What trends have you noticed in the SHF marketplace?

How does that work....what's the process?

 

It's not Canada-specific. It's easy: you just go into your Amazon account and purchase a gift card. You get a code, and you can email that code to anyone you want.

The only issue, of course, is that you've got to have a relationship of trust with the seller: if you send them the gift card and they never ship out your item, or there's something wrong with it and they won't offer any remedy, then you have no recourse.

 

Absolutely...I only allow this form of payment with someone I have sold to before. As long as it's two trustworthy people dealing with one another it's great if you buy a lot from Amazon.

 

I think you could be underestimating the knowledge and work it takes the best sellers here to dig up the prime vintage pressings. I look all the time, and come up pretty empty often. Having somebody make it "one and done" carries significant value to me.

Now, it may be different where you are, but I never see LPs in a store's dollar bin that would be in adequate condition to sell here in the classifieds. Certainly not VG++. Right now in my area any pressing of, say, an early Steely Dan record VG+ or better will sell for minimum 8 bucks. Some stores are up to $15. And maybe 90% of those do not have the primo "forum approved" mastering. Five or ten years ago, a different story, dollar bins had gems. Those days are gone.

 

Totally agreed. And to quote Cassius on this very thing, "Play grading records is amazingly time consuming, especially for low value records."

 

Quite true. Dollar bins ain't what they used to be. It takes a great deal of patience to find a bargain these days. I really can't blame anyone for paying a premium for a shortcut to a quality record.

 

Thanks, guys. I had never heard of that before.

 

I guess I never looked at it that way.

 

It's hard to constantly remember this. When I do look at Clay, or Rick as a " personal shopper," it makes perfect sense. They're beating the bins while I nap. They're play grading while I watch TV. They're packing and shipping while I'm pigging out ! All I've got to do is a few clicks on Pay Pal, and answer my door about a week later.

 

Heck dollar bins are terrible these days in greater Cleveland. Half of the chain stuff is total junk. It's 1 of every 10 trips that end up with maybe one or 2 good pressings.....5% maybe for great ones. Can they really expect $24 for Led zeppelin II with a torn cover and the type of wax that you don't even both looking at side 2 inside. Scuffs and scratches so deep it's laughable.

Having play graded vinyl available is really something we are spoiled with......are there any sellers on the bay on discogs or whatever play grading?

 

There are a few I have seen on eBay that do play vinyl prior to grading it. It seems like a rare practice at best, unfortunately.

 

I play grade everything before listing, but everyone's system / cartridge is different so I often don't make claims about an LP just in case. Visual grading is usually reliable when done correctly. There are, of course, exceptions.