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URIAH HEEP - Look at Yourself LP (1st US Pressing on MERCURY w/Mirror Cover)

Cover=EX-
LP=EX
(Side A,B,C,D)=Not play graded
Label=Mercury
Catalog#=SRM-1-614
Country of issue=USA
Our Ref. ID#=10812

Album description:

1st US pressing; die-cut cover with light edge wear (was in shrink until recently), LP has very light sleeve marks/scuffs on Side 2, one of the most presentable covers we've come across.


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Other available titles:

Abominog Conquest Demons and Wizards Fallen Angel Firefly Head First High and Mighty Innocent Victim Live Look at Yourself Return to Fantasy Salisbury Sweet Freedom The Best of… The Magician's Birthday Very 'eavy, Very 'umble Wonderworld

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We use Record Collector Magazine's Grading Guide, it is essentially the same as Goldmine except for VG+ grade.  Simply, substitute Goldmine VG+ for our EX, though our EX is more like VG++ most of the time (but not always)!
Our goal is to give it the lowest possible grade while remaining somewhat objective, in most cases, we are paranoid about grading, for those of you whose grading paranoia is even greater, we offer full refund upon return.

So how do we arrive at a particular grade?  We establish a baseline grade and then start giving minuses for major or multiple issues (please review detailed descriptions).

SS    = (STILL SEALED) The record itself is in brand new condition, assumed never to have been played.

M      = (MINT)  The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

M -    = (MINT MINUS)  MINT- is not MINT but is very close to it, near new, there might be a blemish or two, but overall record and jacket are like new or very close to new.

EX     = (EXCELLENT)  The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and / or creasing.

VG    = (VERY GOOD)  The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

G      = (GOOD)  The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discoloration, etc.

F       = (FAIR)  The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and / or defaced.

P       = (POOR)  The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.

B       = (BAD)  The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection filler

We also use + or - to adjust grades in between, so...this scopes out to: SS/M/M-/EX/EX-/VG+/VG/VG-/G+/G/F/P/B

LPs are graded visually and conservatively under many bright lights. Questionable marks are "spot-checked".  If an LP has been play graded it will be indicated so and a grade 1-10 will be assigned to it.  Play graded means the record has been listened to from beginning to the end, both sides. 
We've learned not to get too excited when it is hard to determine the grade, this means, we always under-grade and not over-grade!

I will NOT discuss my grading conventions or practices or attempt to convince you my grading method is the best or the right one.  Personally, since I am a collector myself, I grade records to the best of my knowledge and according to how I feel about it, I do not grade records to deceive you. 

I feel my grade cover should give you a good clue as to the visual quality of the record.  Sometimes, visually, the record may look better than its playback condition is, likewise, some records may look really bad but play very well, this too will alter final grade, meaning, the record may look VG but play EX, likewise, MINT- records must sound like MINT- or very very close to it, if not, it will get an EX, no matter how good it looks.

Special note about MINT-, MINT- is not MINT but it can be.  To my understanding and acceptance, M- may have a light mark or two, even a light scratch which does not cause any listening problems, MINT- will still be as close to new as humanly possible.  So, if you are one of those who do not accept sleeve marks (which may be on the record from the manufacturing/pressing), please, do us all a favor and look elsewhere!  Along these lines, if you will not accept a record because an inner sleeve has a 1cm split at the bottom, please, look elsewhere.  Most likely, nothing but a sealed record will satisfy you.
I attempt to grade MINT records as MINT- (if I was not the first owner), my other grade is MINT-- (this corresponds with others' NM grade), my next grade is EX, anything not MINT/MINT- will be graded as EX, (sometimes, if we can't help it, we might say EX+, but, we try hard to avoid that grade).
VG+ misconception, this grade varies greatly from seller to seller.  Just for the record, our VG+ will never look as good as that of a "strict Goldmine grade", also, VG++ does not exist in our grading.

So, what do my number grades mean? 

*10 is given only to a record that is/was purchased brand new by me, no other record will get 10!  The sound will be flawless.

*9 is given to an LP that collectors would consider MINT, (9 is my highest grade for a used record), meaning, there will be no surface noise but you might hear a pop or two not because there is a damage (scuff or a scratch) but simply how the LP was pressed, or a flake of dust might have fallen onto it during playback.  This will sound almost like a CD (meaning, no noise, obviously LPs sound much better than CDs), it does not get much better than this, any audiophile will be pleased with this.

