Record Storage - Categorizing, Labeling, Discogs and All That Fun Stuff

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by TheVillageRecorder, Feb 17, 2020.

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  1. TheVillageRecorder

    TheVillageRecorder Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I've begun the long task of finally adding my collection onto Discogs. I know most all the titles I have in my head in the 1000's of records I own, but its time to get them categorized online for insurance and if something ever happened to me purposes.

    Along with this process, I've started cleaning each record (again) on my VPI, placing them in new anti static sleeves and putting new outer sleeves on the covers. I cleaned 99% of these when I got them, I'm just starting all over.

    So a few questions, or opinions from the members here....

    I know this is a 50/50 question. Store the records inside the cover or outside. I originally stored them outside, then started storing inside. I stored them outside to prevent seam splits. I stored them inside as its less shelf space and it just looks nicer. I really don't think I run the risk of seam splits with the records inside the sleeves, but....How about you?

    Labeling. This is mainly incase something ever happened to me, I want my wife to be able to know what pressing is what on the Discogs page. I may have 15 different DSOTM pressings, UK, Japan etc.. I thought about putting a small white label sticker on the inner sleeve, but what should I put on that sticker? UK 1973 Press Original? Or, simply added to Discogs? She knows the different catalogue numbers, but some may be the same.

    Anything I'm overlooking here?
     
  2. vinylontubes

    vinylontubes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Katy, TX
    I actually think you are inviting seam splits by storing the records outside the sleeves if you pack them tightly in on a shelf. You are putting outward pressure on the spines with the records outside the jacket. The jacket is given some internal structure with the record inside. Without the record, a jacket can flatten out. When it flattens, you are stressing the exterior surface of the spine. If it flattens completely, the exterior walls pull apart resulting resulting is a tear. If you're having a hard time visualizing this, the center of the spine is being pushed away from the flat sides of the jacket. If the spines convert from a flat plateau into a peak, the card stock fails. Think about the material at midpoint of the plateau when it forms that peak, it's being pulled from both sides of the cover panels. Each side wants that material for it's side, with enough compression one of the two panels will pull it away from the other side to form that peak. The inner wall of the plateau is being forced toward the outer wall. So the failure results from these forces.

    I think it's smart to have them shipped outside the jacket during shipment because the inertia of the record during a drop can a damage the spines from the interior. During storage, there is very little issues with drops or there isn't any reason to store the record outside the jacket.
     
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  3. bobfrombob

    bobfrombob Forum Resident

    My opinions:

    - unless you live in the back of a moving truck or on a train, I don't possibly see how storing records in the jacket could lead to seam-splitting. It's an issue in shipping, since the lp can move around inside the jacket, but that's not going to happen in your home.

    - don't lose sleep over what happens to all your DSOTM pressings when you're gone. You'll be gone. If you wife is aware that different pressings are of different value, and she is interested in capitalizing on that, she'll figure it out.
     
  4. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    I’ve been buying records since 1970. I’ve never experienced a seam split from storing the record in the sleeve. Shipping them is a different matter however...
    As far as labeling, any writing or stickering you do...even if it’s on the original inner, will lower the value somewhat. Just make your notes on the outer sleeve and let it go.
    Chances are good whoever is left to sell these off, will sell them to a single buyer and be done with it.
     
  5. klockwerk

    klockwerk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio USA
    You are aware you can add custom 'notes' for each item in your collection. You could put a number in the note field to match the pressing. I would worry to much about your collection 'if something happens to you'. It's out of all our hands.
     
  6. marmil

    marmil It's such a long story...

    Agreed on all counts except that I started buying a bit earlier. Records inside except when shipping, no labeling or stickering (why does this site that it's not a word?), etc. All info, including pressing numbers on labels like RCA & Columbia are in the Notes field in Discogs.
     
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  7. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    Inside the cover!
     
