Time To Impose Minimum Standards for LP's

I find myself buying albums from a handful of the same sellers because of their accuracy and rarity of their offerings.
The Agoners you see selling on a regular basis seem to be the best at grading and tend to have excellent communication in regards to any issues

Most of the choice albums are in the 10-30 range on average with rare stuff escalating from there

Stay away from 3.00 albums and you'll most likely do well

Stick to the humble cd, its a safer option.

I agree with Elizabeth - find local supplies, or failing that, people who you do trust both here and on ebay (my ebay experiences have been quite good for the most part - there are several great sellers on there). There is no way a grading system for LP's could ever become standardized, too many variables. And I also agree that there are far too many people simply trying to charge too much for them, especially on this site.

Make no mistake, finding good playable vinyl today is a daunting task to say the least. Some of you know me as a reseller of vinyl here on Audiogon. Been doing so for many years now. I am one of the few if not the only one that test plays each album that comes in and base my grading of it quite simply. If I would keep it for my own library or not, based upon its playback condition. If it passes my standard then it is offered for auction or classified resale. All my auctions are $1.00 no reserve. To my mind this is the fairest was of marketing to the Audiogon membership. And yes on a occassion some LPs have sold just for a $1.00. But, hey its an auction, so no complaints on my end.

I deal first and foremost with jazz Lps from the 50,s to current day. But mostly 50,s , 60,s , and 70,s. Most of those in that period of time were small independent labels, such as Riverside, Prestige, Emarcy, Blue Note, Jazzland, etc. None of the companies had the resources to press huge quantities. A pressing of say 50,000 would have bankrupt many of them. Fast foward to today some 40 to 50 years down the road original issues of these in playable condition dwindle each year. Great vintage vinyl is finite and only so much of it remains. The day of good used cheap vinyl is long gone.

I do not visual grade any vinyl LP. For instance I have a Dave Brubeck LP Red,Hot and Cool. Mono pressing from 1955 I think. Visually the LP looks just terrible and something that should be thrown on the scrap heap. However to my surprise, it plays without flaw, surface noise is damn near zero. But I dare not resale the LP, because the end users would crucify me for what I sent him.

Grading systems are subjective at best, based upon the sellers integrity. I buy as well and it becomes more difficult each day to find great vintage vinyl. However on my end I try as much as possible to take the guess work out of the equation.

Ratings are mostly subjective.

My "7" is your "9".

Your "Near Mint and no surface noise" is my "Unplayable and belongs in the frisbee pile".

These are exaggerations of course but if you're diligent and careful, you'll find sellers in whom you can place complete confidence.

Recordron and Ferrari are 2 good examples.