S.O.A. - No Policy E.P : FIRST REPRESS WITH 2 INSERTS 7” DISCHORD STATE OF ALERT

$

142

Vintage Punk

S.O.A. ?– No Policy E.P

Dischord Records ?– Dischord 2 / US 1981

Repress (1st repress, NOT 3rd) with TWO original inserts.

No Policy’s first repress in the original green press’s sleeve.  Sent fully insured, via USPS Priority Mail.

I acquired this disc in the mid ‘80s and am his second owner.  This 7” was not played for the better part of three decades.

I am pricing this guy to sell quickly, but please look at the photos and description before buying.  My recent feedback should give you an idea of the accuracy of my grading, but feel free to contact me if you want larger photos or have specific questions on condition.

Pressing/Version

I primarily used discogs.com to determine the version-I’ve seen a lot of 3rd pressings posing online as the first repress.

Looking at the disc, sleeve, and inserts, this matches the first repress, but has the original green’s sleeve.  I’m only guessing, but it could be that this is an early 1st repress that was wrapped in one of the original green press’s leftover sleeves:

-The band’s name is not on the center labels below the Dischord logo.

-The sleeve seems like an exact match of the original green’s (see http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=2403322): there are no Black Flag bars on Henry's arm, the addresses match, and the mastering company and engineer are credited.

-Etchings read:  “JE WHO'S GAY? NR-12554-I” and “JE BILL AND JAY! .... AND PROBABLY IAN NR-12554-II”.

The differences between the 3rd pressing and this 1st repress can be seen at http://www.discogs.com/SOA-No-Policy-EP/release/4276391 and http://www.discogs.com/SOA-No-Policy-EP/release/946859. Prices for the 1st repress there range from $250-$310 (they have no inserts, and usually have the wrong (3rd) sleeve.)

The real mystery is why this guy has two inserts, but I was friends with the original owner-she took care of her records and she didn’t play around with Xerox machines.

Condition

The disc

I played each side of this record two or three times with a new stylus on a turntable that’s notorious on Amazon for its skipping tendencies (it’s got an insanely lightweight tone arm.) This system wasn’t good enough for me to truly judge the disc's fidelity, but I heard no popping, and the needle never skipped, the needle never got stuck.

Without a great system, much of this description had to rely on a close visual inspection.  The notes below are overly-long, but I’m hoping they’ll be of some help.  I tend to be ruthless in noticing the flaws of vintage items.  Again, please see my feedback to get an idea of what previous buyers have said.

Almost everything I noticed took a lot of looking at an angle against the light, and the majority of the scratches I saw ranged from the shallowness you’d get from a fingernail to very, very fine lines/scuffing.  On the disc’s first side, there are two faint lines that cross tracks 1 and 2, and three or four areas that have one or more lines-these are mostly on or between tracks 4 and 5.  There’s a short but distinct scratch on the lead-in groove that manages to cross into track 1 and a few micro dints in that same area.  One distinct scratch is on track 4; a small (1mm at most) dint is at the end of track 5; and a micro dint is in the middle of track 4.  The second side has 1 faint scratch crossing tracks 1 and 2, and a random series of very, very thin lines that are most pronounced around tracks 3 and 4.  At the end of track 1 and into the groove at 2 is a bubble rise that’s about 1-1.5mm wide (no evidence of this on the reverse side.)  There’ll be a tracing of the cleaner I used on the end grooves-I just didn’t want to get the liquid too close to those beautiful center labels.  Again, send me a message if you have any questions on condition.

The sleeve

I think the photos are a pretty accurate guide for the sweet sleeve, but it does have three seam splits that manage to hide quite well- one at upper right about 1/8” long; one upper left about 5/8”; and one at left bottom about 1 1/2”.  The whiter insert has a tiny split in its center where the folds meet.  Other than that, the inserts are fantastic.  If there’s been any fading to them, it’s been remarkably uniform. (I forgot to photograph it, but this set also includes the original transparent sleeve that wraps everything up.)

This is a very nice and very complete vintage set.

At a price below a lot of 3rd pressings that have sold, and way below incomplete 1st represses.

Shipping

I’ll absorb the majority of the shipping costs because I don’t want to expose this guy to the risks of Media Mail.  Disc, sleeves and inserts will be packed separately to prevent any damage; all will be ludicrously well-protected for their journey to their new owner.  Fully insured, shipping for USPS Priority is 4.00.

Sorry, but no international buyers.

The Slightly Finer Print

Payment

Sorry, but eBay will automatically open an “unpaid item case” for any buyer who has not paid within 48 hours of the auction’s close. To avoid this messy process, please pay upon winning.

Combined shipping

In many cases, there may be some combined shipping savings which I can pass on to you, but ONLY if you contact me BEFORE completing PayPal’s checkout. Please realize that combining orders might require me to repack the items and delay shipping by a day.

Returns

Please note that I cannot consider returns for this item unless I have misrepresented it in my description and photos. Having said that, please contact me if you are in any way dissatisfied upon receiving it- I want both of us to be happy with the exchange. Feedback is the only real measure we have as buyers and sellers, and I strive for nothing less than a 100% 5-star rating.

Buyers with zero feedback

If you are new to eBay and have no feedback rating, please do not bid on this item without contacting me first (use the “Ask a question” link at the bottom of this page.) I’m happy to work with new buyers, but I will immediately cancel any suspicious bids which might hurt an honest auction.