Re: 1969 press kit

Post by alfredovu » 11 Jan 2009 20:02

simonm wrote: I'm seriously thinking about selling my Aspen box now. It's complete apart from the subscription form page, so should fetch a good sum.

S
If this helps you Simon, few days ago one went for $500 at Ebay. There is one currently on auction ($102.50 and 4 days left)

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velvetfan
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Re: 1969 press kit

Post by velvetfan » 12 Jan 2009 00:27

simonm wrote:I was going to post the winning amount, but after it was all over, paid received and feedbacked. I was pretty amazed at the price though.

I'm seriously thinking about selling my Aspen box now. It's complete apart from the subscription form page, so should fetch a good sum.

The Index book stays!

S
i think the Aspen box will break your heart. I watch eBay pretty close and the last few Aspen boxes, (and Index book) have sold sickeningly low. I think most Aspen boxes of various completeness (sp?) sold for under $500 and a full box in great quality only went for $600! I remember pre eBay days with Aspen selling for around $1200! The Index book sells, for poor quality softcover, from $2-300, to hardcover depending on quality from $4-600. And for the $600, it was beautiful quality with all items working and intact, and the melted balloon stuck between pages(as always). EBay is a catch 22, some items bring HUGE prices on very rare items because of access to all over the world bidding; but the downside is that in the old days of VUAS Auctions (remember those) and only Goldmine, now many items that "seemed" rare are not so, and thus bring pitiful bids I have many VU booleg lp's which I paid high prices for that now sell for under $30 because there are more available. I remember winning a Black Banana in an auction for $80 and was thrilled because I had been looking for it for years. I have seen at least 6 sell on eBay in past years and one went for $60 but most sold for under $40. This week has been wonderful on eBay for VU including VU 45 rpms, a rare non-promo 45, the promo "commercial" 45 for the 3rd album and all the promo 45's. Those sold pretty high except for promo wl/wh which sells under $100 constantly. I remember Femme 45 promo always selling around $150 to $175 and I got one to complete my 45rpm set for $70 in amazing condition. Anyway, congrats on the sale of your press kit. Rick

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alfredovu
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Re: 1969 press kit

Post by alfredovu » 12 Jan 2009 10:27

Rick, you are completely right. It is amazing to me to see that "low" prices on items that you would consider to be "imposible" to find 10 years ago.
Last night I was following at Ebay the stock ATP 45 and the promo VU-1.
I put a bid on the VU-1 (is the only 45 i´m missing, apart from the Canadian Stock Femme). I did not bid too high, so lost it.
I thought both would reach the +$800, but finished at $420 each. Both are quite rare items sold rarely.
But in the other hand people pay $150 for "A walk with the Vu Vol2" cd Set.

The Aspen currently on offer is getting hotter, by tyhe way ...

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Re: 1969 press kit

Post by simonm » 12 Jan 2009 12:29

The ebay effect is interesting - definitely some things are not as rare or desirable as 'we' sometimes thought they were, but I agree this has been mostly a good thing - I think I paid $45 for my WL/WH 45 - some surface marks etc, but it sounds great. Mike Kostek's prices for somethign similar would have been at least twice that.

Index may not be the rarest thing in the world, but it's a beautiful thing that really captures the period for me, and that's why it's a keeper.
Aspen prices have a lot to with the condition of the box, most recent ones have been torn or otherwise messed up... I find it a fiddly and awkward thing tp look at, so that's why it may go.

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Re: 1969 press kit

Post by bleach » 12 Jan 2009 19:08

I always keep an eye on mono Emerson promo Banana LPs and in the 80/90s it was considered one of the VU collectables must-haves - they turn up pretty much weekly on the bay now! Thats why its one item i've put off buying as now one would always be available when I had the cash. Personally I wouldn't say it was that rare when it turns up this often. Desirable, valuable YES but rare strangely NO!

For me the Index book is one of the best items for the Warhol Factory VU fan, its simply one of my favourite things in my collection (some are much rarer). I remember in the early 90s being in a collectors shop in Hanover St, London and looking through a copy that was ?450 and it wasn't perfect either! Within the last five years I have bought two copies (1 good, 1 poor) for ?200 - I now have 1 v nearly complete one.

I have a 3rd LP Promo that was bought c1990 for ?65 and thats about what a copy goes for today on the bay.

