Discogs...What is it...is it Legit...?

[David A]

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge about this site? If you go to the link here, and click in the upper right the "marketplace" link, there's a TON of C's stuff for sale. There's also a tab called "versions" which displays a list of information about various releases of each album/single. Greek to me, but I suspect it's important to know before purchasing (assuming this is legit).

Any comments or opinions?

Carpenters

 

[David A]

Doh! Next time I'll do a search in the forums before asking something like this..I see lots of references in the forums to this discogs website. This thread can be deleted (I can't seem to do it).

 

[Karen Carpenter Fan 2012]

I have purchased from Discogs many times, I like the site

 

[Bobberman]

I purchased from discogs as well a few years ago I can say It's totally Legitimate.

 

[newvillefan]

Yes it’s a legitimate site.

 

[Harry]

The idea of Discogs is twofold. It serves as a database of music releases around the world. Members can enter any release that they personally own, down to the minute details of things like matrix numbers, runoff numbers, catalog numbers, inserts, differences in jackets, discs, fonts, etc., so that readers can compare their own versions.

It also serves as a marketplace where sellers can list exact releases and buyers can find exactly what they are looking for. I've used it more recently to find things that weren't available on eBay, or I couldn't tell what exactly I was looking at on eBay.

 

[David A]

Thanks for the responses, much appreciated!

 

[CARPENTERS-COLLECTOR]

I`ve had a delivery today from discogs and it will be the last!
I bought this vinyl below, plus a Japanese carpenters cd and after waiting 2 weeks, which I accept, the cd is missing and the `very good+` vinyl sleeve looked like it had been through a shredder.

luckily, when you put the edges back together, it fits like a jigsaw, so I`ve had to put clear tape all the way round and because the sleeve is white, you can hardly see it.
inner contents and vinyl are pristine, so not all bad.
I`ve also had a set off ebay today and that's not as described. the amount of vinyl I`ve bought in the past that's had to go back is ridiculous, some people couldn't grade vinyl if their life depended on it, but I won`t use discogs again!

 

[leadmister]

I`ve had a delivery today from discogs and it will be the last!
I bought this vinyl below, plus a Japanese carpenters cd and after waiting 2 weeks, which I accept, the cd is missing and the `very good+` vinyl sleeve looked like it had been through a shredder.

luckily, when you put the edges back together, it fits like a jigsaw, so I`ve had to put clear tape all the way round and because the sleeve is white, you can hardly see it.
inner contents and vinyl are pristine, so not all bad.
I`ve also had a set off ebay today and that's not as described. the amount of vinyl I`ve bought in the past that's had to go back is ridiculous, some people couldn't grade vinyl if their life depended on it, but I won`t use discogs again!

It's a shame that you have had such a bad experience with a seller on Discogs. I've been dealing through that network for years and the only problem I have ever had was a lazy seller who took 2 weeks to ship a record I ordered. You're gonna come across bad sellers anywhere you do business, especially eBay. I wouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water though. I'm not a shill for discogs by any means, but writing off an entire community over one bad seller seems to be a little rash. No disrespect intended.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

When dealing with a situation where you have many sellers, the best thing is to give the seller a chance to make it right. If they don't, then fire off a complaint to the most public place possible. (I'm not familiar with Discogs so I am not sure what to tell you on how to proceed, but others might help.) This is the only way the 'bad' sellers get weeded out. If you just 'take it lying down' so to speak, they'll just keep on doing their thing.

The old saying "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" is definitely appropriate with online sellers!

 

[Rudy]

I'm not a shill for discogs by any means, but writing off an entire community over one bad seller seems to be a little rash. No disrespect intended.

That is the key thing right there--Discogs is just the middleman, just as eBay is, along with the Amazon third party marketplace sellers. There are many more good sellers than bad.

The one thing that bothers me the most is grading. I've purchased records graded NM that looked clean, yet there was unacceptable wear (aka "groove burn") on the inner grooves. I find that even with records I purchase locally--I reject about 60% (!) that I have bought in the past several years! (I can't sell them with a clear conscience, so they're all sitting in a reject pile to be handed down or given away.) The condition of used records has deteriorated in the past dozen years. Back in the 80s and 90s, I rarely found badly worn used records, other than something that was dirty, noisy, or had light scratches I couldn't see until I got home. Or, monaural records that were played on old consoles that tore them up.

Thing is, I don't expect sellers to play grade vinyl.

To that end, I now primarily buy new 180 gram pressings (except anything that Universal produces--if they don't screw up the pressing, they totally mess up the mastering!). Or, I've had good luck buying still sealed copies of records--I have several on the way to me now, in fact. True, a brand new or new old stock record costs 2x or 3x more than a used one, but I will pay that vs. having to buy three or four cheaper copies to find a good one, which makes it a wash anyway.

 

[leadmister]

That is the key thing right there--Discogs is just the middleman, just as eBay is, along with the Amazon third party marketplace sellers. There are many more good sellers than bad.

The one thing that bothers me the most is grading. I've purchased records graded NM that looked clean, yet there was unacceptable wear (aka "groove burn") on the inner grooves. I find that even with records I purchase locally--I reject about 60% (!) that I have bought in the past several years! (I can't sell them with a clear conscience, so they're all sitting in a reject pile to be handed down or given away.) The condition of used records has deteriorated in the past dozen years. Back in the 80s and 90s, I rarely found badly worn used records, other than something that was dirty, noisy, or had light scratches I couldn't see until I got home. Or, monaural records that were played on old consoles that tore them up.

Thing is, I don't expect sellers to play grade vinyl.

To that end, I now primarily buy new 180 gram pressings (except anything that Universal produces--if they don't screw up the pressing, they totally mess up the mastering!). Or, I've had good luck buying still sealed copies of records--I have several on the way to me now, in fact. True, a brand new or new old stock record costs 2x or 3x more than a used one, but I will pay that vs. having to buy three or four cheaper copies to find a good one, which makes it a wash anyway.

I totally get the issues with the grading. I've heard quite a few people who are resellers mention that it's not always done to a professional standard. If not careful, you can take a hit pretty easily on the backend. My purchases are all for self use, so unless the grading is severely off, I don't have any problems. I stay within the VG+ to NM range for vinyl and don't have any issues with playability once I give the discs a good douche after receipt to remove as much crud as possible. I find that good thorough washing eliminates a lot of issues and is often taken for granted.

 

[Rudy]

Oh yeah, definitely--I give all the used stuff a good scouring once it gets here. It gets a trip through the ultrasonic, then over to the record vac for a rinse and dry, and a new sleeve to store it in.

Part of my problem buying things locally is that my eyesight isn't what it used to be, and the poor lighting in the stores just makes it worse, even with my glasses on. The closest used record store to me doesn't always have the best quality vinyl (I've gotten more duds from there than anything else), but they do have a deep selection. Thankfully they have a bin of sealed old stock vinyl and I've found a few gems in there.