What is it with Discogs sellers? Post your horror stories here...

High volume sellers are not going to have time to play grade every LP prior to selling it.

Individual sellers like me, if they want to avoid problems, need to do a least a needle drop on an LP for 30 seconds or so before listing it for sale to make sure the LP isn't noisy and also play any section that looks to be scratched.
I try to avoid the hassle by not listing lower grade LPs at all, it isn't worth the risk of having a complaint and someone asking me to pay return postage.

Swapacd is a real crapshoot. I don't get much through them any more, but the other day I received a very scratched jazz CD that quit playing by the third track. I think some traders will list any banged up CD and hope that the person acquiring it doesn't play it promptly.

 

Welp, I think I pissed the seller off. They offered a price reduction that was still in NM territory, based on recent sales history. I asked for a few more bucks knocked off to put it at the top end of VG+ and they immediately issued a refund and told me to send it back, end of discussion. Oh well. If I’m paying top dollar, I don’t want groove damage at the beginning of each side so it is what it is.

What kind of review is fair in this situation? Neutral? Record was over graded, but they are offering a full refund at the end of the day so I can’t complain about that.

 

I had a local record store who I asked to get a RSD release for me once. When I showed up on RSD, he said he was never able to get it. Then I saw him selling on Discogs later that night. Smh - never went back to that place, and I gave him a lot of money over the years.

 

This is the perfect example why the feedback system is rubbish as it is. This is in fact a typical case where a seller forces one not to post a negative review. Although it’s a negative experience for a buyer, they can play the « I reimbursed fully » card. Lots of sellers over grade and get away with it one way or another.

I’d indeed do a neutral feedback. Because it’s impossible that this could be a positive experience. Be very factual in your comments, and keep expressions of emotions out of it. But don’t be surprised if the seller asks you grumpily to remove it. There’s also the risk he gives you a negative « revenge » buyer-feedback. But that risk is very small if you stay factual in your comments.

 

Was he selling it at an inflated price, or msrp?

The logistics behind receiving shipments of RSD titles is a nightmare. Some show up day of, sometimes a store asks for ten and gets one. It’s a labour of love for sure.

I am not a store owner or employee, but I’m friendly with the folks who own/work the places I’ve been shopping at since I was a kid, and I’ve heard every fly-on-the-wall store there ever was.

 

Selling it on Discogs at an inflated price. I understand the logistics, but I specifically requested the title and he lied to my face because he wanted to make a buck. Honestly I would have been okay if he just told me the truth that he needed to sell it at a higher price because of demand, but had given me right of first refusal. In the end he lost way more money because I was no longer a customer!

 

No review. Just send it back, move on and buy another copy. You can’t fault a seller if the record looks NM but has audible flaws.

 

It is a business! He’s not your personal dealer. You still could have bought the record from them online. I think you’re taking it a little too personally. Also if the store in question has good stock you’re only shooting yourself in the foot by refusing to come back.

 

Bad business model to piss off your loyal customers. If that's how you think you should run a business, I want no part of it.

 

Did you reach out to them? If it was me I simply would have messaged them. “Hey it’s such and such do you recall I asked about this title. I see it’s for sale. I can offer -your best offer- if it doesn’t sell and pay in cash” Then if you’re unhappy with how they respond I could see going with the dramatics. But communication goes a long way.

 

There may be other circumstances involved. There's been a couple RSD days where titles showed up the day of RSD. This was when they were spreading out the days over a few months. Some titles could have showed up after the rush. Not saying this is what happened but you may have wanted to ask what the deal was. If the store did hold one back for online, it's probably good they get called out on that practice. On another note, I totally get stores putting stuff up once the rush is over. A lot of that stuff drops in value if you wait a couple days. But to hold something back just for online when someone specifically asked for it is completely wrong IMO.

 

That’s exactly what I did. I paid more but got a nearly flawless copy. Seller said he believes his stylus covers up noise issues better than most - whatever, I’ll take his word for it. All’s well that ends well.

 

I'm sorry to say this, but it really might be legit. Obviously I don't know about your specific disc, but there have been fully authorized discs sold as CDs which are really CDRs. This has been discussed in several threads, but here's one which was started in 2005, and the problem has only been gathering steam since then.

Anyone Bought Commercially Released CDs That Seem to BE CD-Rs?

 

Well, that does sound convincingly like a fake.

 

Can't you ask for the uncensored version?

Just kidding. You gave me a chuckle with the use of "connard".

 

Yeah, I learned a new word today. I was delighted with the result when I put it into Google Translate.

 

I realize I posted this in the wrong thread so I'm reposting it over here.

My original post from February 15...​

I had a seller not ship for 5 days after a payment so I sent them a message asking when I could expect it to be shipped. They replied that they had been sick and it would ship in 2 days. I said that I'm sorry they weren't feeling well and thanks for the update.

3 days pass and I send a message asking if they had shipped and if they could supply a tracking #. The next day they change the status to shipped, no tracking number was supplied.

I send a message asking when they had shipped and if they had a tracking #.

Their reply was:

I try to include a tracking number for every order, but sometimes, in order to keep free shipping for everyone, I don't have that option. But I can give you full guarantees that you will receive your order, according to my information, it will be delivered next week.

I asked them how did you even ship without getting a tracking #, even the most basic media mail comes with tracking.

Their reply was:

I didn't describe my shipping method in enough detail, but I didn't specify anywhere that free shipping includes a tracking number. Your order was shipped yesterday. I also told you the reasons why the parcel was not sent within 3 days after receiving payment. I just couldn't physically do it. I do not deceive my customers and do not promise them what I cannot deliver. I offer free shipping on every order, whether it's a cassette or a large box set. But I do not promise a tracking number. I think so, if fast delivery with a tracking number is important to the buyer, then you should definitely not choose the option with free shipping, or warn the seller in advance that the package must be delivered by a certain date. In that case, I would immediately tell you that I cannot guarantee this and that the deal should be cancelled.

I didn't realize it was on the buyer to establish up front that domestic shipping in the US needed a tracking number, I guess I assumed it was standard procedure.

Maybe he's mailing using postage stamps? Just an odd interaction.

My follow up post from Feb 18​

Got a new message from my seller today.


Please tell me you haven't received any messages from USPS in the last couple of days? Today I received a message that the package could not be delivered and it was redirected back to me. This is the first time I've been in such a situation. I thought about your words that it would be nice to have a tracking number and decided that it would be better for both you and me. Therefore, I prepared and sent the second parcel with a tracking number today. I will redirect the first parcel to our warehouse. Sorry for the inconvenience.

He added a tracking # at the end of the message.

He never shipped a week ago and is just now getting it out, right?

Today​

I get a package in the mail from "Band Of Horses Official Store" which had my item I ordered from him in it.

So this guy only has new products listed on his discogs page. Is he taking orders on discogs, then ordering from other places and having it shipped to his buyers or did he just not have this one item in stock and he filled this order that way? Either way, the item was $11.99 on the Band Of Horses page and $11.00 from him at discogs so he lost money in the process. Just an odd order.

 

Unquestionably not legit. Your description convinced me, and the pictures confirm it.

 

That word is quite uncensored. Isn’t it?