discogs marketplace?

Australia used to be really good for cds, new at a third of the price. Postage would be the other third, so you'd be still ahead.

xp yeah I do that on my wantlist, but iirc there is no way to do that for the emails

Basically the only country I can buy from now is Germany unless I want to pay out the nose for postage to the US. Not sure what the deal is there, but Germany to US postage is not much more than buying from inside the US itself.

I've noticed that as well

Yup same. Actually have had decent luck with Japan as well

As a Canadian, I pretty much only shop Germany on discogs. it's weird.

Wouldn't tie in with the reason everybody in Germany used to speak English with a US accent, because of the presence of so many US military/Air Force bases

sorry meant to end with would it?
Meant taht everybody was listening to US military/AF radio.

Just wondering if somebody found a useful loophole through that (bases etc) to get cheap mail rates or something.

Australia used to be really good for cds, new at a third of the price. Postage would be the other third, so you'd be still ahead.

this was probably when they dropped the parallel importation laws that had kept prices high on imports to protect the local industry - new CD prices dropped from $30 to $10 for two years in pop-up shops, 70+% of existing record shops closed, and then the pop-up shops turned into perfume galleries and mobile phone shops

also, postage mysteriously started going up every six months when a former venture capital manager and bank CEO was appointed head of Australia Post, raised his own salary to over ten times that of the Prime Minister, and laid off 900 employees. wild coincidence, I'm sure.

An update on my malady above, for anyone wishing one. I told Discogs that I wasn't get any replies from the guy who I'd attempted to buy the record from, and they said they'd freeze his account if he didn't reply within three days, and he just switched the transaction to "sent" without any messages. That was ten or so days ago, and the record hasn't arrived. I've ordered another record from a different seller since then, it arrived literally the next day. I don't imagine the record will arrive. It could have got lost in the post, but this guy's refusal to communicate doesn't make me want to give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't guess it's worth the hassle of trying to get a refund - it was a £9 record - but I definitely will give him a negative feedback if he doesn't reply to my next message.

He never replied to the tweet I sent him. Weirdly, it seems we have a bunch of friends in common, according to Twitter.

You should be able to get a refund processed automatically iirc? Without having to chase the dude himself

Via Paypal?

I guess my only reluctance over that is the only "proof" i have that he ripped me off is his never communicating and my never receiving the record

Though when I type it out like that...

get a refund with the intent to send the money if it ever arrives? By this point the guy deserves to forfeit the money anyway, just for your time and stress.

If you used Paypal the onus is on the seller to provide tracking proof that the items was delivered to the address given.

I've never had a problem this severe on Discogs, but I know Paypal and eBay both strongly favor the buyer in finding a resolution. I imagine it would be the same in Discogs' case, or else they'd lose a ton of business.

Thanks everyone - if he doesn't reply this week I'll pursue the refund.

And almost inevitably the record arrived this morning, posted four weeks after ordered and almost a week after he changed the status to "shipped". He lives 20 minutes drive from my house.

Who knows, he might be following this thread?

(peace, man) at 6:57 26 Apr 19

... So my initial impression is that record collectors are just flakier than guitar players.

Gla dyou got your lp! It will never cease to amaze me that sellers like yours just do not reply. I can't grasp that.

Millennials don’t understand the concept of good customer service. /s

Gla dyou got your lp! It will never cease to amaze me that sellers like yours just do not reply. I can't grasp that.

I know! And I would have been chill with literally any explanation or excuse, like, 'Aw I'm just really slammed at the moment will get it to you ASAP' or whatevs.

I'm pretty sure he's not even a millennial. Eh, oh well. Record sounds sweet.

I think you've been very patient with this dude as you could've gave him a much harder time about this. Glad the record sounds good!

Here's a question thats been on my mind recently - I've been selling some CDs here and there and struggling with how to grade the discs. I don't want to get bashed for over-grading stuff, but it seems weird to me to grade CDs in the same way as LPs, since visual imperfections dont affect the fidelity in the same ways as with vinyl - there's no surface noise or degradation of the grooves or anything. But when I look around for CD grading standards everything just sort of seems to mirror vinyl grading standards, which seems off to me.

Backstory, I had a guy give me angry feedback over a CD I sold him that I graded VG+ - I had only played it a handful of times and it played through perfectly in multiple players, it didnt have an original NM mirror finish to it but didnt have any noticeable scratches or anything, admittedly I didn't go over it with a magnifying glass, but it just looked like a regular newish CD to me. But the buyer was pissed I graded it VG+ when he saw some marks on it that dont affect play. On the one hand I feel bad (gave the guy half his $ back), but on the other hand I guess I dont totally grasp what a VG+ CD looks like?

