Discogs experiences-postive and negative*

Anyway if you pay with PayPal you have the possibility to request a refund for your shipment. I just got it !
( ...a similar case as your Gregg, and the seller told me he would not reimburse the shipment because the auction was setted as "The buyer pays the shipping costs for returning the item" and "However I’m happy to refund you if you cover the return cost"... purchase on Ebay though...).

 

I opened one on a nasty seller and Paypal said I had to pay to send back. Thats how these guys operate. They know most people dont have time to return something where the postage will kill them. Thats a good game for junk dealers. Sell Moving pictures scratched to crap and looking like its been in a basement flood for $50 as NM. When buyer opens claim its $18 just for return post. Most people will just forget it. Of course they also often offer a small partial refund. People accept and keep the stuff they never would have bought in the first place. Discogs is aware, Paypal is aware, both make $ so its a good game for them to play along with.

 

For me it was only the second experience with PayPal and the first one was refused .... FWIK, each case is examined individually by them and the refund is never assured, I do not know according to what logic takes place, but in my opinion worth always trying. Yes, however, I agree with what you say in general ...

 

To add insult to injury Discogs removed the valid negative I left for the seller. The seller even sent me messages thru their system gloating they removed the negative. So childish and so abusive. But apparently thats what Discogs wants on their system as they have given the abuser 100% support and free license to resell the junk yet again to the next unsuspecting sap.

 

Paypal will refund up to $30 CAD of your return postage costs. You should Google for the program link. You opt in and there you go. I've used it many times.

 

Thank you for this. I did not know about this program.

 

I've only had one bad experience at Discogs - bought a NM CD copy of the Columbia US 1997 remaster of Wish You Were Here. What turned up was a made in Holland, very scratched CD. Ditched the CD and left negative feedback (on the premise that he lied about both the place of manufacture and its condition, so why would I trust him to say he received the returned CD and even if he did, he would claim it wasn't the one he sent). Of course, I got revenge feedback, claiming I lied about getting throwing out the CD. Lesson learned - always give them a chance to be honest, despite overwhelming evidence that they aren't.

 

Not only that, but if you leave negative feedback for a seller without first giving them a chance to resolve your complaint, Discogs will usually remove your negative if the seller complains. From what I've seen time and time again on their seller boards, if you give a seller the chance to make things right, and they don't or won't come up with an acceptable solution, your negative to them stands a MUCH higher chance of staying put. And make sure to keep all communication within Discogs' order page instead of the seller's email address. This way, if necessary, you can prove to Discogs you tried to resolve things amicably.

And this works both ways, BTW. If the seller leaves retaliatory feedback, it's much easier to get it removed if you show you made an honest effort to work things out with them.

 

Yes - I should have given the clown a chance. A Paypal full refund is always there as a backstop - I got a bit miffed about all the untruths in the listing and threw the disc into the garbage. Mea culpa

 

Well, that's completely understandable IMO. It's just that when it comes to feedback issues, there really is a correct way to do things if you want to make sure negative feedback to a seller sticks, or conversely, if you want to be able to raise your chances of eliminating unfair negative feedback you've received. There's probably no fail safe method, but I've learned (thankfully through OTHER people's experiences! ) that what I posted above is the best "insurance policy" in regards to feedback.

Oh, and of course, always communicating with the seller (or buyer) in a calm, professional, polite manner, also helps should you need to involve Discogs in a feedback dispute.

 

Is it just me experiencing bad buying experiences when collecting music ie scratched discs advertised as mint and worst of all fake SHM CDs from Russian sellers. I do not collect vinyl i can only imagine that collecting vinyl can also be as bad, is there fake vinyl pressing just like these fake Russian SHM CDs ?
I am interested in hearing from anyone else with similar buying experiences ie Fake discs or inaccurate item descriptions. I love to collect early first press cds but find its getting harder to find mint examples and its worrying with all these fake Russian cds about.

 

Other than certain sellers overly-optimistic condition ratings on some CDs, the only problem I’ve had with a Discogs purchase was with a U.S. seller who advertised the Kinks, “Come Dancing” as being a SACD disc, but when it arrived, it turned out to be just a standard-issue CD (which I already owned). When I contacted the seller about returning the disc due to his listing error, he first agreed to refund the purchase, but said it might take a week or two to get the money into his PayPal account. It wasn’t a lot of money and when I suggested I would just file a dispute with PayPal, he accused me of ordering it to “burn and return”. I eventually got my money back (less shipping), but it was a PITA.

 

I've recently received a few Discogs purchases that were over graded. Some of the 45's with picture sleeves I purchased were listed as NM and we're probably closer to VG+.

I guess when buying used vinyl on Discogs in the future. I will have to expect a grade lower from the listed condition to play it safe. If the record arrives in as described condition it will be a bonus.

