ASD 596-7 Mahler 9 Berlin Phil/Barbirolli 1st Semi Exc+

	£		270
	$		358

ASD 596-7, a 2-LP stereo set of Mahler's 9th Symphony, recorded in Berlin in January 1964 for HMV by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir John Barbirolli. This is a pressing from the first issue, on the ASD "1st semicircle" label, and is in superb condition (records, sleeves and covers) bar one small bit of browning/spotting on the back left - towards the top - of the cover of record 2 (the one to the right in my picture). The recording is spread over three sides, the fourth side being unrecorded and impressed with three "Nippers" and the legends "Do Not Play This Side" and "His Master's Voice Gramophone Records". There is little or no wear visible to either the vinyl itself or the centre spindle holes, and no scratches or marks. I have test-played these records and the sound is crisp and clear with good quiet surfaces and no audible wear. Other than the one blemish mentioned above the covers are in perfect condition. Altogether a very nice condition set indeed. Excellent with several pluses. I would say "near mint" if that wasn't such a meaningless and overused description.

I do take gradings and descriptions very seriously, and I pack and post with the utmost care, using proper professional mailing cartons and stiffeners. But even so mistakes can happen, in which case please do get back to me and we can discuss a refund or a replacement.

I will only ever send items by air mail, and not by sea, so please do not ask me to quote for surface mail. It may be cheaper (although actually it is only fractionally so) but things sent by sea frequently get damaged or, worse, simply disappear. Nor am I ever prepared to send anything uninsured (see below in "Shipping Costs") and I won't be budged on this one either.

SHIPPING   COSTS

The shipping costs for this particular item are

either

(a) (if the selling price is GBP 32.00 or less): to the UK GBP 4.00, to the European Union GBP 6.00, and to the Rest Of The World GBP 9.50.,

or

(b) (if the selling price is more than GBP 32.00): UK GBP 7.00, European Union GBP 9.50, Rest Of The World GBP 13.00.

There is a logic behind all this, honestly: the UK Royal Mail automatically includes insurance cover to compensate for loss or damage if the item has a declared value of GBP 32.00 or less, but for coverage from GBP 32.01 up to GBP 500.00 a higher postal charge is made. Put simply, if the selling price is over GBP 32.00 you pay the higher of the two shipping charges. If not, you pay the lower. This way, no item ever gets sent uninsured. So it's not a question of choosing randomly between two shipping prices, it's a question of working out which one applies, based on what the final selling price was: was it over GBP 32.00 or was it not? 

Multiple purchases will obviously not attract a separate shipping charge for each item, but rather they will be parcelled together and the charge will be simply whatever that one package costs, no more (well, up to a 2 kilogramme weight limit: if the total packed weight is going to exceed 2kg  -  the maximum weight allowance for the cheaper mailing tarriff in the UK  -   as one package, then I will parcel the LPs into two or more packages in order to keep your shipping costs down to the absolute minimum) . It's useful, though, if you can let me know if you are contemplating bidding on more than one item, because then I will delay invoicing you until you have completed your purchases, and only at that point will I weigh out the package and send you a final invoice. Of course it's also vital to let me know when you have finished purchasing. 

I do not charge for my time or labour when shipping, merely the cost of the materials and the postage.

Most records will come pre-cleaned on an LP wet-vacuuming machine. 

 Whatever the selling price, I always get a Proof Of Posting certificate from the post office, so if there are any problems you can easily obtain this from me.

Please don't hesitate to contact me for any further details or for clarification on anything that I might not have made 100% clear; or of course for more pictures.

I'm sorry about all this tortuous detail, but it has to be gone into.

Thanks for looking.