eBay and AudiogoN
Buying LPs - where do you shop
I made the plunge into vinyl recently, and after some months of trial and error with setup, I'm in analog bliss now. Hence, I've switched as much of my music purchasing away CD to vinyl (naturally enough). I'm wondering where the rest of you vinyl nuts buy your LPs from. I've found a few good sites I can share, and would value any input from others on where they shop.
www.musicfringe.com.
I couldn't believe what I was able to source on vinyl from this site. It can be a little expensive, but they have stuff on vinyl I haven't found anywhere else. The site is a little quirky - you have to search by artist, and you can't filter your search for LPs only, but you get what you're looking for a lot of the time. Often they have multiple LP pressings of stuff available - often from Europe or Japan. the stuff is all brand new. Also, just to note, delivery takes anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks, which is a bit long.
www.dccblowout.com
This site has loads of vinyl - some new, some old, and the interface is a bit quirky too. Still, they have good stuff at reasonable prices. Also, the service is great. The owner, Tom, really goes the extra mile and shipping is pretty fast when the stuff is in stock, which it usually is.
www.amazon.com.
Surprisingly I've found I source a lot of stuff from Amazon - usually through third party sellers though. However, although Amazon is known for it's great user experience etc, it's very challenging to figure out how to search for vinyl. Here's how: go to the main page, click on the "music" link on the left nav, and from the music main page hit the blue "GO" button in the search menu (without entering anything into the search box). Next page will be a more detailed music search, allowing you to filter by vinyl. Select the vinyl filter and enter in your search criteria - I usually search by artist. Next page yields search results, but keep in mind the first three results will likely be CD (representing the most popular searches). The rest of the search results will be vinyl though. Try it - it works really well. I find Amazon third-party sellers offer the best value for money typically (although DCCBlowout.com can be better sometimes).
Finally, the only physical store I've sourced vinyl has been The Analog Room in San Jose, Ca. They have good stuff. Prices are pretty high, but it's worth going if you're close by. Also, there's loads of eye-candy vinyl rigs in the store. The owner, Brian, tweaked my Teres rig to get it working properly too (for free....but I did buy loads of LPs :-)
Anyway, happy shopping!! Can others share where they source their vinyl from. I'm keen to expand my vinyl horizons. Also, I need to source more brand-new Classical stuff, especially stuff I know is AAA quality recording. Help! Happy listening,
Outlier.
www.musicfringe.com.
I couldn't believe what I was able to source on vinyl from this site. It can be a little expensive, but they have stuff on vinyl I haven't found anywhere else. The site is a little quirky - you have to search by artist, and you can't filter your search for LPs only, but you get what you're looking for a lot of the time. Often they have multiple LP pressings of stuff available - often from Europe or Japan. the stuff is all brand new. Also, just to note, delivery takes anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks, which is a bit long.
www.dccblowout.com
This site has loads of vinyl - some new, some old, and the interface is a bit quirky too. Still, they have good stuff at reasonable prices. Also, the service is great. The owner, Tom, really goes the extra mile and shipping is pretty fast when the stuff is in stock, which it usually is.
www.amazon.com.
Surprisingly I've found I source a lot of stuff from Amazon - usually through third party sellers though. However, although Amazon is known for it's great user experience etc, it's very challenging to figure out how to search for vinyl. Here's how: go to the main page, click on the "music" link on the left nav, and from the music main page hit the blue "GO" button in the search menu (without entering anything into the search box). Next page will be a more detailed music search, allowing you to filter by vinyl. Select the vinyl filter and enter in your search criteria - I usually search by artist. Next page yields search results, but keep in mind the first three results will likely be CD (representing the most popular searches). The rest of the search results will be vinyl though. Try it - it works really well. I find Amazon third-party sellers offer the best value for money typically (although DCCBlowout.com can be better sometimes).
Finally, the only physical store I've sourced vinyl has been The Analog Room in San Jose, Ca. They have good stuff. Prices are pretty high, but it's worth going if you're close by. Also, there's loads of eye-candy vinyl rigs in the store. The owner, Brian, tweaked my Teres rig to get it working properly too (for free....but I did buy loads of LPs :-)
Anyway, happy shopping!! Can others share where they source their vinyl from. I'm keen to expand my vinyl horizons. Also, I need to source more brand-new Classical stuff, especially stuff I know is AAA quality recording. Help! Happy listening,
Outlier.
