The Animals - Animal Tracks UK 1st Press 1965 Columbia Mono, Stunning Near Mint

	£		125
	$		166

I have decided to slowly start parting with my own personal vinyl collection. This has been a difficult decision. I spent many a happy year, hunting, buying, upgrading my collection. I will try and provide as much info as possible, but if you require more photos or any other info don't hesitate to get in touch.

The collection consists of Rock, Prog, Psych, Folk, Beat mainly from the 60's and 70's. Plenty of Vertigo, Harvest and Island originals as well as Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, Who etc.

I would consider all items to be at least EX, however please read my descriptions where I will try and point out any flaws.

I will also include multiple photos in my listings, detailing as much as possible.

Bid with confidence - I am a long time collector. I understand collecting and grading. I don't overgrade and will refund you fully on return of the item if not entirely satisfied.

Vinyl will be seperated from the sleeve, placed in a new antistatic inner and card outer for shipping. The original inner will be included if present (check description)

I use cruciform record mailers with stiffeners for safe, secure shipping.

All UK items will be sent by 1st class recorded. I will combine postage where possible, I always undercharge P&P costs - please bear this in mind when leaving feedback/DSRs.

Overseas postage will ONLY be sent by registered/recorded delivery and the full value will be declared to customs so please don't ask me to reduce this.

Thanks for looking.

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ARTIST - The Animals

TITLE - Animal Tracks

YEAR - 1965

COUNTRY - UK

LABEL - Columbia

THIS RECORD IS MONO

Matrix Numbers are machine stamped on both sides. Both matrix numbers end in -1 and both stampers are the earliest '1G'

Side One XAX 2814-1 1G

Side Two XAX 2815-1 1G

THE LABELS

The labels are standard 60's blue/black & silver Columbia labels with 'KT' tax code on side one. Under close inspection I can see a few feint spindlemarks on each side of the label, indicating that this album has been played very little. The labels themselves are in Excellent + condition, I use mint only for sealed records.

THE VINYL

The vinyl is a nice substantial heavyweight pressing. It simply gleams. This truly is an archive copy with no flaws at all, simply stunning. As I only use Mint grading for sealed records I would grade the vinyl very Near Mint

So how does it sound?

I used a dry vacuum clean on the Okki Nokki machine to remove any dust from the grooves and played the record through. Unlike some I am not going to spend pages and pages describing each track and how glorious it sounds, needless to say that as an album that has been played no more than a few times the audio quality is exactly what you would expect from a record that is visually this good. No horrible background noise, free from clicks and pops and any other nasty unwanted noise.

Sonically this album does not disappoint - it is everything you would want in a 1st pressing, clean, unmarked and sounds amazing with silent run ins and track breaks, no background noise at all.

THE INNER

To protect the record and the inner I have stored the record in an antistatic plain white inner. The original 'Use Emitex' Inner is present and free from splits

THE SLEEVE

The sleeve is front laminated flipback design by Garod & Lofthouse. It is quite simply the best sleeve that I have ever seen on this album. The laminate on the front is crisp, clean and shines in daylight. There is no laminate lift or creases. The corners have a TINY amount of rubbing to them. The rear of the sleeve has secure undamaged flipbacks with 'Patents Pending' '0565' text on the bottom flipback.

Usually these sleeves with unlaminated rear covers tend to get grubby from years of handling. This one has been well looked after overall, there are a couple of light brown age spots (known as foxing) on the rear of the cover and where the flibacks end, but this is due to the age of the card rather than poor treatment or storage. Don't forget that this album is now almost 50 years old!

The spine and edges are uncrushed with clear print. 

In summary you are buying the best copy of this album you are every likely to find. It's not cheap, but then quality never is. I will package the vinyl separate from the sleeve with plenty of card in a purpose made cruciform mailer. All items will be sent fully insured and trackable. Overseas buyers must pay for either International Signed For or Airsure, this is expensive but provides peace of mind and protection for both buyers and sellers. I also have the self titled album by The Animals bought from the same collector from new, and in the same condition - check out my other listings and keep checking back for some killer albums in amazing condition

We've all bought vinyl on Ebay only to be disappointed with the quality, however I offer a full money back guarantee on my records - I do not offer partial refunds, if you are not happy with your purchase I will gladly refund you in full once the item has been returned.

