Discogs... things are about to change

That's different. If I buy from you, I won't be charged taxes. If I buy from a US seller, I will be. A US buyer will be charged taxes regardless.

 

Those who shrug their shoulders over the proposed changes are very myopic. People from all over the world use Discogs. There are all sorts of complexities involved in selling and (to a lesser extent) buying music online. Letting PayPal automate the whole Discogs checkout process is a disaster in waiting. The comments from sellers on Discogs' info pages provide ample prove of what can and will go wrong. And with numerous sellers withdrawing their inventory, there won't be much quality stock left to buy either.

 

We'll see what happens. No idea if there will be a disaster but there will likely be an adjustment period and I suspect most of those sellers will bring back their inventory once they're comfortable with the new way of doing things.

 

regardless of the comments, it's foolish to think that most won't just conform. and i'm not saying i disagree with yours or other sellers' sentiments. i find this whole thing ill-timed and poorly thought out.

 

Yeah, right.

See this all the time... make internal policy decisions with staff/management > post these ideas/decisions with the community and see the responses > implement changes anyway with a token 'community alteration' (usually the option causing the least hassle).

 

Even with a small inventory like mine, I'm done with 'discogs' as of 01/10/2020. I have a job, I don't have time to weigh every single item I want to sell, plus I enjoy the rapport with buyers. Hopefully an alternative can/will take over.

 

What sales tax are you referring to? Discogs does add local sales tax to the fees they charge to sellers. In addition, changes to some US state's sales tax rules require Discogs to automatically add sales tax on orders from US buyers who reside in those states.

But I've not come across any announcement regarding the addition of local sales tax to other buyers orders based in other countries. Do you have a link to that announcement?

 

Blame the American Congress. They passed a law (upsetting decades of precedent) that forces sellers to the US to collect and remit sales tax for the state to which it will be sent.

 

And here I was hoping the announcement was that they’re enhancing their web site to allow sellers to post photos of the items they’re selling. Sadly it’s not the case.

 

So what other sellers here are likely leaving Discogs on October 1st?

 

i won't be leaving, but my ability to offer different shipping options and ship everywhere in the world will be seriously restricted. i'm not going to spend time designing a policy for every single country, one-by-one.

there's not much else to say about it that hasn't already been said, but i am definitely scratching my head daily. the system sucks and the mandate is out-of-touch.

 

Not every state charges sales tax on orders, including mine. I've never been charged sales tax on Discogs.

 

$14 for a 45rpm and $24 overseas.....Anywhere outside on North America. 7 words on eBay. Discogs is a USA flag waver.

 

Why leave? I only get foreign orders once or twice a year, anyway. Myself, I can't afford to ship records in from overseas and doubt most people elsewhere in the world can, either. I’ll just set it high and invite people to email if they want to discuss it.

 

I was thinking of selling on Discogs, but I don't do international shipping. Too many scammers. I mostly sell cassette tapes on ebay. Is Discgogs a good platform to use?

 

On eBay you get whacked by crooks overseas who do Paypal reversals because of no tracking number. They cost $17. Try putting $14 plus $17 registered for a $31 postage cost next to a $12 45rpm you sell. I've seen French s and Germans go after $8 orders.

 

i have international orders on average once every other week. it's a big world, and selling to folks around it depends on how desirable your items are i suppose.

try using priority mail with tracking and insurance. and paypal. and blah blah blah what @Dave said

 

I never do international orders. Too expensive and too many issues with damage, way before this pandemic.

 

If you package it well it doesn't seem to be an issue. The cost is the cost. Most buyers realize this is just the way it is and don't complain about it. As an international buyer and seller my experience has always been good, but then again I package my sales in near bullet proof packaging and request the same for any purchases.

 

We've had to pay Aussie sales tax on Discogs for a while now.

 

It's times like this we miss GEMM as a music seller. They served an international audience.

But then, I'm so old fashioned, I first go to Musicstack when I'm looking for an album. I bought a $10 one through Musicstack last night. I have my stable of 10 or so sellers I completely trust from doing business with them for years.

While this record last night was from a US seller, I will have to wait for them to invoice me. Musicstack gives their sellers a choice to have the sale immediately invoiced or afterward.

 

i can understand the hesitance, but communication is key. i over communicate to every buyer--especially now. i invest in great packaging and never send slower than priority. i offer to cancel every single international order if the buyer is put off by high shipping cost or the potential 6-10 week delays we're seeing now; no hard feelings.

i then get positive feedback like this:
"Quick to respond, talked through packaging and forewarned about delays in delivery due to COVID - excelleny all round"

 

I tried Musicstack but it never panned out the way I'd hoped it would. Discogs on the other hand had more of what I wanted to buy and with actual sales. I found Musicstack to be more USccentric than Discogs with no sales.

 

I had a bad experience with Musicstack on an order from the UK. Gave up on it because of that.