Hunting for 1st pressings


How do I know if I'm looking at a first pressing of vinyl? 
Also, I've seen ads for new, sealed vinyl claiming it's a 1st pressing. How does the seller know that if the album is sealed. 
rockyboy

Showing 2 responses by fjn04

There's generally no way to tell if a sealed LP is a 1st pressing,  because catalog numbers stay the same for several runs. Disgogs is the only source I am aware of, and it's never easy. In other words, I've seen matrix #'s of early pressings not identified on Discogs. I love first pressings, but identifying them is a real pain..... It's almost as if they thought we wouldn't care. If they thought we would care, they would have made it easier.