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Let eBay tank, buildng up discogs for primary mrkt


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(some posters might find contradictions in this post because of the high priced records in my discogs store. It's a new store, it's cheaper than my eBay store was and I will adjust prices in the near future).

1. (I don't mean to hurt or offend any eBay sellers, but I'm sure you're tired of getting ripped off by eBay.)

eBay encourages sellers to inflate prices. Aside from the listing fee, sellers incur a 13% final value fee with eBay plus an additional 3-4% via eBay owned PayPal. http://thefeecalculator.com/

Although one reason some people sell items is to clear out the clutter, it is assumed that most sellers seek to profit from their investments. In order to profit or break even (justify selling a precious record) a seller wants to feel good with a healthy return. In order to get a 10% profit, sellers need to increase the price of the item by around 25%. Thus, eBay fees result in unnecessary price inflation (forgive me if my terminology is incorrect).

2. Discogs offers free listing, a minute final value fee, and a vast database of information regarding releases, however some entrees are incorrect/incomplete.

The main disadvantage of discogs is the lack of traffic. Thus, efforts must be taken to raise discogs' profile.

Contributing to discogs is a simple process, but can be confusing and overwhelming, so I will provide a quick overview.

1. What is a master release and why is it important?

If a release has multiple versions (different formats, pressings, color variations, etc.) it should have multiple entries. All of these entrees are combined under a master. For example, here is a link to a master release:

http://www.discogs.com/Cookie-Monster--Girls4--Pointer-Sisters-C-Is-For-Cookie-Pinball-Number-Count/master/318515

Below the tracklist, it says "versions" here you will find all of the different versions of the release.

2. Adding a variant.

Let's say there is a variant of the above record on chocolate chip vinyl. Either you want to add the record to your collection, want to sell a copy, wish to buy a copy so you need a listing to add it to your want list, or simple want to contribute to the community, so you would like to add a listing.

1. Click on "edit" under "master release" on the right side of the page underneath the "buy vinyl and cd."

2. Click on any version, but preferably a vinyl version if you are adding a vinyl version.

3. Click "edit" again.

4. Now click on "copy to draft."

5. "yes"

6. "edit"

Now comes the tricky part.

You have to make changes to any information that is unique to the release you are adding. In the case of a colored variant with the same pressing information, go to FORMAT and click REMOVE.

Then you must add a new format.

1. enter the quantity (no. of discs)

2. Format (vinyl, CD, etc.)

3. Description (just choose one, you can add more later)

4. Free text: HERE ENTER THE COLOR, etc.

5. click ADD FORMAT

6. ADD DESCRIPTION: you can add as many descriptions as necessary (ex. EP, 45 rpm)

7. RELEASE NOTES: add pressing info, etc.

8. submission notes, must be at least 4 characters.

9. click PREVIEW.

once everything is cleared, click SUBMIT

and your release exists on the artists' page. But only one problem, it's not included in the master release! See below to fix this.

3. How to EDIT the MASTER RELEASE

In order to get the variant, etc. you added under the master release listing, you need to edit the master release.

In the case that a master release already exists:

1. Go to the artists' page.

2. Mouse over any part of a release. A downward facing black triangle will appear on the far right. CLICK on the triangle.

3. Click EDIT MASTER RELEASE

4. Boxes will appear next to all of the releases not already included in master releases. CLICK THE BOX OF THE LISTING YOU SUBMITTED. Then click SAVE and your done.

4. How to CREATE a master release.

In the case that you copied the draft of a release that had no master release category, you must then create a master.

1. On the left side of the page, it says RELEASES. Somewhere below that it says CREATE MASTER RELEASE. Click that.

2. Check the boxes of the releases you wish to add to the master.

3. click on SAVE.

5.How to ADD A RELEASE

Click here:

http://www.discogs.com/release/add

Miscellaneous:

Images must not exceed 600 pixels.

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I like Discogs and use it for my collection cataloging purposes and the occasional purchase, but their biggest hurdle to overcome is how user-unfriendly it is to add/update release information. The fact that you refer to contributing to their site as "simple" yet "confusing and overwhelming" in a single sentence is proof of that fact. The site in general is just kind of clunky and cluttered as well. They're one of the better places to go for pressing/variant/etc info, but until they fix their design issues, they'll never be the definitive source for information.

