Do you mail order vinyl when it's hot??

[WOStantonCS100]

It's barely June and we're already over 92*F / 33*C !!! This doesn't look good for the rest of the summer. There are a bunch of LPs I'd like to order; but, I'm just not convinced they'll make it here without serious issues. :(

[Thing Fish]

I must admit the heat never occurred to me. I just order when I want and as yet no problems.

[MartinT]

It hasn't stopped me yet.

[Beobloke]

Our postie tucks LP shaped packages into my shed round the back so no issues here.

[sparrow]

Our postie tucks LP shaped packages into my shed round the back so no issues here.

A lot of good that is as we don't know your address...........:eyebrows:


I'll get me coat..;)

[Allan W.]

No, I live in southern Nevada. All mail order vinyl is done in the cooler months.

[MartinT]

No, I live in southern Nevada

Eek! I can just imagine what a couple of hours in your porch would do to a nice vinyl package :eek:

[Jac Hawk]

i suppose it would depend on how well packed the vinyl was, you know a couple of nice thick sheets of cardboard ether side of the LP would be ok to keep it as flat as possible, to be honest like most others it's never really crossed my mind

[flapland]

i suppose it would depend on how well packed the vinyl was, you know a couple of nice thick sheets of cardboard ether side of the LP would be ok to keep it as flat as possible, to be honest like most others it's never really crossed my mind

But you live up north and we all know it never stops raining up north so not a consideration. Down in the smoke its currently a balmy 25C or 77F in the pre-decimilation north.

Ex northerner now thought as a southern softy by family ;)

[Jac Hawk]

But you live up north and we all know it never stops raining up north so not a consideration. Down in the smoke its currently a balmy 25C or 77F in the pre-decimilation north.

Ex northerner now thought as a southern softy by family ;)

Sunderland was 26c outside of my office yesterday, god knows what it was inside the aircon packed up on monday and still isn't fixed:steam::steam:

[flapland]

Sunderland was 26c outside of my office yesterday, god knows what it was inside the aircon packed up on monday and still isn't fixed:steam::steam:

Very toasty, I would sit besides the River Wear and work offline..... or :cool:

In fact just :cool:

[Allan W.]

Eek! I can just imagine what a couple of hours in your porch would do to a nice vinyl package :eek:

Today the high temp was 97 degrees (36c) and it's not even hot yet.:stalks:

[WOStantonCS100]

I've rolled the dice and placed a couple of orders. I also went ahead and instructed the post office to hold all my mail there with no delivery to the house. (The trip from the post office to my house in those little overheated mail trucks is usually where disaster strikes.) Even if they're not warped when I pick up the mail, I don't think I'll push my luck again until it gets cooler, much cooler.

[Jac Hawk]

Sorry to sidetrack this thread a bit guys, but i've recently bought 4 LP'S via ebay, 1 from a private seller and the rest from an ebay online shop, and was frankly shocked at the condition of not only the vinyl, but also the sleeves. All the LP's were described as being in VG to Near Mint condition, so imagine my shock when one LP arrived with not only a split sleeve but no inner sleeve and the vinyl covered in so many scratches that it had lost it's shine, i tried to play it but it was painful to listen to and went in the bin. Ohh well i thought, private seller so then i decided to buy the other 3 LP's from a vinyl trader on ebay, the vinyl was described as near mint and the sleeves as VG+, so the records turn up, one LP is missing it's inner sleeve, all the LP's have a few audible scratches and all were filthy.

So is it that i have high expectations, or do sellers on ebay take the piss when they advertise their stuff:scratch: luckily non of the LP's were too expensive so i can live with it, but it seems to be a lottery when you buy vinyl from ebay as the descriptions are seldom accurate.

[keiths]

I've largely given up buying vinyl off ebay because of this. A few years ago, when I sold off most of my record collection on ebay, I was regularly praised in buyer's feedback comments for the very conservative nature of my grading. I guess this has raised my expectations and many sellers fall short.

Now I only buy vinyl face to face where I can inspect the records before parting which cash. This has meant me only buying from charity shops as there are no other local outlets (as I'm carer for my dad, trips to Manchester etc are sadly out of the question.), however, I've just found out that the bookshop in town is shortly to open a record department in his basement and he currently has about 4000 lps in stock :stalks: Getting a 'private viewing' in the next week or so.

[MartinT]

I've been relatively lucky, although I only buy vinyl described as mint and that's what I expect. They have all been playable after a clean through the RCM.

[BTH K10A]

Sorry to sidetrack this thread a bit guys, but i've recently bought 4 LP'S via ebay, 1 from a private seller and the rest from an ebay online shop, and was frankly shocked at the condition of not only the vinyl, but also the sleeves. All the LP's were described as being in VG to Near Mint condition, so imagine my shock when one LP arrived with not only a split sleeve but no inner sleeve and the vinyl covered in so many scratches that it had lost it's shine, i tried to play it but it was painful to listen to and went in the bin. Ohh well i thought, private seller so then i decided to buy the other 3 LP's from a vinyl trader on ebay, the vinyl was described as near mint and the sleeves as VG+, so the records turn up, one LP is missing it's inner sleeve, all the LP's have a few audible scratches and all were filthy.

