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I've started riding the wave of vinyl, and I received in the mail today my first online purchase! Advertised as New and Sealed, the disc arrived opened with visible surface scratches and fingerprints. The record has also gone through the back edge of the jacket.
If this is an indication of what to expect, this will also be my last online purchase.
I've bought a number of records locally and these have all been fine. Rough Trade in Williamsburg has a good selection, as do a number of other NYC outlets, even Urban Outfitters.
Follow Ups:
If that happened to me, I would request a refund. Especially if I paid more than 10 bucks. Ebay has been hit or miss, but mostly hit. I got a quadraphonic copy of Pink Floyd's DSOTM that came all the way from Australia and arrived in pristine condition. Steely Dan Aja red vinyl which was also perfect and the list goes on.
You just got a dud on your first try. Since i first atarted doing it, most suction sites and services like paypal have built in protections for buyers and sellers alike that make it easier to return something you aren't happy with. It's a PITA to return something but no less than returning to any other online retailer.
The frustrating part is that this was advertised as "New and Sealed" and it arrives as neither. When buying used I would expect some variation, but not with new. And how do they miss the "Sealed" part? It was open.
This was a more recent recording too, not one from the old days. New production I would just expect to arrive new. My guess is that this was opened and used as a demo, and the demo just goobered it up. But even then, new is new, not demo. Sealed is sealed, and it wasn't.
Btw, I have the quad version of DSOTM on DVD-Audio, the original Alan Parsons mix. This is probably the same as your quad version as it was supposedly made from the same mix tapes. This is NOT the SACD version that was available commercially.
Well the guy is obviously a dick. At least contact him and complain. If I'm wrong and he's not a dick, I don't see the problem in giving you back your money and return shipping cost. At least split the return shipping.
Sorry you had to go through that and on your first online experience. My suggestion would be to go through sites like eBay or at least use PayPal so you have some protection next time.
And let's not forget to try to buy using the links here on AA so we can give back to this wonderful resource as much as possible.
This was bought through Amazon, so I had that protection, pretty much the same as eBay. And they've already agreed to a refund. It's just the hassle of it all. I haven't been able to find this particular record in the stores in NYC though, Melody Gardot. I guess some pressings are very limited. I'd guess most pressings are pretty limited, except that vinyl is going crazy again.
I think I need to make another trip to Rough Trade Records in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
For the cost of shipping it back I'm realizing it isn't worth it. This is why I don't buy small price items online unless I'm willing to just eat it if it doesn't work out. I didn't realize how little this one particular album cost from the others in the batch, none from the same vendor.
But they are willing to make good in any case so I shouldn't complain too much. I haven't mentioned their name so no harm to them either.
After the first seller cancelled the rest of my order, I went on eBay to get one of the albums and guess what, it came, sealed, but still not new. It was exactly the same as the first. I opened it up, took it out of the sleeve, and I could see the surface was scratched. I put it on and there were pops and clicks through the entire album. Even my old beat up records have sounded better and look cleaner.
Never again.
Here's a good source:
I've been buying classical used LPs from Larry Jones' Polyphony record auction for years and have never been disappointed. I've probably bought 100 LPs from him at this point. His descriptions of the LP condition have always been spot-on.
In general, I've found the minimum bid will win about 50% of the time, and a little over the minimum has a good chance of winning.
He has an auction going on now that closes on May 4th. It has almost 1,900 items, which includes some open-reel tapes and some 78s.
WW
"A man need merely light the filaments of his receiving set and the world's greatest artists will perform for him." Alfred N. Goldsmith, RCA, 1922
I have been buying from reputable(100% positive feedback) Ebay sellers, domestic and international, for a decade. I have returned only 2 LP's because of condition issues. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I think the vast majority of Ebay sellers who sell primarily vinyl know what they are doing and if there is a problem will take care of it.
TR
Soundstagedirect.com
They're the best for new vinyl. Great customer service. I've been a happy customer of theirs for years. I've bought at least 100 records from them.
+1 Soundstagedirect.com. I always try them first. Just never buy a pre-release. You will wait forever. I always check their stated stock. I've been burned a few times here and there where they couldn't deliver, but their customer service always took care of me no questions asked.
I've had better luck on discogs than ebay. The ratings have been accurate more times than not, and if off, not more than one grade.
"Lost my shape - trying to act casual."
Discogs used to be a better experience than eBay. But no longer. There are too many commercial sellers and newbie sellers now. They either don't know how to grade (newbies) or they significantly over-grade (commercial sellers).
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"E Burres Stigano?"
This was bought through Amazon from a 3rd party. I generally don't buy from the third parties as you aren't getting what Amazon promises, fast service and goods that are as promised.
can be bad at times. My most recent 3rd party "new" SACD arrived with the CD intact, but the case damn near shredded. It looked like a truck had run over it. I've got a lot of spare jewel cases so that was more or less remedied.
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"E Burres Stigano?"
it is a crap-shoot. This is the reason reputable sellers on ebay get the highest (often ridiculously high) prices for relatively common records. You didn't say where you purchased the record(s), but some sites have protections built in for buyers. Just today I received an LP from ebay that was way over-graded. The seller refunded me the price and shipping without any problem. Earlier this year I purchased an expensive record on discogs that was VG-VG+ but described as (unplayed NM). This seller from Switzerland took the LP back but it cost me $20 and was a PITA.On the other hand, over the years, I've had many successful purchases on ebay. At this point it is probably the only place I will ever find original LP's by bands like Toad, Buffalo, T2, Flower Travelin' Band, etc. So I guess you need to find your own "trusted" sellers and use them when you can't find what you need locally.
good luck to you.
Edits: 04/20/15
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