discogs marketplace?

Yeah, I stay away from pretty much everything on Discogs rated VG or lower.

I’ve rallied against the VG/VG+ black hole before

VG+ is def the most bullshit grade

idk not in my circles or buying experience, VG is where the disagreements seem to start

that being said, I think I've probably been lucky w/r/t Discogs purchases

xp a bit but I always have a bottle of Record Revirginizer kicking about now, it's kind like wood glue but actually designed for records

I've had records I thought were trash brought back to VG and better with this stuff, in Australia it costs about $50 a bottle - not sure how many records I get out of that, feels like more than 25 tho - I ask myself would I pay $2 at the shop for a better sounding record and the answer is yes

It was made in Aus but I've heard the dude's patent was bought out by a US company so maybe it'll start showing up more readily/cheaply in other territories now

He'll make a mint

nah they only offered a Very Good Plus

Most VG+ graded purchases I've made on Discogs from large sellers have been okay. It usually means the record sounds decent and the cover has issues, which for something cheap doesn't bother me. The bad ones tended to have surface noise despite looking clean.

hint: if it’s an older record, it’s probably not actually VG+

ime

idk I have e.g. a 1967 Doors pressing that is basically perfect aside from very light shelf wear, would def grade it VG++

I'm kind of a condition freak so I break it down like:

Mint -- opened but unplayed, record never taken out of jacket, no creases or cover issues

Near Mint -- basically perfect w/ minor signs of use

VG++ -- like NM but with aging or other noticeable wear

VG+ -- basically in great shape but maybe some hairlines or spindle wear or small cover issues etc, record should play w/o surface noise unless pressing is known to have issues (which happens a lot tbh)

VG -- some surface noise, pops, crackle, etc. Shouldn't interfere w/ the listening experience. I wouldn't buy or keep a musique concret or classical or quiet experimental record with this grade unless it was a placeholder for an upgrade

VG- -- known issues like scratches or cover damage, but not so much as to become a beater. no skips.

G -- beater copy that I file w/o an outer sleeve just to play for fun. maybe a skip or two.

F or P - pretty much worthless except for sentimental reasons

fortunately I only sell through a small internet group of mutual friends and in person at shows, so grading doesn't come up for me too much. I will say again that out of hundreds of Discogs purchases I've only had a couple of overgrading issues.

To me, those all sound at least one notch too generous. But I’m not in the collector game

for reference:

https://www.goldminemag.com/collector-resources/record-grading-101

basically any noticeable flaws should mean VG- or lower, with descriptions of said flaws

yeah I mean i should stress it’s just my experience. a few years ago I ordered 10 VG+ steely dan records from 10 different sellers and only one was actually VG+... the rest were VG at best. kind just decided to go with stores I trust + descriptive EBay listings for used stuff since.

kind “of”

well I should say VG- at best per yr grading scale, sleeve

I would have thought G means no skips (at minimum). Just by the plain-language meaning of “Good.”

Good records basically sound like garbage but shouldn’t skip

fwiu

I like discussing this stuff btw but I’m a nerd

lol same

I reserve “mint” for sealed records; if the shrink has been opened, the highest I will grade is NM, and that only if it looks perfect in every way. Any mark, even spindle marks, instantly downgrade it to VG+. Any mark that looks like it would be audible (or, if playgraded, any audible issues beyond a tiny amount of crackle at the start of a side) instantly downgrades the record to VG.

For jackets, even if sealed, I usually grade NM at best. I have one item currently for sale that looks like it just came off the factory line and was handled with care - my only M/M. I have lots of sealed records that grade M/VG+ or M/VG due to bumps, shelfwear, etc.

I try to accurately describe any flaws.

I’m sure I miss out on lots of sales because people are (rightly) wary of VG+ records actually being VG or worse, and listing 2 or 3 flaws in the description makes the records sound worse than they are, but it’s more important to me to keep my 100% seller rating than to have a couple more bucks in my pocket. YMMV.

