Having issues over here with Discogs recently. Purchased a relatively difficult to get hold of LP which is supposed to be bundled with exclusive 7". Price was fair but towards top end (£70) After a week it hadn't shipped. Finally seller says they are shipping but surprise surprise the 7" is actually missing. I said I'd still take it but for £50 or just a full refund. They agreed to the £50 price but no refund yet. Now doubt the LP will arrive in the stated NM. While probably spending another week chasing my partial refund. I like Discogs because prices tend to be more sensible than eBay but it can be frustrating. I often find sellers don't respond to questions to check condition or if it is correct pressing etc. That said, I find I'm probably happier with my purchases from eBay. Having the photos available there and then is much better. I think you can also get a better feel for the seller too.
I find that Discogs has been rather reliable. Only one transaction has really fell through. Ordered some rare cds, days go by, no word. I contact the seller and he says he cannot locate the discs but will once he is off work. More days go by, I am very non-confrontational so I let him have time when I already am suspect. He tells me the disc is lost and he will refund me tomorrow. No refund comes. I ask him a day or two later, he says medical bills are making it hard to issue refund. He says “a few more days” and when I contact him again he claims he is waiting on a payout from eBay. Then he promises to have it to me by the end of that week. Nothing. I finally just charged back the money and reclaimed it. The scam was sealed for me when I saw he was getting buyer feedback for items purchased in the time since he was supposed to refund me. This was over the period of a month mind you, I am non-confrontational as I said. Other than the described incident I have had no trouble with items. All packed well, close enough to item grade. I do notice that the sellers are awfully non responsive in general though. Asking for pictures or details is often useless as they never respond. A lot of people don’t seem to have what they are selling for one reason or another, I think their store just sits for years with items listed that have been lost or sold elsewhere.
I'm pretty sure a large majority of the Japanese store fronts just have stuff listed at high prices and then go hunt them down at the local used shops or even new and then copy and re sell them.
You can "submit a request" on Discogs to report sellers like the one you described...while the efficacy of this is uncertain, if others have also reported similar issues with the seller, maybe, maybe, Discogs could conceivable take action against them.
I am having some trouble with a seller on Discogs and would like some advice... The LP was described as "HIGH END VG+". It came looking its part, but plays like G-VG (sandpaper!). The seller keeps ignoring me, so I forced them to reply to me (using the 'seller not responding' tab), and they claimed that the LP is in accordance with its visual grade. I sent them an audio sample, and once again, they are ignoring me. I would like to believe that I have been patient enough with them, but the incongruency between the visual grade (which they did right) and the playback grade is something, to say the least...
That's a bummer, while it would certainly appear the seller was initially operating in good faith grading accurately based visually. The reality is the LP may look VG+, it is not. I don't think that seller in and of that would deserve negative marks, but seems like they have since then not acted appropriately. You have been patient enough, quick responses when troubles arise is, mostly, inexcusable. If I were you, at this point, assuming you have zero interest in the album for an appropriate price, hit the PayPal not as described button. Send it back using PayPal free Return Shipping. Takes a few extra steps, but their silence and lack of cooperation is not good enough. Then once everything is sorted, leave the factual, accurate information and corresponding feedback, and hope it sticks. Sorry to hear this!
This is the major draw back buying LP's. I've had them look even NM and play terribly. Had them look VG- and play brilliantly. It's a crap shoot at times. Hell I buy them brand new and they have noise. I generally accept on Discogs and eBay unless stated they are graded based only on visuals. You kind of just hope if they are NM they have been well looked after at the very least.
Where are you located? International sales get a bit tricky, you need to provide tracking/confirmation so that when it's delivered PayPal can sign off. If you are in the US, usps edelcon to Denmark is available, so you can send first class international and 1 LP should squeak under the $30 shipping limit so it is still of no cost to you!
