BEATLES - PLEASE PLEASE ME - 1st UK PRESS BLACK & GOLD - DICK JAMES - VG+ AUDIO

	£		295
	$		391

Please read the Terms and Conditions lower in the listing about payment, postage costs and insurance BEFORE placing a bid. Thank you.

I am happy to answer any questions, but please read the listing carefully before sending a question or placing a bid. I try to provide comprehensive details and information in every listing so the answers to most questions should be found below.

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During nearly eight years of trading on ebay, I have received around 2,600 positive feedbacks from over 2,000 individual customers, almost all from the sale of vinyl records.

I take great pride in ensuring that my items are always described accurately and fairly. All my items come with a full money-back guarantee - if it's not as described, you can return it for a full refund. 

P&P charges. From September 2013 sellers get charged final value fees on the entire value of a transaction including P&P. This means that I get charged a 10% ebay fee and a 3% Paypal fee on the postage element (as well as on the value of the item). To reflect this I have had to adjust my P&P charges accordingly.  For further information please see below for full P&P details.

Bidders outside the UK please note: I send all items tracked and insured. Depending on the value of your order, the cost is an extra £5.30 or £7.90 on top of the standard airmail rate. I do not make a profit on this service - I only charge what Royal Mail charges me. For further information please click on the icon or see below for full P&P and insurance details.

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PLEASE NOTE: THERE ARE 12 PHOTOS IN THIS LISTING. USE THE SCROLL BAR BESIDE THE THUMBNAILS TO SEE THEM ALL.

Genuine 1st pressing of The Beatles debut LP with black and gold Parlophone labels and the original Dick James credits. 

It is not a perfect example, but it is complete with its correct, original first-press cover and plays with very few clicks.

This has the following 1st press matrix numbers:

Side 1: XEX 421-1N

Side 2: XEX 422-1N

and the following first mothers and early stampers:

Side 1:           1                          GA

Side 2:           1                          GA

Vinyl - visual grading: Side one betwen Very Good (VG) and Very Good minus (VG-) / side two between Very Good minus (VG-) and Good plus (G+). The heavy (169 gram) vinyl is perfectly flat and has retained much of its original sheen, but it does have various hairlines, marks and scuffs (more on side two than side one) and general signs that it has been well-played.

Vinyl - play grading for both sides around Very Good plus (VG+).  There is background noise in the quiet parts and the run-ins/outs, fades, silent grooves and intros and a few random clicks and some crackle and hiss caused by groove-wear, but despite the fact that some of the scuffs and marks look quite prominent, the majority of them have NO AUDIBLE IMPACT and the record has hardly any repetitive clicks [I heard three in 'Chains', about six in 'Ask me why', three at the end of 'Please Please Me' and four at the start of 'Love Me Do' but there is nothing persistent anywhere]. Like many copies, the fact that this was played on old equipment has led to some noticeable crackle and hiss, but most of this is mainly confined to the right-channel and so it can be significantly reduced (or totally eliminated in places) by biasing the balance to the left channel - as the record is mono this makes no difference to the music. The main exceptions were some very prominent hiss right at the start of the album (about twenty seconds at the beginning of 'I saw her standing there') and at the end of the album (where some distortion in parts of 'There's a Place' and especially 'Twist and Shout' was noticeable in the left channel). However, when the balance is biased to the left channel, most of the rest of the album plays to a decent, high standard and is a real pleasure to listen to. Listening to the record in this way I would play-grade the album overall around Very Good Plus (VG+) although the first few seconds of side one would be much lower (and a play-grading including the output from the right channel would also be lower overall), but played in the manner described, this is a very good example and was really enjoyable to listen to.

Labels: Grade somewhere between Good and Very Good. The labels have no writing or stickers etc, but both labels have lots of signs of use with some scratches and marks and noticeable wear around the spindle holes. Some of the wear to the labels has been touched-in to reduce its appearance but at certain angles this is noticeable. The pictures on the listing are the actual labels but the photographs have made them look better than they do in real life.

Sleeve: Grades somewhere between Good and Very Good. This is the correct, original first-press cover with the Angus McBean credit at the extreme right of the cover, lining up with the 's' in 'songs' [on later covers it is slightly further to the left and lines up with the 'g' in 'songs']. The cover has no splits, writing or significant damage but it shows general signs of age and use with some noticeable grubbiness and marks (particularly to the rear).

• The laminated front of the cover has various creases/cracks around the edges, wear particularly at the corners and opening edge, some stains near the spine, some creases, marks and various general signs of age and use.
• The unlaminated rear is generally a bit stained/discoloured, but it has no writing, tears or other issues.
• The flipbacks are complete and intact, although there is some general scuffing along the edges, and wear at the corners, with a small piece of the surface lamination missing from the top flipback at the opening corner.
• The spine, bottom and especially the top edge have various scrapes, scuffs and wear but there are no central seam splits and the spine is solid and firm, with heavy wear at the corners (mainly the top one) but the text is still readable. There are no seam-splits to any edges. The opening edge shows signs of use, with some feathering and creases and one small piece of lamination missing at the front opening (roughly in-line with John Lennon's head - see photos), but nothing major.
• There is prominent corner-wear to all four corners with the top-spine corner and bottom corners being the most worn. The corners at the opening have worn through to corners splits (just a few milimeters each, but most noticeable at the bottom).

