Sold Date: November 1, 2020
Start Date: October 31, 2020
Final Price: $300.00 $250.00 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 490
Buyer Feedback: 1067

Hello, I am a long-time eBay seller - since October, 1999.  I have a 100% feedback record, so bid and buy with confidence.  I have collected records for many years and every record I offer comes from my personal collection.  The grade I specify for the vinyl is based upon a playback as well as a visual inspection.  The grade I assign for the cover and inserts (if any) is based upon a close visual inspection.  
For sale today is a fine copy of Laura Nyro's classic Eli and the 13th Confession album issued on the Columbia label in 1968 in the extremely rare white label promo MONO format.  The album offered here was never commercially available in the mono format.   
Before I provide my grade for the vinyl, I must note that the buyer should understand that white label mono promos were sent to AM radio stations for play at their stations.  The disc jockeys back then were not overly concerned about preserving the albums for posterity - they simply played the selected tracks and stored the records without special care or handling.  As such, in my 20+ experience buying and selling white label mono promo albums, visually pristine, unmarked or un-scuffed records simply do not exist.  From a visual aspect, these albums usually fall in the VG to VG++ category.  Indeed, I have collected white label mono promos for over 20 years and have never seen such an album from the late 1960s to early 1970s where I would VISUALLY grade the vinyl as NM.  However, as to sound quality, again in my 20+ years of experience, the white label mono promos often sound much better than they look, likely because they were pressed on high-grade, heavy vinyl.  With this background, I grade this rare Laura Nyro mono promo album as follows.   The vinyl conservatively looks VG++ or Excellent in eBay terms.  It lies flat, and retains much of its original sheen and shine, but there are a few light marks on both sides (most are the light type of lines resulting from removing and inserting the vinyl into and out of its inner sleeve), thus its visual grade. The white labels are in NM- condition: white with no writing, but a few wispy spindle marks.
As to sound quality, the vinyl plays Near Mint.  There are no sticks or skips, no pops or ticks on Side 1; on Side 2 again no pops or ticks except for a few seconds of light ticking at the very beginning of the song December's Boudoir. 
Based upon the above-detailed description of both the visual and audio characteristics, I assign the album a combined grade of NM Minus to NM.  
The outer cover is in Near Mint Minus to Near Mint condition.  Colors are full and vibrant, front and back.  All four four corners are sharp and square, no splits to any of the seams or spine.  Importantly, the album is still in its original shrink wrap.  There are no tears to the shrink, but a prior owner put a small bit of scotch tape on it (not sure why since there are no tears) which has aged to a yellowish color (see photos).  There is also just a tiny bit wear near the top of the front cover as shown in the photos. (The cover actually looks much better than the photos.  The shrink wrap reflects light, which looks like wear in the photos.)   
Since I purchased this album, I have stored the vinyl in an archival inner sleeve, which I then placed in a generic white separate cardboard cover to best protect both the vinyl as well as the original outer sleeve (see photo).  Both the archival inner sleeve and the generic white outer cover will be included with the purchase and the record will be shipped in them to best protect the original outer cover as well as the vinyl.  I have also stored the original outer cover in a separate outer plastic sleeve to further protect it from damage while in my care.  This separate outer plastic sleeve will also be included with the purchase and the sleeve will be shipped in it.        
Thanks for looking.