Ebay Used Vinyl Buying Experiences

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by Karn Evil 9, Aug 20, 2019.

  1. Karn Evil 9

    Karn Evil 9 Black Labs Matter Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alachua, FL
    I was curious as to what others have experienced regarding eBay purchases of used vinyl. I've been buying vinyl (mostly used) on eBay since I got into collecting nine months ago. I've purchased well over 100 LP's thus far. The vast majority of my purchases have been at least satisfactory. I've gotten burned on only a couple, only one of which I returned to the seller. The others (perhaps a half dozen) that I haven't been happy with weren't pricey at all - less than $15. So I just kept them and put them into my "trade" stack.

    Obviously, online purchases of any kind (eBay, Discogs, Reverb, etc) have the distinct disadvantage of not being able to see the item in-person. But I have been very happy with the majority of my eBay purchases (as well as a handful of Discogs & Reverb purchases). A surprising number of them have actually been better than I had expected. And I've scored what I've thought are really good deals in some cases, too.
     
    jgrillo likes this.
  2. Brian Barker

    Brian Barker "No matter where you go, there you are"

    My experiences have been good. I don't buy used much off Ebay but when I have it's been positive. I'm really cautious and study the reviews pretty carefully.
     
    greelywinger likes this.
  3. vinylontubes

    vinylontubes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Katy, TX
    Honestly, these kinds of the threads are pointless unless eBay has done something egregious. eBay is a marketplace and auction site. The sellers are to blame if anythings goes wrong and not eBay. eBay provides a self-policing mechanism to help others identify bad sellers. You rate the sellers. You should do this for every purchase. Most sellers I have used have 100% ratings. The best sellers maintain these level ratings. Before I even get involved with a seller, I always look for 99.8% ratings. Perfect rating isn't mandatory for me. In fact, it's fine as long as the few problems listed aren't something akin to poor grading of their records.
     
    nosliw likes this.
  4. nosliw

    nosliw Delivering parcels throughout Teyvat! Meow~!

    Location:
    Ottawa, ON, Canada
    Like Discogs and other sites that allows individual sales, it's still a crap shoot with respect to sellers accurately and reliably grading their records. Even new records can be an issue if they're pressed rather poorly so I'd check the sellers' policy regarding returns and shipping costs.
     
    All Down The Line and Aftermath like this.
  5. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    Generally really good. I've had a few bad experiences with overgraded records and a couple of things not sent, but eBay made sure I was refunded for those. With overgraded records it depends on the extent of the faults. The sellers have been very reasonable when this has happened. Except one. I got a CD and it was scratched so badly it skipped and the back page of the booklet was completely torn off and just there in the case. The seller then asked me to return it at my expense! Idiot got a negative.
     
  6. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    I’ve only done a couple...I like Discogs.

    The few I’ve done were fine, but I’m sure it had little to do with Ebay.
     
  7. markp

    markp I am always thinking about Jazz.

    Location:
    Washington State
    I have had good experiences selling and buying on eBay. Look for sellers that give good details on condition and pictures.

    Never ever buy from sellers who say they grade vinyl visually, or do not even have a turntable. Good sellers will offer good items, and have good feedback rating.
     
    greelywinger, Gaslight and astro70 like this.
  8. Howard Bleach

    Howard Bleach Imperial Aerosol Kid

    Location:
    green bay, wi
    To be fair, some sellers have inventory numbering in the tens of thousands and can't be expected to play grade everything they sell
     
  9. astro70

    astro70 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern Illinois
    Most of my experiences have been pretty poor, as in, had to return the record due to it being SEVERELY over-graded. Some sellers get extremely defensive and try to put the blame on you. I have about the same experiences on discogs, I send back more than half of what I buy online due to it being miss-graded. I get so much used vinyl that looks perfectly fine but plays with distortion and was described as VG+, VG++, or NM . And I've checked my setup 10 or so times thinking maybe I just need to change my anti-skate, my tracking force, my stylus etc. Nope, because as soon as I replace that groove damaged copy, the new copy sounds great! sometimes replaced with identical pressings as well. Basically, it's a crap shoot but unavoidable if you want to buy early pressings especially of rare stuff. I pretty much will only buy from sellers I've had good experiences with in the past, or people I feel like aren't going to rip me off. Actions speak a lot louder than words, especially when tons of ebay/discogs sellers will try to bribe you to leave a good review if they refund you partially. I've found that after doing this, then buying something else from them, usually you have the same issues and they just don't care enough to correct their miss-grading. Overall, avoid eBay IMO, stick to trusted discogs sellers, and here on the forums. Do your homework and read through feedback before trying a new seller, and most of all, buy locally as much as you can!
     
    SteveM likes this.
  10. astro70

    astro70 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern Illinois
    Yup, and unfortunately, it's usually worth the couple extra bucks spent on these good sellers, than having to go through the disappointment of getting junk in the mail, then having to send it back, wait for a refund etc.
     
  11. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    Very true, but then you're still rolling the dice.

    I've sold on eBay also, and I usually try to play grade since I only sell a few at a time. Good for the buyer but also good for me in case I missed a flaw I wasn't aware of.
     
  12. Eleventh Earl of Mar

    Eleventh Earl of Mar Somehow got them all this far.

    Location:
    New York
    Ebay at least tends to give you some idea of how the outer sleeve is.

    I bought a handful of records there, three imports that were in fantastic condition and weren't pressed here, one autographed, and a buy one get one from a seller for two records I wanted in my set for probably about the same if I was lucky enough to run into both at the store. As described again.

