MOTT THE HOOPLE - Self titled LP - first UK A/B matrix Pink Island i

	£		76
	$		101

MOTT THE HOOPLE - Self titled LP - first UK A/B matrix Pink Island i    

These records are all from my personal collection built up over almost 50 years. Some were bought new, others pre-owned so condition will vary. Please do read and understand the detailed description which is my honest personal assessment - you can always check how good or bad that is by checking my feedback. My attempt at grading is based on the commonly used Record Collector grading system. Questions are welcome if anything is unclear. Happy bidding

Until now, I have always been happy to sell my albums to all-comers for as little as 99p. Unfortunately I can no longer offer any albums to overseas bidders which might sell for such low prices, so some of my albums will now be offered to UK only. This is because eBay have begun to charge sellers 10% not just on sale price (fair enough) but also on postage cost (totally unjustified greed on their part).
If I sold an album for 99p to a non-European buyer eBay fees used to be 10p, Paypal fees about 50p, so I got 39p net. Now eBay fees increase to 85p on that sale, so eBay/Paypal end up with £1.35 and I end up with MINUS 36p.
Even a UK 99p sale will yield only 20p net for a seller whilst snouts-in-trough eBay/Paypal pig out on 80% of the proceeds - where is the justification for that?. The lunatics have taken over the asylum, think again eBay! 

... yes and pigs might fly. Anyway, this listing is for a copy of the first Mott the Hoople album

Mott the Hoople
Self titled
UK pressing on Island pink i label
1969
Cat Number: ILPS 9108 dead wax matrix ILPS 9108 A / ILPS 9108 B
Mode: Stereo

The Album:
I keep seeing listings for this hailing the A-1U etc. matrix as the first pressing ... but I think that for Island the first matrix numbers used have the simple A and B, so I believe that this is actually the first pressing. I bought my first copy of this in 1969 because I just happen to be an Escher fan and was drawn to the cover art. Sadly that copy disappeared at some stage (borrowed & not returned) so I had to replace it and tracked this one down. There are a couple of small tears on the cover but to compensate the vinyl is great for its 44 years. I also see mention of track listings in the wrong order on later issues, but I think this one seems ok

Condition:
Cover:  Gatefold sleeve, unlaminated, is ok but as mentioned has flaws. There are a couple of sticker tears on the front and noticeable ringwear to the rear plus a bit of rubbing to the edges. However it is intact with spine text legible. See pictures
Labels: Pink Island labels in matt finish. Bright and clean, very few spindle marks, no stickers or writing. Excellent
Vinyl: Very nice chunky vinyl, good lustre. Just a few faint scrapes, nothing nasty and the album plays excellently.

Overall:
Despite the sleeve, a very nice copy of this album, - I'd guess that this might be professionally graded at (cover / vinyl) VG- / EX

Terms:
Please note that I try to test-play at least part of each record before listing, but do not have time to play fully in all cases. I just played all of this one, but if you do discover a problem which I might have missed, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will do all I can to rectify the situation.

Postage: Royal Mail 'restructured' prices in April 2013. Not necessarily all bad news, it depends what you buy - a single LP to most destinations is now more expensive, but within UK revised weight ranges allow two or three LPs to be posted for the same cost as one. Approximate prices for normal postage & packing -

UK £3.35 for up to 1kg (1,2 or 3 average weight LPs),

Europe £5.30 + £1.45 each additional,

Rest of world £7.55 + £2.70 each additional item

These amounts include estimated actual Royal Mail cost for first class or air mail, plus 35p for cost of packaging material (a brand new custom mailer with stiffener).
I am happy to hold records for a short while if you wish to bid on more and combine shipment, but it helps if you can let me know particularly when bidding on items separated by a few days.

Apologies, but owing to unreliability of some postal services, I will not ship to Italy, Russian Federation, & other former Soviet countries unless a signed for service is selected and paid for.

Losses: Royal Mail have reduced maximum compensation to £20 unless items are signed-for. Compensation on signed-for shipments is up to £50. Overseas purchasers - if your purchase is well over £20, a signed for service must be selected when paying or shipping will be at your own risk, not mine, and normal airmail will only be covered for up to £20.

Payment by Sterling cheque / money order, or via Paypal

I have decided to sell my whole vinyl collection as I know it won't be appreciated by my daughter or grandchildren, so I'm shifting it myself and hope I find good homes for it. Listed items are selected at random so there should be a decent if not particularly logical mix coming up over the next few months if you keep an eye on my other items now and in the future.
Thank you to all who have already given new homes to my precious vinyl, and may you continue to enjoy these records for years to come.