Discogs - by Collectors, for Collectors

[Fretless]

Somebody on here (sorry, can't remember who but thanks anyway.) advised me a while ago to try the marketplace on Discogs.com for tracking down those hard-to-find releases that one just HAS to have.

Well, with lockdown situations and time on my hands, the CD-collecting bug has been biting hard of late and now I find myself compelled to acquire several Windham Hill releases from the 80's that I once had or wanted. So after exhausting the possibilities of Ebay, Amazon, Dodax and Marktplaats (Dutch version of Ebay), I have turned my attention to Discogs and realised that I should have looked there a lot earlier and this is the place to find and exchange treasures.

It seems that the world is simply full of record collectors and, once you have signed in and registered yourself, the process is really simple:
Click on an album release and you will see a link for buying. Going there will show you all the people around the world who have a copy to sell with prices and condition of product. The only small problem is that sometimes you have to ask about shipping rates but they are often given up front. Payment is via PayPal.

You can find all sorts of LP's, CD's, DVD's, whatever - here. Discogs has long been my address for looking up details on albums and releases but now it looks to be THE site for getting hold of pretty well anything.

Brilliant!

[BillyBones]

I've used Discogs for buying and selling over the years, mainly for those hard to find items. If I remember rightly there is a selling fee of about 10% similar to Ebay.

Recently I sold my 13 CD SAHB box set "The Last of the Teenage Idols" on there. I couldn't actually see it for sale anywhere else on Ebay, Amazon etc and looked on Discogs for an idea of going rates and was astonished by the prices being quoted. I eventually sold it to someone in Germany for over double what I'd paid for it brand new 4 years ago.

[Quarknosis]

Discogs is excellent for tracking down specific releases as it lists many different versions of the same title from various territories and years. Although I have recently read about sellers listing items for sale under the first available entry I haven't personally received the wrong item yet.

I find it is often the cheaper than ebay and Amazon to buy from and gradings are generally more accurate. International sellers will sometimes ship without the jewel case to help reduce costs.

[Hannes-Gregor]

Somebody on here (sorry, can't remember who but thanks anyway.) advised me a while ago to try the marketplace on Discogs.com for tracking down those hard-to-find releases that one just HAS to have.

Hi Fretless, you're welcome. Regarding the shipping costs you can choose in the filter menu on the right side the option 'ships from'. In your case I'd take the Netherlands. Another great seller in the Netherlands is Hans Kesteloo, founder of 'Music Manic Records' who tries to sell his huge collection here: http://www.kesteloo.net/. I bought some fine stuff there but don't know what is left till now.

[Hannes-Gregor]

Something went wrong with that post, now it's there twice. I guess it was my fault. But by the way, the menu isn't on the right, it's on the left side on discogs (mixing up left and right is one of my specialities).

[Hannes-Gregor]

I have removed the duplicated post for you Hannes.


My problem now is NOT ordering everything I have been looking-for for ages.

Luckily the most prices are reasonable and the art is to pick a seller with cost-effective postage rates.

Love it.

[---Tom---]

I spend way too much time (and money) on discogs - it's great! In addition to the marketplace, it's a great tool for cataloging one's collection, and getting a sense of its value. The best function for me though is the want list - it's enabled me to snag some very rare pieces at great prices.

[Fretless]

Wants list !!??

I'll have to try that.

[---Tom---]

For any release listing there are two buttons on the right hand side - 'add to collection' and 'add to wantlist'. If you add something to your wantlist, you should then get an email whenever items on the list are added to the market place. Or, you can access your list from a tab on the dashboard and click the green button called 'show items in marketplace', and it'll show you what's available starting with the most recently listed. It's enabled me to snag things minutes after they've been listed.

[Hannes-Gregor]

Have a look at the grading of the items: Poor, good and very good are mostly rubbish. Starting at level VG+ is what we want!