Welcome To

CRAIG CHASE VINYL

Don (ccvinylman) Larter, Owner

 Introduction (Revised 23 February 2009)

Hi, and welcome to Craig Chase Vinyl.  I'm Don, the owner of CCV, and I'm inserting these new paragraphs to let you know why you should give me a chance--if you haven't already--to sell you some vinyl. 

Well, I did it again:  I bought some used vinyl from a number of sellers both in the United States and abroad, just to keep informed about my competition on eBay.  Things haven't changed much since I last did this, I must say. 

Significantly, I encountered a few examples of over-grading; that is, the sellers exaggerated an item's condition.  A Near Mint disk should not, in my opinion, have a single scratch, let alone a cluster of tiny scratches.  When I played just such a disk, the noise I heard wasn't terribly obnoxious (i.e., the listening experience was not marred significantly), but it still detracted from my enjoyment of the record. 

How could this problem have been avoided?  By first inspecting the record carefully before giving it a visual grade.  Better yet would be actually to play the disk, especially in the questionable spots, to determine if they sound or not. 

These are two things I do with every record I list on eBay, dear reader.  That and cleaning it and its jacket thoroughly before playing it. 

Is my method of grading records infallible?  No.  As a seller with whom I corresponded observed, and rightly so, the only virtually infallible way of play-grading a record is by listening to it from beginning to end.  (Even so, my record playback system may not reveal things that your audio system may reveal.)  Where does that leave us, then?

In my opinion, spot-playing a record so as to assign a play-grade to it is better than simply giving the record a visual grade.  After all, even a truly Near Mint record can sound less than Near Mint when actually played.  

This is another way of saying that my method of grading records is not only different from that of many--if not most--record sellers on eBay, but better.

Does it take time to do things my way?  You betcha, as Sarah Palin would say!  Is it worth my time and effort?  Financially, no.  I have yet to make a decent living by selling records.  I say this not to garner pity, but in the interest of full disclosure--and also as a way of determining for myself just what it is that makes me different, in a good way, from some other purveyors of vinyl out there. 

I guess you could say that I do what I do because I love doing it.  How much longer I do it is up to you, however.  If this little pitch makes you curious enough to give me a shot (or to come back to me again), then great, I may just be doing this well into my retirement years!  

Best wishes, and thank you for looking me up!

• Sealed = Unopened and unplayed; condition unknown
• NM+ = Near Mint Plus. Extraordinarily clean and quiet; may not have been played
• NM = Near Mint. Clean and quiet, regardless of scuffs or apparent defects
• NM- = Near Mint Minus. Less quiet than NM, with a bit more background noise regardless of its source.
• VG++ = Very good plus plus. Noisier than NM-; may say why.
• VG+ = Very good plus. Noisier than VG++; will say why.

NOTE:  My basic grading for album jackets/boxes includes Good, Very Good, Almost Excellent, and Excellent.  Good signifies it has some challenges, including wrinkles, soiling, ripped seams and possibly writing.  I usually repair ripped seams with hot glue, and surface grime I remove with gentle cleaning products, such as GOO GONE, which dries without staining.  I finish most album jackets with a furniture spray to restore sheen and remove dust and fingerprints.  Very Good signifies slightly better condition of the sleeve, with no rips in the seams and a higher level of cleanness in general.  Almost Excellent is a step above Very Good and is what you'd expect of a jacket that has been well cared for.  There might be a slight corner bump or small evidences of wear, such as almost invisible, hairline scratches, but that's all.  Excellent is what you'd expect of a jacket that has never shed its shrinkwrap sleeve because it's either still sealed, or only the open end has been slit.  Still, if a corner is bumped or wrinkled, or if dirt has managed to penetrate the shrinkwrap, or there is some other defect, I'll likely downgade the jacket to Almost Excellent.  If you're a real jacket fanatic, I'll always be glad to give you in an email additional details of the jacket's condition.  Simply ask! 

2. Professional cleaning (again, please see my ME site for reasons why I perform this time-consuming service for my customers) of virtually every record and sleeve sold, by using proprietary methods that are extremely gentle and effective on records.
3. The offering of a wide variety of repertoire and genres, particularly classical, at many different price points.
4. Fair dealing, prompt and friendly communication, and speedy delivery.
5. My expecting payment within 10 days of purchase, unless negotiated otherwise.
6. A no-questions-asked return policy if our play-grades differ significantly. I will even refund the return shipping charges (though not the initial, to you, shipping charges).
7. Posting of positive feedback for high bidders who pay in a timely fashion (or who email me saying why they do not); posting of negative feedback for those who do not.

NEW LISTING!

Item Description   It's unusual that this same item came up for sale by a different seller last week (i.e. inkmathematics); it is that rare.   (Although without a picture of the record label of the other seller's record, it's hard to tell if it's really the same item, as this recording had at least two pressings--one eariler, of course, and one later.)  This recording is the earlier, ALG pressing, which has been know to sell for hundreds of dollars.      Will this record of mine reach the stratosphere in price?  I don't honestly know, of course.  There are so many variables.  One thing is for sure:  I will have a reasonable reserve price (sorry!), so that if seekers for Smeterlin are not in a spending mood, I can re-list the item later on.    Listening myself to Smeterlin's rendition of the Fantasie Impromptu, Op.66 in C-sharp Minor, I can see why collectors want Smeterlin's records:  his fingers seem to fly in this recording, and yet with great accuracy and panache (much like another pianist I'm familiar with--Hoffmann, whose first name I cannot recall).   Well, best wishes, and as always, thank you for looking me up!  Oh, and FYI, here is a little information about Smeterlin from Wikipaedia:  

Jan Smeterlin (7 February 1892 in Bielsko, Austro-Hungarian Empire – 18 January 1967 in London[1]) was a Polish concert pianist. He is especially known as an interpreter of Chopin and Karol Szymanowski.[2][3]

Smeterlin performed his first concert at age seven, but despite exhibiting talent in his youth, he was forced to study law. He won a scholarship to study with pianist Leopold Godowsky while studying in Vienna, Austria. Godowsky was to be one of Smeterlin’s most important teachers. Smeterlin made his professional debut in 1920.[4]

Smeterlin was a cooking enthusiast and authored a book of recipes. The book was published posthumously. In his later years, Smeterlin and Didi, his wife, lived in New York. Shortly after the couple returned to London in 1967, Smeterlin died.[5]

 
• Label/Data:   Allegro:  ALG 3042 mono, early (red label with gold print) pressing, made in USA
• Description:

             ---Orchestra/Group:

             ---Conductor:  

             ---Soloist(s):   Pianist Jan Smeterlin

            ---Work(s) Performed:  Chopin:

• Barcarolle Op. 60 F Sharp Major,  Barcarolle Op. 60 F Sharp Major, 
• Fantasie Impromptu Op. 66 C Sharp Minor
• Scherzo No. 3 Op. 39 C Sharp
• Berceuse Op.57 D Flat Major
• Etudes and Mazurkas.

• Condition of Record: Visual grade:   VG+/VG++  Mostly all faint, surface scratches, and no deep scratches or gouges are evident on either side.  There is a more obvious scratch on s.2, b.1                 Play grade:  VG++ to NM- on s.1, but there is a patch of hissing at the beginning of s.1 and another patch a little later on s.1/NM- on s.2, with the mentioned scratch contributing some faint ticking, but not a lot. 

• Condition of Jacket/Sleeve/Box:  Good.  Seams needed extensive glueing, but surface of jacket is very clean.  Labels are great, by the way.