That's so true. This is a problem I have encountered more often than I'm prepared to tolerate these days. During the past six years I have been looking for several 1960's albums on original mono vinyl pressings. I have used Discogs, eBay and other online outlets. I am very particular and usually dismiss 95% of the listings I see which to me at least are often fairly glib with comments like "mint condition" (read: no 1960's pressing can ever be truly mint, even an unplayed copy as atmospheric conditions and time will have added something to the mix that wasn't there when it was brand new).It's just a matter of finding clean, reasonably priced copies which is nearly impossible
I have purchased a number of vinyl records (vinyl still offers the best sound quality and is preferred to CD in every way) which have been very very carefully selected from the hundreds regularly listed. However, without exception, they have all been returned as I could not live with any of them. I have been reassured that these LP's are near mint, barely played with unmarked sleeves etc and yet all of them have had very obvious faults which can be seen within seconds of removing them from the packaging ie. surface scuffs, scratches, needle digs, seam splits, writing indentations on sleeves, creases, fading / yellowing of colours etc.
And then there's the classic case of listening to these poor condition vinyls which usually have been played to death and exhibit groove wear distortion, crackle and pops galore. Contrary to what some people think, vinyl records can be kept for decades without ever exhibiting these problems but it takes GREAT CARE to do it. My own collection of vinyl is predominantly made up of albums I purchased new in the 1980's and early 1990's with a lot of more recent "audiophile / 180g" re-issues. None of my collection has suffered from background noise, crackle and pops. This I believe is down to several decisions I made when I bought the records brand new. Firstly, I never cleaned them! Rubbing cloths, velvet brushes and other "record cleaners" over vinyl can add to the static charge build up which attracts more dust and debris than it initially removes. There is also a small risk of scratching the vinyl. Secondly, I always put all my records in POLY-LINED INNER SLEEVES to keep them dust free and devoid of static. The best way to remove dust which still builds up on some records over time is to let the stylus pick it up and then clean the stylus!
All my records are stored vertically in plastic protective outer sleeves. They are stacked closely together but not too tight so that it is difficult to pull one out.
Judging by the quality of condition of most second-hand vinyl I see, not many people follow my practice. I no longer want to risk buying dodgy condition vinyl even when the seller is positively frothing at the mouth with superlatives to describe a copy of an album that he believes is mint. Sorry, but I've "been there, done that" and I've yet to be impressed.
The other bugbear of mine is the constant reference (in the UK and Europe at least) to the "Record Collector Grading System" as though it is some kind of Holy Grail! What irritates me is that the definitions of "Excellent" and "Very Good / Good" etc are so vague as to be completely meaningless. One man's "little lessening in sound quality" is another man's unlistenable. Why do so many people religiously follow such a vague and in-precise system which is open to so much personal interpretation and mostly abuse? I've read all the definitions many many times and I still can't be sure how I would grade my own "perfect" LP's using it. It seems as though most of my vinyl would be "mint" or "near mint" and yet to me that would be misleading. However, dropping down to EX+ puts my collection with most eBay sellers' lots and judging from my own personal and tough experience, this would be a gross under-sell and wouldn't reflect the true condition compared to what most others are offering.
So for me today it has to be new vinyl or it's back to that anachronism, CD!
Sorry for the long rant but hey sometimes you just have to say what's on your mind.
