Is discogs safe to buy from?

[Stephen300]

I gave up on Discogs after less than a dozen purchases. I bought only from 99% FB rated sellers or better and what I ended up with was a mixed bag. Album covers and vinyl listed as being Near Mint were nowhere close to being NM. I recently purchased "Pink World" by Planet P Project. Disc 1 had a major CLICK at the very beginning of the track that lasts for about 8 revolutions. Disc 2 had a kink in it that prevented it from even playing. I dropped the needle on it and heard a loud THUMP on every revolution. The kink in the record would rise so fast that it was bottoming out the cantilever. Fortunately I had my spare stylus installed for demoing new to me used records. At first glance disc 2 looked to be in good shape. Watch the record spin though and you can clearly see the reflected light on the record getting distorted due to the defect in the surface of the record. I've purchased 11 albums over the last 2 months now and five of them were nowhere close to being in NM condition. I will never buy a disc there again.

 

[mcgjohn]

like many others, have bought quite a few titles off discogs even from Europe and the UK. Have always had nice results with those purchases Discogs is highly recommended as a source for vinyl.

 

[knifeswitch]

No issues and have been quite pleased with my purchases. Legit

 

[kdooley]

I've bought many records off Discogs with minimal issues. There were all resolved very quickly. The one thing I would make sure of is that the seller is listing the correct pressing. Just contact them to check.

 

[nicholas2381]

Another vote for positive experiences with buying on Discogs. It's usually pretty easy to identify the quality sellers just by their listings. There are a few I use regularly because I trust their evaluations. There are a few I buy from BECAUSE they evaluate and rate things conservatively. Saves me a lot of hassle.

 

[wasclywabbit]

Generally positive, although I've had a couple of unplayables that were graded near mint. The most recent purchase I asked the seller to play it to ensure no pops and ticks. He obliged and the vinyl was mint. So it doesn't hurt to ask.

 

[grinx76]

10 for 10 so far and 4 more coming

 

[Ken Boyd]

I

I gave up on Discogs after less than a dozen purchases. I bought only from 99% FB rated sellers or better and what I ended up with was a mixed bag. Album covers and vinyl listed as being Near Mint were nowhere close to being NM. I recently purchased "Pink World" by Planet P Project. Disc 1 had a major CLICK at the very beginning of the track that lasts for about 8 revolutions. Disc 2 had a kink in it that prevented it from even playing. I dropped the needle on it and heard a loud THUMP on every revolution. The kink in the record would rise so fast that it was bottoming out the cantilever. Fortunately I had my spare stylus installed for demoing new to me used records. At first glance disc 2 looked to be in good shape. Watch the record spin though and you can clearly see the reflected light on the record getting distorted due to the defect in the surface of the record. I've purchased 11 albums over the last 2 months now and five of them were nowhere close to being in NM condition. I will never buy a disc there again.

I take it you had no problem receiving a refund?

I still have my original copy I purchased when new, always enjoyable spin. Their is a new still in shrink on discogs for sale now.

 

[vinyldavid]

I love Discogs, but the prices are often very high. Make sure you look at the ratings of the sellers you buy from.

 

[doctor fuse]

I've made about 20 purchases on Discogs, and been ripped off once (only 3 of 5 records shipped, promise of partial refund never happened). Neither a good nor bad ratio, I suppose. But the fact that there is no recourse with Discogs - that they have structured it like FeeBay, CAM, etc, where the site has zero accountability - has left a bad taste in my mouth, and I haven't purchased anything from there since, in perhaps a year and a half. Of course, YMMV.

 

[Ken Boyd]

I've made about 20 purchases on Discogs, and been ripped off once (only 3 of 5 records shipped, promise of partial refund never happened). Neither a good nor bad ratio, I suppose. But the fact that there is no recourse with Discogs - that they have structured it like FeeBay, CAM, etc, where the site has zero accountability - has left a bad taste in my mouth, and I haven't purchased anything from there since, in perhaps a year and a half. Of course, YMMV.

I simply use paypal on all of my purchase.

 

[doctor fuse]

I simply use paypal on all of my purchase.

I usually do, but was having trouble with my VISA card and used PayPal through my bank account instead. BIG NO-NO!

 

[BilboBaggins]

I've used discogs to find various hard to find records. Pay attention to shipping costs. I tend to find a seller with reasonable shipping and then look through their list of records to see if there is anything else I want, to take advantage of the shipping already being paid. I have trained myself to pay attention to shipping and the cost of the record together.

 

[ACHiPo]

Yes

 

[mzs1]

Discogs is essentially eBay but only deals with music. So each seller has to be reviewed individually. In many cases there are things listed on Discogs that simply aren't available anywhere else, at least easily.

 

[audiocrzy]

Your not buying from Discogs. Your buying from sellers that list on Discogs. Just keep in mind that record and jacket condition is a judgment call. The sellers idea of VG, VG+ and other record conditions may not align with yours.
I’ve bought a few records from sellers on Discogs. All was good.

 

[stratmel]

I bought the Buckingham-Nicks South Korean CD on there recently. Price for the CD was reasonable, expedited (10 days from Korea, I think) shipping was not. I opted for the least expensive shipping method, and it took almost 3 months to get here, but it did. Seller was great. A very positive experience for me.

 

[AvFan]

I have purchased a few records, ones that I could find nowhere else, from Discog sellers. As others have stated it is important to review the ad and the seller's history plus return policy before purchasing. So far, I have only purchased from US sellers. I have only had one problem (a new sealed Record Store Day release had a big gouge on one side) and the seller did a partial refund that was acceptable to both of us.

 

[Kodaline]

I may try Discogs. Ebay is all over the place. I search for NM records, and have only had 1 be what I would consider mint, many be NM, and many be simply VG. NM should be barely played, perfect looking vinyl and maybe a dent on the edge of otherwise perfect album cover and maybe still in slit shrink. Oftentimes the pictures show such, but they're either not of the item, creatively taken, or just not informative pictures.

 

[GChief]

I may try Discogs. Ebay is all over the place. I search for NM records, and have only had 1 be what I would consider mint, many be NM, and many be simply VG. NM should be barely played, perfect looking vinyl and maybe a dent on the edge of otherwise perfect album cover and maybe still in slit shrink. Oftentimes the pictures show such, but they're either not of the item, creatively taken, or just not informative pictures.

The problem is it really is a judgement call (personal opinion). Even using Goldmine standards you and I may have differing opinions looking at the same piece of vinyls. And I am not saying everyone shouldn’t be close when using a standard, just that it’s not going to happen every time.

Edit: the key is to find the sellers that under grade their offerings, they are out there. We even have a few here on AK