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Looking for good reasonable eBay vinyl record sellers that combine shipping cost. Thinking of a buying a handful of good engineered records. I want Dynamics, imaging and soundstage. Genre is not a priority. I'll wait for some suggestions. Thanks in advance.
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Be an informed buyer rather than relying on (and trusting) arms length sellers.
I have enjoyed good luck in Ebay purchases. Overall I would say that I have done a little better than expected, based upon LP condition. I have frequently received LPs that were under graded- described as VG or VG+ and arriving in NM condition. While I have had a few bad purchases, I don't spend a lot of money, and overall I feel I am ahead.
I take time to carefully read descriptions, and look at pictures. I ask questions if I am unsure. I look at what the seller is currently selling, and has sold in the past. Are they a specialist or a picker who knows "records" are "trendy" ?
I have noticed some sellers include a verbal description of LP condition, but pointedly do not include a condition grade. When asked, their reply is that LP grades are "subjective". Uh Huh.
Know what you want, including pressing minutia. Learn how to distinguish pressings. Examples: Does that NY NY Blue Note pressing include an ear mark ? What address is listed along the bottom of that Led Zeppelin LP? What isa the matrix detail in the deadwax of that Beatles Parlophone LP ?
Good Luck.
particularly concerning pickers vs. record sellers. Although the only way to get a decent price on a record these days is to take a chance on a junk trader. With the no questions asked eBay return policy, buying a mis-represented LP is a pain in the ass, but not a possible loss (except time).
I have had some luck on low feedback sellers with no real grading scale or description. I'll often inquire what they think the LP would get on a 1 -10 scale. The pro sellers of course get more money than they should, so I seldom buy anything from those guys.
I think the difference as a buyer on discogs and eBay is negligible, a deal may be easier to get on discogs due to the BIN only option. I have purchased over-graded LP's on both.
Selling is another thing. Ebay is ruining the selling experience. It started with the inability to leave a buyer negative feedback. There is no recourse for unpaid items except to BLOCK the buyer in the future. "Opening a case" now only cancels the order. I have "sold" a few LP's recently for decent $, and never received any funds. 2 buyers ignored the invoices, and the 3rd emailed me; "I can't afford it". I will relist the LP next month, but it still screws up my auction. Also eBay, like discogs started automatically adding VAT to the postal order form. This is the death blow for European buyers in high VAT countries.
nt
Used record auction site with a twist: the proprietor, Larence Jones, inspects and listens to (at least part of) each record to grade them. He publishes a catalog of about 1,500 LPs every two to three months. His condition reports are absolutely reliable. I've been buying LPs from him for many years. Lawrence knows his stuff and is wonderful to do business with.
WW
"Put on your high heeled sneakers. Baby, we''re goin'' out tonight.
Hi Bill, I was unfamiliar with this seller, but then I've never bought from individuals online. But I was curious so checked out the site.
What a vast inventory and amazingly detailed descriptions. It's hard to imagine the time required to put it together. Then if he inspects and listens (even partially) to each offering then even more amazing.
Even if the new catalog includes items unsold from the last, that must be a huge amount of work.
"The only cats worth anything are the cats who take chances. Sometimes I play things I never heard myself." Thelonious Monk
I have had better luck at Discogs. Super large collection to choose from. I filter for near mint, and choose sellers from US or Canada, for fastest, and cheapest shipping. Near mint 99% of the time when they arrive. I have been there for several years now, and have yet to be dissapointed.
mg16
In my experience.
I have been buying off eBay since its inception and almost always have had a positive experience. Only a few times I received a dud and the seller made it right except for one instance. That was over 20 years ago before buyer protections were implemented. Buying off line from ANYONE has its risks, but reading the ad carefully and understand what you are buying goes a long way toward success.
Sort of reminds me of when I was managing a "collector's" record shop that did
mail order well before that was a "thing". Full page ad in every issue of Goldmine.
We barely ever had any returns and seldom any complaints about mis-grading,
poor packing or orders not received from our world wide mail order clientele.Two local shopping buddies would frequently come in to shop.
One was a blue collar guy (like me) who bought one/two LPs, nothing ever
very expensive (for what that's worth, IMO very little), his friend was an
attorney with lots of disposable income and bought quite a few LPs each
trip, many of them pretty pricey. Both jazz guys BTW.We graded all LPs accurately and priced them accordingly.
