Rock N Roll Heaven Oldies –

Great music at a great price…all records “play-graded” from someone who knows the business from the collector and seller side. I’ve been a record collector since a child of the early 1950s and sold my first records to classmates in the early 1960s. I followed that with mail order, then a Retail / Wholesale operation during the 1970s. Add almost 30 years as a radio DJ specializing in oldies programming and you can tell music has played a special role in my life.  As I am now in the “downsize” stage of life, I am slowly selling records from my personal collection.  I do NOT buy records just to sell records on eBay or any other venue.

RECORD GRADING INFORMATION:

If you are interested in purchasing any of the records in either my eBay Auctions or eBay Store, PLEASE take the time to read my record grading information.

Most vinyl record vendors will use the “Goldmine” standard to grade their records. Like most, I use Goldmine grades with some variations.

My personal opinion is that the quality of newly pressed vinyl became an issue from approximately the middle 1970s through the middle 1980s.

Some of the most common problems are with records that “LOOK” perfect, but when played have a lot of background noise due to inferior quality vinyl.  There were also many records of all eras that were warped, pressed off center, etc.

I like to generalize and say that there were two basic type record presses during the glory days of vinyl. To oversimplify, this is how I always referred to the two types:

1/ “Capitol / RCA Type Press” – This was a thin, more flexible record, 99% of the time used by Capitol Records, RCA records, Decca, etc

2/ “Columbia Type Press” – This was a thicker, less flexible 45, used 99% of the time by Columbia Records and other labels that Columbia plants pressed vinyl for.

The "Columbia" type press was always more susceptible to needle damage. If the owner played the record with a worn out stylus, the record most likely has groove damage that can be heard.

Another example: during the early to mid 1960s, nearly every record I ever purchased brand new on some labels had background "hiss".  ABC-Paramount records immediately comes to mind. Many of their records had a hiss when brand new, so of course they still sound like that!

Right to the end of major vinyl production, there were also companies that always provided good quality presses, while it seemed like other companies no longer cared.  

Back to “Play Grade”; because I have never trusted just a visual inspection of any record:

EVERY record in my eBay store has been “Play Graded” as well as visual grade.

On records graded VG to SVG+: I will listen to as much of the record as necessary for flaws, paying particular attention to areas that show some visible sign of defect under strong direct lighting.

Some records I sell are DJ / Promo copies from my days in the radio business. 

Some are left over “Store Stock” from a mid to late 1970s retail / wholesale business. 

Records listed as M for Mint or M- for Mint Minus were “Sample Play Graded” for both our protection.  My 50+ years experience with vinyl has taught me that even records that are Mint can have factory press defects greatly reducing their grade and that is why I will “sample” play grade even a Mint condition record.

The only records I do not Play Grade are shrink wrapped.  If you purchase shrink wrapped vinyl from me and it’s defective when you open it, return it to me for refund or credit.  Obviously neither one of us knew what was on the inside of the shrink wrap!

Records are “Play Graded” using a Dual 1228 turntable with a Stanton D71EE stylus tracking at 1 ½ grams. 

To better listen for surface noise, pops, clicks and groove wear, headphones are used, not speakers.

I never use any record “cleaning” solution!  Have you ever listened to a used record that was made to look brand new?  Its gorgeous shiny black and nice to the eyes, but it’s horrible to the ears, with each and every groove noisy from the cleaning “solution”.

If a record is dirty, it is gently cleaned with water only then dried with soft lint-free towels.

MINT   - (A “new” old record) 

MINT-   Mint Minus (Near perfect, may have a physical mark, such as superficial paper sleeve marks, may have been played a few times) 

SVG+   (Strong VG Plus, overall quality better than VG+ but not quite M-) 

VG+     (Very Good Plus, well cared for record, should satisfy all but most demanding collectors, could still have some stray pops, clicks, surface noise) 

VG      (Very Good – obviously used but reasonable copy with obvious signs of wear, many times on the vinyl and on the label, but still a good listen) 

VG-    (Very Good Minus – unless rare, grade of record that I usually do not list – lots of surface noise, probably groove-wear noise.  Sometimes a flip side of a record may be graded VG- while the hit side is graded better) 

G or G+   (Good or Good Plus – really a misnomer, as a “Good” graded record is NOT good to nearly all collectors. If it's a rare record, suitable only to look at!)

SECONDARY GRADES ALSO USED

DJ  - (DJ / Promotional copy provided to a radio station.  Most DJ copies were different labels than a commercial copy.  Some had same song on both sides; most later DJ copies had both a Stereo & Mono version.  Still others had different songs on both sides.  There were always a limited number of DJ copies pressed & today many remain rare and very collectable) 

CO – (Cut Out – these were store returns to record labels and subsequently identified with drill holes through labels, jackets & labels, corner saws, etc. 

PS – (Picture Sleeve or a cardboard jacket with an Extended Play (EP) 45 or 33, if there is a PS or cardboard jacket, it will also be graded) 

RI – (Reissue label, could be by the original label company like Capitol Star Line, Columbia Hall Of Fame, RCA Gold Standard, etc., or a reissue by independent companies like Collectables) 

SOL – (Sticker on Label – some kind of sticker still on the label, in some cases for  DJ / Promo releases, may be original radio station record library sticker)

SS -  (Store Stock – this is a record that was leftover from my 1970s Retail/Wholesale record business, usually an M or M- grade) 

TOL – (Tear on Label – a tear that was most likely caused by a stick-on label being removed and causing some record label damage) 

WOL – (Writing on Label – can be previous owner name written in pencil or ink, or if a DJ/Promo copy may be a station stamp, black “X”, or other radio information such as intro time to vocal, etc. written on the record label)