THE BEATLES For Sale LOVELY UK 1964 1st PRESS MONO EX+ LP, CLEAN FANTASTIC SOUND

	£		124
	$		164

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take longer from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business.

ANY ITEM or ITEMS TO BE PAID WITHIN A MAXIMUM OF 6 DAYS or they will be cancelled – NO EXCEPTIONS.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion, as will any bidder who cancels a bid. Please only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: THE BEATLES

Album Title: The Beatles For Sale

Producer(s): George Martin

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: No Reply; I’m a Loser; Baby’s in Black; Rock and Roll Music; I’ll Follow the Sun; Mr. Moonlight; Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey.

Side 2: Eight Days a Week; Words of Love; Honey Don’t; Every Little Thing; I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party; What You’re Doing; Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby.

Label/Format: Parlophone with matt, gently textured surfaces. Side one has the ‘K T’ embossed tax codes, both letters are immaculate, totally unrubbed or worn. These meet the criteria for a ‘first pressing’ with the ‘The Parlophone Co Ltd’ rim text (soon changed to ‘Gramophone’), also the ‘Record First Published 1964’ and ‘Sold in UK subject to resale price Conditions, see price lists’.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only light, mostly fine and very few spindle marks. An exceptional fresh pair meeting this criteria and the record plays superbly with beautiful clean surfaces and sound.

Catalogue Number: PMC 1240

Mode / Speed: Mono / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 153 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Few Beatles standard issues are ‘rare’, but original mono copies are hard to find in really top, hardly played condition. Condition is the paramount factor with high percentages of albums played many, many times, often on the most basic of record players and worn out – mono copies usually the most wrecked. Hardly played early albums are much harder to find with clean, little worn covers and this is such a copy. One purchased new by one owner, played sparingly and preserved to a very high standard.

Original Year of Release: 1964

Matrix Nos: XEX 503-4N / XEX 504-3N

Mothers / Stampers: 2 RAM / 1 R0A

Brief Info: The Fab Fours fourth album and like those that went before (and after) it sold in vast numbers. Most will know the album well enough, this is a gorgeous example, little played and a great listen. The fragile cover is really lovely as wellwith only scant clues of its considerable age. A wonderful opportunity for fans and collectors. It came from the owner as the original ‘Help!’ I am currently offering.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: or close to, certainly for a flimsy gatefold this considerable age and popularity, it generally lacks the often severe issues this flimsy cover often suffers. The front and back are laminated, the inside is matt and smooth and has two flipbacks on the right top and bottom. The front face is single thickness card and entry for the record is in the back via the centrefold. All makes for a fragile and damage-prone cover. This has the outline ‘mono’ mode on the front. Printed and made in England, uncredited. The tracing paper lined ‘Use EMITEX’ text inner sleeve is included.

Lamination – Front & Back: The laminate retains very fine shine, freshness and clarity with minimal traces of dulling and no lifting. Any marks, blemishes or laminate creasing relaively few and light. Slight ‘curl’ to the front ends which is seldom avoided on this very thin surface. Both sides remain attractive and somewhat age-defying, this has been cover-protected for many years.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Little to fault inside bar a tiny nick split a the very bottom of the fold hinge that is seldom avoided this small at best. With the record entering the back cover here, this area often attracts large splits and significant damage which this has happily avoided. Minimal creasing – the front especially avoiding any is unusual. Both flipbacks undamaged, solid and crisp as-seen and the black and white artwork impressive as seen in close-up.

Top Edges: The back laminated folded back edge is straight, smooth and immaculate. The front single thickness card shows minimal thickening with the end curl as mentioned which is so difficult to avoid. The laminate being the culprit for this as it tightens over time.

Bottom Edges: Similar to above with a small rub to the back right corner tip.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The back closed edge again immaculate, unworn, smooth and quite straight. The front mostly sharp with any thickening minimal and light, seen viewed end-on. I have mentioned the natural corner area curl already.

Spine and Text: Clearly a flimsy, delicate and fragile spine, but still solid, quite straight with patchy compression, the ends are pinched in manufacture, and due to the central storage and single thickness card, a little loss in definition is incredible hard to avoid. Folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel. The important text is unworn and nicely centred under the largely intact laminate.

Corners: Any tip rubs, wear or creasing light, the tiny split on the botton tip again already mentioned above. Very fine to excellent shape mostly retained with no major knocks.

Cover Summary: This is the most fragile and uncompromising of the Beatles 1960s covers. A strong and attractive, fresh all-round example, and one that could prove difficult to find much better. It should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): arguably better with only milt hint of discolouration. A clean and little aged vintage inner often means the same for the record, and this applies here. Again, given the great age, this has survived in fantastic condition with all edges naturally intact. This has the original tracing paper style lining which is immaculate as seen through two pristine, untorn window circles. This has hardly creased with any natural crinkle light. It has the USE ‘EMITEX’ text.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): arguably better for a highly popular mono record. Most fans and collectors will know the state many, if not most are found in these days. A highly impressive and very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and very solidly pressed. A copy with unusually very modest, and equally careful plays on all the evidence with any surface marks very light, wispy and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches whatsoever, viewed in average room light, barely anything even registers. Visually a super record that should please many, if not most collectors again.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This classic Beatles album plays even above it’s high visual grading with barely anything to fault. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear – sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and this is a very clean pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises. Few available copies will outperform this early ‘first’ pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp when played on a standard stereo system. I am certain this record has been played only a few times and clearly with utmost care on a finer record player. Generally well stored and carefully handled within a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this lovely record. It will prove difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade – visuals alone do not always tell a true story. I will try to mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same – just because an item is rare does not always mean it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, major warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D7500 DSLR Camera.

PACKING – THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site as will any suspicious bids or bid bid retractions. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I only accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.