So is it that i have high expectations, or do sellers on ebay take the piss when they advertise their stuff:scratch: luckily non of the LP's were too expensive so i can live with it, but it seems to be a lottery when you buy vinyl from ebay as the descriptions are seldom accurate.

I have had similar experiences and no longer buy off ebay. I think the problem is the normally accepted grading system:

"MINT: The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

EXCELLENT: The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and / or creasing.

VERY GOOD: The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

GOOD: The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

FAIR: The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and / or defaced.

POOR: The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.

BAD: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection filler."

IMHO anything les than "excellent" by these standard is crap not worth having unless it's extremely rare and not available on any other format. "no major deterioration in sound quality" in regard to records graded "very good" is a very subjective statement and open to abuse.

Then there is the usual "graded under a strong lamp" so it must be OK attitude. I've found natural light to be much better at exposing any damage.

At least with charity shops / boot fairs the cost is minimal and you understand that you are accepting the principle of caveat emptor

[WOStantonCS100]

I've been mostly lucky with ePrey vinyl. My most infuriating experience did happen a few months ago, actually. The seller promised a refund; but, never followed through on it. :steam: There are ways to deal with sellers like that. And, you don't have to go through payscalp or fleecebay. 'Nuff said.

Let me add one more to the list:

SEALED: Neither the seller nor the buyer has any clue what condition the vinyl is in. It is certainly no guarantee of "mint".

[BTH K10A]

I've been mostly lucky with ePrey vinyl. My most infuriating experience did happen a few months ago, actually. The seller promised a refund; but, never followed through on it. :steam: There are ways to deal with sellers like that. And, you don't have to go through payscalp or fleecebay. 'Nuff said.

Let me add one more to the list:

SEALED: Neither the seller nor the buyer has any clue what condition the vinyl is in. It is certainly no guarantee of "mint".

Yes, I think there is a small cottage industry re-sealing records. I remember seeing a couple of shrink sealed RCA SB2000 series on ebay a few years back. These were never sealed that way. They (not always) had a small gold sticker sealing the inner sleeve.

I don't remember any of the albums I purchased new in the 70's or 80's ever being sealed although it did become commonplace from the 90's on.

[Jac Hawk]

On a brighter note, i have bought several LP's off of ebay that have been way better than expected, the sellers listed all the little pops and crackles some of which i couldn't hear and the delivery was cheap and quick, i keep a record of these sellers and check them out 1st when i'm on the look out for something.

[Marco]

I'm WAY too fussy to buy second-hand vinyl from eBay, and have no real need to anyway, as I have a good second-hand record shop in town and another in Chester, not to mention tons of various charity shops nearby, so I'm lucky in that respect :)

Besides, I much prefer flicking through piles of records in a shop, which I can happily spend hours doing.

However, one reasonably sure way of 'sorting the wheat from the chaff', as it were, with vinyl sellers on eBay, is seeing if they have gone the extra mile in terms of their description, and have provided some real detail on condition, show pictures, etc.

You can easily tell a real enthusiast that way, who would no sooner sell you duff records than he would buy them himself, from simply a 'Joey'!

Marco.

[mike1210]

I have had some gems off ebay but a lot of dodgy ones with vinyl that is graded excellent but no where near that. I tend to stick to people I have bought off before or as marco said, people who make an effort, add pictures and that are fair about grading vinyl.

Typically very good graded vinyl are dreadful

excellent can be good but not always

near mint usally are but make sure pictures are there

[Jac Hawk]

well i've got a guy down the road who sells vinyl on ebay, his stuff is mint and i can collect, there is also Vinyl Tap in Huddersfield who are great as far as quality is concerned but they can take a while to get stuff in the post, plus one or two other sellers on ebay who are accurate with their descriptions and have reasonable postage costs, thing is there is always an LP i want that none of them have.

Marco up here record shops are like rocking horse shit, you're lucky to have so many places you can get records from

[WOStantonCS100]

Well, see the real problem ;) lies with all "you" people in other countries who just have to get on the internet and clue folks in that there is actually very, very good music to be had in places other than one's own domicile. Bastages. :ner: Ya see, now I have no choice but to depend on scamBay (though, nowadays, I'm turning a lot to gemm, musicstack and discogs) for my nonexclusionary tendencies. ;)

:lolsign:

And, on that note, some good news! The following vinyl arrived safely today from France and Greece:

Igginbottom's Wrench
Martin Circus Acte II
Eternity's Children (Thanks, Andre!!)

In all the decades of looking, I've never once seen any of these platters in a US record shop.

[MartinT]

Don't overlook Amazon Marketplace for some great vinyl. I've used their traders many times and been well satisfied.