Bill Fay "Time Of TheLast Persecution" UK Deram

	£		537
	$		711

ARTISTE, RECORD TITLE  AND LABEL 

BILL FAY "Time Of Last Persecution"

Deram  SML 1079 (pressed in England)

MATRIX NUMBERS:

ZAL 10287P -2D/ZAL 10288 P-2D

BACKGROUND :

The last time I put up another copy of this, almost a year to date, I had my moment in the sun when not only did it fetch £1020 but was rather pleasantly surprised when Record Collector mag highlighted that sale in their EBay watch and also pointed out that the seller stood out for having described the cleaning methods in detail. Needless to say, that has not changed though nowadays I clean them one more time before despatch. The buyer too expressed appreciation not just in his feedback but in a personal message to me.

The one up for bidding is my personal copy. In accordance with the practice amongst collectors in the 80s, wherein one sells or trades his better copy( a practice which sadly does not seem to be as common nowadays), the one sold before was better in terms of the cover though the vinyl is in about the same condition. I also note that 3 months after I sold mine , a copy without a cover was sold for £272 (a record, no pun intended, of both sales can be found in Popsike pages). I suppose starting it at £99.99 seems fair enough. It has an original inner though I am not sure if it got changed around over the years as the year next to the patents fine print indicates 68! 

International Buyers – Please Note:

• Import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping charges. These charges are the buyer’s responsibility.
• Please check with your country’s customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding/buying.

Buyers please also note that I am not based in UK and that the shipping rate mentioned is based on UK standard delivery which is not practical for overseas sellers. Please read my shipping costs section below.

GRADING RESULTS:

 Though there are no seam splits, there is wear along the edges including the opening side. There are also some light creases on the cover.   I would rate the cover as VG++ in view of this.

Visually the vinyl can be graded as near mint. Under normal household light it looked ok. Only when viewed under bright sunlight were some light hairline surface scratches visible. These  did not affect play .  There are no visible spindle marks. The vinyl maintains its lustre and is mirror like. Tracking at 1.7g on a Naim ARO/Lin LP12 with a Lyra Helikon SL cartridge, the playing was generally Excellent with some light extraneous surface noise especially in the beginning and which did not intrude on play.

How I Clean and  Grade my Records

Cleaning is usually done on a Loricraft PRC4D cleaning machine and using the US made Walker Audio stage cleaning solution.

Playback Equipment: Playback is through a Linn LP12 turntable/Armeggedon/Naim Aro tonearm/Lyra Helikon SL cartridge and through a brace of active Naim 250s/135s into Naim DBL speakers. For 45s I use a second Linn/Lingo/Aro/Linn Troika though I change them occasionally as the arm tubes can be easily transferred from one deck to another.

I use both Goldmine and Rare Record Price Guide grading system as a guide and came up with the following:

·       Mint  I only use this for sealed items. The record is virtually unplayed and is in a brand new condition. Cover is pristine. Up till now, I have never used this grading and, chances are, never will, due to my conservative nature in matters of record grading.

·       Near Mint  Very little or negligible flaws. Faint lines or very faint creasing  on laminated covers visible under a strong light is acceptable but nothing serious. Records which show some signs of having been played such as very faint spindle marks are allowed but there should be no lessening in sound quality. .

·       Excellent   Item obviously played, though not often,and enjoyed with some slight noise. The record should be nice and shiny but may have a few light marks which should not intrude on play. Slight wear on cover is acceptable. 

·         Very Good Many more imperfections which are noticeable but not obtrusive. The record has been played several times but there should be no major deterioration in sound quality despite some noticeable surface marks and light scratches. Normal wear and tear or writings on the cover  is acceptable but there should not be any major tears.

I do not offer any records below Very Good  unless its extremely rare. 

Shipping costs

NOTE ON SHIPPING:  With effect from 27th January 2009, EBay UK has introduced a new policy whereby UK sellers have to offer a basic UK inland postage amount which is limited to £4. I am not based in the UK but in Singapore and whilst the amount would not even cover 7"/EPs, I could bear the difference for 45s but not in the case of LPs.  £4 may be barely sufficient for surface mail which will take 8 to 12 weeks and without registration. I have indicated the shipping costs below for registered air mail, but if UK buyers insist that I stick to that basic amount, then I suppose I will send by surface mail though I strongly advise against that mode especially for this rarity.

UK/USA/Europe                           10 pounds

Hongkong, Taiwan South Korea 8.3 pounds

Australia China Japan                 8.90 pounds

Postage is via Airmail, "signed for" delivery. I prefer signed for delivery as it allows me to "chase" on my side if buyers do not get their items within 2 weeks though so far this has only happened with Italy.

 I will  inform buyers of the registration details through Email on posting.

Forms of payment that I accept include:

·       PAYPAL (preferred choice) 

·       International Money Orders