I really don't want to argue with sellers over their record grading methods or keep returning purchases. So I'll keep my expectations of the condition lower than what's listed.

 

On eBay i have also experienced Japanese sellers advertising items they have not got, they take your payment then search for the item in Japan and expect you to wait and then except whatever condition they can find. I notified eBay and they get your money back but these sellers use different usernames so collecting rare Japanese items is becoming a risky hobby.

 

I've run into many LP sellers (even a few stores) not listing things correctly so I've learned to ask for the actual matrix and dead wax info and in some case pictures. For the most part I'm going after final copies and don't want to waste my time or theirs. A few sellers have said they tried to choose the version that was closest to theirs because it can be overwhelming with some titles (check out Dark Side of the Moon!). If someone doesn't respond or doesn't want to make the effort I move on.

 

There are a lot of fake CDs on Discogs. Regarding Japan CDs I have only bought from Japanese sellers as it seems the likelihood of getting a fake CD from a CD manufactured there is less.

 

Several active threads about Discogs already. Most current one about this very subject:

I’ve Found the Worst Discogs Seller Ever

 

I know many of us are upset buyers, but it can be frustrating being a seller too. I had one buyer who bought a sealed reissue from me and gave me negative feedback for it being dirty. It was the only negative feedback I have ever received. The person never bothered writing me, asking for a refund, etc. So I wrote him and asked if I could do anything and that I was willing to take it back, partial refund, ANYTHING because I didn't see it as my fault. I even told him he's going to be disappointed a lot if he expects new records to be mint right out of the package (I think he's a newbie). He then accused me of resealing the record. This was a reissue with a sticker on the shrink. Ugh... it really bothered me when he accused me of that. I asked and asked him to remove the feedback. I even said "pretty please." I asked them to look over my items to see that I try to describe everything I put up unlike many other sellers. Nothing. The buyer was super stubborn. Luckily, I got a hold of Discogs and they took down the feedback.

 

I've been through similar as a seller. It's disheartening, especially if you are "small time" and make every effort to deliver quality, timeliness, etc.

That's one thing I appreciate about Discogs' policy though: they will remove adverse feedback from those who fail to follow the rules and act in good faith. You can't get that from eBay.

 

Wanted to give a shout out to this seller:

philadelphiamusic

Very affordable prices and records are conservatively graded. Many of the VG+'s were NM.. Maybe I got lucky

 

I've got to give a shout-out to this seller:

BillWalton

He had a Tangerine Dream LP I was looking for at a cheap price, rated VG+. I wrote him to try to determine whether the rating was really valid, given that it's a very dynamic album, and too much noise would be very distracting.

Turns out he was absolutely correct, and the record fit the Goldmine description exactly, i.e. "Defects should be more of a cosmetic nature, not affecting the actual playback as a whole." It was almost silent at normal listening volume.

On top of that, he had "Make Offer" enabled for a $6 record and took $5. I'd buy from him again without hesitation.

 

I've bought from them before. I thought they were good. I wound up spending too much because some prices I just couldn't pass up.

 

Although I use a thousand precautions by asking many questions, and buying only on the basis of the answers I receive, and from sellers with at least 99.8% positive feedback (I always read the neutral and negative comments of the seller to better understand who I'm dealing with), in the last days I had my first problem with a Discogs' seller.
Problem not yet solved...

I received an LP, with vinyl declared NM both visually and play.
I asked confirmation about the play, and his answer was "yes, confirmed, only the last song plays VG+".
When I heard it, I immediately realized that he and I did not have the same idea of what NM means. If I had to give a judgment to the overall sound of the whole vinyl, I could not assign more than VG+...He lost also a scratch that cause twenty five ticks during the first 30 second of a song...intro with only piano and voice!

I wrote to him explaining my reasons and asking if he would agree to take it back, with a full refund upon received it.
My first message is from 12 days ago, and after that I wrote him 4 time again...no answer. Before the purchase, he had always responded quickly.
My last message, 3 days ago, was also slightly threatening, assuming to leave him a negative feedback if he did not answer me ...no answer.

He has a rating of 45 feedback, 100% positive (all for LP vinyl sales).
Maybe he had a health problem and can not answer ... maybe he has problems with the network and is isolated from the world ... maybe he's on vacation and he does not want to connect to the world ... so, sooner or later, I'll have an answer, I can understand.

But if it were not so, and just want to be smart and cheat, what tools do I have to assert my reasons?
How much time do I have with Discogs to leave feedback?
It seems to me that with Ebay since the buyer paid, he can not receive negative feedback; is it so also with Discogs?

As said, it is the first time for me, and honestly I don't know how to procede...

 

At this point you really should open up a case with PayPal, if this is who you paid with. It's not something that will immediately cause a negative outcome, but it's the proper thing to do to make sure you're covering all of your bases.

 

Agreed. I think I'll wait again few days, then I'll do so.