Hold your horses, cowboy - record buying rules to live by

Howdy, partners.

Years ago, I came up with two hard and fast rules for buying records on this forum. Since then, I've expanded them to apply to all of my Internet purchases.

Before purchasing an album,

1. If the LP costs more than $50, I have to get up from the computer and walk around for a while.
2. If the LP costs more than $100, I have to sleep on it overnight.

The only time I break these rules is if it is an album I've spent years search for. Do you hear me, Lulu by Trip Shakespeare?

Otherwise, almost without exception, if I break one of these two rules, I live to regret it. I do not regret losing out on buying an album. It's not "he who hesitates is lost." It's he who hesitates doesn't have to sell a used, disappointing record for $20 less than he paid for it.

Do you have record buying rules that you live by and could benefit others?

 

Unless it’s a surefire bet that the value will be quadruple what I paid for it. I won’t buy dirty/damage vinyl.

Oh I remember there was a dude selling a used Capitol Meet the Beatles for 100$ and I ask why so much. And I can never forgot his words. It is on special shattered vinyl, it’s a art piece. I practically ran out of there. I didn’t trust that guy

 

My rules;

1. Always buy NM or sealed. No exceptions.
2. Always contact the seller before putting the order in.
3. If a seller doesn't respond to a question, never purchase from him.
4. Never buy from anyone who has a feedback of less than 98%.
5. Always verify why feedback isn't 100%.
6. Always verify specific pressing info and condition with seller.

You'd be surprised to know that in about 70-80% of the time, either the condition is revised or it's the wrong pressing. That'd lead to about 70-80% of my purchases I'd be dissatisfied with. After a few of those, I learned my lesson and now ask every time prior to putting an order in.

About #5. Patterns emerge when reading negative feedback entries. Sometimes, it's overgrading, not having the items in stock, or it can be much worse. One seller routinely had comments about the LPs being poorly packed in pizza boxes and arriving damaged. Sellers' responses can also indicate the type of person you might be dealing with. If one takes the time and is able to read between the lines, it's ultimately possible to avoid most unpleasant experiences on selling platforms like eBay or Discogs.

 

My rules...

Never buy for future value, but for future enjoyment.
Price and condition must correlate and price should be reasonable for what it is.
Only pay a lot for what I truly want.

 

I am a repeat customer. I go back to the same sellers again and again.

This seems like such a simple rule but it is why I am a strong defender of Musicstack. I have a stable of sellers who I trust. Some of them I've used for years. Here's my current list:

Musical Energi
Bananas Music
Brothers Records
AudiophileUSA
Solid Viper
Recordsbymail
Jack Wolak
Vintage Vinyl
Go Johnny Go
GrooveNet
Weird Harolds
Krohn's Boulevard

Sure, they make a mistake every now and then, screwing up a grade on a record. But they always cover it easily, graciously and in my favor. I'm reasonable, they're reasonable, and everyone wins.

It's easy to buy records from the same folks using the SH.tv classifieds. A lot of posters are repeat sellers. I rely on them, too, but by mining my Musicstack favorites, I can usually dig up a record I want in a VG+ condition. That's good enough with these Musicstack sellers. Their VG+ is M- with most Discogs stores, or at least that's what I've found.

 

"Will I only play this two or three times, then shelve it forever?"

If the answer is yes....then I generally avoid. Only exception is if the LP is a few bucks or less because the low cost overrides the possible low re-listen factor.