Increase of bad discogs purchases? 2 Part Q

I've been buying on Discogs for a little over a year now, and have always had great experiences until lately.

Mainly an increase in poor descriptions (i.e. "no cut out or saw marks" being delivered with cut outs)

Recently I ordered George Harrison's Wonderwall Music. Was rated VG/VG and noted having the original insert. It was $9.99. When I got it, it didn't have the insert and second side skipped throughout, a visibe Fair.

With it being only $10, would you even try doing anything? I contacted first thing abt the sleeve, and he said "oh, okay I didn't know"

TL;Dr have you noticed an increase of poor online purchases and how do you take care of them?

 

Yep, I've always had mixed results buying on discogs (and ebay). You really have to spend time researching. I often end up contacting the seller for confirmation on specific things to look for, etc to determine a press. Still, it doesn't always work out. Just this week I received an Opeth CD which was listed as original press, yet what arrived was a re-release in different packaging.

 

What timing. Just placed my first discogs purchase in years. I'll let you know in a week or so.

 

Discogs has not been kind to me. I've had problems with too many orders. Now I'll only resort to Discogs if I just have to have something I can't get anywhere else. And then it's vinyl roulette.

 

I have had a few refund part of the purchase to compensate for cut out on experience site albums.

But I had 2 bad experiences just this week. Original Nilsson Schmilsson purchase came as a RE, but it's a '71 RE and mastered by TML. Sounds good so I let it slide. Came with poster as advertised and that was a big part.

However, the Harrison is just bad. Bad grading and not as advertised.

 

That's what it's become for me. I had probably 20 good Transactions, but within the past 3 months I've had atleast 5 I haven't been pleased with. Longer shipping times, poor communication etc.

 

Most sellers on Discogs have absolutely no idea what they're selling. I'll look at a listing for a vinyl record from say 1976, and often the description says "sealed, with download code!" meaning they are selling a reissue listed under the wrong version of the item. Also, If a seller doesn't respond to my emails, I don't bother with them. This happens A LOT on Discogs. Until they start requiring sellers to post photos of the actual item that they're selling, I'm not going to buy much from Discogs. Too much over-grading and no way to know. I've had some great luck, but in general it's much worse than eBay, IMHO.

 

VG grade is a very worn or used LP. Basically trashed imo. Why are you messing around with VG when NM and NM- are the way to go? VG+ only if you feel lucky and in a gambling mood.

Sorry to be the one to break it to you, you will never get clean playing LPs graded VG.

 

I only had one Discogs purchase that was not as listed.I bought a copy of "Hi! We're The Miracles" that was listed as a Tamla original for $175.00.I would have been happy with either a 1961 white label first issue,or a yellow label second issue from 1963.What I got was the 1981 budget reissue on Motown.For the amount of money I spent,that was certainly a rip off,and I felt I needed to settle things.I sent the guy an email explaining it,along with links to pages with photos of the different issues.I got my money back before he had gotten the record back.As a whole I have been very happy with Discogs,much more so than ebay.Because a lot of what I am interested in are records that cost $75 and up,most of what I am looking for are auction not BIN on ebay.I lose almost every record I bid on on ebay.I buy at least a record a month on Discogs with no problems.

 

For those with problem purchases, what was the seller rating (%) and number of ratings? I pay a lot of attention to this, and favor those sellers at or near 100% for many ratings, and am seldom disappointed with the condition compared to what was described.

 

As above. Not listed on right release and no photos is a problem.

 

I have only bought one record on Discogs and it was as described but I can see a couple of ways that Disocgs could be going down hill. One is when people click on the "add to my inventory" or whatever that button is. If you are not on the page of the exact copy that you own and you click on it, it will save that version you are on and all of its attributes. With newbies coming in buying vinyl, you have to know that some of them are selling too. Then you have the same kind of people who don't understand how to rate an album on eBay trying their luck on Disocgs. Maybe they don't like the rules at eBay or they want to advertise a title in as many places as possible. If a person is new to selling music they may have no idea how many versions of an lp or cd there are. After reading this thread I would do what someone else suggested, always contact the seller before you pull the trigger and ask questions to verify you will get what you think up you are getting. It will take longer but in the long run you might save yourself some time.

Assuming that Wonderwall was really VG/VG and the seller rated it correctly I think the only complaint the OP has is he didn't get the insert. Unless you are doing something besides playing it you don't want a VG record.

 

I play more than collect so the sleeve wasn't as bad as an unplayable side 2. I've had many good VG albums plays wonderully, quite frankly unless it's seals mint doesn't exist for older recorder. And that's where I see VG/VG+ coming in.

 

You're forgetting the much abused NM grade. While I think there are fewer truly NM records on eBay than the number stated, they are quite possible. I have records fifty to sixty years old that play more quiet than some new records. Are you familiar with the Goldmine definitions of these grades? That is what I'm basing my opinions on.

 

Incredibly timely thread.

I am sure that somewhere on this forum I can be found singing the praises of Discogs and that praise was warranted. That is, until my last batch of purchases from multiple sellers, all within the last month. Due to these recent experiences, I have decided that with the exception of the sellers here on the SH forums that I trust, I will NEVER buy an LP sight unseen ever again. On Discogs I only buy from sellers with decent feedback, so I expect a certain level of standard.

Records listed as "mint, still in shrink" for example. I don't expect those records to have loads of scratches, fingerprints and a well-worn center hole. Same goes for VG+ or the infamous VG++++ .....those records should not have visible groove wear, gouges and sticky matter that make the listening experience sound like a campfire crackling. And I expect the release pages the sale is linked to to be accurate, which they have not been in many cases.

I politely contacted a few of these guys about my dissapointment and they are typically in denial one way or another. One guy lectured me that if I am not using a VPI to clean my records I can't possibly comment on unacceptable surface noise Another guys solution to the severely warped "near mint, plays strong" LP he sold me was to "buy a record clamp." Another guy told me flat out he didn't believe me and suspected I was trying to get a refund and keep the record. Classy......all of them.

It's a shame, Discogs has been a great alternative to Ebay as well as a great overall resource for me. But I am done for good.

JQ

 

The seller refunded $5. So half the cost. Which will go towards another copy. I've also decided to no longer purchase from discogs for awhile.

 

Another problem with Discogs is that it is really easy to have negative feedback removed. I left negative feedback on a guy who seriously over graded an album and was really combative about giving me a refund. He had the feedback removed so he still has 100% positive feedback even though he has no business selling records. I have had more experiences like this on Discogs than on eBay.

I only go with sellers who answer detailed questions about surface noise and groove wear. If a seller only visually grades or says things like "sounds great!" or " normal wear for an old record" I just walk away. It's just not worth the hassle.

 

I've gotten records graded VG before that looked and sounded NM, just depends on how the seller grades records.