GRAILS THAT YOU COULDA HAD BUT MISSED LIKE A DUMMY

Phill_MostPhill_Most 4,594 Posts
edited January 2016 in Record Collecting
I know damn near everybody's had this experience... you're at a shop or a show and you're diggin' through some crates and somebody pulls MAJOR GRAILLERY (translation: a rare record that you covet or just some schitt that's worth $$$) out of a crate right next to where you're digging or even worse a crate that you passed over or skimmed through nonchalantly. It's happened to me a number of times but I always remember the time at the record show in NYC (what is it, 57th st.? been so long since I been there I don't even remember anymore)when I skipped around in this dude's crates without checking thoroughly, then another cat I know comes up with a Skull Snaps lp from those same crates for 10 bucks. This was back in the pre-internet days when Skull Snaps was still a pretty big deal and was near the top of my wantlist. I still to this day do not own an original copy (no, don't offer to sell me one for $200... if I don't find one for $10 I just don't care about it).Had the same thing happen with the Roy Ayers "He's Coming" record at another show. There have been others but I'm old and forgetful so I can't really recall them. What are some that YOU coulda had but missed like a dummy in the same manner as the ones I missed like a dummy? Talk about it... it's Sunday, you have nothing better to do (watching the World Cup does not count).
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  • GropeGrope 2,970 Posts
    I found the first Motherhood LP (great Doldinger Krautrock/Jazz/Soul project) at my usually overpriced local store (the LP only cost 5 Euros - about 5 USD - current rate on eBay: 125 USD) once. I left my wallet at home, so I tried to hide the record and come back the very next day (duh! I should have asked the employees to reserve it for me).

    Guess what... the record was gone on the next morning. Some random Funk Jazz customer watched me putting the record into a crate on the floor. He must have bought it. He kept watching me pulling out records ever since. I hate that guy! It must have been him.

    A friend of mine is kinda lucky. He doesn't know much, but whenever he goes to a store, he finds sth nice. At least, his finds are better than mine... it's really annoying sometimes.

  • Imperial_MaoImperial_Mao 1,119 Posts
    I'm ashamed to admit it, but I did the same thing with a Skullsnaps Lp at my local store, saw it just left it...

  • BlastkidBlastkid 240 Posts
    Believe it or not, I once pulled the Heaven Sent & Ecstacy lp at a local thrift store, and put it back because I thought it was some disco I wouldn't like...

  • lambertlambert 1,166 Posts
    I don't know how many times I've told this one on the boards, but i'll tell it again cause it still burns me up.

    I was at a store who's stock generally dissapoints. I had grown really cautious about dropping money at this place after going there for years and only coming out with bad condition records.

    So one day I had made my way to the comedy section where it looked like some stocking was in progress and pulled Aguabella's "Hard Hands". I had no idea what it was, but the cover looked interesting. I looked at the date of '77 for the recording, the front price of $10, and put it right back. Too much money to spend at this place to try a record out, or so I thought.

    I went back a month later when I found out what it was, to no avail. Congrats to whoever managed to grab that.

  • chasechase 767 Posts
    some dude pulled a POZ out of a crate that I had just kinda grazed over, he ended up getting it for about 10 bucks..

  • Special_EdSpecial_Ed 315 Posts
    Oops, I thought this post was "GIRLS that you coulda had but missed like a dummy" my bad.

  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    Don't know exactly how rare (or good) this is, but I passed on that Gordon Staples & the Motown Strings album on Motown because it had a cheesy-looking cover (I think it was a bunch of diverse-looking people from different walks of life, folks you know wouldn't have anything to do with each other, sawing away on violins). Motown had a bit of a rep for tacky-looking album designs, and this one was right up there with the worst.

    Now, by this time I already owned the "Strung Out"/"Sign Of The Zodiac" single, so I knew how good those two songs were, but then I peeped that cover and naturally thought the rest of it would be a bit more loungey, so I left it right where it was.

    Not that I'm losing sleep over it, but I was just rereading the "Motown 1969-75: What's Good" thread, and it reminded me of this.

  • davesrecordsdavesrecords 1,802 Posts
    had someone pull the meters first one right before me for about 5 at pasadena...

    then later on in the crates he had passed up i pulled symposium selah hill and bob azzam for 5 though so it was all good...

    also the one that pisses me off is when i found a copy of funk inc superfunk for 10 and left it that was about 99 i think...i still don't have that record...i know it's not hard to find but i've never been able to get a copy for cheap.

  • motown67motown67 4,513 Posts
    Saw Headless Heroes in a shop in London a long long time ago for around $25. Passed because this was when I wouldn't spend over $20 on a record.

    Saw the first two Meters LPs in a store in Canada, passed on them because I only had so much Canadian $$$ on me and took the Incredible Bongo Band 1st LP instead.

    Found the Alice Clark LP in Cambridge, MA. Looked at it for a really, reaaaalllly long time, but ended up passing on it.

    Found the Billy Brooks LP in Oakland, CA for $45. Passed on it because that was when I only spent $40 on a record! Called up O-dub about it and he glady came down and bought it!

