Discogs: seems cheap, but what's the catch?

[Pigmy Pony]

Following a suggestion by Grant (Struth) I tried Discogs for a Joe Jackson Trio double album. It's selling for £24 on Amazon, but I've just bought it for 9 quid inc postage from Discogs. And this is for "brand new sealed". Seems too good to be true. Is it likely to arrive in a knackered sleeve, or even arrive some time after Christmas?

Has anybody had any good/bad experiences dealing with them?

[YNWaN]

I’ve bought from Discogs in the past, but only for second hand copies of records, and found them excellent. However, they are not a shop in the regular sense, Discogs is more like a forum, or perhaps a specialised eBay. Ones experience will depend on who the individual seller one deals with is. I wouldn’t say that they are cheap, or expensive, though. Again, it depends on what exactly you want to buy - some rare stuff can be very expensive and prices can vary enormously (even for the same record).

[scotty38]

I haven't bought a lot off there but for the ones I have bought I just check the feedback and go from there. I realise that some negative feedback gets removed etc but if you read through you can build a picture of whether the seller is going to come through or not. The only other thing is that a lot of sellers tend to give Mint/NM tags on stuff that isn't so, if it can be avoided, don't buy anything that says otherwise as you can almost guarantee it'll be a bit pants :-)

[WESTLOWER]

Following a suggestion by Grant (Struth) I tried Discogs for a Joe Jackson Trio double album. It's selling for £24 on Amazon, but I've just bought it for 9 quid inc postage from Discogs. And this is for "brand new sealed". Seems too good to be true. Is it likely to arrive in a knackered sleeve, or even arrive some time after Christmas?

Has anybody had any good/bad experiences dealing with them?

I literally buy from Discogs on a weekly basis. Can't fault it. Bar diggin in real shops, it's the only way to buy Vinyl online...
The only trouble is, it's too darn easy to purchase... so after a few Friday night scoops, I wake up Saturday and find plenty of confirmed orders!! :rolleyes:

It's a near perfect system. No catch!

[Green]

I literally buy from Discogs on a weekly basis. Can't fault it. Bar diggin in real shops, it's the only way to buy Vinyl online...
The only trouble is, it's too darn easy to purchase... so after a few Friday night scoops, I wake up Saturday and find plenty of confirmed orders!! :rolleyes:

It's a near perfect system. No catch!

I agree, I can feel overwhelmed in record shops sometimes. Too much stock can make me forget what I am actually looking for. Discogs is a pretty good resource, and the more you use it the more you know who the go to sellers are.

[YNWaN]

Adam, I guess you are referring to second hand vinyl? I say that because there are loads of ways of buying new releases on-line. I’ve also bought second hand records from eBay too without problem.

[Andy831]

I have had too many bad experiences on Discogs with second hand vinyl I returned one supposed mint record for a refund because it had a "gouge" (I kid you not it was more than a scratch) A fortnight later it was back up for sale and still described as mint. I now limit myself to CD purchase only as the 2nd hand vinyl is just to risky for me.

[struth]

yup, the grading on site by many leaves a bit to be desired but you can send back. mostly ive been reasonably pleased. I usually use it for hard to find stuff.

good but Steve; I thought there was a few cheap going of that one, hence why i mentioned it.

[Pigmy Pony]

Thanks guys, all very helpful.

I don't know whether I would use it for secondhand purchases or just new - as Phil (Green) says, you probably get to know who the good sellers are, but that could be a painful journey. A "rogues gallery" of crappy vendors would be a useful guide, but maybe that could be libellous unfortunately :(

[WESTLOWER]

Thanks guys, all very helpful.

I don't know whether I would use it for secondhand purchases or just new - as Phil (Green) says, you probably get to know who the good sellers are, but that could be a painful journey. A "rogues gallery" of crappy vendors would be a useful guide, but maybe that could be libellous unfortunately :(

The vast majority are graded strictly, it's not worth the seller's rep or hassle to be anything but.
I have found it far more reliable than eBay

[WESTLOWER]

Adam, I guess you are referring to second hand vinyl? I say that because there are loads of ways of buying new releases on-line. I’ve also bought second hand records from eBay too without problem.

Yes second hand Vinyl... i use Proper Music website for new vinyl.

[Pigmy Pony]

The vast majority are graded strictly, it's not worth the seller's rep or hassle to be anything but.
I have found it far more reliable than eBay


Thanks Adam, that's good to know. There are quite a lot of older records where I would rather buy a minty original release than a reissue.

[stairpost]

Following a suggestion by Grant (Struth) I tried Discogs for a Joe Jackson Trio double album. It's selling for £24 on Amazon, but I've just bought it for 9 quid inc postage from Discogs. And this is for "brand new sealed". Seems too good to be true. Is it likely to arrive in a knackered sleeve, or even arrive some time after Christmas?

Has anybody had any good/bad experiences dealing with them?

I've bought a couple of rare/pricey LPs from discogs, they have always been as listed. (£160ish for an original Massive attack Heligoland being the biggest treat)

Only ever had one issue, a 12" was graded a bit too generously, the seller sorted it straight away once mentioned.

I'd always be happy to recommend them based on my own experiences.

[Pigmy Pony]

I've bought a couple of rare/pricey LPs from discogs, they have always been as listed. (£160ish for an original Massive attack Heligoland being the biggest treat)

Only ever had one issue, a 12" was graded a bit too generously, the seller sorted it straight away once mentioned.

I'd always be happy to recommend them based on my own experiences.

Wow, massive Massive Attack fan or avid collector. Never really got along with Heligoland, maybe I should try harder. Have all their albums on CD (I think) but only Mezzanine on vinyl, which looked like it might be worth something but probably not.