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  8. TheVillageRecorder

    TheVillageRecorder Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I would apply the label stickers on the new anti static inner sleeves or on the outer 4 mil sleeve. I know better than to apply on custom inner sleeves or a cover.

    As far as the sell off, my wife and daughter will do that, but it will probably be online selling. The odds of 1 collector buying my entire collection is slim to none due to the value of the albums.
     
  9. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    Then by all means, put the info up on Discogs...just add whatever fields you feel necessary. I think I added fields for “original year of release”, “tags” and “folder”.
    You could even number them, and put a field for the number on Discogs, if you think that would make it easier for them.
     
  10. TheVillageRecorder

    TheVillageRecorder Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Can you search your collection on Discogs? So if I put a label on the sleeve for a UK DSOTM and give it #0001, can I go to Discogs and go to my collection and search for #0001?
     
  11. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

    Made an attempt to do that (add my collection to Discogs.) For me, it was an exercise in futility and frustration.

    Too damned many variant releases, etc, for the time I was willing to devote, so I purged it all after adding a couple/few hundred titles and unleashing an avalanche of messages with corrections, demands, quibbles, etc, etc.

    Only for the dedicated, fanatically focused collector, preferably with no family or other obligations or encumbrances.
     
  12. scotto

    scotto Senior Member

    I store the vinyl inside the sleeves inside the jackets. The only exception is for old albums with seam splits that make keeping the record/inner sleeve outside the cover in an outer sleeve preferable.
    I loaded (almost) everything onto Discogs. It was frustrating at first, but once I learned to stop worrying and love the searchability it became a fun exercise.
    On the shelves I arrange everything alphabetically by band name/artist last name (counter to the silly shortcoming of Discogs) regardless of genre. Seems simpler than trying to decipher era, style, etc.
     
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  13. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    No. Discogs won’t currently search a tags field and display the results. But...this site will.
    About | Ogger Club V1

    Basically, you let it retrieve your Discogs collection, and it adds a bunch of functionality to the interface, including the ability to search and filter a user created “tags” field.
    I’ve been adding year of release to my collection, because I want to be able to see at a glance all albums I have that were released in 1974 for example. I can’t do that on Discogs...so that’s a project I’ve been doing in my spare time. As a test, I entered 0001 in the tags field of a new album I just bought (Pete La Roca-Basra). Then, after I signed in over in Ogger and imported my database...I did a search for ooo1 in the tags field.

    [​IMG]

    As you can see at the bottom, Pete La Roca-Basra was the search result. It gives me all the info I have entered on Discogs, and if I hit the little arrow next to “actions”, it will take me back to that exact album on Discogs. Someday, I’m hoping Discogs will add this functionality, as it seems rather basic for a so called database. Until then, this works quite well.
     
    Last edited: Feb 17, 2020
  14. domesticmachine

    domesticmachine Resident Forum

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    I added them all to Discogs a few years ago. It took weeks to do 1000+ LPs and 7” but I had fun and I learned a lot about the specific editions/pressings I have. A few things I’ve appreciated over the years:

    I like the value feature that tells you the value of your collection (based on historic sales data, high median and low prices).

    It feels nice to have my collection documented in the cloud. In case of a fire or for insurance purposes.

    I like being able to look albums up while shopping to see if I have a note to upgrade.

    I like to track album notes/whether it’s been cleaned in the cleaner/tracks that sound odd or skip/minutiae

    I like the random item feature. I can shake my phone a few times and come up with something I haven’t listened to in forever. When I’m staring at my shelf.
     
  15. domesticmachine

    domesticmachine Resident Forum

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Any other thoughts on storing LPs outside their sleeve? I’ve been doing this more and more as I switch to MOFI inners. Especially if like someone else said the jacket is splitting or particularly delicate or if the sleeve is particularly immaculate and prone to fingerprints or wear. Now I’m starting to worry about wear on the actual LP pulling them in and out. Should I be concerned? If it’s in an inner sleeve next to the jacket, behind a poly sleeve? I started flipping them so at least the paper side of the MOFI inner is on the outside. I don’t store my LPs too tight on the shelf but there’s a reason for jackets, right?
     
