TRAFFIC UK 68 Pink Island with eye logo STUNNING N/M LP

	£		157
	$		208

Hi, I am Mike, I am 46 and have been a music collector and enthusiast for over 33 years now. We all wish we could turn back the clock and buy those wonderful brand new records from the 60s and 70s, but alas, this is not possible; so I always try to offer the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. No vinyl/music lover really would choose to buy second-hand, but this is only way now to own these valuable, prized and ellusive items now. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay - on average ONEADAY, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirity, not just bits to guess a grade (on a Rega 3 deck with Ortofon cartridge) - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story - I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested reader – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean its good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get. The only thing I cannot guarantee one hundred percent is exact colour matching - this depends on the lighting at the time and that is out of my control, but I feel sure most items will be very close to the actual real item. Variation can sometimes occur too in colour of the label scans and labels taken next to the sleeve with a digital camera, the scanned full label pictures should be the most accurate. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic , and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps or sticks or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Please read all the information carefully - these adverts take an age to compile properly - so it’s well worth a few minutes of your time to read the details thoroughly. I really cannot take any responsibility if any bidder fails to read any facts that are clearly stated in the advert - Thankyou.

Artist or Band: TRAFFIC

Album Title: Traffic.

Track Listing: You Can All Join In; Pearly Queen; Don’t Be Sad; Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring; Feelin’ Alright?; Vagabond Virgin; Forty Thousand Headmen; Cryin’ to Be Heard; No Time to Live; Means to An End.

Label/Format: Island – Original Full Pink format with orange and black ‘eyeball’ logo and a smooth finish, the earliest Pink Island format.

Label Condition: They simply don’t come much better than this. Clean and fresh with a lovely delicate shade of real pink. The very few spindle marks are very faint and not that easy to see simply because there are hardly any present. (Please see label scans for all information needed).

Cat Number: ILPS 9081T.

Mono or Stereo: Stereo.

Country of Manufacture: England, UK

Rarity: Scarce, in my humble opinion harder to find than Mr Fantasy, a very early copy like this in such stunning condition including the ultra fragile cover with the book near perfect is bordering on rare these days.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: ILPS 9081 TA2 and B5

Brief Artist & Album Info: Following the psychedelic hippish classic debut this second album sees Traffic offering an even more mature work and includes some of the finest songs any incarnation of this band ever wrote. An album that peaked at No 9 in the UK and a respectable 17 in the US, this is a beautifully packaged set only lacking the laminate protection to make it perfect. Finding a copy like this is quite exceptional and I can hardly imagine finding this cover and record looking and sounding much better. This is serious connoisseur territory and this stunning copy will grace any collection.

Cover Grade and Format: Undergraded at EX+++, this has very light hairline creases on the front on the top and bottom that remains virtually invisible under normal viewing but they are present and I cannot quite give a Mint(-) because of this, but visually it still deserves it. Anyway, it’s a gatefold format that is unlaminated. The inner gatefold has two massive flipbacks, one on each side at the top only - a slightly unusual format this one. Also inside is a four page (8 sides) book that is held very firmly together with a single staple in the middle and then double stapled into the spine. The cover was printed in England by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd. A stunning cover that will rarely be found looking quite like this, a beautiful item that blows away any evidence of its great age and will please just about all collectors.

Cover Front: Very close to perfect bar those very faint hairline creases top and bottom, honestly these hardly even show and are little more than a blemish. Few other creases, rubbing or even a trace of ringwear, marks or indentations. A stunning early band picture that looks terrific and its as clean as they can ever be as this has been stored for years inside a heavy duty protective sleeve.

Cover Back: Even better, try finding this better. On the top right is the original shop price which was written neatly in find ink pen: the original price was 37/8 this was lightly scored through and increased to the traditional 39/11 (an old penny below £2). Never consider this to be a blemish, its all part of this cover’s fine history - many shops applied this pricing system rather than stickers.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Truly stunning, if a better inner gatefold of cover exists I sure would like to see it! Both flipbacks are pristine perfect as is the book. Original staples, rock solid and every page including the left and right of the actual cover are mint - yes true. This has to be seen.

Top Edge: Virtually unworn.

Bottom Edge: Virtually unworn.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with little wear at all. Record entered on right outside back edge.

Spine and Text: Solid and square with virtually zero wear, one tiny chip if being ultra-critical, text is perfect and unworn and both staples are rock solid, unstressed or moved - incredible to find like this.

Corners: All show little wear at all, any tiny amount present is confined to just the very tip ends. All still nicely shaped too.

Cover Summary: A real delicate beauty, one that’s seen seldomly anyway but finding one like this is truly remarkable.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Mint(-) and as close to mint as I could ever imagine. A superb visual copy that again has to be really seen for real. Super clean, shiny, jet black and a real heavyweight pressing. Barely a mark to be seen, this looks quite staggering. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence. Visually a super record that should please all collectors again.

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This super record plays up to its high visual grading with little to fault. Strong, undistorted sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is astonishing with a massive dynamic range and very full sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed just a couple of single rev light sounds were noted but little else really, few copies will match this one let alone better it significantly. Both channels are clean and sharp, I feel very sure this record has been played very lightly and has been beautifully stored and highly respected, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Little, if anything spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this important classic album. This copy could prove near impossible to find significantly better.

