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   I cannot honestly imagine a cleaner, better sounding (i.e., quiet) set of sonatas and partitas than this one.  It may have been played once or twice, but it was almost pristine when I acquired it, and that includes the box, the booklet, and the records, which I cleaned simply with a slightly damp 100 percent cotton cloth.    I'm not playing games with the price on this set.  Price of entry to the bidding is a fairly low one--given the condition of the set, just one hundred fifty dollars.    Best wishes in the bidding.  Thanks, too, for looking me up; I appreciate it!    
• Label/Data:   Capitol:  PCR-8370, three mono disks in box, with booklet of liner notes.  Original color, paper inner-sleeves are also included.  Labels are, as you can see in the picture I provided, green with gold print. 
• Description:

             ---Orchestra/Group:

             ---Conductor:  

             ---Soloist(s):  Violinist Nathan Milstein 

            ---Work(s) Performed:  Bach:  Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin

• Condition of Record: Visual grade: One side is VG++; the other five are NM-  Play grade:  NM+, with scarcely a tick to be found.  This does not mean you won't find a tick here and there, it's just that they are very few and far between, which is as things should be!

• Condition of Jacket/Sleeve/Box:  Excellent.  Original inner-sleeves have openings on bottom seams, but I'll take LPs out of the paper sleeves for shipping, so they don't rip further.  A little writing in ink under the top of box.  Hinge is undamaged and works fine.