Nee Lewman
बैस्टर्ड
Release date is Oct 23, so I was gonna wait until then to add the date instead of getting the weird warnings.
Discogs - Help, Tricks, Secrets And Tips
- Thread starter LeeVing
- Start date
Nee Lewman
बैस्टर्ड
This was my thought. I don’t have another deluxe edition that has a separate master.
dirty hands
Well-Known Member
This just saved me a huge headache. I deleted my policies thinking it would be easy to start over and do it the correct way and I got so lost.
Selaws
Well-Known Member
Hi guys, hoping you could help me with something.
I updated the shipping policies the other day as per their new rules and even though I added a 'UK' option I have just had an order for a record to go to the Netherlands and it somehow auto-accepted the same postage rate for the UK. Is there not a way to just have postage in the UK and then set a separate option for the rest of Europe?
To put it in context, postage in the UK is £3.80 (which is what I listed it as) whereas sending it to the Netherlands will be £13.55
I updated the shipping policies the other day as per their new rules and even though I added a 'UK' option I have just had an order for a record to go to the Netherlands and it somehow auto-accepted the same postage rate for the UK. Is there not a way to just have postage in the UK and then set a separate option for the rest of Europe?
To put it in context, postage in the UK is £3.80 (which is what I listed it as) whereas sending it to the Netherlands will be £13.55
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
Yes I have different for here, rest of Europe and worldwide.
You have to make sure that fo the uk that you pick it under Europe but that every country, other than the uk is unticked.
Then you do a second policy and click Europe. This will pick all the countries. Go through it and make sure to specifically untick the uk.
Selaws
Well-Known Member
Cheers buddy! I didn't see the extra drop down per country. What a nightmare all this is though, I cant see what was wrong with the old system if messaging the seller for a rate. At least that way its up to date with current prices and you can give accurate information.
Ended up taking a £10 hit on a parcel because I hadn't set up the policy correctly. Ok, it was my fault but I did actually search and select the UK but it looks like it actually accepted the whole of Europe.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
I’m all for transparency and i like the idea that shipping cost are transparent but god is it a messy system for setting it up!
mingerton
Well-Known Member
This is more venting frustration but I suppose it's also a tip: Is there a reason why certain sellers on discogs list "make an offer" and then when you do they get back to you with a message that they actually just want to sell it for the price listed? I probably would have paid the listed price, but when they put "make an offer," I feel stupid paying the list price. So then I make an offer, they reject any offer, and I get annoyed and don't end up buying the LP.
Ethos99
Well-Known Member
I wish more sellers would use it for items that are rare/special in some way. Like when something has sales numbers all over the map and they can guage interest. If you know you need/want 45$ for an album, don't put make an offer if you're going to refuse them all anyway.
LeeVing
Well-Known Member
I got dragged into a thread the other day about the use of "XX Anniversary Edition" being used as part of a title of a release
I did FINALLY get staff to say that it can be allowed when used as part of the release - so that's something.
I've been on many threads about that damn guideline 6.1.5 "Text that isn't part of the title but distinguishes the specific release from others"
Usually "whatever Edition Name" isn't used as part of a title - and is just a description of the release - this would go in the FTF.
But some releases make this "Edition Name" part of the title. Some users though that 6.1.5 means that any use of "XX Anniversary Edition" was excluded from being part of the title.
Convincing people was a pain - as this thread from 2 years ago shows - https://www.discogs.com/forum/thread/777181
I did FINALLY get staff to say that it can be allowed when used as part of the release - so that's something.
I've been on many threads about that damn guideline 6.1.5 "Text that isn't part of the title but distinguishes the specific release from others"
Usually "whatever Edition Name" isn't used as part of a title - and is just a description of the release - this would go in the FTF.
But some releases make this "Edition Name" part of the title. Some users though that 6.1.5 means that any use of "XX Anniversary Edition" was excluded from being part of the title.
Convincing people was a pain - as this thread from 2 years ago shows - https://www.discogs.com/forum/thread/777181
Selaws
Well-Known Member
The vast majority of my Discogs sales over the years have been new records (meaning records which were released in the past few years) and I have yet to have an issue. I sold an old jazz record the other week to Canada and have just had a message to say there is a dishwarp and surface noise/distortion. Luckily, I video and take photos of each record before it goes out and there was no issue.
