Sell LP's: No visible scuffs. Let buyer remove static if needed?


I will be selling more LPs on eBay. My objective is to make space, and I enjoy finding someone who wants them.

I have been cleaning, listening, photos, listing, selling, shipping. Time consuming, cost of cleaning fluids, wear on stylus.

A few  bring decent $, many/most go for starting price $4.50. Money is nice, but not much after all the work, involved costs and fees. 
....................

I am thinking of selling based only on my visual inspection, letting buyer deal with any static, and keep my unconditional refund if buyer discovers a problem, i.e. a skip I didn't see. 

I view them, look Very Darn Good (no scuffs) or Darn Good (very minor scuffs): 1 photo, 1 link from wiki, a few specific words, done.

No hesitation on refunds whatsoever.
..............................

So, what do you think, will people buy, trusting they only need to deal with static? People already trust my unconditional refund, nobody has asked for a refund based on anything but USPO destruction. What's different is they have to deal with static.
elliottbnewcombjr
everyone

thanks for sharing your experiences and advice.

Now, cleaned/played here first: people get them, slap em on TT, get quiet enjoyable experience, give great feedback.

IOW, too much STATIC is the ONLY thing that would reduce that instant enjoyment.

I wondered how much static might re-occur during shipping, so far no one has mentioned it.

I maintain 100% seller rating, get great feedback.
...............................................

These: skip cleaning, skip playing, sell as 'you clean them', 'full refund guaranteed':

Many appear to have been played only once, which makes them the same as the ones I have cleaned/played: VERY DARN GOOD or VERY GOOD.  I simply cannot assure quiet listening as I do now.

IOW, too much STATIC is the ONLY thing that would reduce that instant enjoyment (perhaps probable).

...............................

It looks like I will part with half, 2,000 lps, I'm deciding/sorting the keepers as I pack them over there.

The bulk of keepers are jazz, some popular. I have enough classical, opera, show tunes, don't like country, all of them will go. As I grab a bunch later to sell, I can keep a particular one.

I think I will make a new seller account, emphasize 'u clean em' 'unquestioned full refund' see what happens, if I can maintain a very high seller rating. 

I have an orange 'uncle wins music' logo in the main listing page. You instantly know it's mine in a page of listings without clicking on it.

I will simply use a different colored logo for uncleaned/unplayed.








I have bought a lot of albums through ebay. I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Regardless of whether it appears the album is clean, I do my own cleaning with a cleaning machine. As far as static, I never do any mitigation. I received an album once from a seller that was just in a plastic sealed bag, no cardboard mailer. Needless to say, the album cover was damaged a lot but surprisingly the album was fine. I did some repairs on the cover and cleaned the album. I always store my purchases in a new sleeve and album cover. FWIW
Hello, can leaving the LP in suction mode on the VPI cleaner too long create more static ?
Define "too long".  Anyway, it's possible. The potential is there for static charge to build up because of the velvet cushion that protects the LP surface from the plastic suction tube, I suppose, but the LP starts out wetted with cleaning solution, which ought to ameliorate static charge accumulation.  I am not saying it's a great idea to leave the LP spinning after it is thoroughly dry for any extended period of time. But I have not noticed a particular problem. I use a VPI HW17.
If you look at enough ebay listings you will see that most are not 'play graded' but 'visually graded' only. There are many sellers that have absolutely no clue on how to grade records. I always knock them down a notch or two from what the seller states. I'm selling my 4K plus collection to augment my paltry SS benefit. I started buying records at 14 and that was many years ago. If you do a visual and don't like what you see, then play them. I know where my LPs have been and who's handled them. I clean a few but not many. I offer 100% money back guarantee. Very few are returned, less than 1%. Many are sold at Near Mint condition. Check out sellers with a more precise grading scale, Goldmine in my opinion is too vague. As long as you're offering a money back guarantee, you should be golden. Make sure your pics are good and notate trail-off info. There are some  trying to send back different discs. My grading scale example; 


(M) Mint: Mint is a grade I am reserving for a perfect record. There are no scratches, scuffs, hairlines, fingerprints, spindle marks or other indications that it has been handled or played. The jacket will have its original shrink which is opened. There are no corner bumps, scratches, mars, creases or other signs of jacket wear. There are really no "Mint" records. Even those sealed from the factory commonly have some detraction. I assume a sealed record to be mint. However, I cannot be in any way responsible for what exactly is inside the sealed jacket.