  • motown67motown67 4,513 Posts
    Oh, and I passed on the Skull Snaps LP 3 times. Once in Tokyo and twice in NYC. Each time it was for around $100 though.

  • dark0dark0 61 Posts
    I've done it multiple times, two major ones that come to mind is pulling a copy of Billy Martin's Strawberry Soul for $3, looking at the cover and putting it back (my friend ended up picking it up and I found another copy of it for the same price later though so it's all good) and passing on a copy of the Sidewinder's Flatfoot Hustlin at a local shop about 5 years ago. I think it was about $10, I listened to it, didn't think much of it. Even one of the other collectors that put me up on stuff told me I should maybe pick it up, but I was like nah didn't like it too much. Still haven't found another copy of that, oh well.

  • first meters and walter benton quinted on jazzland was on hold for me at the store for 15. the next day the store got flooded out and ruined all the records in the place.

  • Yo phil... I could have swore you were selling an original copy of Skull Snaps at the Roosevelt back in 1993? Or maybe that was John's table next to yours? It was a long time ago.

    Anyway, One day at the Roosevelt show, at John Carraro's table was a UK dealer with a small box of Funk 45's. I was standing next to the one and only Pete Rock (and no I don't know the dude) while I pulled out a Mint Hank Carbo "Hot Pants" 45 for $20 from that box. Pete saw what I pulled and tried to get me to come off of it. Of course I didnt because I've been looking for that 45 for awhile. But I could tell he was kicking himself for not looking through that box first.

    And recently I went digging with fellow strutter (The Non) in Rochester, NY. And a box that I failed to look through because it appeared to be filled with Tom Jones LP's He pulled a stone mint copy of The Meters "Struttin" LP for $25. I still feel sad when I think about that missed score.

  • ghetto's misfortune wealth by 24 karat black for 8 bucks because it had a scratch on it. what an idiot.

  • back in 93 when i lived in the south i used to trek monthly to atlanta to hit some spots. one of which was in the hip part of town called 5 points. there was a record shop called wax n facts (if i remember correctly). this was when freestyle fellowship dropped innercity griots. they had an actual picture sleeve copy on wax (just one copy) of which i was told by the dude working there that it was a promo only thing. it was dropped of by a dude who worked for island/4th b'way or something like that. at the time there was other shit i wanted. plus i had a very limited budget being just outta college. i went back over the next 2 months... it was still in the bins but i kept passing it up as did everyone else at the time. i don't think too many heads were up on their shit (or cared) in this part of the country. the last time i came in the shop and i was ready to pick it up it was gone. i've never seen a pic sleeve copy since then. a year later or so i got the generic sleeve promo. but goddam, i still remember that fuck up to this day.

  • DJ_EnkiDJ_Enki 6,471 Posts
    Not the grailiest of grails involved here, but this story still burns me/makes me laugh:

    Some homies and I are digging in the back of an antique store. To set the ambience, I suppose, the store owners had glued 45s to the walls and thumbtacked LPs to the ceiling (through the center hole, not through the actual vinyl). One record on the ceiling catches my eye--white vinyl with little flecks of color in it. I think, "That's a cool-looking record," and then bury my nose back in the crate I'm flipping through. Less than a minute later, my homie says, "Oh shit!" and takes the white vinyl off the ceiling. It's a "Frisco Disco" 12. $2 Doh!

  • I also missed a Skull Snaps at a backyard record sale in MD in '98. There was a lot of heads(maybe a strutter or two) that had been racking through the boxes for about an hour when this one dealer held up a sealed copy...the place went quiet and I know everyone was thinking the same thing--WTF! I already been through that box.

    My personal worst pass was from around '92 when I didnt pull the trigger on a Belgrave Gemini II and Impeach the Prez at $20 per. The guy told me I'd never see another of either on the west coast and he has been right so far. But whatever, I've always preferred finding my raers in the field on the cheap. So what.

  • hcrinkhcrink 8,729 Posts

    My personal worst pass was from around '92 when I didnt pull the trigger on a Belgrave Gemini II and Impeach the Prez at $20 per. The guy told me I'd never see another of either on the west coast and he has been right so far. But whatever, I've always preferred finding my raers in the field on the cheap. So what.[/b]

    $20's not cheap enough for ya?

    I'd also like flag this whole thread as


  • $20's not cheap enough for ya?

    Ask anybody, records should all cost $1. Unless I'm selling them.

  • soulmarcosasoulmarcosa 4,296 Posts
    I also passed on ghetto's misfortune wealth by 24 karat black. MIssed it for 30 bucks CAN in a Canadian flea market because I bought Jean King MR BIG STUFF for 20 bucks CAN instead.

    But the lamest mistake was not picking up THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN OST (with foldout) for $20 at a local store around 1990. I'd never spent that much on a record before so it seemed out of my league. Made up for it somewhat by picking up The Smoke (US) LP on Sidewalk for $6 five years later at the same place. The spot hasn't had any records near that good since.

