Item of the Week- April 7th 2016

candle3So another copy of Lions, in nice condition, and on current prices not all that expensive. But the story behind it is a classic one of how you shouldn’t get overexcited and greedy. Mea culpa.

This appears to be one of at least two from a shop in Durham. When I was answering a question about cassette single last week, I looked at Musicstack and as I usually do checked for a few rarities. And I found a Candle copy of Lions for £22, and immediately ordered it. As you do. Gleefully.

The single arrived the following morning, excellent service from the seller. It was in pristine condition, the vinyl is superb, the sleeve was clean as a whistle.  I went back to Musicstack, for some reason checked again, and there was another copy listed. Same price.

Something went off in my head, and I think I had some vision of a little box of unsold stock, so I ordered the second copy as well, and followed up with an enquiry as to whether there were any more. In retrospect that was stupid, what I should have done is to get someone else to order it or just simply posted it here, but the red mist had descended, sadly. Anyway, there was a little flurry of emails, the seller obviously looked it up and probably found the price guide, then claimed he had lost the single and refunded me. So I’ve been sort of expecting it to turn up again, re-priced, and here it is.

What I would say is that this is likely to be a very nice copy. The “pristine sleeve” on my copy turns out on examination to be new, the originals are quite distinctive, so it may be worth checking on that if you’re bothered, but the vinyl is near mint, and it may well have come from someone connected with the recording studio at “Pity Me” (it’s a placename). It is probably – on the evidence of recent sales – worth the price, which is if anything discounted from recent sales on Ebay. The seller is extremely quick and attentive. So all in all it’s not a bad proposition, but could have been better.

I always feel a little guilty about my collecting attitude to the Candle Lions. I will tend to pick them up if I see them cheap, though rarely if ever on Ebay. However I do recirculate copies, and I never sell them, for example one went out as part of “Sprout for Nowt“, one went to the charity auction at the Newcastle event, and I have a plan for the new one. The original £22 purchase had been sitting on Musicstack for a couple of months at least without anyone noticing it, so if you’re looking for a copy, scan Discogs, Musicstack and so on regularly and eventually a bargain will drop out.

As usual, click on the graphic to get to the listing.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.