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This discussion is not making me excited for when I eventually sell some of my Phoebe stuff I'll just say that
 
AnthonyI said:
Cogs is such a drama pool :)
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Ok, I wanted to vent about a buying experience I had on another selling site. It was ultimately irrelevant, and I was minimally harmed financially, but it really bugged me.

I won an auction for an OG Kinks LP, listed as NM/NM. The vinyl was specifically described as follows:
NEAR MINT Dark black and very glossy. Clean labels. Beautiful player. TOP COPY.

What I received was definitely a NM cover. But the vinyl was covered with smudges and hairlines. I cleaned it in my HG multiple times, but it played with surface noise throughout, especially in the quieter parts. I was disappointed, as I paid a fair price for an LP I love, but I have no use for constant mild tics and pops. So I asked for a refund, telling the seller the record was not as described.

The seller replied:
So sorry you are not happy. I would love to get this copy back. I thought it sold for way too much less than I thought it was worth. I have to say that I thought it sounded very nice when I listened to it so please return it and I will refund you right away. Absolutely no problem.
Thanks

I returned the record. Upon receipt, the seller issued a refund, but with this message:
Hi there - Thanks for returning this to me. I have listened to both sides and they are completely devoid of any kind of noise whatsoever, just like I said. Nice try, Dude

I had the refund (although not the original shipping cost), and no neg feedback, but I couldn't let it go, so I replied:
I received the refund. But I'm not sure why you felt the need to get snarky about this with your "Nice try, Dude" comment. What exactly do you think I am trying to do? If the disc wasn't full of surface noise when played on my system, then I would have kept it. And the disc is obviously covered in hairlines and smudges. All I can say is our systems must resolve differently, because I was genuinely disappointed in how this turned out.

He responded:
I listened to both sides of this record on my trusty Sony headphones, using a new Audio Technica needle and cartridge and there was no noise whatsoever. Period. Played beautifully. Near Mint. Listened carefully. For the second time (I always play every record before I put it up for sale).
There is no way you and I listened to the same record. What would you think if you were me?

I replied:
I appreciate your responses, and I have no reason to doubt you. But, all systems don't necessarily pick up the same things. I heard considerable surface noise through a new Grado Opus3 cart mounted on a MoFi tt, through a Sutherland preamp into Zu speakers, not a bad system. And I have a large collection of records, most of which play without a hint of noise on my system. Maybe your system is better at hiding surface noise, or maybe mine provides more detailed resolution, I don't know.

I just don't understand why you think I would lie about this. Ask yourself, if you were me, how did I benefit? I won a terrific album for a fair price, then wound up with nothing but lost time and effort. You, on the other hand, are right back where you started, able to relist the album, claim in good faith that it's NM, and probably fetch a higher price for it.

Despite your strange decision to antagonize me, I'm not going to leave negative feedback about the inaccurate description. Nor am I going to make an issue of the original shipping charge, which under eBay's terms you should have refunded with the purchase price for an item not as described. We'll just agree to disagree and never do business again.

His final message (which is where it ended, b/c why go on?):
I have already decided not to leave bad feedback - it's not cool. I thought it went without saying but I said it because you mentioned it. I did have a need to tell you how I felt and I've done that.
I do have to say that if you think this record has substantial noise throughout, then how on earth do you listen to anything without hearing noise? Even brand new recordings? I hear noise on almost everything I listen to and if I decide to sell it I list every noise and where on the record I heard it. Without exception. There is no noise on this record. At all.
So it remains a mystery why you were able to hear anything that wasn't supposed to be there.
I do think you are right about not doing business together again. We agree about something at least.
By the way, it was the site's decision not to have me pay for the shipping, not mine. Just so you know.
 
dansomeone said:
Ok, I wanted to vent about a buying experience I had on another selling site. It was ultimately irrelevant, and I was minimally harmed financially, but it really bugged me.

I won an auction for an OG Kinks LP, listed as NM/NM. The vinyl was specifically described as follows:
NEAR MINT Dark black and very glossy. Clean labels. Beautiful player. TOP COPY.

What I received was definitely a NM cover. But the vinyl was covered with smudges and hairlines. I cleaned it in my HG multiple times, but it played with surface noise throughout, especially in the quieter parts. I was disappointed, as I paid a fair price for an LP I love, but I have no use for constant mild tics and pops. So I asked for a refund, telling the seller the record was not as described.

