Discogs grading question

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by AnotherFineMess, Oct 5, 2021.

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  1. AnotherFineMess

    AnotherFineMess Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Greece
    I ordered a record on Discogs that was advertised as Mint. My understanding of Mint is that it should have no flaws or defects, preferably but not necessarily sealed, unplayed.

    Record arrives, it is not sealed, and has a small but noticeable imperfection that causes 3-4 clicks when played. Not a scratch or from having been handled; this appears to be an imperfection from the pressing plant.

    My question is, is it acceptable practice for a seller to advertise such a record as being mint?
     
  2. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    With very few exceptions, sellers grade visually. Having said that, a perfect record doesn't exist which is part & parcel with the medium. "Mint" does not mean "perfect" which is why Discogs even suggests not using that grade whenever possible.

    I'd personally never grade an open record as mint no matter what. I use it exclusively for sealed records. Everything else starts at NM.
     
  3. Brian Lux

    Brian Lux One in the Crowd

    Location:
    Placerville, CA
    Once again, a good reason for Discogs and Goldmine to ditch the term "Mint". If I were the record grading god, ratings would go like this:

    Recycle Material
    Fair
    Good
    Good+
    VG
    VG+
    NM
    Sealed
     
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  4. AnotherFineMess

    AnotherFineMess Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Greece
    Thank you for the replies. @Brian Lux I like the idea of 'sealed' instead of Mint.
     
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  5. In addition to a visual grade I wish sellers would do a ‘smell’ grade - I’m getting at least 1/3 of my orders that reek of mildew and/or tobacco smoke. @Brian Lux incorporate ‘odor’ in to your grading list ;)
     
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  6. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Weird. I never got a single order affected like that.
     
  7. Brian Lux

    Brian Lux One in the Crowd

    Location:
    Placerville, CA
    I hear you! I got one record in the mail about 6 or 8 months ago, a copy of Golden Butter, a collection by Paul Butterfield . That record REEKED of cologne. I have had some luck with wrapping foul smelling records or books in newspaper to remove bad odors, so I put fresh newspaper in and around the record and sleeve and left it like that for a month. When I unwrapped it all and, PHEWWWWW- still reeked of cologne!
    And yes, musty records that were graded VG+ or even NM. My first reaction: "Your kidding me???" Same with stinking stale cigarette smoke drenched LPs. What are these sellers thinking? Nuts!
     
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  8. jazon

    jazon A fight between the blue you once knew

    Location:
    ottawa
    I will grade the media as mint if its sealed only.
     
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  9. jmcecil

    jmcecil Analog Jitter

    Basically I read the ratings like this
    NM = VG at best
    VG+ = Good+ at best
    VG = likely unplayable
    everything else = Recycle Material

    I'm rarely disappointed by how close this is and I am VERY rarely surprised when my rating system is exceeded.
     
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  10. AnotherFineMess

    AnotherFineMess Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Greece
    @Brian Lux I've never had a smelly record, but I can't think of anything worse than cologne! Well, actually, I can, butt we won't go there :)

    @jmcecil Your grading chart is much closer to the reality. Lesson learned.

    I had a look at the imperfection under a more powerful looking glass, and it has the uneven surface from the pressing plant, but also some brown material stuck across 3-4 grooves that could be causing the loud click, coincidentally in that exact place. Basically, it's dirty. I'll try cleaning it more thoroughly (I had cleaned it, but just a superficial clean, wiping it clean with record cleaning solution). Let's see if that works.

    But still, no way was this record Mint. The cover, which was also graded Mint, has dog ears that have been straightened out but you can see the creases, and scuff marks.

    But this begs a further question: whose responsibility is it to clean the records? Should this not have been cleaned by the seller first, before grading and then selling?
     
  11. jmcecil

    jmcecil Analog Jitter

    I think someone already explained that the vast majority of items sold on Ebay and Discogs etc... are visual inspections. I've received plenty of NM that have horrendous surface noise. Unfortunately, they probably played like that coming out of the shrink. So a M sealed can still problematic for many 60s/70s records.
     
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  12. jmcecil

    jmcecil Analog Jitter

    I posted this before (and the seller addressed the issue correctly), but I received this nice record as NM. When I pulled the record out it pulled debris out of the jacket LOL But when I asked the seller, they said they had no idea the record was that dirty. I asked how the hell can you list an item as NM if you don't know what it at the very least LOOKS like? etc.. This is not the only time I've received a trashed record as NM. I've also received quite a few that look NM but play like ****. Just set your expectation appropriately and be prepared to work with the sellers. I've actually had no difficulty resolving problems. And, now that my brain processes the grading correctly I buy accordingly.

    [​IMG]
     
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  13. cwitt1980

    cwitt1980 Senior Member

    Location:
    Carbondale, IL USA
    When I'm looking for older albums, I always see how they grade the rest of their stock. Obviously check feedback too. Some sellers put everything up as NM and probably hope no one cares.

    For those in the know... Nancy is not your buddy.
     
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  14. cwitt1980

    cwitt1980 Senior Member

    Location:
    Carbondale, IL USA
    It's not Mint. It's one thing if it was sealed and had a pressing defect but to sell something as Mint, any seller should be inspecting better. Heck, I get nervous putting stuff up as NM.
     
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  15. AnotherFineMess

    AnotherFineMess Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Greece
    Wow... mine was not quite that bad, though the area where the problem is can be clearly seen on visual inpection.

    They guy has something like 3,500 sales and 99.8% feedback. Within the negative comment, there are two or three complaints about misgrading. I've made about 80 purchases on Discogs, and although I've had items graded M or NM with surface noise, visually they were fine, I do know that they can often have some inherent surface noise from the pressing plant. I got unlucky with this one, it was going to happen at some point, I guess.

    Yes, I think this is what this seller is doing. I'll be more wary in future, and not expect too much. One learns through experience.
     
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