Sellers increasingly overgrade records


Out of last ten records bought on ebay and discog only one man graded the record right on. He said NM and it was. How and where do you buy original pressings? Prices are going up, grading goes down. Market economy my a..
My warning to anyone thinking of getting back to or starting vinyl adventure - be prepared to send a lot of records back. Yeah, I suppose I could find just about anything in Manhattan stores for a few hundred dollars each. But that’s Manhattan and a few hundred dollars.
It wasn’t like that even five years ago let alone fifteen. It was maybe 20% -25% overgrading not 90%.
I am not talking about classical music records, it might be different, no idea.
Japanese sellers are a little better but still they overgrade, just less so.
inna

Showing 4 responses by bdp24

I was really p*ssed when Nitty Gritty had to discontinue First. Damned EPA!
For Jazz enthusiasts, Atomic Records in Burbank California is an excellent source for LP’s. The owners (two brothers) are very knowledgeable in the genre, and, though perhaps not audiophiles, have high standards regarding sound quality, and have a vacuum record cleaner (I have forgotten if it is a VPI or Nitty Gritty). They also price their LP’s more moderately than many "collector" stores. And, they are swell guys, a pleasant bonus!
Badmouthing ebay is commonplace, but if you are careful, know what to ask, look very carefully at the pics, and have some patience (willing to wait for a Mint/Mint- copy to come along), there are a lot of records available on the site at very moderate prices. I got Mint copies of "RL" mastered-pressings of the first two Band albums a couple of months ago for $12 each.
Craig Moerer is a safe bet. I first bought from him out of Goldmine Record Collectors Magazine, way back in 1977---40 years ago!