OFFICIAL FEEDBACK THREAD (BUYER & SELLER)

[arnoldc]

For me the top spot goes to Pican. Because he's the only one who "play grade" the vinyls he sell.

Second place goes to DiscExchange, as they always have great copies and have very, very few (some none) ticks and pops. Besides, you can play them first in their turntable.

Third place goes to ihatejazz, for great customer service. Libre linis pag madumi, pwede pa soli pag may tama.

[vintage_dog]

For me the top spot goes to Pican. Because he's the only one who "play grade" the vinyls he sell.

Second place goes to DiscExchange, as they always have great copies and have very, very few (some none) ticks and pops. Besides, you can play them first in their turntable.

Third place goes to ihatejazz, for great customer service. Libre linis pag madumi, pwede pa soli pag may tama.

agree on first two. i have yet to buy a record from george i failed doing that the last time as i was too busy enjoying his set-up.

pic may not be able to play grade all his LPs now, but his ratings are very accurate... one LP that is warped at the corner missed his srutiuny but he gave the LP for free....now, can i have more of those pic

chris' records which i got last night were also a good catch for me. and reasonably priced!

[pican]

Many thanks for the rating, Arnold and Francis. I hope I can do better next time.

Pic

[conspicuous]

i am more of a bargain hunter looking for albums in vg to nm condition for P300 or below. i go for g condition if the album is rare or taking me a long time to find or if the price is right. vinyl condition that is. here are my comments to date:

boytoy24 - he is upfront about the condition of the LPs he sells. i have relied on him on some hard to find LPs. prices are very reasonable and commensurate with the condition of the LP. plus he is able to meet me at a mutually convenient location to transact. easy to talk to.

discexchange - LPs are as described initially in the web post. more fun to actually drop by the store to pick up because then you can browse the many bins of LPs and find a gem in the rough. it also helps that the selections of 1000s of LPs are all on computer for easy access. prices are high but so is quality. boy is also easy and pleasant to talk to.

cybermms - so far picked up one only but reserved more. LP is as described in web post. since i live in the south it is convenient to pick up albums at festival mall in alabang on the way home. selection is hit and miss but the hits are worth it and quite plentiful actually if only i had more cash. haven't talked to him personally but he is easy to communicate with.

superman - so far bought only one album. LP is as described in web post and price is commensurate to quality. met him quickly to pick up album and was easy and friendly to talk to.

review on greenlantern to follow. i still have to meet up with him to pick up some hard to find selections i reserved from him.

actually selection overall is quite good. the problem is i didn't realize how many piranhas were out there!

[highlander]

1. Ihatejazz - good lp quality, may discount pa pag kinulit mo
2. DY1VCN - good lp quality, really from personal collections
3. cybermms - good lp quality, nagbibigay ng 'tip',pwede pa 'terms'

[cybermms]

Conspicuous, Highlander,

Thanks for the compliments.

cyber

[esi]

Sir PICAN gets my top vote. Very friendly and accomodating!
close second is DEX. great LPs in NM / M condition!

[recordmogul]

I collect records from ABBA to Zappa, NM-M condition. kaya the best si Boss Boy Bustamante (Dex). Madali kausap, WALAMG YABANG, and most of all, alam DIN niya 'yung binebenta niyang mga plaka.

Sir Boy, puwede bang extend n'yo 50% sale n'yo? he he he.

[arnoldc]

My best record haul of the Year is from Disc Exchange. All of them are MINT! Damn, I Love The Nylons, Ry Cooder, The Brothers Four, etc.

[vintage_dog]

Disc Exchange = #1.

got over 30+ recently. rating is accurate. all LPs (vonyl) are NM. prices are very reasonable (to read cheap) for japanese pressings.

[vintage_dog]

feedback on ydred23's vinyl.

my driver met up with reddy at sm megamall and got the LPs i reserved for inspection. am play-grading them now and will get those i like.

overall the LPs' covers are in NM-VG condition. no plastic covers (like those from DiscExch). most inserts are still there.

vinyl are likewise in VG-NM condition. clean, except for the Sinatra LP which has the usual scratches. the vinyl is G-VG based due to scratches.

the description of M should not be used on any of the LPs except for the one sealed. at best the LPs are NM. "Mint" is reserved for sealed, opened and never played or those opened but with cellowrap cover intact, no folds, or those played only 1-2 times with absolutely no marks.

one LP (watanabe) has the "saw cut" at the album's edge. this should be indicated in the description. dealers do this on sale items and dispose them at a bargain.

most LPs have been stickered. bad practice. it damages the LP cover when you remove them.

one classical LP is digitally remastered. should have indicated this in description as well.

pricing - i understand reddy just sells them for somebody else. prices are relatively higher than others'. the Marsalis LP is not a japanese pressing. this LP goes for $3-5, so p750 is very expensive and condition is not Mint. i'll wait for another one that shows up locally.

LPs over the p400 mark for a "regular" is not a bargain, but folks who reallly want them can grab them anytime...and not complain.

