Collecting log: The best acquisition in 2016

Big box arrived here from upstate New York. Inset shows the eBay
sticker probably for global shipping (overlaid on which is the semi-
transparent lilac-colored label of the domestic delivery service).

Now we're coming to the end of the year, it's time to look over the best acquisition in 2016. It's a volume purchase won on eBay this spring with a cumulative bid of 12, which resulted in the final amounts just exceeding 80 bucks. The amounts were happily way less than what I had expected to pay, but as always, the shipping cost too much from East Coast of the US (slightly more than the half of the final bid). Speaking of the shipping option, as many non-US buyers already pointed out, I am also quite discontented with eBay Global Shipping Program because it charges additional costs that probably results from handling, custom/import duty (pre-paid is mandatory; Note that the zero rate is usually applied for importing vinyl discs here, unless an item is quite expensive or highly valued) and the US domestic delivery from seller's address to the Global Shipping Center. In this particular case, tracking information revealed that the box parcel was originally picked up somewhere in upstate New York, then transferred to Jersey City, New Jersey, then to Cincinnati, Ohio, and finally delivered to the Global Shipping Center located in Erlanger, Kentucky. It was found to cost extra 10 bucks (or more) and take 4 days for the parcel box to be ready for international shipping. Why wasn't the parcel allowed to be exported simply from the international airport in Jamaica, New York, as it was originally posted in the same State? For international buyers, this service is totally unnecessary; a seller can ship an item to an overseas buyer directly, which would not only save shipping and additional fees, but also shorten delivery time. So, the first thing I do now when I join an auction offered by someone in the US is to request the seller not to use the program and ask for another shipping option.

Anyway, I usually avoid volume purchases because of the high absolute cost of international shipping, especially from the US. Another reason is to prevent the accumulation of mediocre collectibles that I don't need in duplicates, or vinyl titles that I am totally not interested in, such as those nothing to do with the Man himself that are often put together in a volume package. However, I could not resist placing the winning bid for this mixed bag.

Photo taken by the seller and shown on the actual auction page. Top: CBS MASTERSOUND HIGHLIGHTS promo-only US copy (still sealed); Second row from left: DARKNESS promo-only US picture disc (still sealed), THE RIVER regular US copy with a blank red label on Side 3, and Tunnel Of Love UK 12" single folded poster sleeve edition; Third row from left: DON'T LOOK BACK single bootleg LP, WEMBLEY STADIUM 4LP bootleg capturing the "4th of July" performance in London 1985, and the BORN TO RUN Armed Forces Radio and Television Service edition; and the bottom row from left: Cover Me UK 12” regular single second edition, THE JERSEY DEVIL bootleg reissue, and THE HEAVYWEIGHTS promo-only US double LP.

This auction lot contained 10 vinyl titles that were exclusive to Springsteen and disaggregated into eight LP and two 12-inch discs or seven official (4 promo and 3 regular) and three bootleg records, counting a total of 15 discs. It's a jumble of wheat and tares, but I did spot an extreme rarity included therein when I, for the very first time, saw this auctioned lot online. That was a vinyl LP pressing from the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) featuring tracks from BORN TO RUN on one side exclusively. I think this record alone is worth the winning bid of the auction.

The label design for AFRTS has frequently been changed over the 
years. This "large eye" logo represents a typical one for the mid-
1970's pressings. P-15541 seems to be a playing side-specific code,
as the other side of the label prints a slightly different code P-15542.

AFRTS has provided popular radio and television programs to US military personnel, workers, and their families in countries where US military bases are operating but English-language broadcasts are not available. Vinyl LP pressings from AFRTS are generally rare, limited in quantity and often come with unique track listing and label designs, which explains why these records generate a lot of interest from vinyl collectors. According to Lost In The Flood collector's page, there exist at least two AFRTS LP releases of Springsteen, each containing 5 tracks from either BORN TO RUN or DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN on one side of the disc, coupled with songs from other artists on another side. The copy included in the auction lot has the catalog number RL13-6 and features the BORN TO RUN tracks (Thunder Road / Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out / Night / Born To Run / Meeting Across The River) on Side One while the other side is filled with excerpts from Eric Clapton's 1975 live album. The vinyl is housed in a plain black die-cut sleeve and carries the labels in a brown background with a large official AFRTS "Eye Logo" printed on both sides.

The other nine titles are as follows:

• THE HEAVYWEIGHTS: COLUMBIA RECORDS FALL 1975 (Columbia A2S 174): A US-only promotional 17-track compilation double LP featuring Born To Run as the first track of Side One. The two records carry white promotional labels and come in a custom gate-fold sleeve with a "DEMONSTRATION Not For Sale" gold stamp on the back cover. Released more than four decades ago, this one is not seen so often and the first entry in my collection.
  