^^ tough but fair, I shoulda mentioned that for me "sealed" is a separate thing, some new stock never comes in shrink

(would totally buy from you, feel free to plug yr store)

yeah was going to say hardcore, great post, would like to browse your store

an old friend of mine who has owned a record store for years always prices stuff very fair, def less than discogs, I asked him why and he said "a record store should be a river not a lake"

which I love the imagery but basically he wants stuff going out and stuff coming in at all times, if that means getting $10 less than three theoretical price online so be it, he wants there always to be new stuff when someone comes in

Absolutely, nothing more off putting with these stores than going a month later and seeing the same records in the same order. In college at Green Bay i dropped a lot of money at this one small shop because it seemed like every week there was a new stack of stuff and it made me feel like if I didn’t go there frequently I’d miss something good

That makes me think of Rat in Camberwell, which has a great flow of new stuff. It tends to be cheaper than elsewhere but damn you have to get there early.

a record store should be a river not a lake

love this and so true

agreed, and that's also good inventory practice for any brick & mortar really, something that doesn't sell is taking up space where something that does sell could be

I’m ShedRekkids on Discogs. I don’t have a ton of stuff listed, as I do prefer to sell locally if possible. If any of you do decide to buy something, send me a message about it first & I’ll sling you an ILX discount! I’m only shipping in NA right now because tracking overseas is hella expensive & I’ve had some scares with untracked parcels (although everything I’ve shipped has — eventually — arrived)

I love the River/Lake quote! Def feel that, even if I don’t always practice it.

VG is where the disagreements seem to start

otm

italian seller says:

LIVE TEST ON WATSAPP OR FACETIME AVAILABLE!

not for me, exactly, but i appreciate the enthusiasm / commitment !

that is pretty cool!

Ive definitely gotten a lot of busted-sounding records that have been alleged to be VG+, ime its a major black box of a rating, but I dont get mad bc I always figure if I'm paying enough that I'd be mad if it turned out to be overgraded, its a sign that I should just go the extra mile to get NM

I'm taking my shop offline when I get home have been at the post office for half an hour and still nowhere near, fuck this

yikes, I gotta mail a bunch tomorrow for the first time in months, wish me luck

an hour to post a CD for £2 standing in a crowded shop where some wankers aren't wearing masks. no fucking way. all items expired, phew.

for those in the US this has been the only way i've shipped anything since march: https://tools.usps.com/schedule-pickup-steps.htm (tho idk how widespread availability is)

i've been thinking of getting a scale and starting to print my own labels tbh

100% the way to go in my experience, makes shipping into a routine rather than anxiety nightmare chore

I sell so infrequently (and not actually on Discogs, through a private group) that it's NBD but if I did it regularly I would absolutely go that route.

I’ve been weighing parcels at home and printing own postage if necessary. For vinyl I’ve started sending using Hermes - can buy the postage online the print the label on a machine at the wee shop down the road from me where I drop the parcels off. Been reliable so far. Maybe worth seeing if that’s an option?

yeah i'm not exactly a power seller but even shipping a few record out once or twice a week i find a kitchen scale and $100 brother laser printer to be invaluable.

plus then you can print out recipes and shit too instead of cooking from your phone like an animal

i've been thinking of getting a scale and starting to print my own labels tbh

Holy shit, this is so cost-effective to do that I can't imagine *not* doing it. Please do this and don't wait in the post office.

lol I even have a scale and I'm STILL too lazy to print at home

(I realize that is counter-intuitive and wrong)

I was handed down a scale last last year and I'm really glad to have it now. The post office nearby always has a ridiculous line (which now goes out the door due to social distancing and the ridiculously small amount of space inside) so ever since March, I just drop everything in, postage paid, into the mailbox outside about 10-15 minutes before it gets cleared out. Zero stress.

okay, any suggestions on a brand of scale? ideally something i could use in the kitchen too while i'm at it. last place i worked we had a couple avaweigh 20lb scales that i coveted — far better than the flimsy flat ones that always seem to turn off in the middle of use. but maybe i don't need to spend $50 actually