Elton John "Border Song" Philips f/o ps 45

	£		102
	$		135

ARTISTE, RECORD TITLE  AND LABEL

ELTON JOHN

Philips PF 346704 (mono pressed in Singapore)

TRACK LISTING

Side 1:  Border Song

Side 2:   Bad Side Of the Moon

BACKGROUND :

"Possibly the rarest of EJ 45s in mint, excluding Portugal promo EP"... These are not my words but from a buyer,"nelson1885" ,in his feedback the last time I sold one on 6 April 2008. It is on page 25(dated 23 April 2008) of my feedback reports unless it gets shifted to the next page in the interim. Other than mine, another was sold for US$787 on 20 June 2007. A record (do I detect a pun here) of both sales can be found in the pages of Popsike if one were to key in "Elton John Border 'in the search box). I didnt realise that I had another copy till I opened one of my boxes which I thought I had already gone through! It is a Singapore mono issue housed in a foldover picture sleeve.

I have also done some background checks on this recording and found that it was the practice in those days to intially have a very limited run of foldover picture sleeves as a sort of a promotional pre-release for DJs, selected record stores and radio stations. Subsequent  issues for the consumers came without the sleeves. Hence the rarity.

GRADING RESULTS:

The cover looks a strong Excellent to Near Mint. Other than some light creases as well as some brown age spots on the back which is of a white background, there are no serious flaws.

The vinyl looks Mint with no visible surface or spindle marks. It does maintain its lustre and is mirror like.  Tracking at 1.7g on my Naim Aro/Lyra Helikon SL cartridge , there were some light clicks and pops but these were not intrusive and I would grade the playing as generally a strong Excellent.

How I Clean and  Grade my Records

Cleaning: Cleaning is usually done on a Loricraft PRC 4 cleaning machine  using the US made Walker Audio 3 step process.

Playback Equipment: Playback is through a Linn LP12 turntable/Armeggedon/Naim Aro tonearm/Linn Troika cartridge and through a brace of active Naim 250s/135s into Naim DBL speakers. For 45s I use a second Linn/Lingo/Aro/Lyra Helikon SL.

I use both Goldmine and Rare Record Price Guide grading system as a guide and came up with the following:

·       Mint  I only use this for sealed items. The record is virtually unplayed and is in a brand new condition. Cover is pristine. Up till now, I have never used this grading and, chances are, never will, due to my conservative nature in matters of record grading.

·       Near Mint  Very little or negligible flaws. Faint lines or very faint creasing  on laminated covers visible under a strong light is acceptable but nothing serious. Records which show some signs of having been played such as very faint spindle marks are allowed but there should be no lessening in sound quality. .

·       Excellent   Item obviously played, though not often,and enjoyed with some slight noise. The record should be nice and shiny but may have a few light marks which should not intrude on play. Slight wear on cover is acceptable. 

·         Very Good Many more imperfections which are noticeable but not obtrusive. The record has been played several times but there should be no major deterioration in sound quality despite some noticeable surface marks and light scratches. Normal wear and tear or writings on the cover  is acceptable but there should not be any major tears.

I do not offer any records below Very Good  unless its extremely rare. 

NOTE ON SHIPPING:  With effect from 27th January 2009, EBay UK has introduced a new policy whereby UK sellers have to offer a basic UK inland postage amount which is limited to £4. I am not based in the UK but in Singapore and whilst the amount would not even cover 7"/EPs, I could bear the difference for 45s but not in the case of LPs.  £4 may be barely sufficient for surface mail which will take 8 to 12 weeks and without registration. I have indicated the shipping costs below for registered air mail, but if UK buyers insist that I stick to that basic amount, then I suppose I will send by surface mail though I strongly advise against that mode .

I use brand new custom made  plastic sleeves  for both the vinyl and for the sleeve. Shipping is always by Airmail and by registered post as it allows one to track items in case of delays. Shipping costs in pounds are:

EPs/45s :

4 for the first

1.5  for the  2nd and 1 for the  subsequent ones

Forms of payment that I accept include:

·       PAYPAL (preferred choice) 

·       International Money Orders

Potential bidders please note that due to unforseen circumstances, I have to leave Singapore on the 14th March 2009 and will only return on 30th March 2009. I would ask them to hold payment till I return so that I could forward the vinyl after those dates. I take the packing and despatch of the items as a "labour of love" and would prefer not to delegate this task to any others in my absence. I will also schedule more items to appear around 20th March 2009 and to close on or after 30th March 2009.