  • RAW_HAMBURGERRAW_HAMBURGER 1,438 Posts

    in 1996...not spending $20 for ian carrs belladonna, so i told my boy to buy it!
    passing on the baron lp for $ 1.99 then going back to get it, only to have my boy who got the belladonna
    snatch it...instead of re-living these moments...

    not to thread jack phil, but...
    to make up for these moments where we regret this shit, i try to think of these times.

    trading pharcyde other fish 12"+ a.d.o.r lp for=
    allessandro alessandroni + le corps o.s.t !!! ???? dude had to be out of his mind!
    i know, i couldnt believe it myself !!

    or brian bennett bruton(you know the shitty lp with one track) for=
    a mint copy of weldon irvines 1st lp

    im sure yall have some stories like these to share.

  • Phill_MostPhill_Most 4,594 Posts
    Yo phill[/b]... I could have swore you were selling an original copy of Skull Snaps at the Roosevelt back in 1993? Or maybe that was John's table next to yours? It was a long time ago.

    I doubt it... John was gone from the Roosevelt by the time I started setting up shop (I think I started in 1994). I could've possibly had a copy but if I so I was probably selling it for somebody else. I don't remember having one, though.

  • shitzrshitzr 648 Posts
    At a record show me, cool chris, and mike vague were helping that old dude from san jose who always comes through with heat for $3 load boxes onto the table. saratoga larry was butt hurt like "man, you guys all got the good boxes. i want one! waaaaaaaah!". mike had a hold of a box and got sick of hearing larry whine, so he handed the box to him. that box happened to be the only one with heat as me and mike watched larry pull the pharoah sanders on india navigation, pyramids-speed birth merging, duwan muhammad-deep stream, a couple of $30+ bluenotes like lou donaldson and others, and a bunch of other raers.

    mike got butt hurt and said to larry "i gave you that box out of kindness so after you go through those records, give me the go-backs" and walked away huffypuffy. i chose to stay and watched larry stack the pharoah sanders in his go-back pile, so i picked it up, paid $3, and walked away.

    then mike went back to larry, asked where the sanders was, larry pointed toward me, and mike came at me like "man, that should have been mine!". i knew that the record was rare, but didn't know how much monitarily. being the nice guy that i am, i was gonna give it to him for the $3 i paid for but he offered me $20 for it and i took it. got home, checked popsike, the sanders is in the neighborhood of 2 bills. fuck.

    fast forward 6 months later, i wake up late for another show and when i get there mike pulls an og lee fields-let's talk it over for $8 from larry. fuck.

  • upskibooupskiboo 2,396 Posts
    passed on the Popcorn french breakbeat killer grail at a record show many years ago, definately not a good look, had no idear what it was at the time, thought it was just another one of those Popcorn version joints, flipped through that crate just a little too fast but really theres no excuse :-(....... anyway, fortunately my homie m.dejean picked it up, it did kinda hurt a bit when he spun the lp for me later on that day, OOOOF!!!

  • billbradleybillbradley You want BBQ sauce? Get the fuck out of my house. 2,885 Posts
    I passed on a mint Marlena Shaw - Spice of Life because I wouldn't spend $20 on a record back then. I'm past that now. After a while you just realize that records filter through so many hands before hitting the bins usually that those don't usually turn up on the cheap.

  • sabadabadasabadabada 5,966 Posts
    Jose Briamonte "Sambeco"

  • Deep_SangDeep_Sang 1,081 Posts
    i was at a flea market on saturday digging with nitekrawler and h**ry and while i wasted time with a bunch of bad sleeveless rap records, h**ry went over to check someone else records and came up on a stack of about 25-30 early eighties boogie records including oliver cheatham - get down saturday night promo and bunch of other rarities. a long time want of mine that he didn't know of, but picked up. bummer.

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    on saturday digging with h**ry

    the king of DC diggers. period.

  • SupergoodSupergood 1,213 Posts
    2 minty copies of Steve Parks' "Movin In The Right Direction" for the stupidly low price of 5.99 each. Passed 'em up b/c I thought they were re-issues (may or may not have been) and b/c I wasn't too fond of the LP musically, classic title track notwithstanding.

    Very dumb mistake.

    SG

  • Garcia_VegaGarcia_Vega 2,428 Posts
    I'm surprised so many people have passed on 24 Carat Black. Coincidentaly someone pulled it in front of me at the flea two weeks ago.
    Someone else pulled a beat copy of Whatnauts "On the Rocks" that same week from a different seller.
    3 Months ago I'm digging through some crates when a dude pulls up right next to me, literally elbow to elbow on the crate I was moving on to and pulls Chollo Rivera and the Latin Soul Drives, Chuito and the Latin Uniques, Joe Bataan Riot and Singing Some Soul, Harvey Averne Dozen S/T, Brootherhood and Viva Soul, all for $5 a pop. I pulled a copy of Lebron Brothers Psychadelic Goes Latin with the wrong record inside the sleeve, I almost threw up. Two weeks later I got the Harvey Avernes and Singing Some Soul from a different seller. I already had Riot and Singing Some Soul, but haven't seen Chuito or Chollo for under $100.
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