My discogs rant!

[greekgod]

I have purchased more than a dozen rare records off discogs so far from various reputable sellers. Half the time they arrive exactly as described. The other half of the time they are at least one or more grades less than as described.

One record was described as being NM with only "micro marks" which didn't "affect playing". I receive it in the mail and it clearly looked and sounded like an ex-DJ record. Totally unlistenable...

I recently bought a bunch of "new old stock" Madonna lps described as Mint. None of them arrived sealed. The covers were clearly VG+ and one of the records was clearly scratched across the entire lp.

Today, I received another lp that was described as NM but arrived as really being VG. Only multiple cleanings on my VPI Cyclone has made it VG+ at best.

I am very picky about the condition of the records that I buy so I pay top dollar for only M or NM records. It is very frustrating when I receive something that is only worth half of what I paid for and not what I wanted. If I wanted VG or VG+ records then I would have sought those out at a much lower price for crying out loud. All of the sellers I have boughten from have either hundreds or thousands of positive feedbacks. I don't get it...

I have come to the conclusion that even many reputable sellers on discogs are too laid-back on grading their vinyl and buyers have just learned to accept it. I guess when buying on discogs one must anticipate that they are going to receive their lps in at least one grade less than as described. If it arrives exactly as described then that is a bonus!

[jdandy]

greekgod.......Give them the feedback they deserve and let them stew in it.

[audioguy3107]

GreekGod - gotta be really careful with Discogs......if you do some searches you'll,find a lot of stories just like that.....Believe it or not I've had much better luck with eBay. I've read all kinds of Discogs horror stories.

- Buck

[greekgod]

I've been doing some research and discovered that sellers on discogs have a very easy time getting negative feedback removed. Allegedly, there was one instance where a seller was able to have over 60 negatives removed from his account. No wonder the sellers I bought from have such squeaky clean feedback profiles. Seems pointless to have a feedback system. It appears discogs very much has a bias in favour of sellers. I guess the only thing discogs cares about is getting their fees from sellers. Very corrupt and unethical. I will have to take this as a lesson learned. It is too bad because it ruins it for all the honest sellers on discogs.

[rnrmf1971]

Similar unfortunate experiences at discogs have persuaded me to always confirm, with an email to the seller, what condition and what version they have for sale.

[greekgod]

Originally Posted by rnrmf1971

Similar unfortunate experiences at discogs have persuaded me to always confirm, with an email to the seller, what condition and what version they have for sale.

That doesn't seem to work either. I did that with the lp that was supposed to be NM but was actually an ex-DJ record. He even said that he play graded to be sure. He must have been both blind and deaf. I am probably just going to stick to dealers on ebay now. At least, the feedback system on there is well respected and in favour of buyers.

[cmarin]

I've had similar poor experiences with Discogs. Very much a hit and miss affair with the grading unfortunately.

[miner]

Same experience with discos here. Only online seller of used LPs that gave me what was described was Better Records - too pricey IMHCAO.

[miner]

^Cheech, is that you?

[cmarin]

Originally Posted by miner

^Cheech, is that you?

Straight from East LA!! I wish