Good lighting in the store can make a huge difference.

Posted by alaskahiatt (A) on October 21, 2013 at 15:23:38

In Reply to: Record Grading posted by middleground on October 21, 2013 at 08:21:45:

I try to avoid any used LPs with hair thin scratches or greater, but it takes excellent lighting in the store to see this. Low angle sunlight through a store window would be the best. I will accept scuffs, and I have been very lucky with used records at thrift stores and garage sales. It is really hard to put back a scratched record that I really want, but I have done it many times to avoid those nasty clicks and pops.

I was recently fooled at a dimly lit antique store in Washington State with a stack of jazz records. They really looked good in the store, but good natural sunlight at home told me differently. Disappointed, and another lesson learned. Jazz is so damn hard to find.

I would never rely on a rating system for buying records in a store, but it is the only way to determine condition on orders by mail. Of course, ratings for records by mail can be a crap shoot for sure. My eBay luck is about 50% even though I stick to NM or better. Seems sellers hate to rate anything below VG+ despite the condition. A favorite sellers list is mentioned by many on this site to guarantee rating consistency, but I have not made one up yet.

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Record Grading - middleground 08:21:45 10/21/13 (21)

Lawrence Jones gets it right every time - Bill Way 20:01:49 10/21/13 (0)

RE: Record Grading - Fred J 17:10:47 10/21/13 (0)

A danger in visual grading - M3 lover 17:05:02 10/21/13 (2)

RE: A danger in visual grading - Dogface1956 17:00:46 10/26/13 (0)

vinyl quality - samstone 17:19:22 10/21/13 (0)

Good lighting in the store can make a huge difference. - alaskahiatt 15:23:38 10/21/13 (3)

Point-source halogen light highlights the fine scratches as well. - Bry 08:14:18 10/22/13 (1)

That's like High Definition Video. Maybe some things I don't want to see. - alaskahiatt 10:21:47 10/22/13 (0)

The local big record show wouls have the lighting dimmed.. And I mean WAY down too. Sucked - Elizabeth 16:27:50 10/21/13 (0)

Quick visual inspection is 99% of record grading. The other 1% is 'play graded' ( means all scratched up, but) - Elizabeth 13:08:51 10/21/13 (0)

RE: Record Grading - cactuscowboy@bresnan.net 12:23:28 10/21/13 (0)

RE: Record Grading - Goober58 12:15:57 10/21/13 (0)

Play graded by Marlie Matlin or visually graded by Stevie Wonder. nt - viridian 11:06:24 10/21/13 (1)

RE: Watch it, Buster! - amioutaline? 12:14:20 10/21/13 (0)

For some - mt10425 10:15:41 10/21/13 (0)

RE: Record Grading - volunteer 08:48:07 10/21/13 (5)

RE: Record Grading - middleground 09:23:24 10/21/13 (4)

I think new vinyl only is not the most rewarding way to buy vinyl - Goober58 12:24:17 10/21/13 (0)

Hard to tell - richardl 10:28:44 10/21/13 (0)

RE: Record Grading - Grbluen 10:09:37 10/21/13 (1)

RE: Record Grading - middleground 10:45:08 10/21/13 (0)

Follow Ups

Good lighting in the store can make a huge difference. - alaskahiatt 15:23:38 10/21/13 (3)

Point-source halogen light highlights the fine scratches as well. - Bry 08:14:18 10/22/13 (1)

That's like High Definition Video. Maybe some things I don't want to see. - alaskahiatt 10:21:47 10/22/13 (0)

The local big record show wouls have the lighting dimmed.. And I mean WAY down too. Sucked - Elizabeth 16:27:50 10/21/13 (0)

Good lighting in the store can make a huge difference.

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