How often do you use Discogs?

I am on discogs at least once each day, either to read in the forum, or check something in my collection / wantlist or to buy a record!

 

Still haven't purchased anything on Discogs yet.
Simple fact I like to visually inspected the vinyl before I purchase.
I'll give you an example..
Recently I was at my local shop (shout-out to Omega Music Dayton) among my possible purchases were 2 different LPs both graded VG+.
After visual inspection I put one back & bought the other one.
I can't visually inspect online.

Darryl

 

I visit more than I should, as I inevitably find something else to buy!

 

I use it for research and reviews at times. I don't like buying there because in my experience people don;t update their inventory or they don't message you back for weeks. just annoying.

 

always on my discogs

 

I use it to link pictures. It is weak in areas that I have a current interest in such as classical and world music. I have the pop rock albums I want already by and large. I find many listings either woefully incomplete or ambiguous. Artist pages are generally cluttered with many redundant listings. I agree that if used as a cataloging site it has its most effective usage.

 

I am always on discogs, i use it for research, to inventory my collection and keep a wantlist. I also occasionally make a purchase there. Just bought a target cd this weekend from there. They have made some recent changes to their system that make it easier to categorize your collection by genre. They dont always have every issue of an album listed but nothings perfect and you can make an entry yourself if so inclined.

 

I no longer use them as a venue to sell or buy due to a couple of bad experiences. I bought a Stones LP that was described as a "NM" version of the Kinney pressing of "Exile", but what the Canadian seller shipped me was a standard U.S. Record Club pressing. It took weeks to get my money back from the seller. I also sold a sealed copy of a Mobile Fidelity album, and listed it up front as sealed and being sold "as is", and that I made no guarantees as to its condition, as I'd never opened or played it. The Dutch buyer wanted his money back and for me to pay return shipping, as he claimed it was sold with flaws, and submitted multiple claims. It was finally resolved in my favor, but support from the discogs admin was less than helpful in either case.

 

My post thrift shop/yard sale routine is to sit down, research and log everything into my Discogs account while I listen.

 

A recent discovery for me but more and more I seem to find my sought after hard-to-find, obscure, rare releases here and at a more reasonable price than amazon & eBay. This site has been a valuable resource for me in recent musical "hunts".

 

Several times daily.

 

I think someone explained how this happens, but I frequently see albums that I added that disappear and I have to re-add them. If an entry is changed, does it delete it from your collection?

Has anyone had any luck adding new titles? I tried it once and failed miserably.

 

One problem with Discogs is trying to determine the value and scarcity of 45s with picture sleeves. For example:
Les Sinners - Je Ne Sais Pas / Tard Il Se Fait Tard
So 18 Discogs users have the picture sleeve (there are 6 for sale, none with the sleeve)? And the ones that sold: is that with or without the picture sleeve?

 

If a release is changed and if this release is in your collection, you should receive an informative message from Discogs about it...although sometimes this does not happen, from my experience...

FWIK, it is not possible delete a release, once uploaded, due to Discogs rules.
If a release is identical to another already present in the lists, these releases will be merged in order to have only one.
Items for sale, collections, wantlists, lists, comments, and ratings referencing from release considered "useless" will be moved to the "main" release.

I have added many new titles and these are never been deleted, only some have been merged in releases already present because I had not noticed that they already existed.
Before add a release as new entry, you have to carefully check if it already exist...

 

I use the site several times a week to look at pricing for items I might find in local shops to compare. Definitely use it mainly for cataloging my collection. I think the feature where you can view median values for your lot is a cool feature.

I don't use Discogs nearly as much as I used to for purchasing albums, because most albums I seek that are rated at NM- or better can be found cheaper locally. Definitely an amazing resource, though!

 

I’m on there daily. Fantastic resource for both learning and cataloguing my collection. The app makes it easy to quickly see if I have a particular artist/album in my collection. And its how I discovered this board, which I am on all the time also lurking and learning.