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Herbert Von Karajan=Beethoven Synphony Nos. 5 & 8 “Fidelio overture” = Grammophon (W. Germany) = NM/M =300
Boston Symphony/Seiji Ozawa=Johannes Brahms Symphony no.1(Grammophon) = VG/M = 300
Chuck Mangione = Encore (Best of Chuck Mangione concerts) = NM/NM = 400
Earth Wind & Fire = Touch The Word incld Every Now & Then = NM/M = 300
Elton John = Blue Moves (dbl lp) = NM/NM = 450
Frank Sinatra = Frank Sinatra 1943 to 1951 (dbl lp, mono re-recorded to simulate stereo) = Columbia = NM/VG = 650
Sadao Watanabe = Birds of Passage = NM/M = 500
The 5th Dimension = Love’s Lines, Angles & Rhymes = M/VG = 400
Various Artists =The Fabulous Dance Collection(Ballroom Big Band Swing Tango)=sealed= 250
Wynton Marsalis = Wynton Marsalis = NM/NM = 750

[ydred23]

We'll take note of your comments and improve on some points you raised. Thanks.

[vintage_dog]

cybermms

process of selling needs to be improved/simplified. LPs are both available at WS and at store, so no guarantee that what is reserved is not yet taken. list is not uptodate, so it's a hit or miss in buying LPs.

an LP i reserved was later sold in-store. another buyer reserved an LP which has already been "sold" prior.

[conspicuous]

in general i haven't much problem with cybermms. we have a convenient arrangement of lp pick up and payment over at festival mall alabang. however i did note that lp prices are a bit high considering the playing condition of the lps. sometimes he does allow for a discount. therefore i go by difficulty of finding the record or the rarity. so i've gotten a few hard to find albums already from him.

discexchange has been the most reliable in price and selection for nm condition lps. it helps to wait for the sale.

boytoy24 is honest about the condition of his lps and prices them accordingly. you can even get package deals if buying more than 2.

[JackD201]

I buy from Jadis and IHJ. They're my favorites for NM/M and sealed LPs. D-Ex bitin, I never got the chance to have a feeding frenzy there

Actually we're spoiled with all of this "reserve" stuff. It must be a nightmare for the sellers to have an updated log. Then again kung negosyo mo yan it's your responsibility.

I suggest we have a rule at WS where we have a uniform number of days for the seller to hold the reservations. Something like 3 days. If it will take longer dapat meroon na tayong downpayment man lang. Just so it's fair. If after 3 days wala pang tawag man lang then back to the for sale bin yung mga yun. Does this sound fair? I've been guilty of forgetting a couple of reservations myself, and talagang nahiya ako. This way if someone forgets and it's sold at least walang samaan ng loob. If it's sold within the 3 days naman, dapat naman managot yung sellers. It will make it much easier and much more convenient for all parties. Just my 2 cents worth.

[arnoldc]

i'd say that boytoy is a good model- 5 days reservation. i do have to agree that sometimes the buyer like myself may not cut in the 5 days limit due to busy and sometimes sudden unforseeable schedules, and no driver unlike some of you. it will be best for the sellers din to have an account where we can deposit. i've done this with some sellers like jamants, and another one i forgot. pero the best customer service for me is greenlantern- dinadala pa sa office for me to see and check.

[conspicuous]

arnoldc,

is greenlantern still around? i liked his service too some time back but haven't heard from him in a while.

[arnoldc]

temporarily retired

[vintage_dog]

i'd say that boytoy is a good model- 5 days reservation. i do have to agree that sometimes the buyer like myself may not cut in the 5 days limit due to busy and sometimes sudden unforseeable schedules, and no driver unlike some of you. it will be best for the sellers din to have an account where we can deposit. i've done this with some sellers like jamants, and another one i forgot. pero the best customer service for me is greenlantern- dinadala pa sa office for me to see and check.

even 5 days may be short. to me there are 2 ways to make reservations:

1. reserve for inspection - not a commitment to buy. items can be reserved for a few days only (as agreed with seller).

2. reserve to buy. this is a commitment to buy, so LPs should already be flagged as sold. buyers can still return LPs ONLY if the LP condition is not as per advertised.

from a customer service level standpoint, here is my personal preference for transactions (highest to lowest)

1. seller brings LPs to buyer for inspection
- eg. greenlantern with arnoldc

2. seller allows LPs to be picked-up/brought home by buyer for inspection
- bb3/disckexch allowed me to bring home 100+ LPs for inspection
- ydred23 on my last purchase

3. seller meets up with buyer at a convenient location
- pican
- most others

4. pick-up from store or seller's residence only
- a few sellers (this is least preferred)

[cybermms]

Fully agree with all your comments and suggestions.

In my case, since my shop is outside MM and maybe the only one in Cavite - I transact business in the following manner:

1. Tops are the WS members who make the effort to come to the shop braving the distance, the traffic and sometimes the rain and the flood. For such inconvenience, I have to reward them by giving them 1st priority and access even to my personal LP collections.

2. For members who reserve, and they include my regulars and first timers, I segregate the LP's and schedule deliveries around convenient points in Alabang, Ortigas and Makati during the week. Reservation is good for one week and beyond that period, the LP's go back to free market.

3. A few make that extra effort to have their staff pick up the LP's at home even at night.

4. The LP's in my list are 90% owned by a collector. I know he is being pursued by MM LP collectors. His prices have been adjusted/reduced a few times to make them competitive. On special occassions, we have reduced the prices significantly for limited periods like - 4th of July Specials and Summer Specials. The lucky ones availed of these promos. Otherwise, if the WS member acquires in volume, the owner has agreed to give discounts.

5. The LP's in our list could be returned / replaced if these were damaged or below the rating as posted.

Of course we can not be perfect but at least the intention is to "make all WS members happy". Making profit is secondary. Most of the time, I am cash out and drowned with caffeine at Figaro or Starbucks waiting for WS members to come by and pick up their LP's.

But what the heck!!! We do it for fun and the value of contacts, network and friendship.

cyber