The wrong record is inside, from used record shows

Has this ever happened to you, you get an album from the used record bin, and when you get home it's the wrong record inside? Just happened to me from the $1 bin, cover was for Mountain "Climbing!", but the record inside was Leslie West - "Mountain". I had actually looked at it to check for condition, but did not notice that it was a different "Mountain" album - Not a bad album, but not quite what I was expecting either!!

 

I've almost had something like that happen a few times when in a hurry but luckily caught the mistake in time- probably was being in too much of a hurry. I have also had some cheap thrift store finds where either the lighting was bad or I was in a hurry and got home and discovered the condition to be less than I thought. But never on something more than a buck or two. That's when I become a lot more attentive to what I'm buying.

 

Yep, been there, done that. But luckily it was never anything expensive. Usually thrift store finds that I only gave a cursory glance for condition.

 

Not happened to me yet however a store I frequent will often have completely wrong records for a band. I don't mean as in someone shopping left a record in the wrong bin, but I remember the gut punch of seeing "Caravan" with one LP under the card label to see a LP that had absolutely nothing to do with Caravan other than having said word on the cover... or how a Peter Banks solo album was in the Genesis section the last time I went and it's been there since the first time I walked in, when it should be under Yes, weird since they even had Anthony Phillips under Genesis so... you'd think somebody would know better.

 

No one would accuse me of being thorough, but I always check the record beforehand, even if it's just a dollar disk. The only exception is for polka records, which I buy for the cool album covers.

 

We always checked EVERY used Record at the register!
You would be surprised how many people tried to sneak a $2.99 album out in a $.99 jacket!

 

Not LP's, but CDs from charity shops. At $1 each I don't always bother or remembering to check the title/quality, and the money goes to charity anyway. It annoys me when the CD label is an "arty" design and doesn't indicate the artist/album title, so I don't know what I've scored. I always check records for the quality, so will often check the label.

A recent example is when I got excited by a Brian Seltzer Orchestra CD case, only to find Madonna's Immaculate Conception inside when I got home. What annoys me about this one was that I then could recall looking at this in the shop in a previous visit, and finding it had the wrong disk, and putting it back. And yet I made the mistake again later. Doh!

 

After a cursory look at a vintage copy of Jerry Lee Lewis' 2-LP gatefold London Sessions album, I bought it for about $4.00. It had matching cardboard inners for each LP in separate pockets, and I slid each one out to see the vinyl and labels, and then paid for it and went home. Should have looked closer -- I got two nice copies of record #1 and zero copies of record #2. Lucky me.

 

Actually, it did, but not in the way one would expect. It happened twice to me that the labels and everything were actually correct, but the music was still wrong.

One was a 1960s pressing on German EMI of Mahler’s 6th Symphony by Barbirolli, which in reality has 3 sides of music with the 4th one being completely blank. Got home and realised they had switched stampers at the pressing plant and I got side C twice but no side B. And I still had a completely useless side D with no grooves on it.

Another was getting a Mozart Symphony and finding out there was an entirely different recording (of a Bruckner Symphony) on the disc from the same record company.

Now, in both of these cases you couldn’t have found out about the mistake unless you would have studied the deadwax. Which, sure, can be done, but imagine how much more time and concentration that would take.

(Tbh, in the 2nd case somebody had written Bruckner with a sharpie next to Mozart’s name on the cover but I thought maybe they had been drunk, or maybe their name was Bruckner?)

 

One time I found an Al Green "Hi" era LP, but it was Marie Osmond inside. The oxfam shop asst was not pleased, but hey.

Other times I've bought stuff where its been the wrong version (Stereo/Mono) or label (Who "Quick one" Backtrack sleeve, Reaction LP)

Oh, and one time I got Elvis 1st hmv album sleeve, 2nd LP inside, but it was 50p (and fairly trashed all round, but c'mon!). Many years later found 1st LP inside 2nd LP sleeve, so hray!

So now, have hmv r&r no1 complete, and a r&rno2 hmv LP in rca sleeve. So, nearly there...

 

I always check the record's condition and have run into a few misappropriated records. I then hand it to the guy behind the counter, which usually irritates him.
Tough s**t.

 

I bought Nils Lofgren's "Breakaway Angel" CD at Amoeba in SF, the cd was locked inside the plastic keeper so I couldn't look at the disc and forgot to look after the clerk took it out of the keeper. It had something else inside, I don't even remember what as it was totally unfamiliar to me.

 

i wouldn't purchase anything in person that i couldn't inspect first.

 

It happened to me twice. And both were Stones albums.
One was It's Only Rock'n'Roll. Found it in a record store's bin, came home and realized the record itself is Goats Head Soup.
Another was my very first Ebay purchase. The sleeve was an original Decca Let It Bleed but inside was a german pressing of Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out.
I never returned them as I coincidentally didn't own Goats Head Soup and Ya-Yas on vinyl before.^^

 

Almost forgot, I had a double whammy last year when I got my group of $1 albums home. Somehow ended up with an album I didn't know I had gotten (a Dave Brubeck album, was supposed to be one from Brasil 66 but I had picked up the wrong one), and I said, OK even though I'm not a jazz fan, I'll try listening to him since I got the album. But inside the cover was an Arlo Guthrie record (!!)

 

Sadly yes a few times.

 

Bought a Dick Dale CD only to pop it in the player and discover that inside was a Pavement disc! (Still have it.)

I accidentally sold the terrible 2011 Nevermind remaster in the case for the original CD... the thing was, before I sold it, I made absolutely sure it was in the correct case so I didn't screw somebody over... and then I must have switched them again at some point. Maybe I was being too thorough! Now I have the original disc in the remaster case, and some poor sap has a horrible-sounding disc in an original case. Apologies to anyone who may have accidentally bought that. My conscience will never be clear.

 

Not usually, because I do check the title & condition in most cases when buying used. However, I did get stuck with a double LP where I checked the first record and it looked perfect. When I got home and looked at the 2nd lp of the set, it was trashed. My fault for assuming they were both in nice shape after only looking at the first. You win some, you lose some!

 

Oh the follys of inexperience and / or youth

 

cool to know i'm not the only one who this has happened too. problem is maybe we are too trusting or just plain goofy. it's not like buying your favorite sandwich and bag it up and leave. like getting a used car or used guitar etc you check it out first. it's paying attention that's all. like we teach our kids. i'm gonna go out on a limb and say the shady record shows know full well that there are the wrong records in maybe a percentage of the jackets and profit handsomely.

 

Funny, at one thrift store, I'm constantly find missing CDs or wrong CDs inside. I bring them to their desk and they just throw them away. I've noticed the owner tends to buy in bulk and doesn't really check each CD.