Discogs - Grading and Prices

I've purchased a hand full of vinyl albums from Discogs. I'm pretty picky (and cheap) so those two don't always mesh well. I've read the page explaining the ratings VG, VG+, NM, NM+. I try to go with NM if possible. I've always taken good care of my old albums, most purchased during the 70s. I consider most of my collection to be NM. Plastic outer sleeves, plastic inner. Is VG+ good enough? Are these what most people buy?

On the issue of price, I see a lot of albums going for $45, $50, plus shipping (from international locations). I usually try to buy from US locations (so I can get it faster and only pay $4 or $5 for shipping). Like many, I remember buying my albums for $7 or so (the good ones). I realize that if you REALLY want that special album, you will pay big money, but...

Do you all feel that the prices in general are too high?

Thanks

 

I buy regularly from Disccogs and have had great success from all the sellers I've dealt with. I usually by VG+ just because they are easier to find and obviously less expensive. To me, the quality of the VG+ albums has been excellent, conservatively graded.
I normally buy from US sellers just because of the shipping costs. There are usually multiple sellers for most all records so reasonable prices can be found.

 

For me I use Discogs for those one offs that I can't find elsewhere. That said, when I have, if I stick to sellers with 100% feedback it's always been bang on grading wise. My one or two deals with sellers below 100% have always involved some sort of issue - be it grading, not following specific postage instructions or poor packing. I think with our hobby you have to accept that there are going to be some you win and some you lose... The only way to be sure is bricks and mortar stores where you can inspect and if necessary play test.

 

It is so very true. Discogs is nice for that desert island item -- I recently found a very nice Bob Seger - Back in '72 for a reasonable price. But I've also got burned on condition for other items. It's a gamble. I keep tabs on the site. If I every see a lots out there of an item I want, I will pull the trigger. It goes in cycles....

 

I definitely prefer Discogs to ebay when it comes to grading and whether it's truthful or not. Ebay is a roll of the dice when it comes to condition. I bought a white label NIN promo. The buyer never took pics of or explained that someone wrote their name on the label!
I normally buy on Discogs, and nothing below VG+, but I try to get NM. I'm cheap too!

 

When I first picked vinyl back up, the discogs marketplace was just a baby, and had very few sellers and were mostly from across the pond. Many records I was looking for were hard to find and expensive when you did find them. Fast forward over a decade and the marketplace was flush with stuff that took me forever to find and for much cheaper prices. Now fast forward a couple years to now and those same records have gone back up in value, some to higher points than when I was looking for them in the first place.

 

On discogs, there is is a vast spread in pricing. Simply put, there appear to be two common types of sellers: (1) those who actually want to sell records, and describe and price them in a way that invites purchases or at least inquiries, and (2) those who price and/or describe their goods in a way that only the laziest, richest, and least choosy buyers will bite.

I've gotten some bargains where I had to pinch myself. I've seen lots of interesting stuff in the sweet spot from priced to move to priced a tad aggressively. And I've seen a great deal of stuff that is priced at many multiples of what any savvy buyer would ever pay, sitting there for years on end.

 

The trick is finding a good seller that is honest. You do that through trial/error (like me) or referrals from others. I currently have about 4 sellers I trust and have had zero problems with them.

I can't say that sticking to sellers with no less than 100% satisfaction is a guarantee. I purchased about 80 dollars worth of LPs from a seller recently - squeaky clean ratings as a seller. All were graded NM/M- or VG+ Out of the entire stack, maybe 2 were graded properly. The rest are almost legitimately G+ or VG at best and two are warped so bad they are unplayable. Also, each and every one has some type of circular residue all over the vinyl, like the same individual used the same fluid and did not dry properly. I am steaming mad right now - waiting to hear back

 

I find Discogs to be very good indeed. The UK sellers are very good on price, very realistic and the grading system is good too. I find ebay-uk tends to be too high in price and grading can be questionable with some sellers. At the end of the day though, its down to luck and how good the seller is. ( I recently got caught out on Ebay by a dealer, I sent the record back and got slagged off by him for doing so....great customer service !)

 

I've had mixed experiences on Discogs. Some really bad ones but mostly good sellers. I had a bad one where I ended up getting negative feedback because I refused to remove my negative feedback on him. Oh well.

 

Thats just how my bad ebay experience went....I ended up contacting ebay to sort it out. These types are annoying arent they !

