Discogs experiences-postive and negative*

discogs sucks for buying and selling. I lasted about five years selling but grew tired of competing with crooked sellers and crappy people who run that website. I'm hoping a new system comes along where no third party is raking in cash. That way, bad ratings aren't constantly removed and bad sellers will actually get weeded out.

 

I truly wish I didn't have so many problems from UK sellers in the past. And I hate to pick on any one country or region (especially one that I normally love), but it seems that some of the sellers I've dealt with in the UK have had a totally different concept of record grading. It's doubly unfortunate because so many collectible records I want were originally issued in the UK, so it's the best source for finding them. Having said that, I have found a couple of sellers over the years that have been reliable, so I tend to stick with them as much as possible.

 

I buy only CDs from discogs, and I too have not had the kinds of negative experiences vinyl buyers seem to have - 99% perfect transactions, and not a single bad experience.

Amazon Marketplace CDs, now that's a different story...

 

i only started recently after probably a thousand or two purchases on ebay and i have to say i prefer it to ebay.. my only issue is so much of the stuff i want seems to be only available from sellers abroad.

i find the prices on discogs far better than anywhere else, also...

i have filled some great holes in my collection with discogs.. like metal box for $100!

 

I'm not a vinyl guy so I mainly use it for CDs. I've only been shipped the wrong CD once, and I can forgive the seller as its barcode was identical to the one I wanted (the only difference at all was a catalog number). They refunded me and let me keep the disc. However that has taught me to ask ahead and make sure I'm getting the right version. With CDs, Discogs typically has the best prices and the best stock. I hate using eBay, the whole thing just feels way too fishy - especially from eBay themselves, who scan your browser history and say "people who viewed Mike Scott CDs also viewed psychology textbooks, fishing equipment, and replacement door hinges". I'd rather they just be up front with it and say "based on your browser history", if they're going to invade my privacy (which I'm pretty sure is illegal but they have money so it's totally fine, right?). And as for Amazon, I get the wrong product 50% of the time, and the sellers with the best prices always always always ship DHL, which basically means you will never get your product.

I bought one record from Discogs, a rare and long-deleted debut that never got a CD release from an already obscure band (well, there is an unofficial needledrop CDR with one of the tracks missing... for as much as the record... no thanks). It was listed as NM, but after I placed the order the seller told me that he had overgraded, now thought that it was VG+, and knocked six bucks off the total for it. Quite a bit of surface noise, but no skips or scratches, and I'm more than satisfied.

 

Nah, this is almost certainly covered in the terms of service you agree to when you sign up for an eBay account. eBay, Amazon, Facebook, Google, and so on all use cross-platform tracking cookies that collect immense amounts of data regarding your browsing and purchasing habits. Ever been on Facebook and seen those ads that show everything you just looked at on Amazon? Remember the old saying, if something is free, you are the product.

 

It is a jungle out there...

 

I don't use Facebook (who needs friends when I've got silver circles that spin around really fast in a box and make noise happen?) and I've never heard that saying. I find it strange that after everybody freaked out about online privacy a few years back, nobody questioned this kind of thing. Also, I'm very rarely signed into my eBay account, I only sign in when I want to buy something and I generally refresh my history weekly to get rid of cookies and the like. So maybe I did agree to it, but who's to say my paranoid, privacy-obsessed imaginary friend isn't using my computer? Ever think of that, eBay? Hmm??

Amazon does this and Google does it (although thanks to my beloved ad blocker I have not dealt with their invasiveness in a long time). But at least Amazon says "inspired by your browsing history". eBay is trying to purport that there are way more obsessive-compulsive Waterboys fanatics who can't afford textbooks, plan on moving to North Carolina, and go through guitar tuner batteries like a mining drill through a mountain. If there are so many out there, eBay, why have I not met a single one? If you're going to invade my privacy, at least be up front with me. I have no control over whether you mine my data or not, but what I'm asking can't be too difficult.

Either way, I go to Discogs first, then Amazon, then these classifieds, and if I still haven't found it, then eBay is my last resort.

 

Consider NoScript in tandem with an ad blocker, if you're not already using it. It can be a little frustrating at first to have Javascript-driven functionality stripped from websites you visit regularly, until you get determine what should and shouldn't be allowed to run and get comfortable with configuring NoScript, but once you're over that hump you'll wonder how you got by without it.

As someone who was using the net on a daily basis for several years before the web reached critical mass in terms of public awareness, I find much of what it's become since then to be a pretty hideous experience without these two tools.

 

I think I'll be fine with just my ad blocker. I use a lot of sites that require Java, and like I said, I avoid eBay wherever possible (and even so I'm not significantly bothered by the fact that it's pulling stuff from my browsing history, I've gotten used to that, I just don't like the wording they use). Not to say I don't use eBay, there are a number of things that I can't find anywhere else (although I should probably start putting up WTB ads for the stuff I'm after here), but I don't think it's worth a massive learning curve of a new approach to my browser when I can just continue not using the site frequently. Appreciate the help though!

 

I'm using both regularly right now. Discogs is my "I need it right now!" shop. If I can wait on something - I use Ebay and I've had a few really sweet deals lately where the opening price is set low by the seller - I bid - and 7 days later no one else has bid and I get that good deal.

