I quit buying LP's

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by Rattlin' Bones, Sep 29, 2021.

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  1. elgoodo

    elgoodo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Jersey City, NJ
    but...are you "done" with it?
     
    Sean likes this.
  2. NettleBed

    NettleBed Forum Transient

    Location:
    new york city
    I QUIT LISTENING TO MUSIC on records that have scratches and dirt on them
     
  3. FiveLeavesLeft

    FiveLeavesLeft Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Essex, UK
    I haven't purchased anything from the forum yet as I'm a relative newbie, but I have bought 100s of vinyl albums from Discogs and my approach has been to look at the ratings first and generally I will buy a batch of albums 5-7 at a time from seller at VG+ or above. What I like best is getting an "honest" batch that needs a decent clean for a low price and then find that actually a VG+ is really something I could happily sell on to someone as NM and they would be happy too. I have to say that this happens a lot, I have bought very few "duds" . I will point out that I'm in the UK and therefore buying from UK sellers, who may be generally more scrupulous than those on the US based in the comments I have seen. Another thing to note is that over the past couple of years it's definitely become more of a seller's market on Discogs as demand is evidently high so perhaps the likelihood of getting crap is higher....
     
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  4. jazon

    jazon A fight between the blue you once knew

    Location:
    ottawa
    You can be screwed either way anyways. Visual looks good, sounds bad = no good. Visual doesn't look good but sounds good = no good (for me at least). If I am buying something described as NM, i want it to be NM in both visual and auditory. Typically I go with looks good over all because if a record looks good but sounds bad often a cleaning can fix that. However if it doesn't there is little you can do to improve it.
     
    FiveLeavesLeft likes this.
  5. optoman

    optoman Forum Resident

    Location:
    London. UK
    Most people selling in Discogs are reasonable people who enjoy music and mean well. Some are slightly over optimistic when it comes to grading but are happy to accept returns or work out some refund. If anything, my experience is that buying from sellers who are actual record shops is more risky, possibly because they don’t have the time to listen. But even they are usually happy to find an acceptable solution.
    I think that statements such as the title of this thread are exaggerated.
    Anyway, good luck for those who choose to quit buying records. Maybe they will have better luck with brand new, limited edition coloured vinyl reissued for the tenth time on an “audiophile” label.
     
  6. FiveLeavesLeft

    FiveLeavesLeft Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Essex, UK
    I totally agree, I bought a VG+ copy of DiMeola's Splendido Hotel and it looked pretty poor visually, but after a clean there is zero crackle and pop, I was amazed, sounds stunning. Conversely, I have an original UK pressing of PF Animals that I bought in a store as a teenager, looks amazing, but crackles all over that no amount of cleaning will fix....
     
  7. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    Well, that's why I said it depends. I think anything over 40 bucks needs to get close scrutiny. If the record looks nice shiny and clean, perhaps dropping the needle on a couple of tracks on each side would suffice.
     
  8. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    Not in my experience. Some of the poorest graded records I have ever bought came from the UK.
     
  9. Cody B

    Cody B Whatever you do, take care of your shoes

    Location:
    Doylestown, PA
    Same here, most of my "What the hell? You call this EX?" moments came from UK purchases.
     
    Sprague Dawley, Gumboo and Tullman like this.
  10. FiveLeavesLeft

    FiveLeavesLeft Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Essex, UK
    Fair enough, mine was merely an observation based on comments I have seen on numerous threads about poor grading. I have never purchased from the US and if I did I may be pleasantly surprised, but for me the shipping costs preclude it...I'm not a big spender :)
     
  11. EdogawaRampo

    EdogawaRampo Senior Member

    That's been my experience, too. Having said that, I've bought probably the majority of my used, '60's and '70s's LPs and singles from the UK and there are plenty of good, very reputable sellers. But nearly all the "NM" records I bought from the UK that turned out to be anything but, were from the UK. Don't remember having so many of these problems with other EU sellers, especially not Germany, Denmark or the Nordic countries. Don't recall any problems with records from France or Switzerland, either. Can't remember if I bought from Italy before.
     
