How To Buy Vinyl Records – Tips and Tricks
Buying vinyl can be a walk in the park – other times it can be a living hell.
There’s a lot more to buying vinyl than meets the eye. Unlike picking up a new CD or downloading an MP3, vinyl still has its firm roots in specific shops. These vinyl shops can sometimes be a total mess while others are neatly organized.
Navigating your way through the maze of vinyl to find the one you’re looking for is a mission and a half. However, once you finally find that special vinyl, you still need to check over a few things to make sure it’s worth the purchase.
There are a few tips, tricks and guidance’s to buying vinyl online or in a record shop. They don’t need to always be taken into consideration but they will help you from getting burned on what you thought was a sweet deal.
The vinyl jacket
The first thing you’ll notice when buying vinyl is the vinyl jacket. This jacket is the outside, often cardboard, enclosure for the vinyl and additional items inside.
The first thing you’ll want to do is take a good look for any damage to the jacket. Does it have any signs of warping or water damage? Often times you’ll find crates of vinyl that were left out in the open (often at flea markets) which will stick the jackets together, ripping the album art and ruining the overall condition.
You may also want to look for any writing people have place on the records. More often then note, people will write their names on various records – some people just like making sure they know it’s theirs. Other times people will put little notches or stickers on the jacket to help organize for their DJ set or apart of their collection.
These writings and stickers may be easy to remove but other times it will degrade the overall value of the vinyl. If you only care about the actual vinyl, I say don’t worry as much about the jacket because it’s not the jacket which people are going to be hearing in your mixes.
The vinyl record
The vinyl record is what you should be paying the most attention to since this is what you’ll be playing in your DJ sets.
Vinyl can easily be damaged from heat, humidity and storage methods. You know when you walk into a proper shop when they have all of their vinyl neatly organized and stacked vertically. This isn’t to say you won’t find garbage at these stores either or find gems at run down shops, it’s just saying that you should be aware of the type of people you purchase from.
Before you ever buy vinyl at least take it out of the jacket and sleeve to give it a once over to check for scratches and any other signs of damage. A record that has a giant gouge down the middle won’t only play but could possibly damage your turntable needles in the process. It’s a total waste if you’re not able to play your vinyl without skipping so try to avoid these unless you really want it just for ascetic purposes.
If the clerk is available, try to question them about the history and past owners of the vinyl. Yes, this may seem a bit steep but knowing that your vinyl was in good hands is a great way to make sure you don’t get burned buying a piece that only plays a few times before wearing out. Often times you’ll find DJs unloading large amounts of records onto stores that have been through quite a bit of rough play, these may be a great find but again, if they can’t be played more than a few times they may as well be worthless.
Liner notes and other items
For those collecting their vinyl as well as DJing, the liner notes and other items included with the release may be very important to you.
Some vinyl releases come with signed liner notes, little items such as coins or collectible souvenirs. In order to make sure your vinyl is complete, you should do a bit of research on sites such as Discogs to see what the release came with before laying down the money on an incomplete release of the vinyl.
Determining the condition
After you’ve checked over the vinyl you should try to rate it in comparison to other vinyl conditions. These range from Poor to Very Good, while perfect being essentially un opened and never touched (good luck finding those).
Although the vinyl may be in perfect condition, the jacket and liner notes be in complete shambles which lowers the overall value of the vinyl record. Don’t get duped into paying full price for a record if parts of it are damaged. Haggle a price you and the owner finds fair based on the condition of the vinyl.
What’s a good price?
To be honest, there is no “good” price for vinyl.
Some vinyl is ridiculously expensive to some while completely worthless to others – it all depends on the collector. Certain records are very hard to come by which means they’ll have a much higher listing price, others not so much. It’s best to shop around if possible before you make any final decisions on buying that rare vinyl, you may find it much cheaper in another store.
As a DJ, you may be burning through records nightly which means you’re going to be spending quite a bit of money on your music. If possible, try to get the price within your spending range so you don’t blow it all on one record when you could of had a dozen.
You could always refer to a vinyl pricing guide if you have one handy but remember that these are average prices collected from all over the world sometimes. The small shop in your town may not be asking or paying the same price for vinyl as one in the city. Use your judgment when purchasing vinyl so you don’t get burned by outrageous prices.
Remember that vinyl won’t last forever as a DJ from all the wear and tear. You have to expect to eventually retire the record and possibly buy another copy. If the release has the perfect song that will blow up the dance floor, I say go for it and get it while it’s hot.
Last minute things to check
Before the final purchase, you should run over a few things to make sure everything checks out.
Check to see if the store offers any sort of return or buy back policy. On the very rare occasion, the vinyl may have been pressed incorrectly which means you’re SOL – hopefully the shop will give you a refund or at least buy it back at a discount.
Check with the clerk to see if any new releases are coming out. Sometimes that rare song you’ve been itching to spin may be re released on new wax at a much cheaper price.
Ask some general questions you feel is appropriate before you make any purchase. Remember, the crate digger that is on good terms with a shop gets tons of great benefits when the clerk holds aside new releases, rarities and other vinyl you’ve been looking for because you’re such a good customer.
Giving it a listen
Finally, if you’re willing to make an investment, I highly recommend picking up a portable turntable.
Portable turntables are compact turntables which can be lugged around often in a backpack. Some shops do not have equipment set up to allow you to listen to the vinyl before hand. If you happen to have a portable turntable, this will help you get a good understanding of the quality and songs you are about to buy.
Portable turntables aren’t all that expensive either. You can pick a few up for under $150, a great investment when you’re buying thousands of dollars worth of vinyl for your DJ mixes.
Find the Numark PT01 Portable DJ Turntable
Final note
This information should arm you with enough knowledge so you can buy vinyl with confidence. Using these guidelines and tips will help you from wasting money on mediocre or damaged vinyl.
A proper amount of research will allow you to make the best decisions for your money without any repercussions. There are plenty of shops where you can buy vinyl that will try to rush you just to grab your money – avoid these if possible. Try to take your time when deciding which vinyl to buy, it’s just like any other purchase – remember, it’s your hard earned money.