I'm digressing a bit, so yes I will use Discogs for s/h vinyl.

[stairpost]

Wow, massive Massive Attack fan or avid collector. Never really got along with Heligoland, maybe I should try harder. Have all their albums on CD (I think) but only Mezzanine on vinyl, which looked like it might be worth something but probably not.

I'm digressing a bit, so yes I will use Discogs for s/h vinyl.

Massive attack fan, in fact a fan of all the Bristol stuff, one of my other sizeable discogs purchases was Come from heaven by Alpha, that's a gorgeous album, well worth checking out if you don't know it.

Heligoland is an interesting album, not their best but I do think Pray for rain is right up there in my top five faves.

[YNWaN]

Yes second hand Vinyl... i use Proper Music website for new vinyl.

Erm... ok, so what’s the ‘proper music website’ you use for new records? Personally I buy from a combination of direct from the artists website, Rough Trade, eBay, Amazon and a couple of others.

———

The most expensive record I have bought so far was second hand - it was £300.00 and I bought it from UK eBay - it was exactly as described.

[gninnam]

Bought loads from Discogs - old and new and only had one issue.
New album sold as mint and sealed.
When I played it one side had a few very audible clicks so not mint.
Contacted the seller who promptly refunded me - I asked about sending the vinyl back and he told me I could keep it!
Have now got used to the clicks so very happy:D

[YNWaN]

Err... you do know that loads of genuinely brand new albums contain ‘a few audible clicks’......

[WESTLOWER]

Erm... ok, so what’s the ‘proper music website’ you use for new records? Personally I buy from a combination of direct from the artists website, Rough Trade, eBay, Amazon and a couple of others.

———

The most expensive record I have bought so far was second hand - it was £300.00 and I bought it from UK eBay - it was exactly as described.


As you like doing the Errm thing ... Errrrrm ...., you misunderstand me ! The company are a huge distributor and they are actually called Proper Music
https://www.propermusic.com/

And yes we get the eBay thing but Discogs is far superior in every way as it’s run buy vinyl enthusiasts for vinyl enthusiasts.
Just saying..

[struth]

Yup proper do or did some great cd boxsets. Well remastered

[gninnam]

Err... you do know that loads of genuinely brand new albums contain ‘a few audible clicks’......
Hmm.
Been listening to vinyl for over 50 years.
I know the difference between static and an obvious issue.
Plus, all of my 'mint' records have no surface sounds.

[Landloper]

Recently began using Discogs to find relatively obscure operas and have bought four box sets from two different sellers over the last few weeks. Although I wouldn't describe the prices I paid as cheap, the service was friendly, accurate, and efficient. The vinyl and boxes were exactly as described and graded. For me, so far, it has proved worthwhile paying a little extra. I was wary of using the site to begin with because there appeared to be no guarantee offered to the buyer, but there is usually plenty of detailed feedback for each seller for one to come to a judgement as to their reliability & I decided to pay for insured postage to cover any loss. Many sellers on Discogs seem to disclaim any liability for uninsured items. Those disclaimers will limit how often I'll buy from the site owing to the increased cost of insured postage, but it is a useful resource, especially for vinyl.

[willbewill]

Interesting interview with its founder by AnalogPlanet

https://youtu.be/rSntbjpLnvE

[The Black Adder]

A word of warning with Discogs.

There are plenty of scammers on Discogs so just be aware.

Unlike ebay they don't offer any protection. You have to go through PayPal for that. They offer assistance but it's a bit weak tbh.

So make sure you look at the seller ratings. If something seems too cheap and the seller has hardly or no feedback then stay away.

If it's something expensive and you want to take the plunge always ask for a pictures first. You will have a stronger case with PayPal then.

I've asked for pictures from lots of new or low feedback sellers and got nothing back from them.

Sent from my 9001X using Tapatalk

[WESTLOWER]

A word of warning with Discogs.

There are plenty of scammers on Discogs so just be aware.

Unlike ebay they don't offer any protection. You have to go through PayPal for that. They offer assistance but it's a bit weak tbh.

So make sure you look at the seller ratings. If something seems too cheap and the seller has hardly or no feedback then stay away.

If it's something expensive and you want to take the plunge always ask for a pictures first. You will have a stronger case with PayPal then.

I've asked for pictures from lots of new or low feedback sellers and got nothing back from them.

Sent from my 9001X using Tapatalk

Interesting, never heard of this experience and we are very regular users..
But I suppose where there is a market there are chancers..
Surprised though

[The Black Adder]

Interesting, never heard of this experience and we are very regular users..
But I suppose where there is a market their are chancers..
Surprised thoughI've had 3 instances in the past year where I had to get PayPal to sort out a refund.

In fact. It was PayPal Ireland who told me what to do in future.

I wish it wasn't the case but just recently it's become more common. From my want list I get quite a few new sellers selling stuff for crazy cheap prices. I've checked back on a few of them and within a month or so they are no longer members.

Obviously the majority of new sellers are genuine. Its just good to ask questions and ask for images of the item first.

Sent from my 9001X using Tapatalk

[struth]

dont use them much for buying tbh. but recently got 2 and have been fine.

[The Black Adder]

Yes. I use it regular and 99% fine. No issues, it's that that very small minority but your going those anywhere.

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[Pete The Cat]

I use it about a dozen times a year, for stuff I can't get more easily. It's been absolutely fine so far,although there is a risk as described above and so I haven't bought anything expensive.

Pete

[Pigmy Pony]

Well the vinyl I ordered, which set off this thread arrived eight days after ordering, a time period which I suppose will vary from seller to seller. The cover and the vinyl are pristine and it plays perfectly. A minty new double album for £9 inc postage, I'm happy with that :)

[thingfish]

Bought a few albums from them, and no problems so far.