BUYING OLD VINYL LP'S - WATCH OUT!

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS GUIDE. I DO HOPE YOUWILL FINDIT USEFUL. YOU MAY ALSO LIKE TO READ MY COMPANION GUIDE 'SELLING VINYL LP'S: PREPARATION,DESCRIPTION, POSTAGE'

I have bought many vinyl LP's on eBay and can recommend 99% of all sellers I have bought from.

But despite this, there are still a few sellers of vinyl LP's on Ebay who don't play by the rules, no matter how manyregulations eBay management puts on them. Often these sellers,despite their high 'red or green star'feedback scores, have much less than 100% positive feedback, and it's a good idea to check out other buyers' bad experiences before bidding.You can do thisby first clicking on the seller's feedback score and then clicking on the number of negative feedbacks recorded in the last 12 months - this will reveal everything bad others have said about the seller AND the seller's responses (which may well be rude or offensive showing how little they care about customer satisfaction).

So here are a few hints and tips on things to look out for:

1. Beware incomplete or misleading descriptions. If the seller says the LP is 'original' or '1st issue', do not expect to see the album on 'budget re-issue' labels such as MFP, CFP, Wing, Contour, Sunset, Marble Arch or Decca Ace of Hearts. These labels came out in the late 1960's to re-issue albums from the late 1950's and early 1960's. Their value is in most cases almost zero, so don't pay more than 1 each for these. The condition of these 'budget re-issue'vinyl LP'smay be 'Mint', but they are still almost worthless no matter what the condition.

2. Beware sellers who say in their descriptions that an LP has been 'visually graded' as to its condition (and therefore its value). No matter how shiny a vinyl may be, it can still sound awful when you come to play it, if at one time in its past it has been played with a faulty stylus. Visual gradings mean absolutely nothing. Look insteadfor those sellers who have played the record through themselves and are happy to give full details of any 'hiss', 'crackle'or 'pops' - these are the sellers who are generally the most honest and will give the best customer service.

3. Steer clear of sellers who say that an LP is 'excellent' or that it has been 'visually graded 'EX' in accordance with RC guidelines'. They cannot possibly give a grading of 'EX' (excellent)in accordance with the 'Record Collector Rare Record Price Guide' guidelines UNLESS they have played the record themselves and listened to it! And don't bid on a vinyl LP unless the seller has shown you at least one picture of the album- you really can have no idea of what you are getting.

4. There are a few sellers (usually dealers) of vinyl LP's on eBay who insist in giving you very detaileddescriptions, which initially look very inviting. There are oftenlots of words like 'brilliant!!!!', 'seriously rare!!!!', 'impossible to find!!!!' etc. whichmaymislead you into thinking such LP's are better than they actually are! So it's important youread ALL the small print carefully before bidding.

5. Unless you really want a particular vinyl LP, or you are bidding on an especially valuable one, don't bid on an LP where the seller is intending to charge more than 3.50 to post it to you. Most sellers are happy to post for much less than this, so why let yourself be ripped off by paying more?

6. If you are thinking of bidding on more than one item from the same seller, make sure that the seller will offer a p