Yet another over-graded online vinyl purchase

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by sunking101, Mar 1, 2019.

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  1. sunking101

    sunking101 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Yorkshire, England
    I bought an LP described as NM/NM and the seller specically stated that there are no marks on the vinyl. He has 100% feedback on Ebay.

    It arrived today and the outer sleeve is indeed NM but the vinyl has some light surface scratches on both sides. As I paid for NM I emailed the seller and he just bluntly said that I should return it for a refund (return postage on me). As the item isn't as described why should I have to pay return postage?

    This kind of thing really annoys me. Why don't people grade their records correctly or value their customers? I could destroy his 100% feedback and all for £5 p&p. :rolleyes:
     
    samthesham and Man at C&A like this.
  2. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Initiate a dispute with PayPal asking for the seller to pay all shipping fees. If it item isn't as described, you have a good case and if all of this is true and accurate, I wouldn't allow myself to be on the hook for the seller's enthusiastic grading.
     
    Dave and sunking101 like this.
  3. cporcp

    cporcp Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kentucky
    :rolleyes::rolleyes:
    Been lucky on the ‘bay - Discogs is another story. Sellers are well aware the most will opt not to return and will instead seek a partial refund or discount, and then leave neutral feedback at the very worst. Neutral? :rolleyes:

    I gave up on being nice awhile ago - and NM is about as unambiguous as you can get, so I now leave honest feedback regarding the sellers creative grading - anyone savvy will steer clear and the problem will resolve itself.

    My only 100% successful purchases have been from here on this forum.
     
  4. 12" 45rpm

    12" 45rpm Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    If the surface scratches are inaudible then it would still be NM.. Most sleeves will leave these light scratches whenever the record is removed/placed into it..
     
    Ghostworld and Rodz42 like this.
  5. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    It is infuriating. I bought an original of Moby Grape '69 which was graded excellent and according to the seller "plays lovely". Just what I wanted.

    So I pay £25. The LP arrives and as soon as I open it I see a scratch across an entire track and that the record definitely needs cleaning. The scratch clicks throughout and the dirt causes a lot of crackle. There's also a stick due to another scratch. It certainly doesn't play lovely!

    I ended up accepting a £10 partial refund simply because I couldn't be bothered to send it back and argue about who pays postage. I'd have wanted both ways refunded.

    I've cleaned the LP and got rid of the stick, but it's still scratched and clicks a lot on some tracks. Annoying.
     
  6. radickeyfan

    radickeyfan Forum Resident

    it happens , i have a favorite Ebay seller , one who I have bought 500+ albums from , one album he missed some markings (to his defense , you could only make them out , if this lp caught the light in a certain way, still the record played not as graded (NM) ) --------------------------as i stated , the other 500+ albums were graded perfectly , no one is infallible, in fact I just bought 10 more records from him this past week, he has earned my trust
     
    SJP likes this.
  7. Rodz42

    Rodz42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL

    at least you recognize that no one is perfect and grading NM can be subjective when different lighting is factored in. Others don't seem to grasp this
     
  8. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    We need all the help we can get in locating trustworthy sellers. Care to share his alias? :)
     
    radickeyfan likes this.
  9. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Had to happen someday. eBay seller in Italy charged a crazy amount for shipping which seriously annoyed me but since I wanted that LP,...

    Title of the auction stated it was "new" though the body of the auction said it was not sealed and that the LPs had "never seen the light of day". Tons of little scratches everywhere and a giant scratch on side 1.

    I've requested a refund including shipping both ways as this was grossly misrepresented. We'll see what happens...
     
  10. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    The good news is, ship it back via media mail and it will cost you less that $3
     
  11. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    I'm not in the US so we don't have Media Mail. It's considerably more expensive to ship a single LP.

    Secondly, it's in Italy, as per my previous post.
     
  12. pumpkinman

    pumpkinman Hyperactive!

    Location:
    O-HI-O
    This is why I no longer buy LP’s off the internet. Plus I enjoy going boxes of albums where ever I find them.
     
    sunking101 likes this.
  13. sunking101

    sunking101 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Yorkshire, England
    I went to the post office today to collect six used LPs that were incoming from various sellers on Discogs. I only buy NM/NM as I hate owning other peoples' used tat. If I can pay extra to get a great condition cover then I will because a bad condition cover puts me off the whole thing...

    Anyway, out of 6 NM/NM purchases only one was befitting of that grading. I only ever buy off sellers with 100% feedback over many transactions too so I'm not sure why I have such a low success rate? I'm not being picky either, near mint should be near mint and it is reflected in the price. I don't expect to pay for NM and receive G or VG at best. Yeah I can send them back but when the seller lives abroad and you lose shipping both ways it's an expensive endeavour. This is just putting me off the whole vinyl game.:shake:
     
  14. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    How many transactions do these sellers with perfect feedback have? If it's 30, it's not fully representative of what might happen.

    Just had a terrible transaction through eBay for what was called an immaculate album, the discs of which have never seen the light of day. The seller is in Italy and tells me he doesn't want a return as it's risky for him due to customs. Tough cookies. They sent a so-called NM album that really was in VG condition.

    I have no qualms in having them either refund me in full and keep the LP or having them pay the excessive shipping charges to send it back. It's rare it happens but I've put my foot down on this nonsense The shop even has the gall to say after I posted a pic of the deep scratch which can be easily felt with a finger that it won't cause any problems. Unbelievable but it just makes me that tougher on these jokers.
     
    sunking101 and Gumboo like this.
  15. GentleSenator

    GentleSenator what if

    Location:
    Aloha, OR
    i think the bottom line is that most buyers simply don't look at their records with a critical eye or don't have decent hardware that'll reveal defects.

    that's why most of my collection from the "early years" of my collecting are pretty crappy, quality-wise.
     
    12" 45rpm likes this.
  16. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Update on my situation ; the seller agreed to refund the LP in full ; the whole $95.

    They were not professional in their interactions, doing what they could to manipulate me in either taking the blame for their mistake/deceit in a wholly misrepresented item or accepting a low partial refund, all the while refusing to take ownership of the problem or acknowledging any wrongdoing whatsoever.

    Glad this episode is over with. With the high level of transactions I've had over the past couple of years, it's bound to happen but what irked me the most was the seller's inability to admit the issue originated with him not inspecting the album properly which would have saved us all a lot of trouble.
     
    sunking101 and Dave like this.
  17. Trace

    Trace Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington State
    It's unfortunate when this happens, but I do notice it happening more and more with so many people jumping on the vinyl-selling bandwagon.

    When I receive something that isn't graded as described, I will first contact the seller and ask them if they want to take care of the situation or if they preferred that I just open a PayPal claim. That way the decision is on them. You'd be surprised at how quickly they respond with a solution. And it tells them right up front that I"m not going to let them jerk me around.

    It's a pretty effective method so far....
     
  18. samthesham

    samthesham Forum Resident

    Location:
    Moorhead MN
    Regardless what others say , a true collector does not accept surface scratches as NM , where are these people getting these remarks...

    I have been buying selling & collecting seriously since the late 60s & NM means virtually spot free...

    I for one would pursue every avenue to chastise this seller so they might think twice before doing the same to another buyer
     
  19. samthesham

    samthesham Forum Resident

    Location:
    Moorhead MN
    That's what avenue I have pursued in the past & it works 99.9999999% of the time...

    I also EMail & call whichever site I bought from...

    I've had a handful of rip-offs try to burn me & I turned it around with a phone conversation to the site...

    The key I have discovered is a verbal audio addressing of the issue & follow the chain of command until you get desired rectification
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2019
    Trace likes this.
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