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Emh yes I agree RED Trumpet, Rick has also told me not to buy certain copys as well, Great guy and getting the success he deserves. Huge inventory of new lp's easy to search. eBay for used this is a treasure house. Be careful to ask Questions of sellers about lp condition especially those UK dealers. 70,000 lp's for sale at any given time so knowing how to search is key. |
Yes, Redtrumpet is the best I dealt with.Amusicdirect.com can be quite good too.I also bought a few records from vintage.com and audiophileusa.com-no complaints.For used Lps also try lp-33.com.Jim, the owner, often overgrades the records, usually one step higher.You should ask him questions before buying; he also uses non-standard grading system which he explains.So, he is not easiest to deal with but has some records that you cannot find anywhere else.He accepts returns.Ebay is a lottery.I bought many records that were graded correctly and many that were not.Generally, sellers from Japan are the best; never had problems with them.But shipping is expensive.I recommend EMS(Express),a few dollars more, but regular airmail takes forever.In many cases,when someone on ebay says NM consider it strong VG+ at best.But then again some people grade strictly.Ask questions before bidding and avoid those who do not take the records back if you are unhappy with the condition.Personally,I buy a lot on ebay.But you will need to get some experience there.Besides,many good items are won within the last 20 seconds.How fast is your internet interface? Hope this helps. |
Since I moved to Georgia from New Jersey I no longer have access to my favorite used record store, the Princeton Record Exchange. I've been buying LP's on ebay for several years now, usually only UK,German or Japanese pressings. I only bid on listings that are MINT or MINT-. After 70 or so transactions I've only had 1 LP lost from UK and only 2 or 3 not up to par grading wise. I usually search once or twice a week for the titles I'm interested in, patience is necessary here as a specific title on import pressing may only pop up once a year or so. |
For a non-online experience in the bay area, Aomeba records has TONS of LP's in every category imaginable (if you like stuff like the USSR Red Army Band plays Beatles songs, you can even find that!). If you have a number of thrift stores near you, check them out. I just bought about 50 near mint to very good LPs (usually the vinyl is NM or VG but the cover is trashed,) for an average of 75 cents an album. Got some really rare and great stuff, especially classical. Got a brand new Supertramp, Breakfast in America for a dime that kills the SACD version! |
FYI: I have purchased used vinyl from eBay recently with mixed results...as in records arriving with way too much surface noise even thought they were listed as Near Mint and from seller with good feedback...the snap, crackle and pops have made me stay away from eBay. I'll check out the web sites listed on this thread. I just love Audiogon. |
Outlier, The Bay Area is one of the best places to shop for vinyl. Several of our local Audio Asylum group are very knowledgeable on Classical Music. The places they have suggested are: - Amoeba in SF and Berkeley; - Berrigan's in Oakland; - DB Brown in Oakland; - Saturn Records in Oakland; - Vinyl Solution in San Mateo; - Record Man in Redwood City; - Wessex Used books in Menlo Park; - Ron Pendorff in Oakland. FrankC |
Take the time to check out bopshop.com (sorry,I cant make it clickable) I have shopped there twice.Their LPs are all in like new condition and mostly with a good price. They do mail order.I have seen their mail order storage room.Its huge and they have about anything you are looking for. The store area has a huge supply of LPs also with turntables/headphones to listen before buying. If you are ever in Rochester,NY visit them.Nice people. Albert shops from them.I guess thats a good endorsement. :~) |
Simply vinyl http://www.simplyvinyl.com has a nice sale going right now. I have been very impressed with everything I've bought from them. See if anything catches your eye. |
Well, I'm very fortunate for I have 3 real stores within a half hour drive to choose from . All are in NJ and I know 2 have web sites. Princeton Record Exchange and Vintige Vinyl (in Fords) are the bigger ones and Izzys (in Linden) is a mess but you may luck out and find what you want. As far as online goes I've visited a few but no real dealings with any of them. |
I dropped by the Record Man in Menlo Park yesterday, and I was pretty amazed. Although they have no significant classical section (they have only ~200 high-end titles there), their rock/pop, jazz, big band et al selection is huge. In round numbers they have about 35,000-40,000 in stock, perhaps more. I've never seen that many LPs in one place before outside of the Library of Congress. |