 

I'm learning fast that unless the seller has a detailed description, discogs is very risky. Ok I've only bought 2 items but neither were quite what I was expecting.

The first was hunky dory, filed in the page for the 1st pressing Rasputin/bobil but when it arrived it was just an early pressing. It was meant to be vg+ but has some very visible nicks which are most definitely audible. They are too deep to be classed as surface marks. I paid £40 plus delivery which should probably given me a clue but it was clearly in the first pressing page.

The second was Nilsson the point, also classed as vg+ for both record and cover. The cover has been sellotaped along 2 sides and it has no insert. To be fair, the listing didn't specify whether it was or not included but I figured vg+ would mean it was there unless stated otherwise. I'm now looking for a complete copy as I really wanted the complete package. It was pretty cheap so not too upset.

Unless it is something I really want, I think I'll just try my luck on eBay. We have jukeboxes so ive bought loads of 7"s and have normally been pleasantly surprised by the condition.

 

My rule is always message the seller and confirm what I am looking at on Discogs is indeed what it is. I've had one experience where the seller got offended I even asked. lol.

 

I think this is the way to go. If they have nothing to hide, they should be happy to confirm that all is as it should be. I've certainly learned my lesson

 

Well guys, its the proverbial minefield by the looks of things !

 

This unfortunately happens way too often.. 100% feedback is by no means a guarantee. I always ask a lot of questions such as: Is the record excessively crackly, is there a lot of surface noise, etc.. Believe it or, even with asking these questions i've gotten some stinkers that needed to be returned. If the seller is way out of line, i suggest they pay for return shipping (they usually agree). Proper grading seems to be a lost art!

 

My favorite is the people on Discogs who don't reply when you send a question. If you have no interest in selling, then why list it?

 

I haven't bought much on discogs but the buyers with whom I have dealt I have kept tabs on for the other albums I have on my want list. They gave me exactly what they said they were shipping and I figure that means they will probably do the same in the future.

 

I've always found Discogs very good value, but there's a real jejunity of British sellers, which is a blasted nuisance for me.

 

havnt had many condition problems....but twice already ive paid uk copies and got sent usa versions... or it was supposed to be a 1st press but got sent a reissue.

now i have to ask the seller to make sure its the correct disc before i pay.

 

While I've been relatively lucky, I think that the grading is generally horrible on Discogs, even in the decriptions i.e.: great copy! VG++, near mint, seam split on top, water damage. What! How is it still a VG+ copy with a seam split or water damage? I have to laugh every time I see it.

 

I missed out on one really good stash of sealed records primarily because the seller was charging $2.50 each for shipping. As I had about 14 titles picked out, that was $35. He did knock off a percentage for orders over $100 total but still, the overall total was way too much. By the time I trimmed the list down to the essentials, I found the titles elsewhere for the same or lower cost, and reasonable shipping.

Overall I've had decent luck, but have had a few titles that were over-graded. No big deal, since they were cheap. I only bought one new release (RSD 2014) and had the seller verify it was the correct item and, sure enough, it was...at quite a bargain.

I've had better luck with condition, and better prices, via Discogs than from eBay overall. My closest B&M record store has ratty stock, so I actually make out better through Discogs.

 

I've been buying on Discogs for years, but tend to use it less and less often as time goes buy. Overgrading, especially on vinyl, is rampant on there, but buying used, OOP CDs can be just as bad. Lots of sellers don't even list the correct edition for what they're selling, take forever to ship, don't pack stuff correctly, etc. Feedback doesn't mean a whole lot either because that can be fudged or removed if the seller is willing to go through the fuss.

As someone else mentioned, one tactic I use is to message the seller and ask them to confirm if the edition and condition really are as stated. I might ask for a picture of the item. If they fail to respond to give me static about that, I don't buy from that seller.

 

I have been referring to it more often lately than I have in the past and did buy a few items recentlyish.

I'm still cautious and always email the seller to verify the listing and grading. Recently I emailed 3 sellers of a specific lp pressing, two had it listed incorrectly and one never replied. I think it's very easy for sellers to list their record under the wrong release.

You can't always verify all the information you need with picture, but the lack of pictures does make it more difficult because there are many questions that pictures can answer.

I would never buy a record off a Discogs seller without verifying the pressing details.

 

Well I guess I've been very lucky. I have purchased around 4 or 5 LPs on Discogs. Every one was in excellent shape. I pretty mush stick to NM.