I see there is a learning curve to buying used vinyl, can you please offer your wisdom and experience? In my recent attempts at buying used vinyl I have learned not to buy from someone who has stored their collection in the garage, dusty, moldy, and urine smells are gnarly. I am starting to look closer now that I have brought some home from my local shop and noticed imperfections in the vinyl itself, resulting in pops. Finding thirty and forty year old records in good condition is not as easy as I thought it would be.
via mailorder, you have to get a feel for how each vendor grades, as it is somewhat subjective. Especially if they only grade "visually", which is sometimes useless. Then buy more from those with whom you have a positive experience.
I hate cleaning records. It is slow and noisy, but essential.
We have regular record shows at cities throughout southwestern ontario pretty much evry few weeks all year round. One vendor, whose stuff generally looks really pretty good tend to drop his prices to a buck for anything around 2 in the afternoon to reduce his load goin home. It never fails, about half the stuff I pick up there (its a real shame because I have had some really good finds)tends to have a huge amount of surface noise. I clean them with my vpi before playing. I'm guessing that he cleans them with something too harsh. There is nothing untoward about the appearance. I have had some really great finds at flea markets, thrift shops and record shows. It's all part of the fun of this hobby. I think I have added nearly 2000 used lps to my collection over the past few years. Used good jazz is harder to find but some of the newer Bluenote rereleases are great.
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