I have offered a sizeable partial refund anyway (22%) but I was wondering what my defence is here. If the buyer comes back and demands a full refund and to cover shipping costs back then I will have lost money overall (shipping was £20 which I would then have to pay twice), would I be in my right to decline? If they accept the partial refund but rate me negatively, can I dispute seeing I have the evidence that there was no issue to begin with?
Im seriously debating just removing all my items for sale at this point, there's been too many issues with Discogs for me in the past couple of weeks.
I have offered a sizeable partial refund anyway (22%) but I was wondering what my defence is here. If the buyer comes back and demands a full refund and to cover shipping costs back then I will have lost money overall (shipping was £20 which I would then have to pay twice), would I be in my right to decline? If they accept the partial refund but rate me negatively, can I dispute seeing I have the evidence that there was no issue to begin with?
Im seriously debating just removing all my items for sale at this point, there's been too many issues with Discogs for me in the past couple of weeks.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
I would consider myself as the the seller, when I do sell on there, to be responsible for any damage during transit. I would expect myself to be on the hook for any such damage the same as I’d look for refund/partial refund on anything I’d bought from a shop/Discogs seller with damage on it. If I could prove something was clean going out but damaged on arrival I’d be using that as evidence for a claim with the shipper as I only allow people buying off me to use recorded post. If it’s still playable I think that your offer is fair.
swamp
Well-Known Member
This is a long post but, without realizing it, I've been selling records casually for a long time and I feel like digging into that accidental well of experience for a moment. Lol.
It gets easier and less stressful to communicate with buyers who need help the more you do it. Very rarely is anyone 'pretending' to have an issue just to be annoying. Usually, they're telling you the truth and asking you to help them and an amicable, positive resolution is possible. IMO, it just takes a cool head on your end and a thoughtful choice of words when communicating to turn an "uh oh" customer into a happy one who will leave you positive feedback even when you make a mistake or the record gets warped/damaged in transit.
In the very rare occasion that a buyer gets unusually aggressive or seems like someone who wants to eat up your time, I've given myself the permission to cut my losses and lose some money in order to save sanity and time. I've been selling records (and other stuff) online since I was like 22 off and on, which is about 12 years, and I've definitely lost sleep over some buyers and transactions. In every case, I would much rather have had that time back to spend in a calmer, happier mood than those $30. IMO, it's setting yourself up for anguish, if you approach selling records the way a lot of users on Discogs and non-N&G message boards approach selling records. The customer isn't your opponent or adversary. Winning against potential 'scammers' isn't the goal. There are no 'tricks' to catch scammers or hacks to get PayPal to not enforce their own rules. In many cases, I incorrectly assumed a customer was upset or annoyed and, in hindsight, after everything went fine, I realized my read of the situation was off. Sometimes, I'm the one in a weird mood and I come off strong on a nice, well-meaning customer. IMO, it can be made pretty simple. You sell records. More often than not, you make a profit. Every so often, usually very rarely, you experience a loss. After that, it's your call whether to prolong your agony by fixating on the rare unfortunate transaction or whether you quietly move on and focus on the positive interactions (and profits) and the rest of your day outside of record selling.
Less philosophical and more practical advice is to troubleshoot your grading setup. Double check whether you are grading in a well lit area, whether your slip mat or platter hides warps (my Audio Technica table and slip mat really makes warps seem less pronounced than my U-Turn for some reason), and occasionally test records, if they've been in storage and unplayed for a few months. I've had records go from flat to warped over time, if they'd been on the shelf for a while between when I listed it and when it sold. Over time, I've gotten very good at knowing what light to use to spot dust/surface marks best, how to tell if a skip is permanent or a piece of debris that can be removed, how to assess warps, etc etc, but I'm certain I still make mistakes. I feel like even the best sellers with 100% feedback have made errors that deserve negative feedback but most people are nice and forgiving and don't leave negative reviews.
Anyway, I forgot what I was specifically talking about half-way through this novel.
Selaws
Well-Known Member
Cheers guys, much appreciated.This is a long post but, without realizing it, I've been selling records casually for a long time and I feel like digging into that accidental well of experience for a moment. Lol.
It gets easier and less stressful to communicate with buyers who need help the more you do it. Very rarely is anyone 'pretending' to have an issue just to be annoying. Usually, they're telling you the truth and asking you to help them and an amicable, positive resolution is possible. IMO, it just takes a cool head on your end and a thoughtful choice of words when communicating to turn an "uh oh" customer into a happy one who will leave you positive feedback even when you make a mistake or the record gets warped/damaged in transit.
