Discogs experiences-postive and negative*

Yes of course, generalizing is wrong, there are many Italian sellers who are honest in prices and precise in their descriptions, they answer to the questions and send photos if requested...but those who are not, unfortunately, are more!

 

If there is one place on Earth where I'll go without hesitation to pick up records myself it will be Italy. Just love this country, records will be an afterthought )). Wonder what music stores situation is there, never for whatever reason shopped for records... Judging by discogs they are are not cheap...

 

I just received an LP from Canada in a pizza box with a handful of packing peanuts for padding. There was damage. Seller claims he or she ships pricey LPS all over the world in this manner, and no complaints until now. Feedback around 20. You could shake the record inside the box as it was a 14" box. How is this acceptable? Seller acted as if I was nuts.

 

Pizza Boxes are great due are OVERSIZED (14x14 inch or more), LP size 12x12, so there's room/space on the sides to avoid damage on the record, that space helps to prevent hits on the record if someone mash the box. Any oversized box is better than the nasty cheap white boxes that many people use, I mean for this crap:



You only need a mash/hot a corner of the box and voila the record is damaged on that corner.

BUT!!!!!!!!!! HERE'S THE THING, yes the seller use a pizza box, but never fill the space around well to prevent the record moves during transit, that's the big mistake, the record should be travel isolated in the center of the box, not moving around. That's the big mistake of the seller

 

Definitely.

If a seller sends an over-graded LP but refunds some cash, they get a neutral & comment regarding their grading.
If they send garbage - and it's happened to me - but they refund everything including shipping, they still get a neutral & comment regarding the issue(s.)

I'm not being nice really - but if they respond with at least some type of recompense, it's all good. But I'll still leave details in the comments.

I find that limiting purchases to NM is helpful, as that grade is unambiguous - or should be. But you still have to read the comments & filter accordingly.

If you're on this forum you have access to the Vinyl Sales and WTB areas - if I want something nice those are my first stops.​

 

And that's the ONLY place where I was robbed. Two expensive DCC cds never being sent to me and the US seller disappearing from this site...

From then on I'm only purchasing here from some good sellers I know by earlier purchases. So take care. Always.

So US seller, If you are reading this by coincidence: this Dutchie still would like to have his two cds. Or, also ok, whole New Amsterdam being giving back!!

 

Wow - really - sorry to hear that - and great advice. I stick to the same sellers always.

 

Ha. Funny you should mention it. Here's a conversation I just had on Discogs in the last two days:

Me:

Them:

Me:

Them:

 

The problem with used vinyl online is that you can't check it. I've learned that glossiness is a measure of little original play, and even if it's noisy, this will mostly be gone after a good, wet, cleaning. So I'm personally more interested in scratch-less than in noise free...

 

At least it's an answer - and a clear indication to skip this one. Next!

I do the same thing - ask for verification, and most are accommodating. If they're not, I'll skip it.

 

True, a good scrub will eliminate most of the noise. I prefer play grading when possible, but I've only seen one or two sellers on DC that offer that.

 

We will have to agree to disagree here. A pizza box is not of the same construction as a record mailer. The cardboard is thinner, and not nearly as strong. I will agree that the achilles heel of the standard mailer is the corner, but by wrapping a small piece around each corner one can usually alleviate the issue. The Whiplash mailer is my favorite.

 

yes, I totally agree, overall avoid pizza boxes! that are not the best way to packing, but I just mention it due the OVERSIZED, oversized boxes are mandatory to avoid damage on sides.

and yes, I love The Whiplash boxes! the bumpers on sides helps to avoid any hit, due again... The Whiplash are oversized!

by the way, I buy two records yesterday from this store: Plaid Room Records - Quality Vinyl I ask for the packing and he ships on Whiplash boxes, that's great.

if ONLY!!! everybody use that boxes, all records will arrive without damage, but there's many amateur lazy sellers around there that don't care about condition.

 

Was there any neutral or negative feedback entries detailing this? One seller had a bunch about pizza boxes being used for shipping. I refused to order from that seller.

 

If you paid by PayPal, they'd refund your money unless you used Family & Friends (which you should never do).

 

Unfortunately, very few use a strong *white* LED light to examine LPs which is the only way to spot all imperfections.

 

Sure, I was just addressing the idea that a "NM" should be "unambiguous".

 

None pertaining to pizza boxes, a couple of neutrals for other issues. On the plus side, at least this seller used a fresh box. I once received an LP from an ebay seller where there were bits of melted cheese in the repurposed pie box. No lie.

 

Definitely the way to go. You'll even be able to see non-fill with this method.

 

I have a bit of a quandry over a potential Discogs purchase.

I just came across a too-good-to-be-true price for Bowie's Five Years CD box set from what looks like a brand new US seller with no rating and a very small inventory (4). This person claims it's mint condition and still sealed, so it's really tempting. However, they don't cite Paypal as a payment option (just check or credit card), so that'll help my decision if they stand firm on that (There's no way I'm not using Paypal). I've yet to contact them to find any that out, or to request photos, but I'm also still mulling all this over. I'm guessing this person is less a retailer and more just an individual with a few items they're looking to unload. I'm also a little gun-shy on this because I've heard there are counterfeit versions of this box set and (I think) the other 3 Bowie box sets "out there" in the marketplace as well.

Has anyone ever been the "first buy" from a brand new seller, and had a good experience? Did you contact them prior to purchase? What did you ask? Did you use a payment other than Paypal?

Thanks!

 

I dunno, with the 2 red flags already flying high I wouldn't go for it @Nogoodnik

 

I have been many seller's first customer, but yes, I questioned them a lot about things important to me, and yes no Pay Pal is a deal breaker.

Why it's our only option here in our own Classifieds sub forum. Protection.

 

No PayPal is weird. I would steer clear.

 

Abort! Abort! Seriously, how many red flags does it take to get kicked out of this game?

 

I'm convinced that if a seller put in capital letters the following in this terms and conditions, "DO NOT BUY FROM ME AS I WILL MAKE YOU PAY USING FRIENDS AND FAMILY SO I CAN RIP YOU OFF", some buyers will ignore it, go ahead with the transaction and then complain in the forums about being ripped off.