"Sealed" vinyl on ebay?

kcollins4

Rocking somewhere
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I'm new to buying vinyl on ebay. There seem to be an awful lot of "sealed" albums. If the seller has good feedback, can I (generally) assume sealed means the same thing as NIB? or is this usually a red flag? I've bought and sold receivers and speakers on the bay, but maybe someone can jump in here and tell me some of the pitfalls for vinyl. I'm not vinyl-smart, I just like the way a good condition album sounds. I'd appreciate any pointers. Thanks guys.:music:
 
I generally assume that if they are indeed sealed, then they have never been opened since new. The reasoning behind this is that I've never come across a sealed LP that was not new thus far. Perhaps there are idiots who'd reseal LPs, but I've never heard of it - which is a good thing, of course.

Cheers
 
I would think that "sealed" would mean new and unused or NIB or NI Package. I personally have been buying vinyl on eBay and have found some excellent deals. I try to buy "lots" and as many as I can from the same seller. The only thing I've ran into is when the vinyl doesn't bring what the seller had hoped it would they are trying to compensate by increasing the shipping charges or not combining shipping cost on mulitple purchases. I've asked sellers to use the media mail option to save on shipping and some sellers have been accommodating while others have not. There's one thing for sure, vinyl is heavy when you get a lot of it together for shipping so ask questions first. Now is a good time to be in vinyl IMO, I know I have acquired more than I'll have time to listen to anytime soon...
 
It was very common back in the day for record stores to buy used records and re seal them. I have never really had much luck buying records on ebay. Its not uncommon to get sealed LP's that are severely warped or have scratches right from the factory. Getting a seller to take back a sealed record is near impossible unless you get the rare seller.


If you buy from real dealers your may have better luck. Places like www.soundstagedirect.com and Amusic Ive had excellent luck with. In the rare instance you get a zinger they will take care of everything for you.
 
The record stores I worked in during the '70s never bought used records and re-sealed them. Not to say it didn't happen; probably depends on the morals of the owner. My boss(es) would have thrown me out on the spot if I did that. I worked for chains and independents.

It is possible to get a sealed record straight from the factory with scuffs and warps -- although I've never found one scratched direct from the plant. It is a massed produced product.

I've had excellent results buying sealed and non-sealed vinyl from dealers and individuals off ebay; as usual it depends on the seller and your relationship with them, bid accordingly.

I still like to buy in used record stores or thrifts because of the thrill of the discovery.
 
I found sealed a Men At Work album yesterday for .99 at a music store. It looks brand new and never opened.
 
Most of the record stores i went to bought and sold used records.
 
I buy sealed lps on ebay but there current music. I never had a problem.....
 
I've sold a number of records on eBay and find that 99% of my customers are repeat customers that trust my grading system. Because of this, I will actually take a photo of the sealed record (to show that was how I received it), and then open up the record and give it a visual grade, indicating this in my auction. I find once you build trust with the customers, they will want you to open up the record to make sure it is in fact in NM condition. Besides, many buyers will want to know the info contained on the record itself that indicates whether it is an early or later pressing, who mastered it and where, etc.

As for buying records, I will never buy an unopened record unless it is a super deal. I've never come across outright fraud where the record is clearly used, but warping is extremely common with these (the shrink wrap actually shrinks over time, and exerts pressure on the edges of the record). I would always prefer to have a trusted seller grade the record than to leave it up to chance. In the event of a mis-grading by the seller, if you have a good relationship he/she will almost certainly give you a refund.
 
I still buy sealed vinyl on E-Pray. But I deal with only three sellers. It takes a while to find the good ones on the bay, but they are out there.

And soundstagedirect is one of those three. Honest grading, fast shipping, super guy to do business with. Doesn't get much better than that.
 
I buy sealed LPs from Ebay but a lot (30 percent maybe) have a warp. Sometimes it's bad enough to affect play. MFSL LPs are sealed loosely and have inner cardboard sleeves (stiffeners).
Other than that I try and buy Mint or NM graded LPs but some sellers are delusional in their grading.
 
I buy lots of vinyl, some on E-Bay, and some sealed. Being sealed is no guarantee of, one, that the LP is a first pressing as many reissues had the same cover and number, two, that the record is in good shape since storage can lead to warping, and three, that the record is clean as I have seen several with a bad case of mold right out of the sleeve.

With respect to re-sealing, I think that this is rare enough as to be a non-issue. I have seen them and they are most always easy to recognize. One last note is to ask if there is a cut corner or notch which many delaers won't mention. Cut outs are most always later issues and not that coveted sealed first pressing one always hopes to find.
 
I've purchased a handfull of sealed LP's off ebay....all but one where perfect, the one that had problems is warped and that might not be it's only issue...it sounds horrid and skips quite a bit.
 
Another thing about buying still sealed vinyl is many times you will pay a premium for it. If you are planning on playing it (why buy it if you aren't going to listen to it) you might as well buy an opened and graded NM lp.

I also don't think it is very common for sellers resealing lp's, but I am sure there are a few who do this. I have seen a couple at a local used vinyl store. They were easy to detect that they weren't original shrink wrapped. I brought them to the attention of the owner and he opened them and sure enough, they were nice lp's, but they also had a couple of spindle marks.
 
Thanks so much for all the feedback guys! I didn't want to fall for a "well known scam". I guess common sense and communication are the key words here. Sounds like the majority of you have had good luck with "sealed" albums, but as always, it IS ebay. I passed on the sealed Moody Blues' Days of Future Passed, and got a "VG condition" version. Turned out well. Looks spotless...hope it sounds that way tonight. Don't ya love it when the cover says "STEREO" in bold type? Stunned when I realized this came out in
'67.:music: :music:

Thanks again:thmbsp:
 
A couple of sealed records I bought appeared just that - new and unplayed - but had defects. One had a bump on the outermost edge that causes the first song to skip at the beginning
 
www.records said:
Another thing about buying still sealed vinyl is many times you will pay a premium for it. If you are planning on playing it (why buy it if you aren't going to listen to it) you might as well buy an opened and graded NM lp.

I learned this the hard way a while back. Sealed MFSL DSOTM, $168.00 warped.
 
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