The seller replied:
So sorry you are not happy. I would love to get this copy back. I thought it sold for way too much less than I thought it was worth. I have to say that I thought it sounded very nice when I listened to it so please return it and I will refund you right away. Absolutely no problem.
Thanks

I returned the record. Upon receipt, the seller issued a refund, but with this message:
Hi there - Thanks for returning this to me. I have listened to both sides and they are completely devoid of any kind of noise whatsoever, just like I said. Nice try, Dude

I had the refund (although not the original shipping cost), and no neg feedback, but I couldn't let it go, so I replied:
I received the refund. But I'm not sure why you felt the need to get snarky about this with your "Nice try, Dude" comment. What exactly do you think I am trying to do? If the disc wasn't full of surface noise when played on my system, then I would have kept it. And the disc is obviously covered in hairlines and smudges. All I can say is our systems must resolve differently, because I was genuinely disappointed in how this turned out.

He responded:
I listened to both sides of this record on my trusty Sony headphones, using a new Audio Technica needle and cartridge and there was no noise whatsoever. Period. Played beautifully. Near Mint. Listened carefully. For the second time (I always play every record before I put it up for sale).
There is no way you and I listened to the same record. What would you think if you were me?

I replied:
I appreciate your responses, and I have no reason to doubt you. But, all systems don't necessarily pick up the same things. I heard considerable surface noise through a new Grado Opus3 cart mounted on a MoFi tt, through a Sutherland preamp into Zu speakers, not a bad system. And I have a large collection of records, most of which play without a hint of noise on my system. Maybe your system is better at hiding surface noise, or maybe mine provides more detailed resolution, I don't know.

I just don't understand why you think I would lie about this. Ask yourself, if you were me, how did I benefit? I won a terrific album for a fair price, then wound up with nothing but lost time and effort. You, on the other hand, are right back where you started, able to relist the album, claim in good faith that it's NM, and probably fetch a higher price for it.

Despite your strange decision to antagonize me, I'm not going to leave negative feedback about the inaccurate description. Nor am I going to make an issue of the original shipping charge, which under eBay's terms you should have refunded with the purchase price for an item not as described. We'll just agree to disagree and never do business again.

His final message (which is where it ended, b/c why go on?):
I have already decided not to leave bad feedback - it's not cool. I thought it went without saying but I said it because you mentioned it. I did have a need to tell you how I felt and I've done that.
I do have to say that if you think this record has substantial noise throughout, then how on earth do you listen to anything without hearing noise? Even brand new recordings? I hear noise on almost everything I listen to and if I decide to sell it I list every noise and where on the record I heard it. Without exception. There is no noise on this record. At all.
So it remains a mystery why you were able to hear anything that wasn't supposed to be there.
I do think you are right about not doing business together again. We agree about something at least.
By the way, it was the site's decision not to have me pay for the shipping, not mine. Just so you know.
Click to expand...
Ya, I don't get it, I really don't get your experience at all. Like you said, what was the point? Let's face it, like any selling network there are those who sell with their hearts in the right place, just trying to move some albums. Then there are those who are just trying to make a buck one way or another, then there are those who think they're the end all be all in grading, playback, gear and the actual rotation of the moon and stars. It's just part of our culture at this point, it's not a Cogs thing, it's a people thing and a lot of the people just suck.
 
dansomeone said:
Ok, I wanted to vent about a buying experience I had on another selling site. It was ultimately irrelevant, and I was minimally harmed financially, but it really bugged me.

I won an auction for an OG Kinks LP, listed as NM/NM. The vinyl was specifically described as follows:
NEAR MINT Dark black and very glossy. Clean labels. Beautiful player. TOP COPY.

What I received was definitely a NM cover. But the vinyl was covered with smudges and hairlines. I cleaned it in my HG multiple times, but it played with surface noise throughout, especially in the quieter parts. I was disappointed, as I paid a fair price for an LP I love, but I have no use for constant mild tics and pops. So I asked for a refund, telling the seller the record was not as described.

The seller replied:
So sorry you are not happy. I would love to get this copy back. I thought it sold for way too much less than I thought it was worth. I have to say that I thought it sounded very nice when I listened to it so please return it and I will refund you right away. Absolutely no problem.
Thanks

I returned the record. Upon receipt, the seller issued a refund, but with this message:
Hi there - Thanks for returning this to me. I have listened to both sides and they are completely devoid of any kind of noise whatsoever, just like I said. Nice try, Dude

I had the refund (although not the original shipping cost), and no neg feedback, but I couldn't let it go, so I replied:
I received the refund. But I'm not sure why you felt the need to get snarky about this with your "Nice try, Dude" comment. What exactly do you think I am trying to do? If the disc wasn't full of surface noise when played on my system, then I would have kept it. And the disc is obviously covered in hairlines and smudges. All I can say is our systems must resolve differently, because I was genuinely disappointed in how this turned out.

