Ray Daniels Rick & The Ravens Promo 45 Aura 4511 Soul Train/Geraldine E- Cond.

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Greetings everyone! Thank you very much for stopping by another of my ebay record auctions. I appreciate that you took the time out of your busy schedule to click on my listing and have a look at what I have to offer!  Normally, all records that I list on ebay are my own property.  However, the record business that I work for, and have for the past 19+ years, has requested me to take some of the recent stock that has come through and list it here on ebay.  Please don't worry, everything is on the up and up, the business knows, and I have the approval to do so.  Mainly because the part of the business I work in is online only, not their walk-in retail store.  Problem is, my part of the business recently moved, and is still without internet access. So, to generate some income, I have been going through some stock that has not been added to the store's inventory-I will NOT "cross sell" between Ebay and other sites, you have my promise! But to (hopefully) garner some revenue, I get to go through it first, and give you folks first "dibs".  The first time I tried auctioning for the business, it was 10 day listings, but I have been requested to make these listings the standard 7 day.  The items I am listing are ones that I believe are scarce and/or would be excellent additions to any serious collector's selection. The opening bid prices are higher than ones I use for my own auction listings, but they are for the most part more valuable and scarce than some of the records I list for myself (Though if you'd like to have a look at my own records I have listed, I wouldn't mind!).  All proceeds of listings I do for the business will go to the business, minus the selling fees that Ebay takes. I hope that I/the store will have something you would like for your very own.  Let's see what's available this time! 

Happy 2014 everyone! With a new year here, I am not one to make “new year resolutions” normally, but this year I have made a few adjustments to my listings. For one thing, there is a change to the information for international mailing which I have changed for all new listings. With so many listings previously up, it would take forever to change them all, time I don’t have. So these adjustments will only be made on the listings from here on. Also, there is one resolution I have bounced around for awhile and now is as good a time as any to start. As of 2014, I will no longer be using the “Near Mint” grading. I am afraid this grading has taken so much abuse and been watered down that it has become irrelevant and the source of many a negative feedback (fortunately, not for myself!) and complaint. RIP “Near Mint”, you had a rough life. Other than that, it will be business as usual, on the listings I do for the business, and my own as well, and I want to let everyone who has purchased from me, had winning bids, contacted me for various reasons, and even those who just stop by (and helped my visitor counter tick up a notch), that I do appreciate all you have done over the years, I hope to have you back again, and that I am most grateful. THANK YOU! Now, on with the show!

This time up, We have a 1965 Promotional 7” 45rpm release on the Aura Records label, label # 4511, by Ray Daniels with Rick And the Ravens. This is the single of “Soul Train” b/w “Geraldine”. I spotted this single while doing some digging through the almost countless boxes of 7” records in the warehouse, and the title intrigued me, as I thought this might be something of interest to soul collectors. Hey, with a title like “Soul Train” could you blame me? Well, imagine my surprise when I found this to be one hot rockin’ garage rock band. That surprise was made even greater when I found out who this band was! Ray Daniels was really the name of one Ray Manzarek, yes, THAT Ray Manzarek, the recently departed keyboardist for the Doors, and producer of the first few LPs by my own personal all time favorite band, X. If that weren’t enough, Rick & The Ravens just happened to be Ray’s brothers! So this 45 does have some historical significance after all! The music isn’t bad either, as this is some funky, r&b laced garage rock with some really wailin’ vocals! You’d never guess this was the Doors keyboardist, as the music doesn’t sound at all like the Doors, with perhaps the exception of the organ on “Geraldine”. But try to listen to this and keep the grin off your face. Good luck, you’ll need it, as it sounds like this lineup had a blast making this single, and after hearing this, all I want to do is find more! The playing surface shows storage wear and needle marks of various sizes and shapes. None of these sounded like they affected the play though, as both sides played through without a hitch. There was a bit of crackle and hiss, but play this loud enough (as it was intended…and how!), you probably won’t even notice. But I know how “looks matter” especially on something that’s considered a collectible like this, and I sure don’t want to be accused of over-grading, so I am only giving this my slightly less than average grading of E-. My grading is considered non-standard, so if you are considering placing a bid, please read the paragraph below, as it contains my gradings and their respective descriptions. The labels have storage wear, abrasions, and some discoloration, while all the text is still clear and very easy to read. If you have any questions or comments, please send them along to me, and you will receive a response. If you need more pictures or description, I can and will be happy to provide.

My Grading is as follows: M (Mint)-ONLY for Still Factory Sealed Records ONLY! No 45 nor 78 will ever get this grading. E+, minimal wear, perhaps only needs cleaning. E, a few light marks, maybe some minor background crackle and/or hiss. E-, light marks, crackling (nothing major), scuffs, etc.. Not great, but still quite playable. V+, More marks, scuffs, needle marks, scratches-but nothing that would make the needle skip. Will have background noise that even with a cleaning will still be around. V. Worn. Scuffs, scratches, can be noisy, but still (probably) won’t cause the needle to skip nor get stuck. V-, Noisy? You bet! Worn? Oh yeah. Playable? Sure, but don’t expect it to sound all peachy keen. P. Bleah! Playable perhaps, but do so at your own risk. Don’t trash a new needle on it. Only used on records considered rare enough for “fill in” purposes to a collector-or to those who do digital restoration. 

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IMPORTANT NOTE FOR NON-U.S. BIDDERS!!!!
All items I sell will be sent with postage printed up from eBay. This way, the prices are automatically listed for customs purposes and cannot be altered. Yes, this does mean that the customs people will know the value, but since I get a bit of a price break on postage, I can keep the prices low for you-the buyer.  I will not "mark item as a gift", just so you can evade import rules.  The people at my post office know me, and they will check overseas packages for inspection.  I hope you will understand my position about this, my apologies if you are not able to comply.
Also, international bidders, the price listed for postage on my listings are for domestic mailing.  I wish I could send overseas for that price, but reality speaks different.  I place a fair price on all international postage.  Watch for the invoice if you win.

ALSO-I need to let international bidders know of a certain problem that doesn't always happen, but will arise from time to time.  All International mail sent from this region has to go through the U.S. Postal Service sorting center in Sandston Virginia, by our local airport.  This sorting center has been named the least efficient sorting center in the entire U.S. Postal Service.  They prove this from time to time by mis-routing packages.  If this happens-and I will monitor the delivery-usually it will add at least an extra week for it to arrive.  If there are any problems, please contact me first, and I will do what I must to make sure you are satisfied with the order.
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All items that are sent to a U.S. address will have delivery confirmation (at my cost) attached, as I have found that it helps...a lot!....to ensure that packages are truly en route to the customer.  This is for both of our sakes.  I will be using USPS "Media Mail" as my primary shipping method, however, if needed, and for an extra charge, I can ship with "Priority Mail", and if i can get away with it for the price, I really like 1st Class, but that's weight-dependent.

Oh yes, if you are the winning bidder, and you are in the Commonwealth of Virginia, I'm afraid you are going to have to include the 5.3% Virginia State Sales Tax.

Paypal is my preferred method of payment, if you need another way, please contact me before bidding.  Or, if you have any other questions about this listing, or any of my listings, please feel free to contact me.  I will answer any & all questions as quickly and concisely as possible.

Also, I do have other listings available as well, and if you would be interested in more than one item, I have no problem with holding onto wins in case you would like to combine wins to save some money instead of multiple p&h costs.