Sellers increasingly overgrade records

eBay has always been like that!
try Records By Mail.

I have experienced the same issues with discogs and others, so hit and mostly miss. I thought, I would be safe with a sealed record, but when I took it out it was so warped that it looked like a saucer. Then you have to ship them back.

I gave up with that, because of a vinyl store that opened in town. There's a renaissance going on here as I now have four vinyl stores within a twenty minute drive. My favorite, sells used, reissued, and new vinyl, plus used and new audio gear. The new stuff is entry level audiophile, and you can play your used albums before purchasing them. The guys grading is spot on, and he listens to the vinyl for grading. And, he's reasonably priced, so for example a clean record graded E- is priced at $9. No shipping, and if you don't like it, bring it back for exchange or store credit. I've brought one out of about twenty albums back.

My daughter is saving up for a table, and she's buying it at the vinyl store. She likes the Rega P3. The reason for getting it there, is the guy will give you full purchase price credit back when you trade it in for something else! I needed a reality check about this place, and I'm thinking that l have slipped into some alternate reality.

Is this going on elsewhere?
Kenny

I don’t know if grading inflation has gotten worse- maybe it has- but it’s always been a problem for used records. Play grading is the only arguably safe way--brick & mortar transactions that give you the opportunity to inspect may be better than online transactions, but a lot of damaged records can look fine and play horribly. (The calibre of TT/cartridge set up in some brick & mortar stores also makes me reluctant to play test the record on such machines. Same at shows).
Craig Moerer (Records by Mail) is an established seller with a large inventory and is consistent; he typically grades everything VG+ on media to be conservative. But he doesn’t have everything. (I did buy a Vertigo Clear Blue Sky from him that is quite rare for $50 dollars- he cataloged it as a reissue, when it was an ex-UK pressing, not a reissue).
I rarely find what I am hunting in stores, though I’ll buy stuff that I’m not "looking for"- same with shows, which may have some of the stuff I’m chasing, but often at nutty prices. (You can negotiate, but if the starting price is 2x market, why bother?)
I buy mostly online- I have a dialog with the seller if it is a high value record- it will tell you much about their knowledge and approach. If it's is an expensive record, they will often play grade at my request; sometimes, they downgrade their rating and offer a price break (I don’t usually go for that bc i’m not looking for a cheaper flawed copy); sometimes, they are candid and say "this isn’t the record for you." I don’t think most legit sellers want to go thru the return process any more than I do.
It isn’t foolproof- LPs are by their nature almost inherently subject to flaws, but a discussion with the seller- confirming deadwax, condition, warps, etc. is a pretty good way to reduce if not eliminate some of the more common problems. (A lot of times, the information about the pressings is wrong in the listings- get the deadwax and label if it isn’t listed /shown to confirm). That said, I still get the occasional clunker. If it is a cheap record, I don’t waste more effort on trying to return, negative feedback (though I will write to the seller privately); if an expensive not cheap record I will return, but it is a pain.

Not always in my experience. I know Records by Mail, he is generally good, though I did throw away couple of warped records from there in the past.

Would never buy records on ebay as you always get garbage.