In the very rare occasion that a buyer gets unusually aggressive or seems like someone who wants to eat up your time, I've given myself the permission to cut my losses and lose some money in order to save sanity and time. I've been selling records (and other stuff) online since I was like 22 off and on, which is about 12 years, and I've definitely lost sleep over some buyers and transactions. In every case, I would much rather have had that time back to spend in a calmer, happier mood than those $30. IMO, it's setting yourself up for anguish, if you approach selling records the way a lot of users on Discogs and non-N&G message boards approach selling records. The customer isn't your opponent or adversary. Winning against potential 'scammers' isn't the goal. There are no 'tricks' to catch scammers or hacks to get PayPal to not enforce their own rules. In many cases, I incorrectly assumed a customer was upset or annoyed and, in hindsight, after everything went fine, I realized my read of the situation was off. Sometimes, I'm the one in a weird mood and I come off strong on a nice, well-meaning customer. IMO, it can be made pretty simple. You sell records. More often than not, you make a profit. Every so often, usually very rarely, you experience a loss. After that, it's your call whether to prolong your agony by fixating on the rare unfortunate transaction or whether you quietly move on and focus on the positive interactions (and profits) and the rest of your day outside of record selling.
Less philosophical and more practical advice is to troubleshoot your grading setup. Double check whether you are grading in a well lit area, whether your slip mat or platter hides warps (my Audio Technica table and slip mat really makes warps seem less pronounced than my U-Turn for some reason), and occasionally test records, if they've been in storage and unplayed for a few months. I've had records go from flat to warped over time, if they'd been on the shelf for a while between when I listed it and when it sold. Over time, I've gotten very good at knowing what light to use to spot dust/surface marks best, how to tell if a skip is permanent or a piece of debris that can be removed, how to assess warps, etc etc, but I'm certain I still make mistakes. I feel like even the best sellers with 100% feedback have made errors that deserve negative feedback but most people are nice and forgiving and don't leave negative reviews.
Anyway, I forgot what I was specifically talking about half-way through this novel.
I might have to explore contacting Royal Mail as it was recorded delivery. The buyer never mentioned damage to the package but there must have been for a dishwarp to appear, again I have checked the videos I took just before packaging it up for transit and it was flat.
I'm still waiting on a response but will update when he/she gets back to me. Im trying to alleviate any issues as much as I can, and if that means taking a big hit to get the record back and fully refund the buyer I think I will just do that over the stress.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
In my experience, mainly from VMP damage, as a buyer there actually doesn’t need to be any visible damage on a mailer for warping to occur. The application of heat and the pressure caused by leaning or putting something on top during shipping will show itself much quicker on the fragile record inside than on a sturdy cardboard mailer. If there was packaging damage though ask for a photo.
Good luck with the postal claim, they really can be a nightmare. I’d definitely listen to the advice above though, when selling you are a shop and have to look at it as an overall profit/loss situation like a shop would do and less as a collector selling a bit of your collection to buy new records.
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Selaws
Well-Known Member
This is most likley the case, as I imagine damaged packaging would have been flagged up straight away.
Yeah for sure, I've made enough 'profit' over the year to justify a loss this time. I have actually had a few issues with postal claims in the past, but I have always been the receiver of the package, never the sender. I will just persevere with it and, you never know, the buyer might accept the partial refund if the record is still playable.
Ethos99
Well-Known Member
I was very frustrated and stressed out when I first started selling things on Discogs, waiting for positive feedback so I knew they received the record ok. Or feeling bad when the post office damaged something and I'd refund or discount something. And at one point I also felt like I was just going to unlist all of my records when I got my first Discogs invoice.
Now, I've learned much and tempered my expectations and its so much better. Its just a hobby and the refunds and other issues are few and far between.
Here are some things I keep in mind and practices I do now to enjoy selling:
1. Most people aren't looking to screw you over. The ones who are are not worth worrying about.
2. Grade it right the first time. Grade it when you list but also take the time to grade it again before you send it. I've messaged buyers and said "hey this isn't the quality I thought it was, I'm going to throw it in your box but refund you for my error". To me it was better than gambling on whether they would be upset.
3. Pack it right. If you sell, then you probably buy enough records to know when the packing is right, when it works the outside of the box can look like shit when it arrives, but that record is perfectly fine. For example; too much space between records and they move around and get seam splits, or not having padding between records. Use a box (like VMP, Bull Moose, Plaid room) that has overhanging sides that will take corner impact. If you cant get those boxes, I have never had a complaint about the cheap standard boxes because I wrap every record in bubble wrap before it goes in the box and tape each side so it is solid.
