discogs marketplace?

I've only sold a few things there, but I've never had a problem, except for once, when I forgot to set geographical limits on bids and some Russian wanted to buy something.

I just bought a copy of Painkiller's Rituals: Live in Japan (a Japanese-only release, long out of print) from some dude in Norway this week. No jewel case, but it still has the obi strip.

Lurve Discogs. I find the prices really fair, but then again I buy strictly CDs. I can almost always find what I'm looking for in great condition. Between Amazon, AmazonUK, eBay and Discogs I'm very happy.

I've just started selling. Listed the first 30 records yesterday afternoon, got my first order this morning. That was quick.

I've sold stuff on Discogs for years now, countries all over the place. Never had an issue.

Would anyone who's sold on discogs be kind enough to offer any tips they have for setting things up? Supplies to get before listing records for sale? Where to get the right boxes? Can I just make a trip to the post office and get everything there? Cardboard cut-outs for padding?

I'm not sure exactly how to determine shipping prices and options. Do I just need to visit the post office and take some notes?

Any help is much appreciated. I'm excited to start doing this.

ok i'm figuring this shit out lol.

Media Mail for a record to anywhere in the continental US is usually just north of $3. Basic record mailers don't come from the USPS. You'll have to buy them at a shipping supplies store or online (you can get them in bulk orders of 100 for less than $30 if you dig around). Then just pick up a roll of bubble wrap somewhere local and you're all set.

thank you!

Here's yr mailers.

http://www.4bubble.com/50-lp-record-mailers-w-free-shipping-513.html

👍

also - take the records out of the sleeves and ship them in separate inners, packed tightly - this prevents the records from splitting the seams of the record sleeve during shipment, which has happened to me on both ends :(

oh yeah, good tip

sleeve otm, but oversized mailers should be mandatory (imho). nothing worse than getting a record that's lived a good life, only to have one or more corner smashed in shipping.

haven't shopped around for options (since I never get around to selling anything), but here's one example:

http://whiplash-shipping-supplies.myshopify.com

if you're shipping records of value, find an option that is slightly rectangular, provides a crumple zone for your postal person.

For 45s, I place the sleeve at the bottom of a wraparound cardboard mailer, then add a stiffener, then the record inside a polythene sleeve, then another stiffener on top. I seal the mailer with masking tape, then put it inside a rectangular padded envelope.

The pro-rata packaging costs are included in my shipping cost calculations, and the final figure is pretty much the same as everyone else's (slightly lower, if anything) - so the message here is that there's no need to labour over cheaper home made alternatives, just buy the proper products and charge it back.

The nice surprise - I'm new to this too - was discovering that PayPal lets you pay for your postage and prints your address labels, thus eliminating the need to queue at a post office.

It's all going remarkably well so far. Stuff is shifting, ratings are coming in, and I've had a couple of large private bulk orders. Luckily, I had my full inventory of titles already to hand, so I'd recommend getting that done too. (No need to grade and value them in advance, you can do that when the wish list comes in.)

you guys are awesome. thank you.

Pro tip, when you first start packing stuff and you think you're done, give the mailer a firm shake up and down and then left and right. If anything rattles or moves, open it up and put in another cardboard flat or empty sleeve in there... helps keep the sleeve from being damaged (corner bumps, etc) in transit.

how's this goin for you so far, map?

i'm waiting for my lp mailers to get here on monday. ground shipping from new jersey on those, sheesh. i got mailers, cardboard flats, record sleeves and bubble wrap. on amazon because i have a store card with them and the other supply website wanted something ridiculous for shipping.

i'm going to finish cataloging my house/tech and figure out the shipping options this weekend. shooting to list on monday.

also got packing tape.

I've just had an order from someone who signed up to discogs that same day (zero feedback and profile otherwise blank) looking for overseas shipping (Poland from UK) who has paid the asking price for something I had available for best offer. Not sure if/how to proceed...

Um, what's the issue?

It seems the dude has seen the record they have been looking for, and does not want to haggle in case someone else gets in before him/her.

Happens all the time. Ship it via tracked post if you are worried.

