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Thread: Discogs vynil

  1. #1

    Discogs vynil

    For the last couple of years I've been back to buying vynil and the pleasure of going through the records pulling the record out to inspect etc.
    I prefer brick and mortar second hand shops and small announces where I meet the seller and can inspect the record and have a small chat.
    This summer I found two Gentle Giant records in a small town on the French seaside and have actually become prog buddy with the seller.
    Anyway I have ordered recently two records on Discogs.
    Gentle Giant : In A Glass House , rather a good surprise , slightly better then the Very Good rating.
    And Genesis : Selling England /German gatefold which was rated VG+ for the record and the cover, now the record was VG+ but the cover was quite dirty and had a rather big space where the yellow print was ripped off on the side. I was quite disappointed, but kept it because the record was in such a good shape. The seller got a 99% satisfaction rate, so I wondered if my expectations of VG+ were to high.
    My question : do you have experience of discrepancies between the Discogs ratings and what you got?

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  2. #2
    Member LASERCD's Avatar
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    All the time. i buy vinyl on Discogs with some frequency. Imaginations go wild there and overgrading runs rampant.

    Recently I bought a first Dutch Vertigo swirl pressing of the first Black Sabbath. The dealer in Belgium described the vinyl as M- “looks unplayed with a few inaudible hairlines”. What I recieved was an album covered in hairlines that were horribly audible throughout playback. I askd the dealer if it was playgraded. The answer was “no it was part of a collection I bought”. So I asked “how can you describe the hairlines as inaudible if you didn’t play it?” Bottom line: i got a refund for the album and return postage.

    This is one of many incidents. On the other hand I’ve picked up a lot of rarities so it keeps me going back for another try.

  3. #3
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by alucard View Post
    My question : do you have experience of discrepancies between the Discogs ratings and what you got?
    Like everything else on Discogs you have to take ratings with a HUGE grain of salt.

    I ordered an LP of one old album, it was graded VG+/NM and when it came the cover was G and the vinyl was P-.

    So I ordered a second copy, different vendor. This one was graded NM/M and when it came the cover was VG and the vinyl was unplayable. It was apparent neither vendor had actually tried to play the vinyl and were basing their grading on visual inspection only.

    Caveat emptor.

  4. #4
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Just to show the difference, I recently bought a couple rare jazz albums here in town from one of the last used LP stores standing, and I swear to god both of them must be unplayed. They were PRISTINE. I paid $4 for one and $5 for the other.

    I'll never use Discogs again.

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    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    Like everything else on Discogs you have to take ratings with a HUGE grain of salt.

    I ordered an LP of one old album, it was graded VG+/NM and when it came the cover was G and the vinyl was P-.

    So I ordered a second copy, different vendor. This one was graded NM/M and when it came the cover was VG and the vinyl was unplayable. It was apparent neither vendor had actually tried to play the vinyl and were basing their grading on visual inspection only.

    Caveat emptor.
    I've bought plenty of LPs on Discogs and have only had to send 2 back.

    Most sellers have far too many items for sale to play grade them. Also, differences in turntable setup and quality can yield different results. I've been collecting since the mid-80s, and visual grading has been the standard since that time, be it Goldmine, Record Collector, ebay or Discogs. Many sellers (especially on ebay) will even say so explicitly in their listing. Anyway, if you pay by PayPal, you're covered, and while it's a hassle and disappointing to send it back, that's always available. I've had as big a problem with the item not being the one it was listed under.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    Just to show the difference, I recently bought a couple rare jazz albums here in town from one of the last used LP stores standing, and I swear to god both of them must be unplayed. They were PRISTINE. I paid $4 for one and $5 for the other.

    I'll never use Discogs again.
    I bought this weekend a couple of records in a vynil shop I know well and they were quite cheap and one near mint for a real good price and while the shop owner put on the first Matching Mole I went over to him and we had a nice chat about record covers. This will always be the most important for me , going through the shelves and having a chat about records.

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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    Just to show the difference, I recently bought a couple rare jazz albums here in town from one of the last used LP stores standing, and I swear to god both of them must be unplayed. They were PRISTINE. I paid $4 for one and $5 for the other.

