Jerry H.

Take this as both a review and call to action of sorts, I'll keep them both short.

I've been buying on Discogs for about six months now. My typical transactions go like this... I buy a record based on the listed condition, usually Near Mint, but on occasion Very Good Plus; about 5% of the time my expectations are actually exceeded; and about 20% of the time I'm satisfied, to varying degrees, with the condition of the record. This leaves a huge majority of transactions (roughly 75%) that range from unacceptable to infuriating depending on how badly the seller's condition grading squares with (or doesn't square with) reality. I've received "Near Mint" records with huge gauges in them and other "Near Mint" and "Very Good Plus" records with a litany of other condition issues that, by definition, should not under any circumstance, be found on such records. Not to mention that they are nearly universally filthy (disgusting even). When I receive these types of records, which is most of the time, I contact the seller immediately. Basically, their response is always the same."I'm really sorry, I don't know how that could have happened. Let me give you a full refund, you keep the record." In other words, here's your money back and a small (and totally useless) gift, now please keep you mouth shut and don't give me negative feedback. This same situation happened so often, I began contacting the seller ahead of time and asked them to confirm condition or cancel my order. That has totally solved the entire problem and now everything is perfect - NOT! I still get crap most of the time. Sometimes sellers won't confirm the condition and will cancel the order which I appreciate since it saves me some aggravation.

If you're still reading this (thank you), you must be asking yourself, "then why do you bother?". The simple answer is this, Discogs has an amazing selection music at typically reasonable prices. I use it as a supplement to my local record shops and thrift stores. You have to wade through a ton of crap, but get luck sometime. It's totally frustrating, annoying, and can drive me totally crazy, but unfortunately, there's nothing quite like it and I at least see the promise of what it could be.

My call to action: HOLD SELLERS ACCOUNTABLE. As I mentioned, I ask sellers to confirm condition prior to shipping - consider that you're proverbial two strikes. If you do that and still get rubbish, DON'T BE BOUGHT OFF, LEAVE FAIR BUT NEGATIVE FEEDBACK.

I'm hopeful that if enough people start doing this, Discogs can turn this thing around. Personally, I have one foot out the door and another on a banana peel so I'm another bad transaction or two away from swearing off of it.

Lastly, I'm pretty sure my experiences are similar to a lot of other buyers. I would be very suspicious of anyone who claims all is good at Discogs.