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Condition

If you need any specific questions regarding condition of the items, please get in touch. I am a collector myself so I understand the importance of condition

 I am strict on my grading and wouldn’t list anything I wouldn’t be happy to receive. 

Please take time to look at my feedback to see how many good comments I have regarding the condition of my items.

Vinyl will be separated from the sleeve for shipping.

The vinyl will be placed in a new anti-static bag and protective card outer.

Any questions regarding condition, please feel free to ask prior to bidding.

Grading

For LPs and singles I use the Rare Record Guide grading system detailed below:

MINT The LP or single is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items are in perfect condition.

EXCELLENT The LP or single shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and/or creasing.

VERY GOOD The LP or single has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and an occasional light scatch. Normal wear and tear on the cover and contents without any major defects.

GOOD The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deterioted, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing edges, spine splits, discoloration, etc.

Delivery Times

 I aim to despatch all items with 36 hours of payment. If you check my feedback you will see numerous comments on the speed of delivery.

I only use 1st Class recorded postage to protect both buyers and sellers. Items over £50 will be insured

Unfortunately once I have posted the item, it is then in the hands of Royal Mail who state that 1st Class should take 2-3 days however the reality is that this isn’t always the case. It is not uncommon  for items to take 5 days to arrive.

We all know how frustrating it is to be waiting for our new purchase only for it to be delayed in the post, but please be reasonable and don’t take your frustrations on the postal system out on me.

If your item hasn’t arrived 7 days after despatch please get in touch. Don’t open a case or leave me negative feedback. I am a reasonable person and like to think that any problem can be resolved with communication.

 I obtain proof of postage on ALL items.

Postage & Packaging Costs

Postage costs have increased dramatically over the last 12 months.  Unlike some I don’t make a profit from postage.  Ebayers who sell know these costs, however some customers are oblivious to the cost of actually getting their item to them.

A single vinyl album packaged properly costs £4.10 just for 1st class recorded delivery, this does not include the price of the antistat bags, card outers, cruciform mailers, labels, ink, card stiffeners, bubblewrap etc.

Please consider these costs when leaving me feedback and DSR’s.

If you have any questions regarding postage and packaging cost please get in touch.

Overseas Postage

Overseas postage has become very expensive. For items over £25 I will only use either International Signed For or Airsure services. 

Also I always declare full value of the items for customs purposes as I need to for the insurance, please don't ask me to lie. Overseas customers are responsible for all import taxes that may be due on expensive items.

Customer Service

This is very important to me. I am not a big corporation selling 1000’s of items a day with no regard to the customers. I appreciate every order and try to make sure every customer is completely satisfied with their order.

If you are unsatisfied in any way, PLEASE get in touch before leaving bad feedback, low DSR’s or opening a case.

I am reasonable and will work with you to resolve any problems amicably, however I cannot resolve problems if I am not made aware of them.

Feedback

Your feedback is important to me. I work hard to make sure my customers are happy with their items and if for any reason they are not I urge them to get in touch BEFORE leaving feedback.

Also as a business seller it is important that you leave good DSR’s. Like many sellers I feel this system is very unfair as a couple of low ratings can ruin your business and get you banned for Ebay even if you have perfect feedback.

If there is anything I could have done to make your experience better please let me know.

About Me

I have been an obsessive collector of CDs, DVD’s and Vinyl for over 25 years. Over that time I have amassed a very impressive personal collection in the 1000’s. The collection is wide and varied covering a multitude of genres and formats dating from the early 1960’s.

When I became unemployed I decided to part with the collection to make ends meet. That means that many items are from my personal collection and they are the only one I have. As I have now been trading on here successfully over the last 2 years I have started to buy in small collections but I only buy in items that are in a condition that I would be happy with. 

CHECK MY STORE REGULARLY AS I AM LISTING NEW ITEMS DAILY.

THANKS FOR LOOKING