Advice On Suspected Discogs Scam

I have recently bought a NM vinyl/VG cover copy of a record that arrived in less than desirable condition. The record mailer had coffee stains all over and flew open. The B side of the record is indeed pretty much near mint and I am almost willing to give it the benefit of the doubt that the USPS just trashed the package and damaged the record in transit. It, however, was not really packed all that well and definitely was taped very loosely. The seller claims they co-own a record shop, and I am very suspicious of a "professional" record seller doing this flimsy a job of taping a record mailer. They, however, did send me $4 for return postage, BUT they refused to issue a refund in advance until "they can prove that it is the same record". I've NEVER had anyone tell me that after I've sent them detailed pictures of the record, sleeve, and the package, and I am feeling like I'm being scammed here.

Admittedly, this may be my own fault because the seller is relatively new, has only 5 reviews, all in the past month, and refused to tell me which shop they co-own/work at when asked. I've sent 8 pictures that detail the damage and the easy identifiers, like the center label, and I feel like I should just refund the return postage and just escalate the issue to PayPal. Is it too late? Should I return it and then deal with it if they refuse to refund me? Never had to deal with something like this...

 

Open a paypal dispute. Don't just send it back and expect them to refund you. I had this happen once, bought a VG/VG copy of a record on eBay, it showed up, had several skips in just the first track and a huge deep gouge in that spot, the jacket was completely seam split and moldy. So the seller agrees to let me send it back, and as soon as they have it they start accusing me of switching the record out. I argued with them for about a week and then finally used the nuclear option and opened a paypal dispute. Paypal sided with me in a few days and I got my money back.

If a seller is that freaked out about people switching records, they need to either not sell records online, or they need to take photos which show unique identifying marks of that record. I'm sure switching records does happen, but it's FAR less common than buyers getting missgraded records. I'm not sure how long you've been buying used records online, I see you're a new member. I've been buying for about 5 years, about half of my purchases online. Let me tell you, there are a LOT of scumbag sellers out there! I've also sold probably 50 or so records online with absolutely no funny stuff from the buyers. I've only ever had issues with sellers.

 

Even PayPal and eBay would require you to send the record back before a refund is processed. So you'll need to return it to get a refund. Not many sellers would refund you before receiving the lp and not many sellers pay for return postage. That's pretty rare.

If you do send the record back and then the seller refuses to refund you, you can still start a claim on PayPal. You'll still be covered as long as its within their 180 day claim window. If you do need to do this, upload the tracking number and state the item was already returned and received by the seller.

I'd take the $4, return the lp, with a tracked service and take it from there.

The minute he gives you any grief, do not engage in mud slinging or protracted discussions. Move this to PayPal right away. No point in arguing about it.

 

Huh, interesting. I've always been refunded upon receipt of pictures, before I had to mail the record back. Mostly for exactly the reason astro is mentioning: there are plenty of identifiable parts of the record that should make ID of the item very easy via pictures. It seems really suspect to ask for the record back first in order to "verify" that it's the same item.

 

I was simply stating to open a dispute so it’s on paypal’s records that you’re sending it back for a refund. Chances are you’ll need to send it back, that’s pretty standard. When the seller is already being paranoid like this though, better to make sure a 3rd party has the story straight, otherwise it’s he said he said.

 

Definitely open a PayPal dispute immediately. I’ve never had to do so as a buyer through Discogs, but I received a complaint on two occasions that a NM LP I sold was scuffed. Since I hadn’t taken photos I gave a partial refund, only to learn that it was the same buyer both times. I am pretty sure it was a scam and I blocked him from making further buys from me.

Sellers over the years have been very reasonable about Discogs returns or price adjustments when the condition is significantly different from the Discogs listing description. Only on eBay have I had an issue, where a seller sold homemade DVDrs in a set and tried to claim they were legit. I demanded a full refund including return postage without having to file a claim with either eBay or PayPal, but he was reluctant about paying for postage both ways until he understood that anything less was unacceptable and I would get my way through either of the services or my credit card company.