He responded:
I listened to both sides of this record on my trusty Sony headphones, using a new Audio Technica needle and cartridge and there was no noise whatsoever. Period. Played beautifully. Near Mint. Listened carefully. For the second time (I always play every record before I put it up for sale).
There is no way you and I listened to the same record. What would you think if you were me?

I replied:
I appreciate your responses, and I have no reason to doubt you. But, all systems don't necessarily pick up the same things. I heard considerable surface noise through a new Grado Opus3 cart mounted on a MoFi tt, through a Sutherland preamp into Zu speakers, not a bad system. And I have a large collection of records, most of which play without a hint of noise on my system. Maybe your system is better at hiding surface noise, or maybe mine provides more detailed resolution, I don't know.

I just don't understand why you think I would lie about this. Ask yourself, if you were me, how did I benefit? I won a terrific album for a fair price, then wound up with nothing but lost time and effort. You, on the other hand, are right back where you started, able to relist the album, claim in good faith that it's NM, and probably fetch a higher price for it.

Despite your strange decision to antagonize me, I'm not going to leave negative feedback about the inaccurate description. Nor am I going to make an issue of the original shipping charge, which under eBay's terms you should have refunded with the purchase price for an item not as described. We'll just agree to disagree and never do business again.

His final message (which is where it ended, b/c why go on?):
I have already decided not to leave bad feedback - it's not cool. I thought it went without saying but I said it because you mentioned it. I did have a need to tell you how I felt and I've done that.
I do have to say that if you think this record has substantial noise throughout, then how on earth do you listen to anything without hearing noise? Even brand new recordings? I hear noise on almost everything I listen to and if I decide to sell it I list every noise and where on the record I heard it. Without exception. There is no noise on this record. At all.
So it remains a mystery why you were able to hear anything that wasn't supposed to be there.
I do think you are right about not doing business together again. We agree about something at least.
By the way, it was the site's decision not to have me pay for the shipping, not mine. Just so you know.
Click to expand...

So my setup is currently a mid level turntable with decent tabletop speakers and a basic AT cart. I only say that to say that it does a great job of not picking up surface noise or defects. It can't make a turd a diamond but there are marks and scratches on records I own that very forthright sellers say won't play or have very prominent noise and skips that play acceptably to me.

This is mostly to say that when I sell records I trust the buyer's answer on their table. I'd expect your setup to pick up things his wouldn't and it's about degrees of acceptable to the buyer. Hard to believe he took that reply
 
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waruv said:
So my setup is currently a mid level turntable with decent tabletop speakers and a basic AT cart. I only say that to say that it does a great job of not picking up surface noise or defects. It can't make a turd a diamond but there are marks and scratches on records I own that very forthright sellers say won't play or have very prominent noise and skips.

This is mostly to say that when I sell records I trust the buyer's answer on their table. I'd expect your setup to pick up things his wouldn't and it's about degrees of acceptable to the buyer. Hard to believe he took that reply
Click to expand...
Yeah, he couldn't comprehend that records sound different in different rigs. So his conclusion was I was lying, apparently because I'm insane and enjoy wasting my time and money for nothing.
 
So how long do you all let listings on discogs cook before giving up and taking them to a local? Keeping in mind that most are the lowest priced listing...
 
folsom_lives said:
So how long do you all let listings on discogs cook before giving up and taking them to a local? Keeping in mind that most are the lowest priced listing...
Click to expand...
I think about the tax hit I'll take and the TIME it takes to sell stuff and I've been taking almost everything to the local. Its not worth it to me to make a few bucks a record. I cut my losses.
 
Kris said:
I think about the tax hit I'll take and the TIME it takes to sell stuff and I've been taking almost everything to the local. Its not worth it to me to make a few bucks a record. I cut my losses.
Click to expand...
This was my thought too.

I am currently fighting for my life to keep the collection under 1,000 and having a cube full of "listed for sale" records is making it tough to get records off the floor...
 
folsom_lives said:
This was my thought too.

I am currently fighting for my life to keep the collection under 1,000 and having a cube full of "listed for sale" records is making it tough to get records off the floor...
Click to expand...

Have you tried Reddit? You could probably shave a few bucks off given the no Discogs fee aspect of it all and the market for VMP and Indie there seems to be fairly strong.

To your original question, it's definitely a space and patience thing. I'd hypothetically say forever if space or collection size wasn't a limitation but to Kris' point, between the tax, effort, and honestly sheer satisfaction of clearing out stuff you're not gonna listen to it may be worth the trade in.
 
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