Black Sabbath Self Titled Vertigo Swirl/Spiral Label **LOTS OF PHOTOS**

	£		35
	$		46

I have decided to slowly start parting with my own personal vinyl collection. This has been a difficult decision. I spent many a happy year, hunting, buying, upgrading my collection. I will try and provide as much info as possible, but if you require more photos or any other info don't hesitate to get in touch.

The collection consists of Rock, Prog, Psych, Folk, Beat predoninantly from the 60's and 70's. Plenty of Vertigo, Harvest and Island originals as well as Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, Who etc.

I would consider all items to be at least EX, however please read my descriptions where I will try and point out any flaws.

I will also include multiple photos in my listings, detailing as much as possible.

Bid with confidence - I am a long time collector. I understand collecting and grading. I don't overgrade and will refund you fully on return of the item if not entirely satisfied.

Vinyl will be seperated from the sleeve, placed in a new antistatic inner and card outer for shipping. The original inner will be included if present (check description)

I use cruciform record mailers with stiffeners for safe, secure shipping.

All UK items will be sent by 1st class recorded. I will combine postage where possible, I always undercharge P&P costs - please bear this in mind when leaving feedback/DSRs.

Overseas postage will ONLY be sent by registered/recorded delivery and the full value will be declared to customs so please don't ask me to reduce this.

Thanks for looking.

ARTIST - Black Sabbath

TITLE - Black Sabbath

YEAR - 1970

COUNTRY - Italy

LABEL & CATALOGUE NUMBER - Vertigo VO6

THIS RECORD IS STEREO

Matrix Numbers are machine stamped on both sides.

Side One

Side Two

THE LABELS

The labels are classic black and white Vertigo swirl/spiral design, there are are a quite a few visible spindle marks on either side which indicate a fair amount of play, however check the audio grading below as I was shocked at how great this LP sounded. The labels are free from stickers, writing or any other defects and are graded Excellent. Both UK and Italian catalogue numbers are printed on the labels.

THE VINYL

Visually the vinyl I would grade as VG but plays far better than that. I can see many light hairlines and paper scuffs, however these appear to be all very light non intrusive surface marks, but obviously do affect the cosmetic look of the album, but more importantly.....

So how does it sound?

Well when I decided to start selling my records I listed a couple without playing them again, many have sold and the buyers have emailed after to say how happy they are, however I decided it was time to invest the time and effort playing some of these old gems again before selling, so I dusted off the Rega Planer 3, dug out the Okki Nokki vaccum record cleaner and away I went.

Most albums from the 60's and 70's have nice heavyweight vinyl with deep grooves, but unfortunately many were taken to parties, trashed, mistreated and played on bad equipment, therefore even an album that was a huge seller back in the day can be rare in NM condition today - after all we are talking between 40 and 50 years ago!

I cleaned this record before play as I always used to. I like tp play test records through my headphones, that way it eliminates all outside noise and highlights any imperfections on the record.

Sonically this album plays FAR better than it looks, a strong EXCELLENT. From the number of spindle marks and scuffs I expected there to be an almost contant loud crackle that was present throughout the whole album. I was therefore shocked at lack of crackle when the record opened. The track breaks are so quiet and even the quieter passages like the acoustic guitar opening of Sleeping Village were almost silent with a TINY amount of background noise. I removed the headphones and replayed this part just through the stereo and couldn't even hear the crackle. At no point does the record have any annoying loud pops or ticks that intrude into the music. 

THE INNER

Original black and white swirl inner is present and free from splits, graded Excellent

THE SLEEVE

Thick card gatefold sleeve has both UK and Italian catalogue numbers on the back. I would grade it between VG and VG+. It is free from splits and writing but exhibits wear at the corners and edges consistant with a rock album of this age. It's much better than a lot of Sabbath albums of this age that I have come across. Please look at all the pictures below.

THE ALBUM

OK so this is Italian original and not the highly coveted and collectable UK one and it isn't mint. If you have the budget to go and buy (if you can find one) a mint UK original, go do it, however for the rest of us normal folks we have to settle for something a bit less wallet busting. I have tried to be as honest as I can about this item, yes it has marks, but it sounds incredible. For the starting price you could go and buy a brand new reissue, however my bet is it still won't sound as good as this one from 1970, the depth of sound, the deep booming bass - this is how a Sabbath album was supposed to sound. If you want to listen to buy a Vertigo album to listen to rather than just look at, then this is for you! 