All that said, fuck eBay (though I still occasionally buy there as well).

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The channel may play a role, but it isn't the problem. Prices stay high because of demand, regardless of where they are sold. A lot of this logic doesn't apply to auctions anyway.

And the Discogs user experience (selling) is just way too clumsy for most users. I appreciate the sentiment and totally agree, but the answer is less limited variants, not Discogs.

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people will use whatever is easiest, regardless of price. most people will laze on over to ebay well unaware of the prices they pay, but do it regardless because it is "easy". even so, discogs has no where near the appeal of online auctions and nowhere near the resources for an advertising campaign quite the size that ebay has.

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The channel may play a role, but it isn't the problem. Prices stay high because of demand, regardless of where they are sold. A lot of this logic doesn't apply to auctions anyway.

And the Discogs user experience (selling) is just way too clumsy for most users. I appreciate the sentiment and totally agree, but the answer is less limited variants, not Discogs.

That's true. I was thinking of BINs. Auctions are quite unpredictable and a good indicator of an item's relative value of many are sold.

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I like Discogs and use it for my collection cataloging purposes and the occasional purpose, but their biggest hurdle to overcome is how user-unfriendly it is to add/update release information. The fact that you refer to contributing to their site as "simple" yet "confusing and overwhelming" in a single sentence is proof of that fact. The site in general is just kind of clunky and cluttered as well. They're one of the better places to go for pressing/variant/etc info, but until they fix their design issues, they'll never be the definitive source for information.

All that said, fuck eBay (though I still occasionally buy there as well).

It is simple, one just needs to add/edit a few releases to get the hang of it. Once down it is a very quick and easy process.

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As a buyer, I absolutely love Discogs. I have only been using it for a couple months but just within that short time I've picked up a good amount of stuff that usually sells for double on Ebay. My only real complaint are the sellers who don't leave you feedback. I've bought seven records (all $40+ records) in the past two months, paid for each one the minute I received my invoice, and yet only 1 person has left me feedback. I emailed the six others - no response / feedback left.

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this is totally a moot point. while i have no problem at all hopping on the 'fuck ebay' train, it seems to me that the natural progression of increased popularity for discogs would play out something like this: owners of the site invest in overhauling the site to make it more user friendly / listing fees and commissions are instituted to recoup design costs / you still end up with a cheaper alternative to ebay, but as the site grows costs to sellers and buyers would likely grow in correlation. it only makes sense, if you saw the potential to make money you would take advantage of it too. just my two cents.

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I am very for this. eBay not only makes it more difficult to sell vinyl due to inflated prices, but I also feel like I rip people off just to break even on a record due to all their fees.

I am a newer member to discogs, but I have experienced some issues when trying to add variants or even master releases. While I have gotten approval for some I noticed it is usually a long, cumbersome process. I have many more obscure records that are still sitting in queue to be reviewed/approved. What suggestions do you have to improve this process? I have tried posting on the forums there to help push some of them.

How do you handle shipping on discogs as opposed to eBay? One thing I do enjoy about eBay is they provide a discount on shipping services and include free tracking. Is there a way you can do this without having to go through them or do I just charge the buyer what I paid at the post office?

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ebay sucks. buyers don't pay and sellers have no recourse. the fees are not that far off though. ebay is 9% + paypal, assuming you're not listing more than 50 things a month listings are free. discogs is 6% + paypal.

As a seller, I list on both. My discogs prices are cheaper than my paypal prices to reflect the difference in my cost. As a buyer I always check discogs first, but lots of times you can get auctions on ebay for less than discogs prices.

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I just signed up for discogs last night. eBay is far superior. It takes too many steps to find a record on discogs. On eBay I can put whatever I want in the title & try to pull people in with other search terms. I haven't used discogs enough, but I don't think this is an option.

Using the Fireworks - Adventure, Nostalgia And Robbery 7" I sold yesterday as an example, I was unable to find any for sale on discogs. Put it on eBay for $15 & had no bids for days. Posted here & someone offered me less than $15. The eBay auction ended up getting bid to $45 during the last minute.