I have graded the sleeve as being somewhere between Good and Very Good - this means it is lower than Very Good but better than Good.

Inner sleeve: Very Good minus (VG-). Original poly-lined Emitex inner sleeve has a small tear at one top corner and some edge splitting at the other, but no central splits or other damage, just creases and normal signs of age and use.

Detracting features not covered above:  None.

Please check out my other items and take advantage of reduced postage costs for multiple buys.

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Information about descriptions.
My items are always described accurately and fairly. I always do my best to point out any blemishes which might detract from the item and all photographs are of the actual item you will get.

Play-graded vinyl: I play grade records where possible but I don't have time to play them all. I always state in the listing if I have played a record prior to describing it.

Visually-graded vinyl: Unless specifically stated in the listing, vinyl is visually graded.  A visual grading will identify physical flaws (such as scratches) and can help determine whether a record has been cared-for properly. I always do my best to give a fair assessment of any visible marks on the playing surface, but a visual grading will not identify noise or crackle caused by non-visible sources. Most of the records I sell are between thirty and fifty years old and so it is likely that there may be some background noise even if they look perfect. Please see Terms and Conditions below for my refunds policy for visually graded records.

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I have some very simple terms and conditions. Please read them and ensure that you understand them before bidding. Thank you.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

• My items are fully guaranteed - if it is not as described you can return it for a full refund, including postage. Refunds for visually graded records which are returned based upon the buyer's assessment of the record's playgrade, will not include postage costs in either direction.
• Your bid is binding, so please make sure you have READ and UNDERSTOOD the WHOLE LISTING before you bid. I will not accept returns where the buyer has not read or not understood something which is stated/shown in the listing.
  
• I accept Paypal and postal orders (in UK Sterling GBP) for all purchases.  I also accept cheques (in UK Sterling GBP) on orders OVER £50.
• Please pay for your item within three days of the auction closing. If you are intending to bid on other items and wish to pay when they have closed, please contact me to let me know. I reserve the right to cancel any transactions and offer the item to the second highest bidder if no contact or payment is made within three days.

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POSTAGE & PACKING

I care about the records I sell and believe that they need to be carefully and securely packaged to ensure that they survive their journey through the post. Vinyl is removed from the sleeve for posting and the contents will be protected with rigid cardboard stiffeners. All packages are labelled "Do not bend" and securely sealed with "FRAGILE" parcel tape.

I support the use of recycled materials and so I may send some items in packaging which has been previously used or which has been made from other cardboard packaging. If you wish your item to be sent in entirely new packaging please let me know before paying for it. Thanks.

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P&P charges

I need to cover the cost of postage and packing materials, but I try not to charge more for packing and posting your item than it actually costs me. I do not view P&P costs as a means of making money.

However, to quote an exact cost for every LP is difficult because of the wide variance in weight (e.g. Abbey Road weighs around 230 grams whereas Led Zeppelin III weighs around 390 grams). But the majority of single LPs, when packed, will weigh around 500-550 grams and I have based my P&P rates on this.

Occasionally, you may end up paying a few pence more than it actually costs me and occasionally you may end up paying a few pence less than it actually costs me. If there is a significant discrepancy in your favour I will refund the difference.

Double LPs will be charged as two LPs, triple LPs will be charged as three LPs. Box sets etc will be charged according to weight.

UK P&P costs

UK Standard service - items valued below £50 are sent using first class recorded post. The cost for this is as follows:

One to four LPs (with a combined total value below £50) = £4.50.

First 7" or CD = £2.50, each additional 7" or CD add £0.50


UK Special Delivery - Any order valued over £50 will be sent fully insured using Royal Mail Special Delivery and the total cost of this will be £8.55 for one to four LPs and £11.40 for five or more LPs . Please wait for my invoice before paying.

Any order valued below £10 can be sent using second class standard mail, free of charge.

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Airmail (with tracking and insurance) to any country OUTSIDE the UK

 

Overseas orders will ONLY be sent fully insured. I include insurance on all invoices. Basic insurance (for items valued up to £50) is included in the costs below. 

Europe

First LP or 12" = £11.95, each additional LP or 12" add £2.00.

First 7" or CD = £8.80, each additional 7" or CD add £0.60.

 

Rest of the world (anywhere outside Europe)

First LP or 12" = £15.95, each additional LP or 12" add £3.50.

First 7" or CD = £10.00, each additional 7" or CD add £0.90.

 

Overseas orders valued between £50 and £500 will be insured for an additional £2.60

For overseas orders valued over £500, please contact me.

Overseas orders weighing more than 2kg or valued over £500 may be split into two or more packages as appropriate so they can be sent using Royal Mail's Small Packet Rate, so please wait for my invoice on larger multiple purchases.

Customs declaration for overseas orders: Please note that for overseas orders outside the EU I need to complete a customs declaration and must enter the value of the package on the declaration.

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 If you have any queries please email BEFORE you bid.

 

Thanks for your interest in this listing and for taking the time to read these details.