Invariably, the guy that bought the one/two LPs would return them for credit
the next week because of "condition" and receive store credit. After a couple
years it was very obvious he was just an obnoxious PIA AND maybe, just maybe,
really, really fucking picky AND anal retentive, or in store parlance, an AUDIOPHILE.Was always VERY glad he wasn't a mail order customer.
The other guy hardly EVER returned ANY of the LPs he bought.
I've always suspected there are more of the second type of buyer out there
but the first type is the one we hear about (and from) more and most often.Most sellers are honorable, some make errors, but few are intentionally dishonorable
but caveat emptor never, ever hurts.
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination"-Michael McClure
Edits: 12/26/21
Later Gator,
Dave
eBay, Alibris Books back in the Aughts, Discogs. I've got some bad LPs but no more than I've bought from local record stores.
In other words, even when I can take the LP out of its cover and actually fix my peepers on it, I don't do any better than if I bought the LP sight unseen, from an online seller.
The problem is not that there is evil in the world, the problem is that there is good. Because otherwise, who would care?
If the price is right sometimes I'll take risks. Sometimes it works out - sometimes not. Best values I ever got were from new sellers or people trying to recover from bad FB.
Generally speaking the rule of thumb is I get what I pay for. Raising a stink cause a $50 nm record being sold for $20 shows up as a nice vg record isn't something worthy of whining about. When I need the nm record it's worth finding someone who knows what they have and are selling it for what it's worth - if it shows up vg or vg+ then I would complain.
I really enjoy buying on-line but the reality is all kinds of people sell records on ebay. Expecting them to live up to audiophile or anal record collector standards is just not reasonable. Some folks don't buy used records on-line and others that do probably shouldn't.
Bottom line - always buy from sellers who offer returns. And if bargain hunting is part of the agenda expect to be returning some records.
There are a ton of reputable dealers that sell there and they have feedback listed. I've never had a bad experience there in 5-7 years I think of doing most of my vinyl shopping on the site.
both eBay and discogs. One of the bad experiences I posted about below was with discogs.
At least most of discogs sellers use the Goldmime rating system or another similar system. Whereas on eBay, some sellers just say "used."
Yes, Discogs is great and easier to navigate and find the exact condition you want. Ebay not so easy.
I've bought from rowdy7698 and bobdjukic on multiple occasions.rowday7698 does sales with best offer options. At first look the asking prices might seem high (they are at least fair) so you can make offers and he'll except reasonable ones. However IME experience I would rather pay his price than risk losing the item to another buyer (he can take his time, 24 or 48 hours, getting back to you on the offer and he will). His grading has been awesome, vg+ records very close to nm and his nm records are just about mint, as it should be but rarely is.
bobdjukic does auctions and are worthwhile checking for them. I've bought a couple of items from him and have been very pleased.
https://www.ebay.com/usr/bobdjukic/
Edits: 12/24/21 12/24/21
Try buying some binyl from Tony who runs the UK PFM HiFi Forum
Pick someone with near 100% rating and a lot of sales. I haven't gotten a bad lp yet.
VG+ is the most abused rating even from mostly reputable sellers.
Edits: 12/24/21
I regularly buy vg+ records from sellers I can trust. There are sellers out there who are as critical as you. Like anything audio it takes some work.
were rated VG+ by sellers with feedback of 99.8% or better. One of the sellers was well known Craig Moerer Records in Oregon. Both records had deep scratches that caused periodic loud ticks. Fortunately, I am receiving a full refund for both. I thought I could trust Craig Moerer like you trust certain reputable sellers, but . . .
I certainly research feedback comments and ratings before buying, and some good sellers advise buyers of their rating definitions. In the above bad experience, the seller didn't even match his own rating definition.
Craig Moerer Records in Oregon. - I had an issue with him too.
Last year I missed "CRC" on the record label twice. What a piss off I hate record club pressings more than cut outs or punch holes.
I've ordered a number of records from him, all as described. He's generally very good but everyone makes mistakes.
Free and fast shipping, good prices. I've ordered many LPs from this store.
The problem is not that there is evil in the world, the problem is that there is good. Because otherwise, who would care?
High recommendations from me as well. Great lps and excellent process
Sim
Edits: 12/25/21
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