(NM) Near Mint: Near Mint is a record that is virtually flawless, clean and glossy. A near perfect, rarely-played record. May play with some very light and occasional dust or static related light noise that is only heard in the quietest passages. The vinyl and label surfaces show no obvious sign of wear. It looks clean with the factory shine and there may be a very light, barely visible paper scuff or two and a few light hairlines but no scratches. An LP jacket has no seam splits or any other obvious signs of wear but one or two light creases are acceptable. Ring wear should be almost invisible. No punch holes or other discount marks.  Very minimal corner bumps. Artist signatures are the only acceptable forms of handwriting for this grade. Basically, "Near Mint" looks as if you just got it home from a the record store and removed the shrink wrap.

(M-) Mint Minus and (NM-) Near Mint Minus:  A Mint Minus or Near Mint Minus may have light paper scuffs or have a light hairline scratch present, but will have no effect on sonic quality. Light spindle marks may also be present. Looks clean and unplayed. The record will have it's factory gloss and luster. The jacket will not have ring wear or seam splits. No 'cut out' marks or any writing or stickers. May show some signs of light use but nothing that would constitute a distraction. This grade will present as "near new" having been properly handled and cared for. Again, little or no sign of handling or use, any detractions will be noted.

(VG++) Very Good Plus Plus: Shows some signs that it was played and otherwise handled by a previous owner who took good care of it. Record surfaces may show signs of use and may have slight paper scuffs or very light surface scratches that only reveal themselves in the quietest of passages and don't detract from the overall sonic quality. Most factory shine is still present. Slight edge warps that do not affect the tracking or sound quality are OK and will be noted. An LP jacket may have some signs of ring wear or shelf wear and a small corner bump or two, these are minimal and acceptable for this grade. A small seam split is also acceptable and will be noted. Jacket may have a sawcut or punch hole, light owner signatures, DJ marks and other forms of handwriting are acceptable for this grade. In general, if not for a couple of minor things wrong with it, this would be a showcase piece. All but the most discriminating collectors will find a 'Very Good Plus Plus' record highly acceptable.

(VG+) Very Good Plus: Many of the defects found in a VG++ record are more pronounced in a VG+ disc but it is still a keeper. Surface noise is evident upon playing, but does not overwhelm the music. Groove wear will start to be audible and a random click, tic or soft pop may be evident but will not detract from the enjoyment of the recorded material. The jacket may have a seam split or ring wear and labels may be marred by writing, or have tape or stickers (or their residue) attached. A small light stain or some discoloring may be evident. The cover may exhibit a combination of these flaws but they will not overwhelm the piece.

(VG) Very Good: A VG disc will have more flaws but it is still a keeper. Surface noise is evident upon playing but does not overpower the music. Groove wear will be audible along with occasional pops and tics but there are no skips. The jacket may have a significant seam split and the spine may be seriously flaked. Labels and jackets may be marred by writing, or have tape or stickers (or their residue) attached. A small light stain or some discoloring may be evident. The cover may exhibit a combination of these flaws but they will not overwhelm the piece.

(G+) Good Plus, (G) Good: Good means acceptable, not completely trashed. The grade I usually reserve for listing the rarest of records. A record in 'Good' condition can be put onto a turntable and will play but it will have significant audible surface noise. A jacket or sleeve has larger seam splits and there may be significant water stains, tape, writing, ring wear or other defects that will start to overwhelm the object.

Special Note: I am human. I grade conservatively, however on occasion I may miss something. There are always exceptions to the rules. If you have ANY issue with the piece, please contact me first. I will make it right. Again, please do not initiate a return request or an item not as described thru ebay until you give me a chance to rectify the problem. Also, before leaving any neutral or negative feedback, I will deal with you professionally and respectfully. Thank you.