  

  

  The modified artworks for the albums in which featured tracks appear are printed inside the gate-fold sleeve.
   

• CBS MASTERSOUND HIGHLIGHTS (Columbia AS 902): A single US sample LP for promoting CBS's audiophile pressing series released in 1981. Thunder Road is taken from the half-speed mastered edition of BORN TO RUN (Columbia HC 33795) and featured as the first track of Side One on this promotional copy. Housed in a custom gate-fold sleeve. Again, the first entry in my collection although I obtained many years ago the similar sample compilation LP issued in Holland (THE SOUND OF MUSIC ON MASTERSOUND; CBS SAMP 15) that also features the remastered version of Thunder Road. Still sealed.
  
  
  
• DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN [Columbia (no catalog number listed)]: A US-only promotional picture disc LP. No explanation is needed for this official classic collectible. Counterfeits have been reported to circulate for years although thus far I have never seen or encountered such copies. This copy (the third copy in my possession) is still shrink-wrapped and remains unopened but the lyric sheet is visible inside the die-cut sleeve through the spindle hall, which warrants the authenticity (since the counterfeits are said not to include it). This sealed copy alone may also be valued equivalent to the winning bid amounts.
  
  
• THE RIVER (Columbia PC2 36854): A US commercial 2-LP copy pressed at the Pitman pressing plant, New Jersey, according to the dead wax matrix information. At first I regraded it as a mere red-labeled Columbia regular copy. However, what turned out to be was that the Side 3 label was blank only with the yellow peripheral rim of Columbia Records. An unexpected but welcome addition.
  
  

  

  The matrix number PAL-36856 is assigned to Side 3 of this US-pressed, my favorite double album. The matrix code on the right that is unreadable in this picture is the machine-typed MASTERED BY CAPITOL stamp.
   

• Cover Me (Undercover Mix) / Cover Me (Dub) / Shut Out The Light // Dancing In The Dark (Dub) / Jersey Girl (live) (CBS QTA 4662): A remix version 12" single commercially released in the UK in 1985. Certainly the least collectible among those included in this lot.
  
  
• Tunnel Of Love // Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (live) / Two For The Road (CBS 651295 8): Another UK 12" single released in 1988. This one is a folded poster sleeve edition. Still mediocre though.
  
  

  

  The famous matrix inscriptions on the dead wax of THE JERSEY
  DEVIL pressed from the original stampers: HAR147 on both sides
  with THIS SIDE FOR CHAR on Side 1 and THIS SIDE FOR CAROL
  on Side 2, probably dedicated this record to wives of the
  bootlegger and his friend/partner (not in bootlegging). Note 
  that the original copies have a custom silver label on Side 1 
  only (Side 2 label is white blank).
  

• THE JERSEY DEVIL (Hoffman Avenue Records HAR147): A classic bootleg LP honored to be the first ever Springsteen bootleg or Bruceleg originally released in Fall 1975. This copy is a Dragonfly Records reissue but pressed from the original stampers as confirmed by the dead wax information (see the picture on the right).
  
  
• DON'T LOOK BACK: Bruce Springsteen Collectors Items 1974-1980 (PUD Records PUD P 4234): A single bootleg of random, yet interesting collection of studio outtakes and rare live performance. This bootleg has been mentioned on this blog. Check here for the details. This copy is the fifth(!) in my collection but happily, no duplication of the sleeve color (this time dense blue) and pressed from the original plates.
  
  
• WEMBLEY STADIUM (Spacematic Records 198-50704): A Swedish 4-LP capturing the famous Fourth of July 1985 concert in London. One of the best BORN IN THE U.S.A. tour bootleg in the vinyl era, notably for the sound quality and the show itself with Little Steven as a guest appearance for this special occasion. The bootleg column on the Backstreets magazine (#16, Spring 1986 issue) selects it as No. 1 among Top 10 Bruceleg titles released since the beginning of the tour in 1984 (the column is entitled Live album recap and written by Danny Martins). Unfortunately, this copy is missing the accompanying bonus 7" single.

Obviously, the US seller was not an expert on vinyl collectibles generally, and particularly on Springsteen items, but rather selling whatever could be sold, as far as I overviewed his/her auctioned items that ranged from antiques to electronics, designer apparel, accessories, and more. I guess this lot might be consigned to the auction by a hard collector in East Coast, for the reason we of course don't know, to this utility eBay seller. Summing up, I am really satisfied with this volume purchase that puts together various collector-oriented vinyl releases of both official and unofficial items, with at least two legitimate records of high collecting value. Thus, this volume lot of auction is easily placed as the Top acquisition this year. Best wishes for good health and happy hunting in the coming year!