Curious. TomJoe, How flawed? I am not worried one way or the other really. Just wish I had the time to create a dedicated site. A few collectors have sent me photographs of their items. Just wish they were high-res so I could place them online with the other photographs.

Let us know your thoughts and I will add them. I never set out to reduce the value of genuine items created in 1975.

Like other collectors it saddened me to see the UK counterfeits being marketed as "genuine". Some fans spent more than £1000-00 on the UK counterfeits thinking they were genuine articles created in 1975.

Perhaps items created in 1975 have now been expertly re-created in recent years complete with printer marks and colour bars and the like. I shudder to think.

For example, I have recently been concerned by the notable increase in the number of 1978 Australian RCA Breaking Glass\Art Decade singles appearing on the market. Has it been expertly counterfeited in the last 12 to 15 months? Who knows?

HI
I was alluding to the fact that in your blog Olsen states 6 (coulor) slicks were in existance and then on ebay he states the provenance of only 4.
With the recent sale of this one mentioned above and i believe Shooky is in the process of purchasing one, it appears there are a lot more available than originally thought.
Olsen's cotribution in your blog, in my opinion went a long way towards the conclusion of what was genuine, counterfeit and what was in existance and the responses accordingly.
Your blog is informative and interesting and doesn't need to be ammended, i just felt that it needed to be mentioned.
Tom

not to speak on john's behalf but michael olsen's monetary motivations (and perhaps genuine belief that he was the only owner) ONLY cast doubt over the number that exist, but NOT the authenticity. until the recent ebay sale from a new seller, Olsen was the only noted seller of this slick in the 34 years since it was printed, so it's not unreasonable to rely on his version of events in the absence of any other documentation or opposing views (except those offered by those who stand to gain from the sale of the counterfeit).

one thing to make clear here is that the UK counterfeit sleeve was made from the US slick and not the UK wraparound mock-up that was used as a promo sleeve for test pressings in the UK. i'm 100% sure of this.

also, one more sale on ebay doesn't lead us to believe that "there are a lot more available", only that there are more than michael olsen has claimed. this has been disputed before as it's easy enough to account for 10 based on auction sales and copies known to exist with collectors. as i've said a few times, whether the number is 10, 20, 50 or 100, this would still count as one of the rarest bowie collectibles out there whether it was made today or 40 years ago. and it doesn't prevent the counterfeit being a counterfeit.

once i have my slick (with counterfeit sleeve included in the sale), which will be in around five weeks, i will be able to ascertain whether some of my thoughts on the print methods used etc were correct. if so i can provide a less speculative post and hopefully discourage others from falling foul of bogus sales.

as to value... with the counterfeit fetching £50-90 when sold as such, the RC guide of £350 looks a little low regardless of confirmed quantity. the recent ebay sale for a slick in apparently mint condition reached $732 (£468) which sounds like a fair price to me. the UK proof sleeve appears to be harder to find and thus presumably more valuable, especially with its test pressing within.

another counterfeit

I remember these counterfeits doing the rounds at record fairs years back, maybe late 80s but I really can't remember. They used to go for about £6 at the cheapest, and I STILL couldn't be bothered to buy one! After all they arn't real and I was happy enough when Ryko put out their vinyl re-issue.

Pete.

i bought a genuine US slick in march and a counterfeit sleeve was included in the deal. the difference is glaring once you have both side by side but i suppose if you've paid good money for the counterfeit you want to believe it's real. i'd like to believe many are sold in good faith...

I see Rare4all has his slick up again at nearly $1200.00. what a hike on the last auction he had!

...along with the DANCE Unreleased LP Progressive Proof
http://cgi.ebay.com/David-Bowie-DANCE-U ... 621wt_1167

and the STS Black&White First Proof
http://cgi.ebay.com/David-Bowie-STATION ... 571wt_1167

Another one?? is anybody keeping score? I don't uderstand how the price goes up the more he sells them, the more he sells the less I believe they are legitimate, I wouldn't touch that seller with a bargepole.

the colour slicks are legitimate. the price hike is questionable, but that's entirely down to the seller. there are countless sellers asking over the odds for items on ebay, it's all about being patient and having the right buyer say "yes". i believe only two or three have sold thus far since he entered the ebay fray, so it's not so hard to "keep score" if you think that proves anything. as i've said many times, if there were 100 proofs in existence it would still rank as one of the rarest items. the idea that only half a dozen survived was a marketing ploy by the previous known seller, michael olsen. rare4all's copies are in near mint condition which is remarkable considering their vintage.

you only have to look at his other things to know he's been collecting for decades and has some very desirable "high-end" collectables. budgetary concerns aside you'd be wrong to dismiss this seller.

I was looking at the BWW site and in "the bits flew far and wide" section on 1st December,and there was mention of a slick coming up for grabs at a toy auction. After reviewing all the posts and John Larkins blogs etc. i believed it to be genuine. So...................................i put in a sealed bid and have just been informed i was the winner!

I have been after one these for many years and am very excited of the prospect of receiving it.
A strange auction for it to sold on and not one i am familiar with.

Shooky, PLEASE dont tell me its a fake!

nicely done. i'm pretty sure it's genuine. when you have it drop me a line and i'll go over a couple of details that can only be seen up close just to be sure, but even at this resolution there are tell-tale indicators that it's real.

Thanks Shooky,
By the way i got it for $400.00 which i reckon is a real bargain.
Even with the autioneers fee and shipping its costing me around £350.00.
I wanted to ask advice in the forum before bidding, but took a selfish risk in case someone beat me to it.
Now.....................time to find a Diamond Dogs B*******s Sleeve for a few Hundred Pounds.

it's a fair and sensible price. it's exactly what i paid for mine. there are more pristine copies out there but you'd be looking at $750 and up for one of those.

better to have a "real colour slicks" than a photo at cheap price

http://www.ebay.es/itm/DAVID-BOWIE-Alte ... 5ae390d6bb

I have never understood the History about the colour slicks printed in England and the United States... => http://blog.larkin.net.au/2009/04/22/da ... revisited/

just there are counterfeits. that is adventurous to buy a copy at an expensive price and better to buy a real EMI issue

But 400 $ is fair price also the risk was not "very important". I am happy for you Tomjoe.