*8 grade may have 4 or more faint pops or slight surface noise, usually found on a record that's been played a few times but was very well taken care of, most audiophiles will be pleased with this.  Surface noise may only be audible in between the tracks and (possibly) during quiet parts.  If you were at school, being graded, this would be a "B" grade.

*7-8 grade may have 10 or more faint perhaps inaudible in regular listening) pops or little more surface noise bordering annoyance to those that are used to hearing things on a CD, some audiophiles may not like this sound quality, but most will be very satisfied.  If you were at school, being graded, this would be a "C" grade.

*5-6 grade will be just like 7-8, except surface noise/crackles may be more pronounced.  The record will have constant surface noise but will not over power the music.  If you were at school, being graded, this would be a "C-" grade.

*5  will have even more surface noise/or some clicks and/or pops. 

*4 and below will not be of sufficient quality to truly enjoy the music, it will have significant surface noise/crackling, pops etc.  I really do not have such records, well there might be a few rare ones.

+ or - is used to enhance item's description, meaning, EX++ is so nice it could pass as MINT- but I still consider it EXCELLENT and not MINT-.  Well, we dropped ++, we now simply say high-end or low-end, weak may also be used.

Finally, if I over grade a record (sometimes when listing many items I may miss a minor detail) I will let you know about it before sending the record to you.  NO SURPRISES!

Shipping:
All records come in protective outer sleeves, they are shipped using proper LP cardboard mailers (not used Pizza boxes) and are further wrapped with bubble wrap.  Exception to this is when we send package using Priority Mail, in that case, we use USPS Priority Mail box which is sturdy enough, we place the record/cover at an angle which fits perfectly, after we have further bubble protected the entire inside of the box.  Having mailed hundreds of records that way we have never had an issue with shipping damage.  One will want to try very hard to destroy that package on purpose before really achieving any damage to the box, so, feel safe.
I do not take out record out of the cover, I package it very tightly and I do not think any seam splitting can occur (I know many dealers do, however, I feel the record is more important than the cover, so the cover provides additional protection, if you want me to ship it by taking the record out of the cover just send me an email asking for it).
Shipping is via Media Mail at $4 and $1.50 per each additional record.  In US, I actually lose with shipping.
ATTENTION US buyers:
eBay is making all sellers use a flat rate of $4 for Media Mail.  This barely (or just about) covers the cost of shipping, things you get but we'd like to get paid for are:
Professionally cleaned LP (most stores charge $2 to clean LP professionally)
Outer plastic sleeve (these cost between 10-90 cents), if original inner sleeve is not as nice as it should be, you also get a brand new inner sleeve (cost is 5-15 cents)
So, by choosing Insurance your LP is insured and we recover some of the costs, while you don't have to (you will get things either way), it would be appreciated if you take that into consideration and pick insurance.  Of course, we do not nickel and dime here, but this is just FYI.
For International bidders shipping varies, please email for a quote before bidding, otherwise average is $15 and $4 for additional records. 
Certain Western European countries can have a single LP (single-sleeved) shipped for as low as $13, again, if you check out with default charge of $14 (gatefolds are more expensive), I will refund $2-3 depending on the final charge.
For Canadian buyers, you may check out with default price, but I will refund certain amount, depending where in Canada, the shipping is $7-11, again, I will refund a certain amount if it ends up being much cheaper), or, simply request total.
NOTE that for International shipping to have tracking and be fully covered by PayPal the cost is around $10-15 more.  Should records get lost I take no responsibility (this has not happened yet).  Personally, I recommend the cheaper option!

US Buyers NOTE:  If you wish to insure it, please check out with Priority Mail option at $7 and drop me a note to insure it and not ship it Priority, items insured up to $70, $5 for items insured up to $150.
Your item will be shipped within 48 hours following your payment.  For those seeking fast delivery I encourage you to use Priority Mail (you have that option upon checkout).  Otherwise, item will be shipped via Media Mail and may take up to nine days (how slow). 

Florida Buyers NOTE:  Florida residents will be charged 7% tax.

Payments:
I accept PayPal only but contact me if another payment arrangement should be made!  PayPal is the most preferred method.  In rare cases I might accept some other form, but please email me first.  Your payment is expected within three (3) days of auction close.  Your item will be shipped next day following your payment.
If you are unable to pay immediately or within three days, please email before you commit to purchase, we are very understanding and will wait, however, we must be sure you intend to pay within reasonable time frame!  Please note that we pay high fees to eBay regardless of the fact that buyer has not really paid for the item.

