Discogs experiences-postive and negative*

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by ROFLnaked, Oct 17, 2015.

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  1. If I'm spending over $40/50 on a record then I'm asking the seller questions and maybe requesting pictures. Last week I bought a record from Australia, with shipping it came out to just over $160, no way I'm dropping that amount on a record without having some questions answered and getting some pictures.
     
  2. GentleSenator

    GentleSenator what if

    Location:
    Aloha, OR
    what do you mean "not serious"? i find that answering any question, even if i'm personally annoyed by it, is basic customer service.

    as a buyer if my question isn't answered well then i'm seriously not going to buy anything from that seller.
     
    ausgraeme and Dave like this.
  3. 12" 45rpm

    12" 45rpm Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    This is an interesting perspective. If a question annoys me, why am I obligated to respond to it? It's a waste of my time and if I respond negatively it would just offend the person. Best to keep quiet and move on...
     
    cwitt1980 likes this.
  4. GentleSenator

    GentleSenator what if

    Location:
    Aloha, OR
    i guess i should have said "mildly annoys". i'd definitely not engage with a lunatic or jerk. i guess my point is that i'm trying to make a sale. wouldn't want to turn off any potential reasonable buyers.
     
  5. 12" 45rpm

    12" 45rpm Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Even "mildly annoys" I would not bother with responding.. The reason being that I am looking for an overall positive transaction with a good review/rating. If any question hints at a difficult buyer, then I am not going to risk my reputation for that sale.. As they say, not all money is good money..
     
    cwitt1980 likes this.
  6. Giorgio

    Giorgio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Varese Italy
    Responding is, above all, a question of education, IMHO.
     
    GentleSenator likes this.
  7. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Every seller and buyer is different in how they see this kind of stuff, but the whole point of Discogs is to buy *specific* pressings, yet loads of sellers regularly categorize their merchandise with a degree of carelessness that ultimately results in a huge hassle for me as I just want to press a button, pay, and get exactly what I was promised... but if I don't, I have to go through the whole process of communicating with the seller, waiting for their response, and then try to find some resolution.

    Asking for confirmation of matrix info or UPC listed on a jacket shouldn't be the end of the world. In fact, it ensures for both parties that there won't be misunderstandings. The amount of sellers who don't respond at all is hilarious and translates into a missed sale for them. Of the responses I *do* get, the percentage of albums not categorized properly is absurd. In cases like these, I saved myself loads of trouble and money. I'm not lucky enough to find NM copies of specific pressings of albums I want for $5. It's almost always $25 and up. It adds up pretty quick.
     
    E.Baba and 12" 45rpm like this.
  8. uzn007

    uzn007 Pack Rat

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    This x 1000. I don't care if it's a $5 record and my question is "Is your VG+ rating a real VG+?", if you don't answer, I ain't buying.
     
  9. Vaughan

    Vaughan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Essex, UK
    Just an update on my Bob Dylan issues from a seller on Discogs.

    The PostNL status has not changed. The item is lost, in limbo somewhere in the North Sea.

    Yet...... it arrived at my doorstep today. Not only that, but it's arrived without damage (after such a long time, you wonder if it's been kicked around a bit).

    Clearly this package has taken a hell of a long time relatively speaking, so something went wrong somewhere. Perhaps more significantly, the tracking used (PostNL) has come up severely short. The seller, whom I had alerted to a possible issue, has been great throughout - simply asking for patience, which I was willing to offer. I've now had the pleasure to let them know all is well.

    It's a bit much when paying extra for tracking is a lottery. However, in a case such as this, it's not something a buyer nor seller can control.................

    All is well that ends well, as they say. Buckets or rain, buckets of tears......
     
    E.Baba, uzn007 and Giorgio like this.
  10. Trace

    Trace Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington State
    When I receive something that isn't graded as described, I will first contact the seller and ask them if they want to take care of the situation or if they preferred that I just open a PayPal claim. That way the decision is on them. You'd be surprised at how quickly they respond with a solution. And it tells them right up front that I'm not going to let them jerk me around.

    However, be sure to be polite and stick to the facts, especially when leaving feedback. Keep emotion out of your responses. It prevents you from coming off as an emotional nutjob and it also helps discogs when you request they remove retaliatory feedback.

    It's a pretty effective method so far....
     
    no.nine, Giorgio and uzn007 like this.
  11. Trace

    Trace Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington State
    Under no circumstances would I buy from this person, no matter what they had in stock. Also, they're probably very unhappy when someone files a PayPal Claim and it overrides ALL of their "policies". Ridiculous....
     
    Dave and Strat-Mangler like this.
  12. Combination

    Combination Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Orleans
    It was a one-time thing, and it was strictly for the inserts inside the record. It worked out okay, but I certainly haven't been back since!
     
    Strat-Mangler likes this.
  13. danielkov86

    danielkov86 Playing Devil's Avocado Since 1986

    This year marked the first time I ventured into purchasing records from overseas. I'm not doing that anymore. Every single time the record was overgraded and shipped poorly. I typically request the buyer separate the record from the sleeve to prevent splits during shipment, and the ones that comply fail to put the record in an inner! So it rubs against the cardboard the entire ride. Sticking to the US from now on...
     
  14. uzn007

    uzn007 Pack Rat

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    Well, I'm a little gunshy about ordering from overseas due to high shipping and potential hassles (more high shipping) if I have to make a return. But I don't think overgraded records or poorly-packed records are more likely to be found overseas than in the US.

