gloves to touch vinyl surface

Czarivey - look at it this way: experienced customer with no gloves will result in a low likelihood of damaged records. Alternatively, an inexperienced customer with gloves would result in a high likelihood of damaged records due to dropping. While I am very used to handling records by only touching the edges and label area, I wouldn't attempt to handle a record that way with gloves on. With the gloves you are pretty much forced to hold the record by grasping the surface. BTW, any decent RCM will take care of those fingerprints - I would not hesitate to buy a dusty record with fingerprints if it was otherwise in good shape. Can't wash off gouges, scratches and excessive wear which is what I'm looking for when inspecting used records.

Jmowbray
Thank you.

thanks for being experienced customer who knows how to think from his/her own standpoint. i'm a retailer and must think from DIFFERENT standpoints and that's why i established myself as a retailer.
there are also inexperienced customers who think different and from seller's standpoint it's clearly visible too.
cleanness of records may not b important for you and even for me who can identify that after cleaning they will look and play OK, but not for someone else who don't know or don't have fancy cleaning machine. at the same time the filthiness drives the price down or record would stay on shelves longer. simple math no science at all.
did you ever see ladies shopping for records? they value no dust on the covers as well.
retailing deals with array of various people.
as far as drop damage is going, there are restaurant server's gloves with nylon or latex coating at the fingertips which adds little to nothing to the price per bundle of 2 dozen. even besides that you can simply pinch or grab record with gloves and hold it steady. one would feel comfortable its own way, but statistically $10 investment mentioned will move quality of sales by a notch or few...
it's like audiophiles fine-tweaking the rigs with extra thousands of dollars spent on tweaks to get infinitesimal improvements.

i'm a retailer and must think from DIFFERENT standpoints and that's why i established myself as a retailer.

retailing deals with array of various people.

Exactly. Asking people to wear gloves isn't a personal insult. A retailer can't tell if you're an experienced buyer or not.

As to the suggestion that the customer can remove fingerprints themself, any record retailer will tell you that the vast majority of buyers have NEVER heard of record cleaning, still less machines and solutions dedicated to record cleaning. The Audiogon community (myself included) represents the bleeding edge of expertise/fanaticism when it comes to record care. We are not even remotely representative of a record shop's customers, 90% of whom have far less knowledge and experience with record care or anything else in audio. If you want to sell to them, while protecting your merchandise from them, some precautions are reasonable.

I'm reminded of damage suffered by my local audio dealer, like $2K tweeters destroyed by the poking fingers of brainless visitors, most of whom who never buy anything. What's he meant to do? Survey people at the door to discover if they're expert enough to enter his shop? He'd drive people away. You do the best you can to instill sensible caution and hope for the best.

Granted, this request is overkill for experienced buyers like Jmobray or Dreadhead... or me for that matter. But if a retailer finds that it protects his merchandise from mishandling by less experienced shoppers, where's the harm in cooperating?

Good point on the record machine. Most people don't own them and if they are offended so what they can buy somewhere else. I mean the people who collect records probably would appreciate a record that has been handled with "Kid Gloves" and has no finger prints,it shows you care about your inventory. I would put up signs though that say if you drop the record and damage it you have bought it. I was in a store 2 months ago where they had signs which said DO NOT OPEN SEALED RECORDS,IF YOU DO YOU YOU HAVE BOUGHT IT. and someone had and the police were called. I have no problem with this,an opened copy loses it's value when open.