On the 28th of December a man, dressed in a full Scottish Highland outfit, purchased what was believed to have been an empty record box for £3.99 in an Edinburgh Oxfam shop, but it turned out it was filled with the charity stores rarest and most expensive LPs.
The rare vinyl records are estimated to be worth around £1,700, however that’s including their sleeves, which were on display at the time of the purchase, and so are still in the charity shop’s possession. The police have been involved since it is not known if the price label was deliberately swapped, or if it was just an innocent mistake.
The man, said to be in his 30s and have an English accent, was in complete Highland dress including full kilt and Tam o’Shanter hat, and had been a customer in that Oxfam before.
Jamie Morrison, the shop manager, said, “The box was full of valuable records. We kept the sleeves out on display so the records aren’t worth £1,700 without the sleeves.
But of course, we can’t do anything with the covers unless we have the records so it’s a big financial blow for the store.
There were some really rare records in the box. The most valuable was a copy of Bobby Williams’ Funky Superfly album and there were also valuable records by The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Madness.”
He continued by saying, “The volunteer who made the sale thought the customer was just buying one of the record storage boxes that we sell for £3.99.
They made a small mistake by not checking inside the box but it has proven to be very costly. We think the £3.99 price tag was stuck on the box full of the expensive LPs and we hope some of the other customers in the store that day might remember something. He wasn’t exactly inconspicuous so hopefully someone remembers something.
Losing stock of that value is a nightmare so we are appealing for people to come in with donations. The money raised all goes to helping Oxfam carry out vital work all over the world.”
The records have yet to be found, and a spokesperson for the Lothian & Borders Police said, “There is every chance this may have been an innocent mistake, and for that reason we are keen to trace the gentleman who bought the record box to find out if he knows where the records may be. We appeal for anyone who might have any information to come forward.”