Buying Records

I buy records from all over the place.  It matters not to me where, what matters is what the music is.  I am interested mostly in old jazz, a lot of it is out of print so it is a quest.  Also, I might find a better copy of something I already have.  So that explains having multiple copies of some things. Then there are sources like the Tone Poet Society of which I am a Tier 1 subscriber, and Mosaic, where I buy anything and everything they put out.  E-Bay, Amazon, Discogs, especially Discogs are all valuable resources.  I have trouble passing store fronts known to buy and sell records and cds.  Basically I am an indiscriminate collector of old jazz.  Hopeless, in fact I need help.  A real sick puppy. 

I have three or  for local record stores that I shop for usef records. Not unusual to find a great pressing that is just really dirty and can be cleaned up or get a bargain because the cover is in bad shape but the vinyl is great.

I also shop discogs on a regular basis and buy new vinyl from several online stores. I really like the Rhino High Fidelity or Reserve series, the Bluesville re-issues and a few others that are exceptional quality but not at the exorbitant prices of some of the mofior UHQR releases. It’s great when you find a good one 

This issue persists, generation to generation 

I buy all over. One of the main ones is Bandcamp, particularly Bandcamp Fridays (>700). Local store rarely has anything interesting. There are few favorites when I travel, like Plattfon in Basel, 16Tons in Zürich, original vinyls in SF, and Millennium music in Portland.

The few places I have never bought anything are eBay, amazon, or general retailers (Walmart, etc.).

Re used mint, that is impossible, because mint implies unopened/unplayed. So used does not work in the context of mint. Only second hand shrink wrapped with outer cover pristine may get a mint. Alternatively, it was graded wrong, which is not uncommon.

Never bought any of the "audiophile" pressings (Bluenose, UHQR, etc.). The music is not interesting. I prefer odd ball stuff like Brannte Schnüre's "Muschelsammlung" with record noise and clicks part of the recording. I appreciate their sense of humor.  Needless to say, all personal taste. I rather buy artistic packaging, like the friendship editions of 128 label or the Volcan 1/1 editions. That's something worth supporting! The 128s literally have my name engraved in the wood boxes. Much cooler than any super duper half-speed 45 rpm virgin vinyl 454 g pressings of the Blah side of the moon. 

I try to buy new whenever possible and have settled in on buying some series type stuff (The Lost Recordings and Tone Poet Society).  It’s to hit or miss with used records.  I like to support my local record store, but only buy his best stuff, but honestly with streaming I question myself sometimes.  I turned 60 this year and really trying to not have as much stuff overall.