So much for Discogs

[par4ken]

I just received a message from Discogs that they will be forcing sellers to list their shipping policies (i.e. set shipping prices per item, or weight etc). "Shipping Policies will be a requirement for all your listings in the marketplace by October 1, 2020."
This is a bad idea for individuals like myself who are selling only a handful of items, shipping costs vary greatly depending on the actual package weight and destination, as well as the shipping method chosen. Discogs seems to want to be like eBay with strictly enforced shipping policies, no flexibility. I've been using eBay for years but have lamented every change that was made to all their policies, ideally they should just but out and leave the shipping as a matter between the seller and the purchaser. As a result I have yet to bother to list anything for sale on Flee Bay.
Comments about Discogs shipping policy changes seem to have been all negative so far, many sellers will stop selling if this goes through. There are rumours that Discogs is to be sold, it's about corporate greed rather than about the music. Discogs built their site for free with data contributions from users and sellers like us. I appreciate the information gleaned from the Discogs site but it was put there by ordinary people like us. As Discogs wants your sale listings to be the exact version listed (it's their way to build a comprehensive data base for free) if it's not there you have to add it. I've spent hours adding information to help build the site and just to be able to sell an item that wasn't previously in the data base. I have many more items to list but will not bother until this thing is resolved.
I miss the simplicity of the old GEMM site, you just had to list the Artist, Title, Format, Country, catalogue number, condition and price., all text based, not fancy enough now days I guess.

 

[splinter7]

Pardon me if I am missing something but can't your stated policy be broad enough to indicate that shipping rates are calculated by package weight, destination, and service requested (slow boat, express, tracked ....)?

 

[par4ken]

Pardon me if I am missing something but can't your stated policy be broad enough to indicate that shipping rates are calculated by package weight, destination, and service requested (slow boat, express, tracked ....)?

They can now but apparently after Oct 1 actual rates will have to be stated beforehand, they are working to provide more options but that doesn't change the fact that each package will be a slightly different weight, you can't know for sure until you have everything packed up. Rates differ not only from country to county but from one postal/zip code to another and are always changing. Those who choose to set shipping fees before hand rates almost always overcharge, or they lose money!

 

[J. PUPSTER]

They can now but apparently after Oct 1 actual rates will have to be stated beforehand, they are working to provide more options but that doesn't change the fact that each package will be a slightly different weight, you can't know for sure until you have everything packed up. Rates differ not only from country to county but from one postal/zip code to another and are always changing. Those who choose to set shipping fees before hand rates almost always overcharge, or they lose money!

That's a big reason I don't sell much on eBay, the shipping is difficult to figure (at least for me) and especially with not knowing where it will be going and what total costs will be on low margin items.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

They can now but apparently after Oct 1 actual rates will have to be stated beforehand, they are working to provide more options but that doesn't change the fact that each package will be a slightly different weight, you can't know for sure until you have everything packed up. Rates differ not only from country to county but from one postal/zip code to another and are always changing. Those who choose to set shipping fees before hand rates almost always overcharge, or they lose money!

I was not aware you sold on Discogs. What's your handle? Ebay too?

 

[Marplot]

I have a friend that does my ebay selling. I let him skim 10% - 20% off the top for his troubles (varies by effort). So far it has been a win/win but not everyone has access to someone that generous with his time.

 

[edisonbaggins]

I just have the buyer pay whatever shipping eBay calculates, based on the level of service I chose (media, 1st class, etc.)
Transparent to me and fairly painless.

 

[par4ken]

I was not aware you sold on Discogs. What's your handle? Ebay too?

My handle is the same for Discogs and for eBay, same as here. I've never listed anything for sale on eBay. I still have quite a few records gleaned from yard sales as well as duplicates, I tend to replace my vinyl when I find a much better copy at a reasonable price. I used to sell on GEMM "Global Electronic Music Marketplace", I miss the simplicity of that site. I started selling on Discogs a year or two ago, sales were rather brisk at first, sales have now slowed a bit as my listed inventory is reduced.

 

[par4ken]

I just have the buyer pay whatever shipping eBay calculates, based on the level of service I chose (media, 1st class, etc.)
Transparent to me and fairly painless.

eBay always overcharges on shipping, internationally at least. I've been stung a lot of times purchasing an item for a reasonable price only to the price double or triple once the shipping is added. The Global Shipping Program is another joke. An American seller ship's to a distribution center, the item is reshipped to the purchaser with all duties/taxes paid. That sounds convenient (maybe) for the shipper and purchaser, however double shipping is involved and the collection of taxes is involved, which might not of been collected at all if item is shipped direct. Often multiple purchases are not combined by eBay, and can't be changed by buyer or even the seller. eBay exerts far too much control over shipping costs and practices, they never did that in the beginning. The 50% of Discogs sellers of which now don't list shipping cost upfront are opposed to this eBay like change!

 

[edisonbaggins]

eBay always overcharges on shipping, internationally at least. I've been stung a lot of times purchasing an item for a reasonable price only to the price double or triple once the shipping is added. The Global Shipping Program is another joke. An American seller ship's to a distribution center, the item is reshipped to the purchaser with all duties/taxes paid. That sounds convenient (maybe) for the shipper and purchaser, however double shipping is involved and the collection of taxes is involved, which might not of been collected at all if item is shipped direct. Often multiple purchases are not combined by eBay, and can't be changed by buyer or even the seller. eBay exerts far too much control over shipping costs and practices, they never did that in the beginning. The 50% of Discogs sellers of which now don't list shipping cost upfront are opposed to this eBay like change!

I've easily combined shipping on multiple items. Haven't received one complaint about shipping costs, domestic or international...

