Discogs : why do some sellers disable communication?

What's the point of this? Before forking over $100 on an LP, I want to ensure I'd be getting exactly what I would be paying for. I've had so many instances of lazy or nefarious sellers categorizing just any pressing as a first pressing so I always ask for the full matrix info on each side of the album first.

In this case, the seller disabled his communication so there's no way to get in touch with him to verify this crucial piece of info. Obviously, there's no way I'm taking a chance in sending that much money overseas in the hopes that he knows what he's doing (when so few people do).

In the event he was being perfectly honest in his description, he lost a sale because of his restricted communication settings.

So... what's the point of disabling communication, really?

 

I agree, it just seems ridiculous. Another one I like is a seller who in his ads at the bottom of the page states Do Not Order as I'm closing my shop. Why not just remove everything? Lazy sod.

 

I have wondered the same thing and it does raise a red flag. I went ahead and took a chance with a cd I wanted very much, hoping the seller really had the version as described. Sure enough, he sent me a re-master that I didn’t want and that he didn’t disclose. At that point I was able to contact him, and he said he was out of the version that was listed. Yet he continued to have it listed as the original release.

I returned it and he fortunately did refund my $. I won’t be taking that chance again and won’t trust a seller who disables initial contact.

 

Yeah bit of a bizarre option on Discogs IMO. I can see a seller turning it off temporarily if their on holiday or something similar but permanently makes no sense in a retail setting. I think some eBay sellers do the same thing.

Thing is, if a seller would do something like that, given the option, then it's probably a good idea they were given that option because it's a warning to stay away from that seller.

 

I'm gonna guess...it's the easiest way for him to keep track of his inventory? Or he wants to keep his options open in case somebody's willing to pay that $70 for that Bo Bice LP?

 

You can remove inventory from being for sale and still have your inventory that can be seen by you.

 

Exactly - he wants the control over his collection information, just doesn't want to deal with the public anymore...

 

If a Discogs seller doesn't do communication prior to the sale, there will be no sale with me.

Darryl

 

Then remove it from being for sale. It's still exactly the same in viewing it yourself.

 

If a seller is using this function while on vacation, that's understandable. On a typical business week, it doesn't seem like this would be necessary. If a seller truly wants to sell product, they need to be available to answer questions from prospective buyers.

Back when I used to sell vintage clothing on eBay (about 10+ years ago), you'd be surprised by the large number of dishonest buyers and occasional strange messages from buyers or shoppers. Even had a couple hateful/racist messages in addition to some of a sexual nature. There are some online shoppers who get turned on by simply viewing product photos. Who knew?

Fortunately, I've never sold LPs or CDs and have no desire to get rid of any music. Discogs is a great place to buy music, even the international sellers I've dealt with have been great, apart from some issues with product being damaged in the mail. I completely agree with @greelywinger because you have to be able to communicate prior to the sale, especially when dealing with international sellers to calculate actual shipping costs.

 

I had items in my Discogs cart from one seller.
Suddenly they were gone. I went to his Discogs page & he had taken down everything. This must be a sign that he won’t be available.
Possibly a vacation. If it’s that easy to take everything down at once, will it be as easy to relist them?

Darryl

 

Darryl, Unless the seller deleted the listings it should be very easy to relist them. I don't have a ton of things for sale on Discogs, but was able to unlist everything during the holidays with just a few mouse clicks and relist them after the holidays (I didn't want to go to the post office close to Christmas).

 

Yep, had a seller block me because I asked them to verify condition on a pricey item. Was able to get the initial message to them, then they blocked me with no response or reason. No way I’m doing business with people who don’t communicate. Funny thing is, they had a good rating.

 

I think he just listed them for awhile. This seller had several thousand listings, so I doubt that he deleted them all.

Darryl

 

Unlisted them I mean.

Darryl

 

You can easily get Discogs involved. There is next to no regulating of sellers because people don't bother reporting this stuff.

 

not sure there are rules requiring sellers to communicate with people, or rules that forbid them from blocking whomever they like.

 

I found a seller outside the US that has a bunch of import 45s w/ picture sleeves I want.
Cannot contact seller to ask how much to ship to USA.
It would be a large order.

Darryl

 

Isn't it possible for you to cancel the order if shipping is too high?

Or is there no way to do so after which the seller could post negative feedback for non-payment?