We've all bought vinyl on ebay only to be disappointed with the quality, however I offer a full money back guarantee on my records - I do not offer partial refunds, if you are not happy with your purchase I will gladly refund you in full once the item has been returned.

Condition

If you need any specific questions regarding condition of the items, please get in touch. I am a collector myself so I understand the importance of condition

 I am strict on my grading and wouldn’t list anything I wouldn’t be happy to receive. All my items are from my personal collection (see About Me) and have been looked after.

Please take time to look at my feedback to see how many good comments I have regarding the condition of my items.

Vinyl will be separated from the sleeve for shipping.

The vinyl will be placed in a new anti-static bag and protective card outer.

Any questions regarding condition, please feel free to ask prior to bidding.

Grading

For LPs and singles I use the Rare Record Guide grading system detailed below:

MINT The LP or single is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items are in perfect condition.

EXCELLENT The LP or single shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and/or creasing.

VERY GOOD The LP or single has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and an occasional light scatch. Normal wear and tear on the cover and contents without any major defects.

GOOD The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deterioted, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing edges, spine splits, discoloration, etc.

Delivery Times

 I aim to despatch all items with 36 hours of payment. If you check my feedback you will see numerous comments on the speed of delivery.

I only use 1st Class recorded postage to protect both buyers and sellers. Items over £50 will be insured

Unfortunately once I have posted the item, it is then in the hands of Royal Mail who state that 1st Class should take 2-3 days however the reality is that this isn’t always the case. It is not uncommon  for items to take 5 days to arrive.

We all know how frustrating it is to be waiting for our new purchase only for it to be delayed in the post, but please be reasonable and don’t take your frustrations on the postal system out on me.

If your item hasn’t arrived 7 days after despatch please get in touch. Don’t open a case or leave me negative feedback. I am a reasonable person and like to think that any problem can be resolved with communication.

 I obtain proof of postage on ALL items.

Postage & Packaging Costs

Postage costs have increased dramatically over the last 12 months.  Unlike some I don’t make a profit from postage.  Ebayers who sell know these costs, however some customers are oblivious to the cost of actually getting their item to them.

A single vinyl album packaged properly costs £4.10 just for 1st class recorded delivery, this does not include the price of the antistat bags, card outers, cruciform mailers, labels, ink, card stiffeners, bubblewrap etc.

Please consider these costs when leaving me feedback and DSR’s.

If you have any questions regarding postage and packaging cost please get in touch.

Overseas Postage

As a general rule I only ship within the UK. This is due to the problems I have encountered in the past and the very high postage costs of sending items by Recorded/Registered postage outside the UK.

 Occasionally I do make exceptions and ship to some European destinations, but potential overseas bidders MUST contact me prior to bidding/buying.

Customer Service

This is very important to me. I am not a big corporation selling 1000’s of items a day with no regard to the customers. I appreciate every order and try to make sure every customer is completely satisfied with their order.

If you are unsatisfied in any way, PLEASE get in touch before leaving bad feedback, low DSR’s or opening a case.

I am reasonable and will work with you to resolve any problems amicably, however I cannot resolve problems if I am not made aware of them.

Feedback

Your feedback is important to me. I work hard to make sure my customers are happy with their items and if for any reason they are not I urge them to get in touch BEFORE leaving feedback.

Also as a business seller it is important that you leave good DSR’s. Like many sellers I feel this system is very unfair as a couple of low ratings can ruin your business and get you banned for Ebay even if you have perfect feedback.

If there is anything I could have done to make your experience better please let me know.

About Me

As you can see I am listed as a business, but this isn’t technically true. Ebay have forced me to become a business seller due to the number of items I was selling.

I have been an obsessive collector of CDs, DVD’s and Vinyl for over 25 years. Over that time I have amassed a very impressive personal collection in the 1000’s. The collection is wide and varied covering a multitude of genres and formats dating from the early 1960’s.

When I became unemployed I decided to part with the collection to make ends meet. That means that every item is from my personal collection and they are the only one I have. Ocassionally I list multiple items, this is usually when I’ve bought something without knowing if I already have it, or it has been bought for me. Also as a collector I would sometimes buy items from different countries or regular editions and later deluxe editions with bonus tracks etc. Obviously when you have such a large collection it sometimes gets hard to keep track of!

CHECK MY STORE REGULARLY AS I AM LITING NEW ITEMS DAILY.

THANKS FOR LOOKING