 

[fac23]

I can understand that for someone who sells something like 5 items a year, having to create a huge amount of shipping cost rules is hardly worth the effort. However, as soon as you're shipping even a handful of orders per month, having a bunch of shipping rules in place should actually make your life easier. This isn't an exact science and I think it's totally fine to round prices up slightly. Working with a safety margin of 10-20 cents for one-item-purchases isn't ripping people off and quickly builds up a cushion that even compensates for miscalculations of a few $€£ to the seller's disadvantage (the LP+cassette+weirdly shaped special edition CD shipped to the other side of world case [which, in fact, happens once a year]). Sure, one has to check for postage price changes every once in a while. Then again, I also update the prices of my records semi-regularly. That's just the way it works.

The shipping calculator interface might look quite intimidating at first. But there's no need to create rules for every region, let alone every country. I only ship to roughly two dozens of countries. That's fine. And has served me well for the last five years. Perhaps the national & international shipping prices here in Germany are simpler than in the UK or US. But I really don't quite get what all the fuss is about.

 

[sixandnine]

It takes an age set the multiple shipping rates. Plus its very counterintuitive. The system couldn't work out that the UK was both in Europe and yet has its own domestic rates - this one had me scratching my head for ages until I saw that you can eliminate the UK from Europe if you drill down, which games the system into giving correct rates for UK buyers.

How very Brexit!

However, now its done, its done. But I've had only one sale since doing it. Ordinarily I might have had 2 or 3 in the time. I'm reserving judgement until I've lived with it for a month or so.

 

[par4ken]

I won't be bullied into this policy change even if it means no longer selling anything on the site. Read the comments from others, not one positive!

https://blog.discogs.com/en/updatin..._medium=pm&utm_campaign=ship-policy-1-sellers

 

[Clint Eastwood]

I confess I didn't read the previous posts...but I see the general theme....I've never sold on Discogs...but I've bought items on there...but I have sold quite a bit on Ebay...my goal wasn't to maximize the selling price...but to recapture some of my initial investment...I usually put my item lower than my competitors...which results in a quicker sale and more repeat customers...almost all of the time I gave free shipping...as I had a good idea of the cost and just factored that in the price...there are quite a few online guides to help you estimate the actual shipping costs..

 

[par4ken]

Another reason that I am adamantly opposed to this change is this, when I receive an order I have to first locate the recording, then I like to double check the condition visually or in rare cases will actually play test first. If any discrepancies are noted I will mention that to the customer, in one case I had to cancel the order as the LP was damaged. What Discogs is proposing would provide the customer with the final total right up front, they would pay before I've even seen the order which could necessitate me issuing a refund. Not the best situation. Even when I buy something I don't mid waiting for the final invoice, it gives me peace of mind knowing that the seller has the item in his possession ready to go. Shipping is always higher when stated upfront. As well if for some reason I can't check my email for a few days a customer who has already paid could be upset that he hasn't heard anything back yet.

 

[par4ken]

I confess I didn't read the previous posts...but I see the general theme....I've never sold on Discogs...but I've bought items on there...but I have sold quite a bit on Ebay...my goal wasn't to maximize the selling price...but to recapture some of my initial investment...I usually put my item lower than my competitors...which results in a quicker sale and more repeat customers...almost all of the time I gave free shipping...as I had a good idea of the cost and just factored that in the price...there are quite a few online guides to help you estimate the actual shipping costs..

Free shipping might be an option if the item is priced high enough, and is say a CD that can be shipped at the letter rate. For a couple of LP's valued at say $8.00 shipping could vary from $15.00 to $20.00 from Canada post. Obviously free shipping is not an option. One oddity is that I can ship to the U.S. via Small Packet Air (no tracking) for less than I can ship to Canada, as the cheapest domestic option is regular parcel with tracking, go figure!

 

[Dillydipper]

Discogs recently slapped one of those "ad blocker not welcome" popups onto their site, and it's a particularly arcane one, which apparently requires a PHD in order to just find the "no thank you" setting.

I'm going to miss what Discogs was, but I don't have time to diddle around with what Discogs is now.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Free shipping might be an option if the item is priced high enough, and is say a CD that can be shipped at the letter rate. For a couple of LP's valued at say $8.00 shipping could vary from $15.00 to $20.00 from Canada post. Obviously free shipping is not an option. One oddity is that I can ship to the U.S. via Small Packet Air (no tracking) for less than I can ship to Canada, as the cheapest domestic option is regular parcel with tracking, go figure!

Ah...LP's....that a problematic situation under any set of rules...you can see that places like Ebay have gone out of their way to favor the buyer in every stage of a sale...I've only had one problem with a buyer...he claimed I sold him a used blu ray not a new one...even though it had the original plastic wrap that included stickers on the outer cover...I told him I would gladly refund all his money and pay for return shipping of the item..he said he just wanted a $3 discount...which I gave him...I know the claim was false...but it wasn't worth getting a negative report...

I mention this experience because selling LP's is much harder...you have to package them carefully and the more secure you make them the heavier and more costly they are to ship...but the biggest obstacle is how they sound...buyers are usually optimistic...not realistic....selling used LP's requires the right buyer....and under the current guidelines on Ebay...it doesn't take much for the buyer to complain and get his money back or at a minimum to give you a bad recommendation as a seller...it might be worth it to try and find a shop that buys used LP's or find an unregulated spot that vinyl buyers frequent or try bundling a bunch of LP's in one lot for sale....instead of individual titles...perhaps some vinyl lovers on this site will see your post and contact you with a better remedy...

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Discogs recently slapped one of those "ad blocker not welcome" popups onto their site, and it's a particularly arcane one, which apparently requires a PHD in order to just find the "no thank you" setting.

I'm going to miss what Discogs was, but I don't have time to diddle around with what Discogs is now.

So no diddling for the Dillydipper on Discogs

 

[Dillydipper]

No diggety.