    Tullman likes this.
  12. Joseph.McClure

    Joseph.McClure Forum Resident

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    I quit selling lp’s
     
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  13. TS582

    TS582 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Central MA
     
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  14. Rattlin' Bones

    Rattlin' Bones Grumpy Old Deaf Drummer Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    Ratings have not proven to be reliable just by themselves. I limited my buying to 100% positive, but that criteria still got me a lot of flawed albums. The combo of 100% positive plus play graded plus free returns seems to be the best. Other little things liked cleaned on VPI machine, too.

    The Discogs published grading system criteria is quite stringent, but - based on my experience - many of their sellers are not following those guidelines. Many as in almost 50% of everything I have purchased on Discogs in the last 6 months advertised as NM was no where near NM.

    If returns are not free and they don't refund my initial shipping then I am avoiding them now.

    Plenty of sellers fall into my stricter criteria. I'm learning to be patient and search diligently.
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2021
    Tullman likes this.
  15. sberger

    sberger Dream Baby Dream

    You are right to quit. LP's are obviously the wrong medium for you.
     
    4-2-7 and Joseph.McClure like this.
  16. Rattlin' Bones

    Rattlin' Bones Grumpy Old Deaf Drummer Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    Not quitting. Just using a stricter buying criteria.

    I love collecting old jazz LP's. The fun and adventure is in the hunt, but that fun gets spoiled when I spend $35 on a "NM" original pressing I've been looking for months and find an audible scratch midway through Side A Track 1 :whistle:

     
  17. Instant Dharma

    Instant Dharma Dude/man

    Location:
    CoCoCo, Ca
    Like Carl Swa….never mind.
     
  18. sberger

    sberger Dream Baby Dream

    I was half joking, but after being a record collector for 50+ years I've learned that a certain amount of tolerance is required for many parts of the exercise of playing a record. Sure, if there's a big default on a record that was graded "NM" then you have every right to expect the seller to make it better. But I've known too many folks who get involved with records and expect the listening experience to equal that of digital and are disappointed and angry when their expectations aren't met.

    And for the record(pun intended), anybody that grades an "old jazz record" as NM is either lying or doesn't know what they're talking about. And they certainly haven't played it through.

    In my experience, of course.
     
  19. Chee

    Chee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    I like the McDonalds shirt.
     
  20. PH416156

    PH416156 Alea Iacta Est

    Location:
    Europe
  21. mr.datsun

    mr.datsun Incompletist

    Location:
    London
    And then you responded anyway.
     
    Rattlin' Bones likes this.
  22. cwitt1980

    cwitt1980 Senior Member

    Location:
    Carbondale, IL USA
    But... what if all they have is a Crosley or they're using a worn needle without knowing it? Everyone has different gear. Personally I don't want the seller testing stuff unless I know they have a decent setup.
     
  23. cwitt1980

    cwitt1980 Senior Member

    Location:
    Carbondale, IL USA
    Records are for gambling folk. You gotta roll the dice. Sometimes you lose.

    Some lady came in to a store I worked at once and asked me if I played ALL the records. I said, "I tried that once and made it all the way to ABBA, then I quit."

    (I actually like Abba though.)
     
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  24. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    They shouldn't be selling expensive records if they have a rubbish system. Even a sub $500 TT with a good stylus and set up won't damage records.
     
  25. RichC

    RichC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charlotte, NC
    Ah yup. Been on a bit of an Eagles kick lately (no jokes).... Decided to upgrade all my copies to white labels, STERLING 7Es, etc. Got minty copies of S/T and Desperado off eBay (which is no mean feat), plus TWO On The Borders somehow, with the second being as perfect as almost anything I've bought on Discogs or in the Classifieds here. All super cheap too.

    And then I picked up an "only played once" copy of Hotel California, NM obviously... which cost me more than the other 4 records combined. Anddddd it played.... VG at best. Crackle, pops, tics, even after deep cleaning. No poster. Unglued inner sleeve. (I assume the guy gave it to his dog for a while after "playing it once.")
    In a weird way, I was almost relieved.... I already felt I overpaid, even before this overgraded record arrived today. So God bless those easy eBay returns. Free return postage!

    You can't win 'em all, but fortunately most sellers are understanding and will typically make it right. (And again, EASY eBay returns.) Plus, I'd been on a hot streak for a while. (Last week was a WLP of Zevon's Excitable Boy that truly sounded unplayed.... For $15!) I was due for a bad hand! :D
     
    cwitt1980 likes this.
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