Returns:
All records are fully guaranteed, your satisfaction is extremely important to me, more importantly...I personally have to be satisfied with the sale and know that I provided some value to you.  I do not sell crappy records.
Should you be unhappy with records you buy, please contact me to make appropriate arrangements, normally, you would ship them back at your cost, but I will refund the entire purchase amount once I receive the record(s) in the same condition I sent them.  Again, buyer pays for shipping items back to me!
Certain, very rare albums may be excluded from this policy, if you just wanted to copy that record, ask me for a copy on CD (at a reasonable price), do not buy and then return the record after you copied it.
If you cannot deal with possibility of having to return the record, we encourage you not to buy from us.  On the plus side, out of some thousand records sold over the past year we have had only one returned, even that was not due to the condition, but rather due to a different mix.

Pricing:
I do not do this for living but do know the value of records, therefore, my starting price is the absolute minimum I must get for it (I paid that much myself or it is truly, at least worth that amount).  Items are priced according to the amount I paid for it, current availability and quality of the record and the cover.
If something seems expensive (which I'm sure some will), then we paid top dollar for it, if something seems insanely expensive, we really do not feel like selling/parting with that record, but, we can at price shown, (no hard feelings and nothing personal), some LPs are simply dearer to us than others.
Being a collector I cherry-picked all of the records with the intent of keeping it, we never buy collections with resale in mind.
Essentially, that means, you will not get screwed by purchasing that record, because I would not feel bad paying that much for it myself.  It will be at the very least a very fair deal.   Most importantly, all sales are guaranteed, if you should be unhappy with the record received, please return it back for a full refund.

Item descriptions:
I will do my best to describe the item as accurately as possible.  I take pictures of every detail but do not display it due to charges.  You may email me requesting additional pictures or ask about item details.  While mistakes may happen, I will never knowingly misrepresent an item (remember, I still buy records myself and know how it feels when you buy an item and it is nowhere near its description, thankfully, most sellers are honest.)
Finally, I will play grade all records that are not MINT- (meaning listen through the record in its entirety, not just sections) before sending it out.  If I think that record does not sound good or is not worth what you paid for it I will let you know before sending it out, no surprises.

If condition of labels (spindle marks etc.), inserts/inner sleeves and other extras is of paramount importance to you please ask prior to purchase.  To us, condition of those is of lesser importance and we DO NOT describe them.

Original vs. re-issue:
Sometimes it may be very difficult to determine whether an LP is an original or a later issue, in the US, matrix numbers do not always reflect whether or not the pressing is a 1st or 20th, for that reason we shy away from saying/using words like 1st pressing or an original.
In most (if not all US stores), many dealers refer to a record as 1st pressing if it is on original label, regardless of the matrix number, yet, some buyers and dealers only consider 1st pressing to be the one that has matrix numbers 1A/1B and so on.  To that respect, we will only refer to a record as 1st pressing if it has matrix numbers 1A/1B.
If you are like us, you love LP as a format and do not necessarily care if an album is an original/1st press.  Personally, I will always buy a MINT- re-issue than a VG+ original.

Communication:
So you purchased the record from me. Congratulations and thank you very much for your business.
Communication is of utmost relevance to us!  We encourage questions from you prior to and post-sale.  We will respond as soon as possible.
You will be kept up-to-date on the progress of your purchase and will be promptly notified of shipping.

About us:
We are avid LP collectors with some 7000 LPs and growing. European background and American know-how (is there a better combination?)
All of the records featured here and in the future listing are from my personal collection and are either duplicates or records I no longer listen to.
If you are "mint crazy" you are probably interested in SEALED records only and quite frankly, we prefer if you do your shopping elsewhere even if it involves buying sealed records from us, if, however, you primarily listen to the music and aren't just collecting because records might be worth something you've come to the right place as the collection is bound to please most music lovers of all genres.
Most (80%) of the records listed have been play graded on a Technics SL1200 MK5/Ortofon cartridge and listened through Senheiser headphones, therefore, my grades are very strict and are given a number 1-10. Most are in 8-9 range, a 10 is only given to a record that was sealed and opened by me. This means a used record can only get a grade 9 and not 10.
Almost all the records are M- and EX, they have all been cleaned and covers have been cleaned as well, of course, there are some "budget" records just because we can't help picking up yet another copy of our favorite artist.

Other notes:
I have thousands more records, if you want to see my full catalog please ask me for it, I will not spam you with special offers.