jhulud Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 I rarely use Discogs for anything but I need to. Is it normal for Discogs sellers to not have the actual photos of the record they’re selling? A particular record I’m looking for that I found multiple listings for, they all have the same photos. What’s the deal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffbloom Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 You have to ask sellers directly for the pictures otherwise all you're seeing at the pictures uploaded and approved by the database. As a buyer, I've never asked for pictures. webdoggy, shenanigans, diabretic and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek™ Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 To echo what Buff said, I don't think you'd necessarily need to ask for photos... but due to the nature of sellers having to select the correct entry to submit their sale listing, it is well worth your time to reach out and message them if you're at all skeptical. If you're after a particular press or variant and it's not spelled out in the comment section of the listing, I would suggest messaging the seller just to confirm. Can't tell you how many headaches I've saved in advance – it seems like a lot of the lesser-experienced sellers will just click the first available "LP" option and post their listing there, regardless of press #, colorway, etc. poweredbytrust, erasedtapes, corey. and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhulud Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 Makes sense. I figured as much it’d be stock photos being used. On the listings I found, the conditions varied but enough to concern me given that for a 25+ years old record, I think specific photos would be best to request. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek™ Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Yeah, most all of my purchases on Discogs are new records so the advice above should be taken with a grain of salt, with that kept in mind. If you're eying something that's listed as VG+ or if the item's comments refer to "light scuffing" or "minor jacket damage", I see no harm in requesting photos since everyone grades that pretty subjectively. firebird1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nico Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 If you want a certain pressing or concerned about the grading, ask for pictures. A few sellers have no clue how to list and how to grade, but most are doing just fine. Some sellers even look up the rarest and most expensive variant (test press, limited color) and try to sell a regular copy via that listing for a premium price. However I do have a lot of good experience with Discogs, probably buy more there than everywhere else. copelandkid 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nardes Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 When I sell I always include "pics available upon request" if there's anything off with it (seam split, creased corner, off-center label, etc). I wish there was a way I could just include it in the post. V3XED and aopps42 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek™ Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 3 minutes ago, nardes said: When I sell I always include "pics available upon request" if there's anything off with it (seam split, creased corner, off-center label, etc). I wish there was a way I could just include it in the post. If you really wanted to take the initiative, you could upload the photos online and include the URL in your listing. I see it fairly often with Imgur links on Discogs; nice, short URLs that redirect to an “album” upload featuring multiple photos, angles, etc. I don’t believe you can link directly but any potential buyer can easily just copy and paste the mini-address from the comment you attach, if they’re curious enough. Probably the best approach until we get a total overhaul for the Discogs marketplace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nardes Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 1 hour ago, Derek™ said: If you really wanted to take the initiative, you could upload the photos online and include the URL in your listing. I see it fairly often with Imgur links on Discogs; nice, short URLs that redirect to an “album” upload featuring multiple photos, angles, etc. I don’t believe you can link directly but any potential buyer can easily just copy and paste the mini-address from the comment you attach, if they’re curious enough. Probably the best approach until we get a total overhaul for the Discogs marketplace. oooh good call! I never thought about that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stl_ben Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 (edited) I would check your junk mail folder. Or it pretty easy to look up on the site at any time and will be more up to date than the end of day emails. https://www.discogs.com/sell/mywants Edited February 3, 2020 by stl_ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simple_torture Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 I'm not a super-high-volume Discogs buyer, but in 30+ transactions I've never had a serious issue regarding condition or anything else that's required reaching out to the seller after the fact. Could be lucky, but there it is. While we're on the topic of Discogs: I wish their want list notifications were more like Camelcamelcamel, where you could be emailed when an item drops below a certain price. I'd be broke in a week, but it'd be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N8TRU Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 57 minutes ago, ZeroNowhere said: Since we’re on the subject of Discogs, has anyone received a want list email in the past 5 days? I was getting one daily but just noticed it stopped. I reached out to their customer service and this is a known issue. For those that don't know it's not an email issue and it's directly a problem within discogs.com. I guess they're working on resolving it. ZeroNowhere 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek™ Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 It nauseates me to side with Ben but he’s 100% right on this one. Bookmark that URL and just check it periodically throughout the day, on breaks, lunch, etc. I’ve caught tons of great finds over the years with that method. Waiting on the e-mail is a slow man’s game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stl_ben Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Waiting on an email = missing out on the record you wanted as someone else bought it when it went up. copelandkid and beta114 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicondevil Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 As a seller, I always take careful pictures of my records before I send them off. Holding the record at the right angle is crucial for catching the condition of the record. I have not had any problems with people being scammy, but I like to have actual proof of condition when I sent the record to avoid a possible situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 3 hours ago, Derek™ said: It nauseates me to side with Ben but he’s 100% right on this one. Bookmark that URL and just check it periodically throughout the day, on breaks, lunch, etc. I’ve caught tons of great finds over the years with that method. Waiting on the e-mail is a slow man’s game. Couldn't agree more. I'll admit to obsessively checking my wantlist throughout the day. But I have gotten a few insane deals that way (once got a 7" that would sell close to 1k for just $150 as there was no sales history value for the seller to go off of). But my wantlist emails always showed up in the middle of the night so anything good would be gone before I woke up. My only complaint is that i wish you could filter out certain sellers or set price ranges for what shows up on your wantlist. As there are always people charging 4x what something is worth cluttering up my list, and reposting those items daily. Derek™, copelandkid and stl_ben 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stl_ben Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Yeah wish I could filter out sellers that have 30 copies of the same record listed filling up the feed. But yeah regardless of if you have 7 or 7,000 records.....if you are looking for hard to find pieces they don't normally last till the email. But hey you do you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nico Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Yup, the mail arrives here in the early morning, but those odd times a truly rare record is listed the mail it is already gone. I have a desk job and I frequently check Discogs and then is when I pick up the most rare stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V3XED Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Like many others here have said, I always say 'message for pics' when I am listing a record. Though, its maybe one in ten sales where anyone takes me up on it, so I usually don't take photos till I am packaging things up for delivery. Then they are more for protecting myself in case there is damage in shipping. (to show I honestly described the record in the listing). I have had a few records come in that were graded lets say.... 'optimistically' but never anything that felt dishonest. And like I mentioned above, the condition of any record can change while its in transit to you unfortunately. And, in terms of receiving the wrong variant, that has only happened to me in maybe 2% of orders. The sellers in both of those situations offered a return/refund or a partial refund. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stl_ben Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 I sell about 300 items a year on discogs, and may get at most 10 requests for photos per year. If the photo is for a condition check or because it has a hand made cover then I send those. But about 8/10 of the requests I get each year are for items that are brand new sealed NM items, which I don't typically waste time on taking photos of. diabretic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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