Today's NM/NM records, via 100% positive sellers, courtesy of Discogs. "I am shocked that it reached you in that condition." Indeed. Not pictured is the 2nd LP, from a completely different 100% positive seller, which arrived covered in dust, scratched on one of four sides, with a gatefold sleeve torn along the bottom of both compartments - stained and ugly, gummy to the touch. 5th return of the month. This is getting silly.
Shocked it reached you in that condition ? Sounds like a Drop Shipper. I wonder if a Drop Shipper leaves a negative to the seller they bought from, if they too get a negative from their buyer? Would be an interesting statistic to know. Punching further down, does a drop shipper ask Discogs to remove their negative, knowing they did the absolute minimum?
I've been collecting vinyl on a semi-serious basis for the past four years. I've had reasonably good luck buying on Discogs and eBay. I've had a few disappointments, but I have not been burned badly on anything high-dollar. My biggest disappointment was probably an orange Tower pressing of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn on Discogs. I forget what I paid for it - $160, as I recall. The seller listed is as NM. It was VG, tops. The guy ended up refunding me $40 of my purchase price. Whatever. I remember his screen name and I simply skip right over anything that I see his name on. I've found some really great stuff on eBay. Burned a few times. But only once on anything that was expensive enough to even be worth returning. I seldom even bother visiting Etsy. However, I have found one Etsy seller who usually has a lot of stuff, fairly priced and accurately graded. I contact him directly and he almost always makes me a good deal on USPS MO transactions. I have one favorite Discogs seller with whom I deal in the exact same manner. In general, I have found buying used vinyl to be a crap shoot. I travel quite a lot on business throughout the Southeast. I've visited many record stores in most major cities as well as a number of smaller ones. Sometimes, I score a real gem. Other times, I snag what appears to be something really gorgeous, but when I get it home, I find the disc to have far more noise that I care to have. For me, in the end, it averages out.
I heard, from a UK seller, that there is a sellers (-only?) forum on Discogs...he said that he was shocked at some of the practices mentioned there by some disreputable sellers. How great it would be to gain access to this forum, and find out who these sellers were...
Today, a positive Discogs experience. A ridiculously cheap record arrived, 1981 US 1st press, in immaculate condition with the blackest background you've ever heard. Inner sleeve was replaced with a poly-lined black sleeve (original inner still present), and the outer sleeve was shipped in a heavy duty PVC collectors wallet (same kind I use, funnily enough, on occasion). Played like a dream. Cost: £3.50 (plus postage).
I don’t trust seller who list CDs or LPs as mint if they’ve been opened. Among modern companies that don’t factory seal boxes is Mosaic Records, though the jewel boxes within the sets are sealed. But back when they released lp sets, there was no plastic wrap, so mint would be justified in those cases.
I don't want people to lose heart. Discogs is just another place to buy stuff. I still use eBay as my go-to for collecting "stuff on my list". Gone now, are the days when I could walk into two stores 2 times a week that sold used records and find mostly what I'm looking for. Records are selling faster than groceries and younger people are buying amazingly worn-out stuff for their Crossleys. I can't stand it in one hand, but in the other, it's putting money in the record monger's pockets. Some stores are still going out of business regardless and that's another rant for another day. Freaking economy.... grrr....... In 2002, I wanted this to happen, but this is getting crazy. Y'all want records too much. Right before the pandemic, I went back and forth with a guy from Germany and I bought the Stones Mono Box LP, said he wouldn't drop the price for slight damage to the box, but promised he preserved and barely used any of the vinyl inside the box. Said he bought it new for the download card. That sounds like a bunch of crap, right? He was 100% backing his word. I got the box packaged very well (a LOT of effort) and nothing was out of perfect. Yes, this was Discogs! You absolutely have to do your research and look at comments and ratings now more than ever. Records are becoming more "wild west" and everyone is trying to pull semi-safe used stuff out of the thrifts and make a buck. I buy records from Amazon, Best Buy, Target, used record stores, Discogs and eBay. The percentage of "oops" purchases comes off as still less than 6% at worst. One thing I would say, if you have Prime/Amazon, that's where you should buy the new (reissues) releases because your purchases are well covered. In fact, deals are everywhere. Try Reddit!
