Over-grading based on visual inspection alone

I’m more confident with EBay these days too. At least you can see what you are buying. Record graded NM, Ex, VG+ but the sleeve is trashed? Move on! Spindle hole worn? Move on! Just being able to see those two aspects of a record can tell you a lot I find.

Also, I generally find prices better on EBay. Sometimes the Buy it now prices are a bit high but they have sometimes let you make an offer. Other items go to auction but don’t fetch high prices.

 

I’ve never sold or bought on eBay or discogs but I see nothing unusual about the experience the OP reports regarding a string of disappointing quality vinyl transactions.

I recently picked a collection of @ 8,000 ish vintage records advertised as most VG+ to NM. I estimate that 95% of them were no better than VG or titles that were not desirable to me. Of the rest, the ones that I bought that looked VG+ or possibly NM, none met the real high quality rating of NM when I got them home for cleaning and inspection under good lighting and play grading.

There’s a big difference between VG+ and NM but sellers on discogs I would expect opt for NM. They are there to sell. Many of them probably are actually VG. A visual inspection is pretty much a report of expectations……not a report on actual conditions.

I don’t see how anyone with a deep inventory can play grade completely offerings on discogs. It’s a big investment of time and more often than not knocks grade expectations down a grade. The available vintage vinyl just suffers from a lack of proper storage, degradation over time, prior owner abuse and a wide spectrum of original-factory defects and owner applied wear and tear.

It has to be about finding a trusted seller. One with a reputation of honest grading and fulfillment of expectations with a source of decent vinyl. Discogs and eBay would seem to be a minefield full of quick flippers with some really quality providers sprinkled in. Finding the quality seller. It’s like the where’s Waldo picture puzzle. It has to be that way because the available inventory is mostly junk.

 

You make a lot of good points in your post, but I wanted to pull this one out to highlight. I cannot understand why someone would post a WTB here with a lowball price. You are essentially asking me to get off my couch, look for your record in storage somewhere, and carefully check the condition to see if it meets all your requirements, etc, etc, etc, so you better give me a financial reason to do so. I wonder how often the lowball WTB ads are successful? The very nature of a WTB suggests you are really desperate to find this record. And yet you are not so desperate as to pay at least fair market value for it? Makes no sense.

 

Well I think they play on the good nature of a lot of people that may be on the site. Many people who sell once in awhile will offer a great deal on some records here as well. But my red flags go up as soon as the listing says they only want mint. This expectation that there is thousands of mint old record out there is nuts, then add in specifics of matrix numbers on top of that it's non existent.

I did see a WTB for Joni Mitchell Blue, they said they wanted a nice copy and would pay $25 or $30, something like that. I left a post saying I have one and I don't need that much for it, maybe $15 shipped. Well I looked and had a nice gatefold and the record looked VG+, but I also had a later pressing non gatefold that looked EX. I sent both at that price, this way they can pick what sounded best to them.

If people want to get the good nature of members here, they should make their WTB post not looking like they are taking advantage of it.

 

good information.. which sellers have you been happy with? I’d be willing to eBay again if I could find really good sellers

 

i normally do.. or set a max bid I’m very happy with.. and I don’t budge.

one seller I used a lot of was Ken Micallef .. he was selling a collection he picked up from someone - the stuff he didn’t keep. I trusted his grading, and bought a dozen over a few months. Those turned out to be really good buys and I was able to stick to my bidding rules

 

good points.. and I’ve run across a small amount of sellers that are listing handfuls off their personal collections. Those tended to be very well graded and priced accidentally. I’ve made a couple of purchases there and the results were great. But there are very little of these folks around and very difficult to locate them. One of those sellers doesn’t have any for sale as of today. Another just had a few LPs left .. maybe 10 .. the good ones were sold a while back.

thanks for the info

 

I think the flipside is that someone may see the WTB and think "I know I have that record and I haven't listened to it in 20 years." So now, assuming the condition is acceptable, they've got a guaranteed sale and they didn't even have to list it. I could see that working better with fairly common records than rarities, I guess, but you never know.