But the selection on Discogs is unmatched.

 

I have to admit - I've found some really great bands I'd never heard of lately all due to Ebay and Amazon 'recommending' artists to me based on my past searches or purchases. All the new bands they recommend I just plug them into Youtube, listen to a few songs to see how accurate the recommendations are. Does it lead to more purchases through Ebay or Amazon by me? Maybe - or maybe Discogs. But they aren't forcing me and I'm happy to discover new bands I'd otherwise never know of.

 

Hi
I started a thread a little while ago and asked about buying selling records rules and for tips on good places and then it just vanished?
I posted it in music corner as that seemed the best place for it
I asked for the rules about discussions on the subject I know it's all different everywhere I also wanted to know if it was allowed here at Mr. Hoffman's place
I wasn't trying to post anything for sale just asking in general
Most everybody and everybody else I talk to says Discogs
And NOW I see this
Lanny

 

It's all fixed up now in marketplace discussions
Thank you Gary!
Lanny

 

My experiences with buying from Discogs has been okay, so far, although I have to admit that the odd seller did over-grade their product. However, I primarily buy CDs, so I have no experiences with vinyl (I never really got into that format).

I also sell on Discogs and try to be as accurate as possible. After selling over a dozen CDs, I've had no complaints to date... BUT hardly anyone ever leaves feedback!

So, while buyers may moan over the inaccurate description of their purchases, as a seller, I'm going to moan about buyers' not bothering to leave any feedback (and ebay is getting just as bad with this issue).

 

I don't purchase much from Discogs (maybe one CD per year) but it's a great place for finding rare stuff.

Thanks to Discogs, I managed to find a treasured song that I lost many years ago and I couldn't find anywhere else (not even via P2P).

 

You can find me in this thread describing my own Discogs experience and giving advice on how to stick with sellers that have 100% positive feedback etc. I do have roughly half a dozen that I have transacted with that I trust and order from regularly - results have been favorable. However, like an idiot I broke my own rule and ordered from two sellers I never dealt with before and despite the near or 100% positive feedback, both transactions have and continue to be problematic.

One is still ongoing so I hope it will be resolved, but basically the guy is either super confused or super overwhelmed and can't get my order out the door. He initially told me it was because I sent him a "weird transaction" when in actuality, it was a typical Paypal payment (sent literally seconds after he sent the invoice incidentally.) Now, I get back snippy sentence fragment-type replies when I politely ask him for status. "Politely" is the operative word here.

The other one was a case of having the listing pointing towards the wrong release page and I am talking not even close! The listing was a stereo LP and what I physically received was mono, different cat# etc. I even contacted the seller before placing the order and he confirmed what he was selling matched the release page - I even asked him to confirm specific details on the record label and he answered in the affirmative. However upon arrival, all I had to do was look at the outer sleeve to know it was the wrong version. I sent him a super sugar coated polite message about this and received back a one word reply, "thanks." Alrighty then...... I am sympathetic to the fact that people get busy, distracted and make mistakes - but have a little respect for people that send you money. Take the time to offer a properly worded reply with a proposed and fair resolution.

So there you go. A bit of a venting session here, but despite my earlier posts regarding my favorable experiences, I do indeed sympathize with folks (like the OP) that have had negative experiences.

 

#2 particularly grates when it's happened to me. You ask them to confirm details and they do and then they are incorrect. Clearly they didn't even bother double checking. In a word a**h*le.

 

Exactly.

Especially when the reply is a little sentence fragment they obviously typed on a mobile device while totally distracted.

 

I've had about 10-15 transactions in Discogs and everything turned out to be a positive transaction save for one. It was for a copy The Complete Stone Roses lp. After sending payment, the seller came back to me to say that the album was sold in his physical store and he was sorry, etc. He did send a refund.

 

Hello all. New user here. I'm not going to sing the praises of Discogs, they have their issues. But of all music sites on the net I spend most of my time there. I am largely involved with adding info to any release that has info missing from it. And I Replace low quality photos, or subs with no photos, With high quality scans.
But I too have received the wrong variation of a record I bought. The marketplace there can be hit and miss but the database is what makes that site. It is odd in 2017 they allow submissions to be added with no photos. If you have a cell phone you have a camera. My record collection wouldn't be what it is without Discogs. Not only in locating label variations I didn't have but many times I'll find variations that aren't on their database and I'll add them. I know of no other site that does what Discogs is doing, an online catalog of every commercial music release and all of their unique variants.

 

Really like the concept. Made six purchases over the last couple months. Bought a Beatles Blue box. Seller neglected to notice on LP was missing. He made good but jeez! Another guy sent me a n 80's set of the White Lp when I bought and paid for an early 70's set. He took it back without a hassle so ok. Now a guy sells me a minty -2/-1 Abbey Road 3rd press sends me a -6/-4 mid 70's cut instead. The other three buys were hitch free but I'm running about 50/50 here. Am I unlucky or anyone else had problem? They all had good feedback ratings too.

 

I've never had any problems with buying items on discogs. Every purchase was 100% accurate to the listing.

 

I've made over 150 purchases in the last three years (all CDs) and had problems with only three transactions where the buyer sent me something else than what was listed. Definite yea for me.