4. CYA. I used to say I'm not responsible for shipping but you certainly are and should be to a certain extent. So to cover myself for what's out of my control, I use Pirateship to ship almost everything now because I can get reasonable insurance on Media Mail, Priority and international. I charge $5 to ship one or two records in the US. the cost is $3.11-$3.88 depending on weight. The overage was for supplies and my time as I also take everything to the post office and have it scanned. So now I spend .60 to add up to $100 worth of insurance on every package. Also, if the record is over $100 I send free Priority 2 day, which includes $100 insurance automatically (which Discogs doesn't tell you if you use their service).
Sometimes, because of discogs shipping calculator a 3 LP album bumps people into my next shipping price which is $8, although 3 LP's in one sleeve dont bump the Media Mail price. In that case, I bump people up to priority and they love the faster shipping and I get included insurance.
Since I've adjusted the above, I haven't had a complaint/issue in a long time.
Now, I've learned much and tempered my expectations and its so much better. Its just a hobby and the refunds and other issues are few and far between.
Here are some things I keep in mind and practices I do now to enjoy selling:
1. Most people aren't looking to screw you over. The ones who are are not worth worrying about.
2. Grade it right the first time. Grade it when you list but also take the time to grade it again before you send it. I've messaged buyers and said "hey this isn't the quality I thought it was, I'm going to throw it in your box but refund you for my error". To me it was better than gambling on whether they would be upset.
3. Pack it right. If you sell, then you probably buy enough records to know when the packing is right, when it works the outside of the box can look like shit when it arrives, but that record is perfectly fine. For example; too much space between records and they move around and get seam splits, or not having padding between records. Use a box (like VMP, Bull Moose, Plaid room) that has overhanging sides that will take corner impact. If you cant get those boxes, I have never had a complaint about the cheap standard boxes because I wrap every record in bubble wrap before it goes in the box and tape each side so it is solid.
4. CYA. I used to say I'm not responsible for shipping but you certainly are and should be to a certain extent. So to cover myself for what's out of my control, I use Pirateship to ship almost everything now because I can get reasonable insurance on Media Mail, Priority and international. I charge $5 to ship one or two records in the US. the cost is $3.11-$3.88 depending on weight. The overage was for supplies and my time as I also take everything to the post office and have it scanned. So now I spend .60 to add up to $100 worth of insurance on every package. Also, if the record is over $100 I send free Priority 2 day, which includes $100 insurance automatically (which Discogs doesn't tell you if you use their service).
Sometimes, because of discogs shipping calculator a 3 LP album bumps people into my next shipping price which is $8, although 3 LP's in one sleeve dont bump the Media Mail price. In that case, I bump people up to priority and they love the faster shipping and I get included insurance.
Since I've adjusted the above, I haven't had a complaint/issue in a long time.
Selaws
Well-Known Member
Just in case anyone was interested, it appears I have come to a compromise with the buyer in regards to the warped record.
He responded in quite a defensive way, stating he doesn't understand how it could have happened during transit and that warps dont just appear out of nowhere. I sympathised and after a back and forth he accepted a £10 partial refund (22%) and said its good enough to keep anyway. He's going to send me photos of it anyway and I will reply with the photos and videos I took before sending it off (without the warp or noise issue). Just going to mark it down to one of those things and get on with life.
He responded in quite a defensive way, stating he doesn't understand how it could have happened during transit and that warps dont just appear out of nowhere. I sympathised and after a back and forth he accepted a £10 partial refund (22%) and said its good enough to keep anyway. He's going to send me photos of it anyway and I will reply with the photos and videos I took before sending it off (without the warp or noise issue). Just going to mark it down to one of those things and get on with life.
djdavedk
Well-Known Member
Does anyone else keep a 'running cart' of stuff you might buy on Discogs? I usually look mine over and think hard how much I really want something, removing them when the urge has worn off or priorities change.
One annoying thing is when sellers de-list and re-list their entire store, it takes those items out of my cart as if they sold. I can go back to the seller and re-add them. One seller has been doing this NIGHTLY. I assume it's to freshen their listings for the emails that Discogs sends out every day, but it's such a bother.
One annoying thing is when sellers de-list and re-list their entire store, it takes those items out of my cart as if they sold. I can go back to the seller and re-add them. One seller has been doing this NIGHTLY. I assume it's to freshen their listings for the emails that Discogs sends out every day, but it's such a bother.