So yes, big fan, of both boards.

 

Discogs to be fair has a difficult problem in that they are acting as if they are the National Library but are letting any and all users enter the data. But this problem is compounded by the fact that Discogs exists to sell stuff. Thus they have a bias to inflate the number of listings and pretend that all variations are equally significant.

A major problem is that it is far easier to create an error filled initial listing than to edit errors out of already existing listings. This makes it a chore for sellers and buyers to identify correct listings. You have to be extremely knowledgeable and have large amounts of time to wade through 20 different versions of an album. Does it make sense for a seller of a $15 record to spend 30 minutes trying to figure out which exact record listing is correct, particularly when many listings are incomplete, ambiguous or have errors?

Artist pages are also very cluttered with redundant listings. I have a pretty good knowledge of certain artists discographies but was baffled by their Discogs artists pages when I delved into them. The Artist page has many redundant listings under Appearances and Credits. In addition there is absolutely no consistency as to what will be posted there since it is dependent on the decisions the users make to enter the data.They are quite different than the way a regular National Library would classify and categorize them.

 

While I check in on Discogs a couple of times a week, I have yet to have a successful transaction where the seller delivers the actual item (matrix/pressing) and/or the actual grade in the Discogs listing.

Granted I only have about 4 or 5 transactions, and relatively small dollars, but to Mr Bass' point above, it seems that most of the sellers (at least the ones that I have encountered) are either:

• Lazy
• Incompetent
• Do not know how to grade properly
• Greedy crooks

I'm not trashing the entire Discogs community, I know there are many legit sellers out there and I know many people from this forum buy/sell there, but if I want to buy something of significant value, the Steve Hoffman Music Forums is going to be my first and hopefully, last stop. I have experienced great transactions, helpful people, and most importantly, honest sellers here. And to that, I say thank you to the SHMF and the members of this community.

 

horrible luck on Discogs ..Ebay is so much better

 

I do not know if they have interest to do what you say honestly...loading as new an already existing item is "forbidden", there are detailed rules for this and you have to read the guideline before, the problem is that few people read and apply them...

Agreed.

 

I disagree. I always have to double check if an eBay seller is auctioning the version I’m looking for. On Discogs I can order an exact version, and it’s mostly the seller’s responsibility to list correctly. And many sellers do.

 

I can't tell you how many times I made an offer or placed the order, only to have the seller tell me 3 days later that they don't have it or they sold it and didn't update it.

 

Discogs is fine to purchase items, but as for reference it lacks in the details. The website is run very unprofessional also.

 

I like Discogs and and visit daily, actually multiple times daily. It's great for keeping track of your collection.
I have all my LP's and CD's listed and accounted for, no more buying the same thing again!
The only thing I have bought are new Record Store items that were not available at my local record store.
I really don't like buying used anything, sight unseen. I also made a few listings for LP's that were not
listed yet on their site, it's always better to participate, and give as well as take.
I just found out about their Bookogs site, and started listing some of my book's there too.

 

I had been using Discogs for quite a while before I even knew what it was, that is the history of it and why it was set up in the first place. I thought it was just another marketplace, like an eBay but only for music.

I've never sold anything there; I've bought quite a lot. How often? Impossible to say. I don't log in regularly or think "what will I buy this week" or anything like that. When I get into my head that I want a certain album, I investigate ways and means of getting it, and very often Discogs turns out to be the easiest and cheapest - often by a big margin. The only time Amazon tends to be better is if I want to buy 3 or more items at once, and that's not normally how I shop.

Early on I had one experience that pissed me off a little. I contacted a seller asking about shipping costs, and did not realise that doing so was classified as initiating an order. I must have been busy for several days and did not check immediately for replies; when I did return I discovered I had been given a negative buyer rating for ordering and then not following through. I could have followed it up and asked the seller to remove the negative rating, but I decided not to bother; it does not seem to have had much effect on what I am able to buy, and I have now accumulated enough positive points that it's now water under the bridge.