Back in March I bought what was advertised as a 7" white label test pressing of Sheila Take a Bow. It was listed on Discogs and silly me I did not ask for photos before purchasing. The record arrived and looked exactly like the William on eBay, different catalogue number/runouts of course. Additionally, before it arrived the seller messaged me saying he had found a William 7" TP, this time I asked for photos, and it WAS the one just listed on eBay. I told him I thought they were fakes for the following reasons:
The paper type is different relative to all other Smiths white labels I have. It feels like a thin, modern computer paper, and is more like a sticker than an actual pressed on label.
Given the condition of the record, the Sheila was also VG to VG-, the labels likely would not be as bright white and clean as they were. They were pristine.
And the handwriting on both was identical. The Sheila came in a similar card sleeve with the title written diagonally in the corner, and also had the same label markings of "AJ" and "X25."
As FWD mentioned, it's possible these could be withdrawn pressings, but my guess is someone removed the original labels and put these on to look like the real thing.
