IF - If - self-titled debut LP - UK Pink Island A1/B1 first press

	£		17
	$		22

IF - If self-titled debut LP - UK Island A1/B1 first press    

These records are all from my personal collection built up over almost 50 years. Some were bought new, others pre-owned so condition will vary. Please do read and understand the detailed description which is my honest personal assessment - you can always check how good or bad that is by checking my feedback. My attempt at grading is based on the commonly used Record Collector grading system. Questions are welcome if anything is unclear. Happy bidding

Until now, I have always been happy to sell my albums to all-comers for as little as 99p. Unfortunately I can no longer offer any albums to overseas bidders which might sell for such low prices. This is because eBay intend to charge sellers 10% not just on sale price (fair enough) but also on postage cost (totally unjustified greed on their part).
If I sold an album for 99p to a non-European buyer eBay fees used to be 10p, Paypal fees about 50p, so I got 39p net. From now on, eBay fees increase to 85p on that sale, so eBay/Paypal end up with £1.35 and I end up with MINUS 36p.
Even a UK 99p sale will yield only 20p net for a seller whilst snouts-in-trough eBay/Paypal pig out on 80% of the proceeds - where is the justification for that?. The lunatics have taken over the asylum, think again eBay! 

Anyway, that's my problem now, as I refuse to be forced by eBay into passing the charge onto buyers - you still pay just the Royal Mail charge for postage and cost price for custom packaging - no more.       eBay get to screw me, not you.
So, this listing is for a copy of the great debut album from IF

If -
If
UK Island label first press pink i
1970
Cat Number: ILPS 9129 dead wax matrix A#1 B#1
Mode: Stereo
Producer: Lew Futterman

The Album:
A great debut from a great band - reminiscent of Jon Hiseman's Colosseum / Nucleus, spearheaded by Morrisey & Quincy. Jazz / rock at its best - but sorry guys, this is one of the worst ideas for an album cover ever. Even worse, they did the same on 'If 4' on the UA label, though fortunately my copy of that has weathered much better than this one.
The problem is that the sleeve is basically draped in thin kitchen foil which rubs, ringmarks, perishes and all the rest. I picked this one up pre-owned and that sleeve had already seen its best days well before it reached my collection

Condition:
Cover:  Gatefold foil finish sleeve, unlaminated, is in sad condition. It is intact only in that it holds very firmly together, however there is wear everywhere. There is very noticeable ringwear front and rear, rubbing to all edges and surfaces, and there is no visible spine text if it was ever there. No writing, tears or stickers, but you'd probably not see it if there was - good, but only because it is basically robust.
Labels: Pink Island first release 'i' labels, quite clean with not many spindle marks, and no writing or stickers.
Vinyl: Vinyl shows a couple of light hairline marks each side but nothing particularly nasty. There is minimal background interference and it plays excellently on the whole.

Overall:
A nice playing piece of rare vinyl in a worn sleeve - I'd guess that it might be professionally graded at (cover / vinyl) G / VG+

Terms:
Please note that I try to test-play at least part of each record before listing, but do not have time to play fully in all cases. I just played all of this one, but if you do discover a problem which I might have missed, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will do all I can to rectify the situation.

Postage: Royal Mail 'restructured' prices in April 2013. Not necessarily all bad news, it depends what you buy - a single LP to most destinations is now more expensive, but within UK revised weight ranges allow two or three LPs to be posted for the same cost as one. Approximate prices for normal postage & packing -

UK £3.35 for up to 1kg (1,2 or 3 average weight LPs),

Europe £5.30 + £1.45 each additional,

Rest of world £7.55 + £2.70 each additional item

These amounts include estimated actual Royal Mail cost for first class or air mail, plus 35p for cost of packaging material (a brand new custom mailer with stiffener).
I am happy to hold records for a short while if you wish to bid on more and combine shipment, but it helps if you can let me know particularly when bidding on items separated by a few days.

Apologies, but owing to unreliability of some postal services, I will not ship to Italy, Russian Federation, & other former Soviet countries unless a signed for service is selected and paid for.

Losses: Royal Mail have reduced maximum compensation to £20 unless items are signed-for. Compensation on signed-for shipments is up to £50. Overseas purchasers - if your purchase is well over £20, a signed for service must be selected when paying or shipping will be at your own risk, not mine, and normal airmail will only be covered for up to £20.

Payment by Sterling cheque / money order, or via Paypal

I have decided to sell my whole vinyl collection as I know it won't be appreciated by my daughter or grandchildren, so I'm shifting it myself and hope I find good homes for it. Listed items are selected at random so there should be a decent if not particularly logical mix coming up over the next few months if you keep an eye on my other items now and in the future.
Thank you to all who have already given new homes to my precious vinyl, and may you continue to enjoy these records for years to come.