I'm going to try using discogs for crap I've had a hard time getting rid of, but any premium title is going on eBay.

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Guest deathbydrums

DISCOGS RULES!

So much easier to put something for sale!! Literally takes seconds if the listing is there.

EBAY IS A RIPOFF

When I get my ebay and discogs bills at the end of the month, ebay is generally 3-4 times as costly if I sell the same value of records. In addition, being a seller from Canada, I have crazy high shipping prices because of Canada Post. On ebay, people will give me 1 or 2 stars for shipping cost even though I charge exact and have no control over shipping charges. After a few people do this, I have lost out on the 20% discount that I worked so hard to earn on ebay. There is no recourse on ebay for sellers when this happens or when negative feedback is left. In addition, it is not even possible for sellers to leave negative feedback for buyers. How ridiculous is that? I pretty much lose money on every record I sell on ebay due to the high fees and because of Canada Post's crazy rates. Would love to hear more from Canadian sellers about this.

I'm really glad that lately I seem to be selling to more and more new users at discogs. People are starting to recognize discogs as a reputable marketplace. I have no complaints with discogs at all for buying or selling.

To recap: EBAY SUCKS, DISCOGS RULES!

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Guest deathbydrums

I am a newer member to discogs, but I have experienced some issues when trying to add variants or even master releases. While I have gotten approval for some I noticed it is usually a long, cumbersome process. I have many more obscure records that are still sitting in queue to be reviewed/approved. What suggestions do you have to improve this process? I have tried posting on the forums there to help push some of them.

True, it sometimes takes a very long time to get listings approved (I've had some up for years and they're still not approved). BUT this doesn't matter at all. You can still sell your record on a "non-approved listing. Buyers should be aware of such listings, as the info may or may not be 100% correct.

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I've bought and sold on discogs a lot, I love it particularly for buying. It's not a site like eBay where you can go one time and find a bunch of rare records listed that you are looking for. The only way I've scored cool shit for cheap is by checking back, and checking back frequently. I've found and bought things moments after they were listed and before I even got the wantlist email, which makes it more difficult to buy on that site since I suspect others have done that to me with certain releases also.

eBay gives me 50 free listing inserts per month so I never pay insertion fees, listing things is always risk-free on my end if they don't sell. Also not sure where the OP got 13% final value + 3-4% from paypal, check out:

http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/Feecalculator.html

and also

http://cms.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/?cmd=_render-content&content_ID=marketing_us/fees

So it's really closer to 9% for media and paypal's transaction fee is 2.9% +30 cents, according to their site. 11.9% + 30 cents is higher than it used to be, but it's still enough (for me) to justify listing for free and reaching a incomparably larger audience when selling since the item will almost certainly sell for more. And it's definitely less outrageous than the 17% the OP was suggesting

Both of them are good resources for buying and selling and should be used as such.

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this is totally a moot point. while i have no problem at all hopping on the 'fuck ebay' train, it seems to me that the natural progression of increased popularity for discogs would play out something like this: owners of the site invest in overhauling the site to make it more user friendly / listing fees and commissions are instituted to recoup design costs / you still end up with a cheaper alternative to ebay, but as the site grows costs to sellers and buyers would likely grow in correlation. it only makes sense, if you saw the potential to make money you would take advantage of it too. just my two cents.

I think you're concerns would be right on the money. The best solution would be to form strong ties with Discogs and keep pressure to keep fees low. Without sellers, they have no business. It might be my naivity, but I think discogs was started for love of music and unlike eBay they have a vision for providing information on music.

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ebay sucks. buyers don't pay and sellers have no recourse. the fees are not that far off though. ebay is 9% + paypal, assuming you're not listing more than 50 things a month listings are free. discogs is 6% + paypal.

As a seller, I list on both. My discogs prices are cheaper than my paypal prices to reflect the difference in my cost. As a buyer I always check discogs first, but lots of times you can get auctions on ebay for less than discogs prices.

I believe eBay fees are up 13% for buy it now. Auctions may be 9%

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