A Commitment to Standards..Just HAVE to say this...to LP & CD sellers..

Supercool!

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Don't want to hurt anyone's feelings and I'm sure I've made mistakes too..and...of course I've had many Great experiences as well....

...BUT...a VG++ record IS NOT covered in swirls...a NM record DOES NOT have light scuffs :"hairlines"...and.small bubles/dimples/pits (even one) or heat waves in the vinyl SHOULD be mentioned. A VG+ or better CD does not look like a chicken walked over it..even if it plays.

..and no one wants to do a dna test on the fingerprints from your lunch or whatever the heck that is.on your CD..clean your stuff before sending it along..try using Mobile Fidelity Shinola or even a soft (and I mean very soft and tested as such) cloth and distilled water..rubbing inner to outer edge (not ruubbing circular around the CD like you would with an LP). Come'on folks this is the basic cost of doing business!

Oh yes..while I'm at it....LPs "play graded" without an additional visual grade is bs..if I have an original blue note, it can look vg+ or even vg and play great but its still a vg or vg+ record and should be priced as such.

..finally please consider using the Goldmine or Osborne grading policy in general.."added -'s and +'s'' and "strongs" are fine and helpful but those two systems are fundamentally accepted grading standards (even on discogs) and there is no EX stuck in there..if you don't use these fine, but then please state your specific grading criteria in each posting.

Bright light and a pair of 200 reading glasses are your best friends...so is viewing from multiple angles..

. ok now I can breathe and go rebuy some items on discogs..its getting damn expensive.

..and YES I'm fussy..and maybe an as* ...but someone should make this little rant a sticky, it is a commitment to quality...and community..OUR community! Ok, I'm done.
 
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Totally agree with the sentiment here. I have received “play” graded LPs that I know were never played. Had they been, they either wouldn’t have been sold or someone would have a filthy stylus, terrible sound and a bad LP. You learn over time who to buy from and who not to buy from but that sometimes creates some painful experiences along the way.
 
Osborne was new to me so I looked it up. It's even worse than Goldmine.
They show no grades at all between 'MINT' and 'VERY GOOD'.

The whole problem (imho) is the lack of grades right in between those two. (Well, in addition to people stretching the truth, or just being careless.) This is what I was driving at another time we were discussing it. Obviously I'm not going to originate a new standard, but the existence of E / EX / EXC seems like a simple and major improvement. Lately I've seen three count 'em three pluses attached to a VG grade. There has to be a better way.

In my LP listings I normally mention the following grading range:
F (Fair) G (Good) VG (Very Good) VF (Very Fine) EX (Excellent) NM (Near Mint)
but then I forgot to include the range in a recent listing and naturally buyers assume I'm using the Goldmine standard. And this is 100% my own fault. That's what I get for trying to re-invent the wheel.
 
I will take the blame for what MRL_Audio is mentioning. My last bunch of non-sealed lps… several needed a cleaning which I clearly stated but Mike happened to buy some of the ones that were worst apparently. Some I did sample listen to for a fact but I have a dust brush on the cart I am using and his post made me go look and yes, the brush was dirty

I don't own a RCM so when I clean a record, it takes me an easy 10 minutes doing it by hand and it's no competition for a RCM

I offered to make it right for him but he said he was not looking for anything but Mike has also bought an awful lot of records that were not an issue over the years. He has most of my original Japanese collection for instance so I hope I don't lose him as a customer and friend over a few bucks. No sale is worth a friend

I have a pretty good record of selling records and CDs here over the years. I try to sell the best but there is times when I have player stuff to offer but I clearly state when these are players. A player is going to have some noise but as long as there is not major noise in the music itself I consider it a good enough player

I am not perfect but I have also bought records here that made me think WTF from folks who sell far more then me. I never chose to call anyone out about it. I have bought stuff that looked near unplayed that sounded like shit right at the flea market or local record stores. Is it vinyl formulation, embedded dust or groove damage? It does not matter, it just happens sometimes

I am also not afraid to put my ass out there if I did something wrong or did not grade something correctly. Especially if I disappoint a friend
 
That's big of you Ron. Nobody would have had any idea of the specifics if you hadn't said what you did. I'm sure that most folks won't hold one bad deal against someone when they have done a lot of good ones. That's been my experience here.

We've all had a deal not meet expectations. It takes two like that before someone makes my "unlikely to do business with" list. Of the hundreds of deals I've done here as a buyer or seller, only one person has ever made that list.
 
Most folks won't hold one bad deal against you but there are a few here that are fast to bite hard! Don't seem to make a damn bit of difference as to how much good you have done. Just have to avoid them I guess.
 
M
NM M-
VG+ E
VG
G G+ VG-
F P
And then folks add another + just because they can.

Pretty stupid system if you ask me.

Do like grades A to F no + and -.

Stupid like credit ratings, AAA AA, A, BBB, BB etc. What is that crap. Just like grading records stupid.

Numismatics is just as stupid with the top grade being 70. What the heck, 70, what planet uses that. Stupid.

I guess with the sensitivity of record buyers, if I decide to sell records I will sell them as USED. Period. Get 25¢ on the dollar for value but maybe won't get called out for not play grading the record.
 
M
NM M-
VG+ E
VG
G G+ VG-
F P
And then folks add another + just because they can.

Pretty stupid system if you ask me.

Do like grades A to F no + and -.

Stupid like credit ratings, AAA AA, A, BBB, BB etc. What is that crap. Just like grading records stupid.

Numismatics is just as stupid with the top grade being 70. What the heck, 70, what planet uses that. Stupid.

I guess with the sensitivity of record buyers, if I decide to sell records I will sell them as USED. Period. Get 25¢ on the dollar for value but maybe won't get called out for not play grading the record.
Thanks but I'll go with Goldmine.
 
I would add to make sure that the correct album/cd is in the cover/case. Accidents happen, but it is very disappointing to get the wrong album or an empty cd case.
 
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