Mono vs Stereo, an overview: Always a matter of opinion which is better or more important. For any serious collector where there is a choice e.g. Beatles, Stones, Hendrix etc. both are essential. True Stereo albums give great imagery and presence whereas mono albums usually are more dynamic, louder and present the detail more clearly. Mono albums are far harder to find in genuinely top playing condition. Most were heavily played, particularly the truly great bands and artists, often covered in mark and scratches, many severe and labels that were a mass of spindle marks. The majority were played on vintage and unsubtle decks with heavy tonearms and thick styli (often sapphire, not diamond, that chipped more easily) that rendered heavy wear in a very short time to many a fine classic record. Wear to the delicate groove walls, particularly the innermost tracks to the labels were most vulnerable where the tracking angle became more severe and the backdrag actually stripped the delicate groove walls. This resulted in surface noise and mild/moderate distortion or worse. These old decks tracked by sheer weight and little of any refined engineering. Next time you see such a deck at a local record fayre, feel the weight of the arm, it almost makes you wonder how any records survived at all. The point of this paragraph is emphasise that when a truly clean, lightly played and great sounding 60s mono album (or stereo come to that) is offered, treasure it, because for sure they are truly getting vary rare and precious - beware - demand only play-graded records. As a general guide to rarity, mono was the far more common format from 61–65; Around 66–67 the balance was roughly equal, then from 68-69 the balance swung more to stereo, making monos from these dates far scarcer, even rare - this guide is important and effects values greatly.

Album Played For Grading: Yes.

Final Summary: Another stunning vintage classic on offer here, both cover and album are almost as fine as anything that will appear this great age and please bear in mind again what the majority of albums can look like from this era. If your Island collection is lacking this somewhat more ellusive item I strongly recommend this one, dont lose this wonderful copy and good luck again – Mike.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance. Item wants are always welcome - email me with anything needed, you never know - I may just have a copy in stock. I by quality single items and collections also (Email me please if you have quality items for sale).

Debutant Bidders: Many sellers refuse first time buyers: I do not follow this practice (everybody has to start somewhere), but I would appreciate any first timer letting me know their intentions of their intended payment method and very prompt communication, preferably before any bid or soon after the auctions ends. This gives confidence that their intentions are honourable, and I in return guarantee extra special good feedbacks to get zero rated Ebayers off to a flying start to help them with future transactions. NOTE: I WILL NOT ACCEPT BIDS FROM UNREGISTERED USERS, I will cancel them immediately, and sorry, I cannot give valuations on people’s personal items just for their own curiosity, no item can be accurately valued blindly.

Having the Powerseller Logo: This is recognition from Ebay for the highest possible customer services, satisfaction and quality, it should reassure any potential bidder that all items are described, graded and shipped to the highest standards possible. Customer care of the highest order is a standard feature here and I am proud to have achieved this recognised standard of excellence from Ebay with help from collectors and buyers from all over the World - I thank you all.

Payment Details please read carefully - I know its boring but essential:

UK First Class: = £3.00; Recorded Delivery (Recommended) = £5.50 Special Delivery (Next day, insured up to £250), the best service available = £7.00

Europe Air Mail: = £4 Insured: £8.00

Overseas, non-Europe e.g. USA, Japan, Australia etc. Airmail:= £7; Insured with recorded delivery (where available) = £11.00

Singles: (Packed to the high standards of the LPs)

UK First class: = £2.00 Insured: £4

Europe Air Mail = £3.00 Insured: £5.50

Overseas, non-Europe (as above) Airmail £3.50 Insured: £6.00

Doubles add extra £1, triples add extra £2. Box sets add extra £3 (£4 overseas and Europe)

Any item that sells for over £85 will be sent Special Delivery in the UK at no extra cost. Items over £125 get the same service Overseas. This is gives peace of mind for the winning bidder and myself for valuable items. Reduced postage of course for multiple items.

The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£28). PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT use surface mail, its too slow, with a higher risk of loss and damage.

Mailing Details: Please note I do NOT profit on postage (my packing standards are high and the package weighs a little more and I often actually lose money on this part of service - I simply refuse to compromise with poor packing. All records are sent in plastic covers with the record taken OUT of the sleeve and sent in professional mailers with FOUR professional stiffners for extra protection (if space allows), I do NOT use old cardboard boxes or cereal packets for protection. More expensive items are also inserted into a de-luxe heavy duty padded bag AS WELL to give that extra protection. I truly want ALL my items to arrive to their destination in the same condition they leave me. I will also include in most cases a brand new lined inner, but will include the original inner if available and in a condition to be worthwhile.

I can accept cash for payments worldwide in UK Pounds Sterling, Euros or US Dollars - but this at the senders OWN risk. Please send registered and insured if this method is chosen. I cannot accept responsibility if any cash payments do not turn up. This system is very reliable and rarely goes astray. The same goes for any shipped uninsured item, I can only try to claim for any undelivered or damaged article at basic insurance levels if no enhanced insurance is requested and paid for (unless the value threshold is high enough for me insure as standard, see above)

Overseas bidders please note conversion rates for Pounds to Dollars and Pounds to Euros will be charged at 1.7 to cover PayPal or cash conversion costs.

PLEASE NOTE: Any PayPal user can now pay me with UK Sterling if they wish with no need to convert to US dollars (although they still can if they wish to). Any instant PayPal transaction from anywhere in the world will mean the item will be sent immediately - it makes deals fast and very efficient.

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. I now only accept PayPal, International money orders or cash from overseas bidders (UK Sterling, US dollars or Euros). Cash, cheques, postal orders and PayPal are fine from the UK. I allow maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if this does not happen I will relist the item and may send negative feedback unless an explanation is given. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask. Please keep watch on my Ebays, I have other interesting items coming very soon. Thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: As listening to every single record I offer all the way through is difficult timewise, can I make it clear if any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. I still endeavour to play all the items in their entirity for grading if at all possible and is usually the case.