Used Classical LP seller who grades by listening

In a perfect world you are asking for a seller who will give you the turntable,cartridge,tonearm,tracking weight and will give you an aural impression of the lp's performance.
This is the constant bugaboo in buying used records,the visual grading...over 40 years of buying "used" records i sometimes think i know less than when i started.A great looking record might sound shot after one play on a bad,worn stylus,a worn record might sound fabulous with little surface noise and all the highs intact.It can be a frustrating crap shoot,especially if you haunt Goodwill type stores with poor lighting.If you buy from a store try to get a return policy going,if you buy off the web,good luck.Fabulous analog sound does not come easy and the near mint- and very good+ ratings can mean anything.If someone comes up with a solution i would like to hear it.A recent thrift store purchase of ten Classical lp's yielded some real gems at 75 cents each for records costing 20 times that much and more, for sale online or at auction,so sometimes you get the bear,sometimes the bear gets you!

Hi Don78498, I have a friend named Doug in Bolder, Co that does grade by listening. We have been trading since 1992 or 1993. Try emailing him at fortherecords@cs.com .

Thanks for your response Jazz. I do understand that the previous life will have a dramatic effect on the condition of the album and this is specifically why I am searching for a seller who does listen to the album before grading it. You can take a record that appears perfect visually and put it under a SEM or 400X steroscope and reveal the catastrophe that your ears hear only through listening.

I'm not referring to whether the recording is well done but rather; has the vinyl sustained damage through dirt or excessively heavy or light tracking weights, etc.

Play grade if the sellers offers that option accompanied with the visual grading is in my opinion the best way to purchase. As stated already the condition of the record can be very misleading and in the end how well it plays and sounds is the part that can make a purchase unpleasennt or pleasing. I have noticed quite a few sellers on here that offer it. Best advice is find a few different sellers and realize you have to spend the money to get the LPs and the quality of the purchases will help you build a good relationship on trust and what to expect for future purchases in regards to the subjective terms used for grading. Purchasing from someone who knows about proper set up and play not just someone who knows the value they can obtain for the used LP's is important, to me anyway. Cheers.

I play Grade the Classical LPs that are sold on eBay .

I sell on eBay because the records command a higher Price than can be attained here on AudiogoN . 85% of my sales are from Europe and the far East .

My User Name on eBay is the same as it is on AudiogoN . There are some Auctions that end in the Morning.

Don...I deal only in classical, though I'm not offering anything for sale at this time. I too have sold before on both Audiogon and eBay. I listen for surface noise and check for warps on each record before I put it up for sale. I'm only doing what I believe is fair, and could not do it any other way. So far, my experience has differed somewhat from Tubeo's with regard to what interested buyers are willing to pay, with Audiogon members keeping pace with those on eBay.