Thanks for the advice, yeah will ship tracked, haven't sold outside of the UK before so was slightly nervy about returns/if there is an issue etc

every user has to start somewhere! but if you are that concerned you could always send a message and see how the reply comes out?

Yeah feel bad for doubting (don't want to come across like those ebay "ZERO FEEDBACK BIDDERS NEED NOT APPLY" people), just haven't encountered before. Just sent them a message anyway

I've shipped all over the world, never had any kind of issue beyond the ' this ain't as good as' type things (all resolved happily)

(had a few whoa this is way better than' in mitig.

iirc you can tweak selling preferences to prevent this? I know some sellers require feedback > 95% or something?

So there is an ongoing process of counterfeit, bootleg and other kinds of 'unofficial' releases being blocked from sale.

It's not clear why now (previously only relatively few releases would be blocked, usually due to abhorent content or specific copyright claims,) but it seems likely there's some pressure being exerted by an industry body.

Andy (from Balearic Social) had a thread on this on FB the other day:

https://www.facebook.com/AndyPye10/posts/10155574831424414?pnref=story

So there is an ongoing process of counterfeit, bootleg and other kinds of 'unofficial' releases being blocked from sale.

It's not clear why now (previously only relatively few releases would be blocked, usually due to abhorent content or specific copyright claims,) but it seems likely there's some pressure being exerted by an industry body.

So where do I sell my guy called Gerald white label?

I've always wondered if the edits scene (at least the vinyl sales side) would come crashing to a halt if Discogs, Juno etc get spooked away from selling them.

I've noticed some items being blocked from sale, are they now removing the entries entirely?

apparently not, based on that FB thread

They already allow digital files to be added to the site but not sold on the marketplace, so it's an easy change for them to make.

Just blocked from the marketplace.

As long as they exist and meet some basic criteria, releases are never supposed to be removed from the database once entered. Occasionally to the annoyance of artists who'd like to curate their history.

The basic Discogs rule is that you can create an entry but you have to own the specific release.

I did create an entry for the Alberto's 12" radio version of "Snuff Rock" even though I didn't own one. I do now though, thanks to ebay..

Oh, and I've had a few 'unofficial' Beatles CDs 'withdrawn from sale' recently. I'd sell them on ebay nut I'm guessing one person is acting for The Beatles, maybe.

I got ripped off by a discogs seller for the first time this week. Should've looked more closely at his feedback. His account disappeared once I flagged the transaction. Still waiting for PayPal to do stuff. Oh well, nbd, wasn't a huge purchase.

I clicked on something the other day funnily enough that came up saying you are not allowed to sell it

Noticed this today with an unofficial Van Der Graaf CD we were selling.

We had a bunch of stuff listed that's been taken down. Seems utterly pointless to me other than as an industry exercise in heavy-handed copyright bullshit...

Led Zep and Dylan bootlegs (surprise!) mostly. Seems like the thing to do now is put them up on eBay as a buy it now at the price you want and hope someone buys before the copyright dicks show up (we sold a Dylan 10LP Toasted set that way).

yeah all the ROIO/unofficial items in my collection are no longer listed for sale and have no value, so much for using it as an estimator. good thing we still have popsike.

nah, scratch that, just the Velvet Underground stuff. I don't have as many boots as I used to, esp. CD ones

I wonder if the hammer's going to come down against all 'unofficial' product writ large or just specific cherry picked estates. I feel it could get hairy with lots of new grey area vinyl reissues a la Lilith, B 13, Since 1972, Phoenix, Plain etc

Of those at least Phoenix has been blocked, I think.

An unrelated hypothetical question; does stuff where the copyright might be held in another territory count as grey?

https://www.residentadvisor.net/news.aspx?id=39760

I noticed this while browsing the listing for a Robert Fripp boot I already have. Because Fripp is so pernickety about this stuff I initially assumed that he had personally contacted Discogs and told them to take it down. Didn't realize it was a more widespread thing. Anyway someone has posted a message on the release page saying he has a copy for sale so this might be a workaround.

Fripp's stuff has actually been blocked from sale for some time.