I don’t like buying used records online. You lose out on all the charm of the dusty little record shop, the joy of flipping through records in crates, and – most crucial – the all-important chance to try before you buy. A damaged record isn’t much use, after all, nor is one that you just don’t like.

Still, sometimes buying online is simply unavoidable. I mostly collect jazz and funk records, and I don’t exactly live in a major urban center, so if there’s something I particularly want, sometimes I have to go online. I spent months looking for a copy of Jimmy Smith’s Groovin’ at Small’s Paradise Vol. 1 without success, so eventually I gave up and bought it online. I was very happy with the purchase - until the record disappeared mysteriously from my collection awhile back.

Do Your Homework

So, how do you shop for used records online without getting taken for a ride? The answer, of course, is research. Know what you’re looking for and who you’re buying from. If you have a specific record in mind, the first part is taken care of – but if you’re looking to dig the virtual crates a little, it will behoove you to have some resources handy to look things up.

Books like The Penguin Guide to Jazz (and similar offerings covering other genres if you don’t listen to jazz, you philistine) are invaluable. They list artists alphabetically with brief bios and rate each release in the artist’s discography, with more detailed discussion of the most important ones. Of course, “important” is in the eye of the beholder, and they don’t always get it right, but this is a good jumping-off point. You also get important little tidbits like catalog numbers and artist lineups.

If you don’t want to lay out the money for a book, there are also some websites that offer information of varying quality. I tend to use AllMusic.com a lot, which is decent.

Where to Buy

There are any number of online stores selling used records, and there’s always eBay. Here’s a tip: avoid eBay like the plague. Seriously, it’s not worth the hassle except in extreme circumstances. I’ve been ripped off enough times by eBay sellers to totally give up on the whole enterprise.

So, where do you go? My advice is to spend time exploring, reading in forums, and test out the retailers who look promising in a low-risk (i.e. low-cost) way. You’re looking for lots of information about the records. Pictures, detailed descriptions – the more, the better. Once you’ve found the retailers you like, maintain a relationship with them. My personal favorite is DustyGroove.com, but I use a few others too.

Now that you’re all set up, you can dig away to your heart’s content. Get to it!

Cross-posted to Newsvine.

Read more articles in the “Diggin’ the Crates” series.

© 2008 Evan Mix for Listen In. Some rights reserved.

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