Latest from Discogs. Bought an original '78 US 1st pressing, NM/NM, 100% positive seller ... only to have it arrive covered in dust and grime, sleeve battered and torn with the residue of a sticky label on the front, the deadwax scored out clumsily by what I assume was an open pair of scissors. So I contacted the seller and, politely, told him that I was a little disappointed given the NM/NM listing. All that he said - no greeting, no closing - was, "Ratings are very subjective. It was not rated as Mint". No offer of a refund. No further communication.
Yup, records selling faster than groceries. List n run, condition, uh, what's that? I never buy online anymore cept picture sleeves and new stuff/swag. Used records, rarely, just from old skool guys who grade well, for decades.
No matter what horrible experience anyone has now, buyers actually have recourse versus the old days of sending a check or money order to someone and buying from their ad in Goldmine or Discoveries. Receive something mistakenly or intentionally overgraded back then? Good luck getting a refund!
Proceed with refund request through PayPal - "product not as described" or "damaged". I loathe sellers like this. They just waste time and willingly sell crap to people by lying to them about the condition. Screw 'em.
Thankfully PayPal had your back, and seller jumped at the chance to make good (refund in full) on your purchase after you filed your claim against seller.
Is a USPS MO a money order purchase? And you were forced into accepting a VG record (Piper) that was graded NM, after a small partial refund? Miya not supposed to “average out” good vs poor purchases. You need to be fully refunded on big ticket items that do not match description. Partial refunds are for purchases that are very near correctly graded, but a small issue arises. Or price was low to begin with and it’s not worth the postage cost of a return. I would buy with the expectation that the record will be returned if it does not match description. So I look for seller terms that state returns accepted within 14 days or 30 days of receiving item. This is just the seller being upfront and showing good customer service, PayPal will cover you even if the seller thinks you are basically SOL.
I just bought two LPs on Discogs over the last two weeks. I went for NM jackets with stickered shrink on both. One has a tiny cut corner which I am fine with because of the shrink and the NM graded LP. The LP showed up on the British list of top 200 LPs up to 1977 that was in a thread in the music corner, and I did not own the LP and have never heard it. $14.99, and I asked that it be sent in a way that did not create seam splits. The seller returned my messages about the condition and shipping request. So I sprung for it. The other LP is a colored vinyl repress of an Alt./Punk band of the 80s which goes often for $80. This one was said to be with stickered shrink and played only once, beautiful shape and $40 - Graded on VG+, but I think this seller did not want to put M or NM on an opened LP. I think it's going to be beautiful and closer to NM. I also asked for LP to be sent in a way that does not cause seam splits. I let them tell me how to pack it for this protection. My other Discogs purchases this past year were also really beautiful copies. My ebay purchases this past year (only 2 LPs) were beautiful and actually NM for LPs and NM jackets, glossy UK import covers from the early 70s. Both of these sellers had limited feedback, but all positive, and they replied to be lighting fast. I feel good about these. And I think one can do very well on prices and condition is you are willing to spend a few weeks if necessary to find that good copy priced right. I found an original UK import some months back from 1973 of a band I used to really like and still do like a couple of the albums. I'm replacing my teenage copy with the exact pressing I once owned (when I was 13). For nicer copies, sellers are asking $50 and up, sometimes $65 to $80. So on eBay I came across a NM copy asking $9.99 Or Best Offer! I offered $14.99, ($5) more than his asking range. I just felt he was asking too low a price and I felt like being nice. I asked if the cover was also as nice as the record. He answered, yes, hardly any wear on the laminated jacket. It arrived in five days and is a 1973 UK beauty! So I think this goes to show that one needs to take their time looking, ask lots of questions, and then buy it if the price is fair and the seller responds swiftly to questions. I'll report back on the two new purchases when they arrive, but I'm expecting some very nice, cool items with shrink still on covers.