    I just received a package from the UK last night... a couple of records that are much harder to find over here. The grading was spot-on. The packaging was adequate if not amazing. The funny thing is that the guy had removed the records and the inner sleeves from the jackets, but he had left the records in the custom full-color printed inner sleeves (rather than using generics). So those inner sleeves could have gotten damaged, but, fortunately, they didn't.
     
    GentleSenator likes this.
  15. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    There's no such correlation. What was the rating of the seller and how many ratings did he have?

    I've ordered overseas plenty. Aside from a handful of UK sellers who seemed to purposefully either categorize the albums incorrectly (e.g. 3rd pressing filed under 1st pressing for easier/faster sale) or overgrade the LPs, I've had great experience. In those cases, I made sure they understand the problem originated from their end. In some cases, I was OK with a partial refund.

    Shipping charges are more expensive which negate the great deal in most cases unless you buy in bulk or that specific record is rare.

    Now, I ensure to verify their reputation and to communicate with them confirming the info is correct prior to pulling the trigger.
     
    GentleSenator likes this.
  16. AirJordanFan93

    AirJordanFan93 Forum Resident

    I am the same. I try not to buy from international sellers because of how high the shipping can be even if the actual disc is fairly cheap. Wish it wasn't this way since there are way more versions of things I would like with the international sellers than the Australian ones but I would rather deal with people in the country than overseas.


    I can't say I have had any real negative experiences on Discogs. There was one this week where I ordered two Metallica discs from someone but right after I ordered them he cancelled the order and didn't message to say why. Generally, when that has happened in the past I have gotten a message from the seller saying the item had been sold and they hadn't removed the listing. No big deal since I got the discs from other sellers.
     
  17. malcolm reynolds

    malcolm reynolds Handsome, Humble, Genius

    Location:
    Oklahoma
    Just signed up for Discogs 5 days ago after getting an Argentina import CD from amazon.com. It was obviously manufactured in someone's basement so I sent it back for a refund. Most of the ebay listings seem shady too so I picked up a genuine US Metalblade pressing of Behemoth's The Satanist for less than what amazon.com refunded me. Seller was quick to ship it and it was delivered quickly and in even nicer condition than what I was expecting from the description. Now I have a cart filled with stuff I want. Oh the horror of what I have done.
     
    Strat-Mangler and uzn007 like this.
  18. Galley

    Galley Forum Resident

    Got a Pat Benatar Chrysalis CD listed as M-/M-. The left spine is faded so badly you can hardly see the text. Waiting on the seller to respond.
     
  19. ellingtonic

    ellingtonic Forum Resident

    I recently bought an original Santa Maria pressing of Tom Waits' Small Change. I should have asked the seller to confirm that the listing matched the record, but didn't since it was under $25 (I may need to adjust this rule). Instead of an original pressing I received a 1984 repress which has a completely different label. I was a little mad and asked the seller how he wanted to handle it. He told me to keep the record and gave me a full refund. I'll pass this on to a friend as I already have the Rhino reissue.
     
    uzn007 likes this.
  20. BigMikeATL

    BigMikeATL Well-Known Member

    Location:
    USA
    I have had pretty darn good luck purchasing from Discogs, in part because I take time to look at seller feedback. If they have a pattern of mis-grading records, it would/should show up there.

    Personally, I have only experienced 1 instance of something not being graded correctly. In this case, it was a record I bought from a store in Italy who marked the vinyl as NM- and it was more like VG-. The issue was resolved amicably.
     
  21. BigMikeATL

    BigMikeATL Well-Known Member

    Location:
    USA
    That's what feedback is for. If people don't post it and report the sellers, then they will continue to abuse the system. It also helps if people bother to READ the feedback.
     
    dennis the menace likes this.
  22. ROFLnaked

    ROFLnaked Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    California
    ...except unlike eBay, there is nothing guarding against the seller from dropping negative "retaliation" feedback on the buyer.
     
    sunking101 and melstapler like this.
  23. sunking101

    sunking101 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yorkshire, England
    Yeah, hate that. Puts me off leaving negative fb.
     
    melstapler likes this.
  24. Kristofa

    Kristofa Enthusiast of small convenient sound carrier units

    Location:
    usa
    I purchased some African Head Charge LPs from France some years back and they were great! I then purchased some Rufus feat. Chaka Khan LPs from a couple of sellers in the states, and they all were dished and/or crap.

    I purchased a sealed SACD on BIS through a French seller a year or so ago and it was a great experience.

    I think I am done buying LPs through Discogs and will likely only buy CDS/SACDs from here on out.
     
    melstapler likes this.
  25. ausgraeme

    ausgraeme Forum Resident

    It’s not hard. Read the sellers feedback. Read the comments buyers leave - most feedback contains comments on accuracy of record grading, service, shipping, how the seller handles problems etc. I’ve found the majority of vinyl buyers leave constructive feedback with other purchasers in mind - especially those purchasing the 50’s / 60’s Jazz genres - they’re a knowledgeable community.
    If on the rare occasion something has gone wrong with the purchase (for me 2 out of many) I’ve had those situations resolved peacefully and honourably by sellers whose reputations I’d verified were excellent prior to purchase.
    Discogs is like any marketplace. If you do business with people who are clearly shonky, then you’ll get bitten.
     
    dennis the menace likes this.
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