Buying Records

I try to buy only used.  There are a couple of local record stores I rely on that have stuff in pretty good shape, at least "good", if not very good or mint.  I use ritualistic cleaning to bring them back to life as I've learned from the likes of Tom Port at Better Records that the music from the 70's and earlier more often than not will not be surpassed by anything produced today.

Prices for vinyl are insane and continue to go up. Recording quality is all over the map and more often than not, a disappointment. Many of the companies I've bought from have poor web sites, slow to very slow delivery times and are just difficult to deal with. I'd say that for every ten records I buy (180 gram) that have had rave reviews are average at best and have cost close to $40 each- absurd and frustrating. After investing 6k in a turntable and cartridge, $1000 in a phono pre amp, cables, cleaning products etc. I find it was a very expensive and frustrating walk down memory lane from 45 years ago. Streaming is 1000% better, endless variety, instant, flexible and the second I don't like a song or a recording I jump to something else with no frustration or sinking feeling of having just flushed $40 down the drain for a crappy recording. Oh, yeah, and between Roon, Quboz and Tidal I spend less than $450 a year. I stopped wasting my money on vinyl after buying about 75-100 records which cost about 4k, most of which are annoying to try to listen to. Other than that though...hah!

I very much appreciate the individuals here that see vinyl as the reliable medium I do and I find it especially helpful when they fill out their profiles, so we can all know where they're coming from. You can see that they do everything they can to get the best out of the format. I may disagree with their technique maybe because I'm very much a less is more person when it comes to vinyl upkeep but you can't fault them for their passion.

As for sources I generally stick with Acoustic Sounds, Music Direct and Elusive Disc who almost always have something I want at a price I'm willing to pay and the customer service is always a major plus since they'll do whatever they can to keep you happy and coming back.

We have a lot of brick and mortar around here that specialize in having available anything you want, old or new and they all value their customers and will always do the right thing.

I've tried eBay a couple of times but I think to many vendors really have no experience with vinyl what soever and treat like any other throw away item they're trying to sell. Once I got my whole purchase refunded because I gave a vendor a bad review over his grading and he let me keep the product. Gave me a line about it being a family business. I hope it was a lesson to him.

I will occasionally try some off the wall sources if they have something I want at a good price and I can vet them via other buyer's verifiable experiences I find on the internet.

I only buy near mint on eBay and done well. But eBay is not as good as a professional record retailer.

I buy on Amazon, and from Rhino and the various audiophile labels and distributors. I don't buy used vinyl.