I guess the slow accumulation of scuffs and marks can obviously turn a playable CD into a non-playable CD, but tbh I'm not sure if I've ever had a CD that played fine when I got it start skipping and going bad on me, or at least not since high school in the 90s when I would just have piles of loose discs floating around my car. But maybe I take better care of my discs than most?

(i mean ive obviously had CDs get ruined from getting sat on or getting beer spilled on them or other various external acts of force majeure, but dont think I've ever had one go bad through the wear & tear of 'normal' play over the years, is what I mean)

i check CDs under a bright light and then grade visually

worst thing about CDs on discogs are the maniacs that break releases down into matrix number level, what the hell is that all about?

to my mind, a CD either does or does not work. that said, i can understand how scuffs / markings on a CD surface could affect one's perceived value and even enjoyment of the medium. which is to say, i essentially treat grading CDs as a cosmetic thing, akin to an album sleeve. that's why, unless something is stone cold mint, i describe as carefully and thoroughly everything i can about why i've arrived at the grade i've given.

it might sound tedious but when you go through a CD collection you'll probably find yourself copying and pasting the same description with slight variations as needed. with something graded VG+ / VG+ you might arrive at a description like this:

Some minor wispy marks to CD can be seen upon close inspection, but overall glossy and clean. Plays great with no issues. Small ding to front insert top right corner, otherwise great condition; inlay is crisp and as new.

sort of obnoxious collector-speak, but i guess i'm fine with sounding like a dork if it means conveying what's essential about the item's flaws and reassuring potential buyers that they know what they're getting.

the maniacs that break releases down into matrix number level, what the hell is that all about?

― Br. Des Shadows (NickB), Friday, May 10, 2019 10:29 AM (nine minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

if it means three figures for a japanese import of jethro tull's "thick as a brick" then bring it on imo

makes sense budo jeru, guess i'll start approaching it that way. feels dumb to admit but it honestly didnt occur to me that anyone was looking at the bottoms of CDs before playing them

worst thing about CDs on discogs are the maniacs that break releases down into matrix number level, what the hell is that all about?

this is because the marketplace is a little moneymaking thing hanging off the side of the database that is the site's raison d'etre

you can only sell things that are in the database

My CD buyers have ranged from super-picky object fetishists who want absolutely pristine playing surfaces, to people who just want the cheapest playable versions available, no matter how scratched, so they can rip them to FLAC. I've learnt to grade them very cautiously. Agree that the matrix number geekery is baffling - I resent all the time I've had to spend peering at tiny numbers under my SAD lamp.

"Bookogs" is a terrible name!

Lol, I had no idea that even existed. I tried listing a few things on Gearogs when that opened about 3 years agoh (no sales so far)

hotdogs

"On one side of the cover there is a piece (ca. 7 cm x 1 cm) bitten off by a rabbit."

https://www.discogs.com/sell/item/896792400

“record arrived exactly as described, thanks!”

I like finding CDr releases on Discogs that haven't made their way to the SLSK-sphere yet and introducing them.

you rock for doing that, seriously!

Thanks! I do the same for cassettes and vinyl, but CDr is about 1/100th of the work and so much more appealing when I get the urge to spend many $1s on the bin-bottomers.

Are these CD buyers also persnickety about the condition of jewel cases; or do they all just slap the disc & inserts into fresh jewel cases first thing upon receipt? (Jewel cases are obv. impossible to keep scratch-free...)

it’s definitely a bonus to me if an CD has its original nice thick jewel case, those are impossible to buy nowadays.

XXXP
Normally I roll my eyes at those screen names that interpolate 2 artists, but "Skip Spence None the Richer" is fucking clever.

ty, stolen from a non-ILX friend w/permission, I knew I had to use it

Had a buyer recently who questioned the cost of tracked postage on a relatively pricey item. I let them off some of it and it was fine. Now they're asking me to leave feedback which would of course have been positive when I got round to it but I'm resisting the temptation to leave negative for the lulz. Which would be unprofessional and churlish but fuck off, if you're a buyer with 100% feedback you're just being a needy bitch. And next time read the shipping terms properly.

Also I'm not in the mood because I've just had to send a refund for something not sent tracked that supposedly wasn't received. They seem genuine and waited long enough but still annoying to pay for postage and probably lose the item.

Where do you live? In the UK you can claim back postage on lost items.

Good point, I don't know why I didn't think of that. I should have the original purchase receipt as well.

This is only the second time I've had a package go missing and the previous time it did turn up with the recipient eventually.