    Discogs is hit and miss. Importing is the worst from big sellers though it's often the most efficient - I bought a uncommon record from this guy described as NM, open the gateflod... entire thing is stained with coffee? At least the rest of it is actually closer to VG++. Same guy, NM- record, sticker wear. Same guy, NM record, sticker on the front cover, LP is literally covered in hair and dust. Cleaned and it's fine but... I avoid anyone who doesn't grade on the low end, since in those cases a VG+ is often more like ++ but the reverse is more like NM is VG/G for some reason.

    I had a more conservative seller who was basically on point in terms of grading without issue, though. I really wish every seller could give an idea of what makes a record VG or NM etc., most don't do this, some will describe WHY it is and those tend to always be what you expect.
     
    aravel likes this.
  13. Yep, I agree entirely. It sounds as though I'm not the only person who has had almost universally bad experience buying used vinyl via the web.

    I would say that ALL sellers in my experience overgrade vinyl, some by a little amount, others ridiculously.

    No amount of feedback checking or awkward questions can guarantee you a safe purchase either.

    After a 10 year crap shoot I stopped buying used vinyl altogether several years ago.
     
  14. astro70

    astro70 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern Illinois
    Anyone selling used records that are 40-50 years old and describing them as NM is almost always overgrading by a lot!
     
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  15. astro70

    astro70 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern Illinois
    Unfortunately I consider that route all the time. Part of the fun the vinyl format for me is the historical aspect of it, so It would be a shame if I was unable to buy those early/first pressings that peak my interest but pretty soon, that's what I'll have to start doing. Only new and from brick and mortar stores or record fairs only. I'm also kinda waiting for the vinyl fad to die down so that hopefully not everyone and their brother tries to "get rich quick" selling off dad's old box of mouldy records from the basement.
     
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  16. Eleventh Earl of Mar

    Eleventh Earl of Mar Somehow got them all this far.

    Location:
    New York
    I will at least give a push to anything I bought from this forum - everyone tends to lean towards safer grading.

    Like, let's say I'm going to sell my entire set - I would describe every aspect of why I think it's this good or bad, and also grade sleeve and record separately. I feel like if you ALWAYS have a bad time, you're standards for grading might just be really high.
     
  17. If someone describes anything as near mint that should be what you get. That isn't MY standards, that's the sellers. If it isn't anywhere near to mint, they got it wrong.
     
    astro70 likes this.
  18. Psychedelic Good Trip

    Psychedelic Good Trip Beautiful Psychedelic Colors Everywhere

    Location:
    New York
    Been buying on eBay for years. I've had a few duds but returned them back. The sellers have been really cool with vinyl description and returns.

    I've had records NM condition and were noisy. I would remedy the noisy vinyl with a thorough cleaning. If it still noisy as before the cleaning they go back to seller.

    Very rarely returns happen. Thoroughly cleaning each record helps to quiet down a moderately noisy vinyl. Some sellers have play graded the vinyl and will tell you if it's noisy or not. Usually it's cheap record buying on eBay, good deals. If I'm going to pay more than usual for that tempting vinyl I'll be damn sure that the seller is honest in what they are selling me.

    I bought many expensive vinyls cheaply from sellers that wanted to just sell it and get rid of it for the quick cash. Than of course I had to pay through the nose for that record I had to have regardless.

    I've had a few duds that I just gave away because thoroughly cleaning it didn't help at all. Check the sellers feedback and return policy. Hit or miss the eBay record buying game can be a really fun great deal seeking experience.
     
  19. astro70

    astro70 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern Illinois
    I tend to almost always have a bad time, and when I consider a record's grade, I simply follow the discogs guide which I don't think is at all high. I'm certainly no audiophile, just sick of getting VG+ and higher records with obvious distortion, lots of scratches, mould, skips, sticks etc.
     
  20. Overall pretty good, I've got maybe half a dozen overgraded.

    My issue is, shipping to Australia costs as much if not more than the record most of the time and prices some are asking are for a record are outrageous!!!!
    So there's no cheap records anymore, even if the price is reasonable shipping ruins me.
    And I don't have any decent record stores nearby so I'm forced to buy online or wait for a record fair.
     
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  21. Eleventh Earl of Mar

    Eleventh Earl of Mar Somehow got them all this far.

    Location:
    New York
    I have a few records I would might call "near mint" while also being as critical as I could in terms of the sound, I don't think I'd EVER be confident enough to say it's "near mint" as I have no context for what a new copy sounds like. I can always appraise everything else with complete objectivity though.
     
  22. markp

    markp I am always thinking about Jazz.

    Location:
    Washington State
    Yes, and better not to purchase from those sellers because there is no way they have time to even visually grade an LP.
     
    All Down The Line and astro70 like this.
  23. Visual grading is utterly worthless. I have some used LPs which look as though they have been booted around a gravel driveway and yet they play perfectly without any noise.

    Conversely, some "mint" looking records sound noisy and worn out.

    The Record Collector Grading system is ambiguous and so subjective to the point of being worthless too.

    Sellers who rely on it are usually lazy and often attempt to deflect their responsibility for accuracy of their own grading by blindly adhering to the use of its text.
     
    JoeWild and astro70 like this.
  24. saborlord123

    saborlord123 "I'm not a genius. I'm just a hard working guy."

    Location:
    U.S.A.
    My experiences have been good. Just make sure they have all of the pictures of the records. You should also try discogs out if you haven't already!
     
  25. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Be suspicious of a seller that only offers a play grading without a visual one.
     

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