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  16. Juggsnelson

    Juggsnelson Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island
    All of my records are in MOFI style inner sleeves and all album jackets are stored in plastic sleeves. For some albums I store the record in the jacket and for others it goes outside the jacket. Generally for newer albums or gatefolds I will store the record in the sleeve since it saves space and the I'm not worried about fragile older album jackets that may have splits or fraying. Either way, I have never noticed any kind of wear to the jacket or adverse effect on the LP. Just don't pack them super tight and you will be fine.
     
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  17. SquaRoots

    SquaRoots The North Star Grassman

    Location:
    AM✫dam.nl
    I've put ID-stickers with a concise description and unique number inside the sleeves if I own multiple copies of an album.
    The number then corresponds with an ID in my Excel spreadsheet that now has all my records listed and states excatly what pressing it is, etc. etc.
    I've also added a hyperlink in Excel linking to the relevant Discogs webpage.

    So far I haven't considered entering my records in Discogs, because I find it not very 'knowledgeable' when it comes to European releases/pressings, which form the greater part of my collection.
    Currently I do use Discogs and Musicbrainz on a daily basis for identification purposes in my quest to describe all the stuff I own in the spreadsheet. And yes, my GF is aware of all this, just in case.
     
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  18. Billy Hunt

    Billy Hunt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cardiff, Wales.
    Each entry in Discogs has a release code and is displayed in the top right hand corner of the release page e.g., [r9722837], so this would be the best label.

    It's used in the release URL so once you have it you can go straight to the page: discogs.com/release/9722837
     
  19. Regarding labeling from discogs
    I use the median value, date I recorded it, condition, country of origin, release date, if there are many copies available in the US at the time, I leave it on a small piece of paper inside sleeve or label on outside of sleeve on plastic sleeve
     
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  20. klockwerk

    klockwerk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio USA
    Had no idea this even existed. THANK YOU for posting this.

    It took about 5 minutes to import my collection and figure out that you can sort on custom fields created in your Discogs collection. I've been editing my collection to add the 'year of first release' only to find out you can't sort on it in Discogs. But you can in Ogger Club, so all the effort was not wasted.
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2020
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  21. Kent Gray

    Kent Gray Resident

    Location:
    Missouri
    I wouldn't worry so much about split seams as I would ring wear.

    I have few LPs anymore to worry about, but I wouldn't pack them on a shelf or even stack them if I wanted to preserve the covers. Maybe finding some soft dividers to place between them?
     
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  22. I tend to only put the record outside the cover when the record won't insert easily, to avoid a seam split. Storing Lp's outside the cover expose the record to scratches, rubs and impact related injuries.
     
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  23. olegrayman

    olegrayman Senior Member

    Location:
    IL, USA
    1. A perfectly fine record I store inside the sleeve. Exceptions:

    a. If i'm fighting mold, odor or mildew inside the cover, I place Microchamber Paper inside, and the album outside.
    b. European covers are usually smaller. Sometimes this is just a convenience to store outside.
    c. Some new releases which I received w/ sim split and did not ask for replacement.

    2. Labeling. If I were in your shoes I'd use discogs auto generated number of the release and tie it with your copy. You see them on the top right corner on the release detail page.
     
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  24. astro70

    astro70 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern Illinois
    I've never understood storing the LP outside the sleeve, unless the sleeve is in bad condition and it's hard to put the LP back inside without damaging it. Isn't the point of the sleeve to protect the LP? Idk, maybe someone could enlighten me but I just don't get it. Seems like a good way to crush the spines since there's no LP in there to keep the spine expanded.
     
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  25. astro70

    astro70 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern Illinois
    You can easily turn off those notifications/emails.
     
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