    I'll never use Discogs again.
    Nice! The vinyl shops around here have their prices generally above or way above list or online prices. Rare jazz albums in mint I would expect to see priced $20-$30 and up unless it's easy listening crass commercial garbage nobody wants. This has pretty much kept me out of the shops.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Buddhabreath View Post
    Nice! The vinyl shops around here have their prices generally above or way above list or online prices. Rare jazz albums in mint I would expect to see priced $20-$30 and up unless it's easy listening crass commercial garbage nobody wants. This has pretty much kept me out of the shops.
    Agreed for rare records, but for other records you can find real bargain value in vynil shops seen that you don't pay for the transport. I found the first Tony Banks solo record A Curious Feeling and the first Anthony Phillips The Geese And The Ghost in excellent condition for a real good price.


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    Last edited by alucard; 02-11-2018 at 01:03 PM.
    Dieter Moebius : "Art people like things they don’t understand!"

  9. #9
    Not vinyl, but I bought a CD on Discogs last week from a seller with 100% feedback and advertised as Mint. One of the reasons why I don't like to buy vinyl on Discogs is because of the subjectivity of rating vinyl, and the effect that most imperfections can have on the sound. But anyway, this was a CD and it was rated Mint. I think everybody knows what Mint means, which is typically sealed. However, if open, it is to have no blemishes at all and should appear to have never been played.

    Anyway the disc had two small scuff marks and a small scratch on it. I'd probably have been a little irked if the item had been advertised in NM, since it could only qualify as near mint under the most charitable of circumstances, but having it advertised as mint was just plain insulting.

    I IM'd the guy and said that I wasn't going to ruin his perfect feedback over it, but I did want him to know that it was improperly graded. Still haven't heard back.

    Anyway, the lesson is that Discogs is full of clowns and charlatans and even though good feedback scores tend to go along with the better sellers, you can get improperly graded merchandise from anybody. And apparently the only item condition for which there are objective grading standards (Mint), can still get screwed up.

  10. #10
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    LOL. The difference is, scuff marks on a CD almost never affect play.

    Scuff marks on an LP almost always do.

  11. #11
    One of the reasons I stopped completely to buy instruments on the net. About ten years ago I bought a corean Telecaster copy which had actually never been played the plastic still on the pick guard original carton but the person has kept the guitar for some years in a damp cellar just by opening the box you could smell it and the electronics were down. It's otherwise a nice guitar , but I had to invest extra money to have the electronics and the neck fixed.

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  12. #12
    I buy something off of Discogs weekly. I love that I can find the exact pressing or release that I desire. I almost ALWAYS communicate with the seller regarding condition before I make my purchase. A short email exchange, and we both know what to expect.
    "Always ready with the ray of sunshine"

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by strawberrybrick View Post
    I buy something off of Discogs weekly. I love that I can find the exact pressing or release that I desire. I almost ALWAYS communicate with the seller regarding condition before I make my purchase. A short email exchange, and we both know what to expect.
    That's a good advice, photos of the cover would be helpfull too IMO. I noticed that people who treat well the covers often treat well the record too.
    Dieter Moebius : "Art people like things they don’t understand!"

  14. #14
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    Never used Discogs, but there was a time when I used GEMM a fair bit, when I was trying to acquire all that Québécois music that will never be reissued on CD (like Connivence, for ex)

    TBH, I didn't find the mint grading very "minty" at all and often way too expensive, so I downgraded my searches to VG (often for price reasons too).
    Sure I got things that were less than perfect, but I got them for a reasonable price.
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by strawberrybrick View Post
    I buy something off of Discogs weekly. I love that I can find the exact pressing or release that I desire. I almost ALWAYS communicate with the seller regarding condition before I make my purchase. A short email exchange, and we both know what to expect.
    Yeah, I do this for anything thing not graded Mint with "brand new" or something in the description.

    My biggest complaint is sellers on Discogs that will describe it as "Sealed, still in shrink wrap" but then grade the media/cover NM or less. They're cutting the side to open it and play the record while leaving the shrink wrap on. Wonder how many get fooled thinking they're getting a new product.

  16. #16
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mike_hunt View Post
    Yeah, I do this for anything thing not graded Mint with "brand new" or something in the description.

    My biggest complaint is sellers on Discogs that will describe it as "Sealed, still in shrink wrap" but then grade the media/cover NM or less. They're cutting the side to open it and play the record while leaving the shrink wrap on. Wonder how many get fooled thinking they're getting a new product.
    Not to mention that many of those shrink wrap were way too tight in the late 70's & 80's and caused damage to the sleeves... At one point I really appreciated that some shrink wraps were rather loose, at the risk that the disc was not always well protected, because it was sticking out 1 cm or so.
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

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