Bootleg prices are more difficult to gague on Ebay - Sweet Sister Ray 2LP sometimes goes for silly money, other times about what I paid for a copy 20yrs ago. Well it is an auction I suppose and it only needs 2 people to really want something at that moment and it will push the price up considerable. Ebay has proved to collectors that some items are not really as rare as some people (dealers) would like to make out.

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Re: 1969 press kit

Post by alfredovu » 12 Jan 2009 20:25

Have you seen this from Olivier´s?
It is about the Original UK Issue of the 3rd Album:

MGM CS 8108, April 1969

Side 1: 2YMG 291 - 1G
Side 2: 2YMG 292 - 1G

UK original pressing. Estimates of the number of copies pressed are around the 600 mark (250 to 300 with the 1-G matrix and then 250-300 with the 1-R matrix numbers)

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bleach
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Re: 1969 press kit

Post by bleach » 12 Jan 2009 21:12

Mines a US Yellow label Promo..Blimey they weren't kidding when they said that the VU didn't sell many records in the 60s!

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Re: 1969 press kit

Post by lurid » 12 Jan 2009 21:51

It was me who provided that info to Olivier, but I got it from a UK dealer who was selling a copy on ebay. I asked him how he "knew" how many had been pressed and he reminded me that these were pressed by EMI. EMI used each "stamper" to press 250 - 300 LPs before replacing it. Each "stamper" was allocated a number and a letter and these are stamped into the dead vinyl run-off area. The letters used by EMI spelled out the word "gramophone", so the first "stamper" is "1-G", the second one is "1-R", the third "1-A" etc etc. Apparently every copy of this record that dealer had ever seen was a "1-G" or a "1-R", thus the conjecture about 500 - 600 total copies pressed. (I rushed off and confirmed that my copy is indeed a "1-G") I had forgotten that this sort of stuff is common knowledge to Beatles fans but I hadn't thought to apply it to this LP....

Anyone out there got anything OTHER than a "1-G" or a "1-R" pressing?

I agree with Rick etc re ebay. A blessing in that so many "rare" items are now available but a curse in that many other people can be bidding for them. I also remember the "old" days of examining Goldmine with a magnifying glass - hunting through endless lists of obscure 45s and LPs looking for goodies. There also used to be a place called (I think) "California Albums" - they had a supply of unpeeled banana LPs which they sold for $30 each in the early 1980s.

[quote="alfredovu"]Have you seen this from Olivier´s?
It is about the Original UK Issue of the 3rd Album:

[b]MGM CS 8108, April 1969

Side 1: 2YMG 291 - 1G
Side 2: 2YMG 292 - 1G

UK original pressing. Estimates of the number of copies pressed are around the 600 mark (250 to 300 with the 1-G matrix and then 250-300 with the 1-R matrix numbers)[/b][/quote]

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alfredovu
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Re: 1969 press kit

Post by alfredovu » 12 Jan 2009 22:21

lurid wrote: Anyone out there got anything OTHER than a "1-G" or a "1-R" pressing?
Mine is 1-G

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Re: 1969 press kit

Post by velvetfan » 13 Jan 2009 00:23

Wow, some activity on this topic. My regret is in the old days I concentrated on Lou & VU instead of VU mainly. I got copies of all official releases, then boot lp's and cd's and box sets. Then I moved on to complilations. When I went thru my extensive collection in the mid 90's (when $ became a real issue) I realized that even though I have over 30 lp bananas, I am missing some expensive gems that are priced out of my range these days. I don't have the UK wl/wh or 3rd album (flipback), the 45 promo commercial for the 3rd lp, the canadian 45 that recently appeared (wasn't on olivers site either) or any of the stock 2 verve 45's "not promo". If I had concentrated on them back in the late 70's and 80's instead of the bootlegs, I'd be happier. But what the heck, I know I will never be satisfied completely until I have it all! I do have some great moments, though, like getting a mint End cole in mint condition with bag for $80 from Arredondo in goldmine, or my last missing boot lp's on eBay in the late 90's the black banana for $40 (yeah!) and my hardest find the Velvet Dylan for $130. Even today, I actually won my last missing compilation lp Gigantes DEL POP VOL. 5 from an eBay seller for about $20. It is always great when you fill a certain group. I have one cd compilation that I can't find and have never seen and if anybody ever sees it, let me know; is the THE VELVET UNDERGROUND - MILLENIUM EDITION

Universal 549 318-2(18), Germany, 2001 It is the one with the blueish cover and I have NEVER seen it on eBay, ever! :x

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