Do you care about CD condition?

mega_lodon · Post by **mega_lodon** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 1:21 pm

I always received used CDs that come full with visible scuffs and marks although the (eBay) sellers claimed they were 'excellent' or 'very good' (some even 'mint') condition. Some of the CDs are so bad in condition that personally I can't even think I would ever put them on eBay or any marketplace. Come to think about it, maybe my demand for CD condition is too high?
What do you people (esp. Germans

) think about CD condition? Do you care or by your standard as long there's no deep rough scratch the disc is considered 'excellent'?

sovdat · Post by **sovdat** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 1:28 pm

I'm OK with some scratches, until it plays fine.

Avenger · Post by **Avenger** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 2:29 pm

Not that I’m German, but personally for me it's got to be mint and by mint I mean still looks like new.

CD's are the bigger part of my collection, I know that around here that’s frowned upon, but it's true. Don't get me wrong; I collect vinyl as well but only as a second copy of what I consider to be essential or material that has never been released on CD.

Anyways… I'm quite the picky bastard when it comes to condition, so I try and stick to my circle of traders/sellers that have proven themselves to have a grading system that I find accurate.

I'm always extremely weary of purchasing material from sellers that I have never dealt with before and I've actually sent back and received refunds a couple of times from sellers that falsely grade CD's on purpose in attempt to swindle you.

Jewel cases are another story though. I have several boxes of them sitting in a closet that I use to replace them myself. You can’t expect postal services to not treat your mail like shit.

nabel · Post by **nabel** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 2:41 pm

Basicly if they work I don't care so much BUT if they are sold as unused copies and they are full of scrathes I'm of course very pissed of.

nightsblood · Post by **nightsblood** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 3:11 pm

I agree w/ nabel; I don't mind some scuffs/scratches as ong as the disc plays fine. however, if the auction says "like new" or "mint" or "excellent", that means there should be no marks on the disc. I've heard other people complaining about this problem w/ ebay sellers recently. I think they really need to revise their feedback system so that negative comments hurt your feedback score alot more. Many ebay sellers have feenack ratings in the thousands; those people can get a dozen negative comments a month and it won't drop their score below 98%. Thus, they don't care if they get negative feedback b/c they did a poor job on checking the cd conditoin. Maybe each negative should drop your rating by 1 percentage point.

mega_lodon · Post by **mega_lodon** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 6:15 pm

I'm not really a picky guy but some of the CDs that I received are way too bad to be graded as 'excellent'. Some CDs have so many lines and marks that I feel counting my moustaches would be easier than counting those lines

.
Most of these bad CDs I got from Germany (some from US). People in UK seem like they can take care of their stuff pretty well. And they usually grade their CDs in a more professional manner.
Yeah, those sellers who sold me 'bad' condition CDs most of them have solid feedback ratings. Some I can see buyers gave comments like "Great stuff!!! Excellent.... blah". That's why I wonder is it that CD collectors usually don't give a fuck about CD condition?
Well, I'm NOT going against those sellers in Germany or US or anywhere. There's a seller even gave me positive feeback before I received his stuff so I'm quite sure he doesn't really aware (or care) about the bad condition. Those sellers can be some 'nice' people too but their grading criteria is something that I can't really judge.
By the way, to me 'plays fine/perfectly' means the CD is playable, it means nothing about the condition of the disc. I can rub my CD on floor and still it plays perfectly

.

Abyss · Post by **Abyss** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 6:25 pm

I don't really care as long as it plays fine, but of course if I know its got scuffs and scratches I expect to pay less,I really hate when factory sealed cd's have scuffs though, this happens rarely but when it does it makes me feel cheated, I understand a lot of music stores take the cds out of the package and keep it locked in a drawer under the register and leave the cases with artwork for display and a lot of times this gives them scuff marks sadly.

wyzard · Post by **wyzard** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 8:48 pm

I think I'd have trouble if there was something wrong with the cds.

King Zombie · Post by **King Zombie** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 5:48 am

Yes, but eventually corrosion will render CDs useless. Long live to Mp3!!!

Korgüll · Post by **Korgüll** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 9:43 am

If I buy a 'mint' CD and pay good money for it, it has to be MINT! No fingerprints on the booklet or tab indentations & definately no scratches on the disc.
One thing that really pisses me off is when a seller sells it 'mint' & then when it arrives if you look carefully at the disc it's been buffed to take out all the horrible scratches that were once there.
To me this is most certainly not a 'mint' CD!!!!
I don't mind if I buy a standard release for cheap & there's a few marks, but it has to be mint (& rare) for me to fork out the big bucks..
I don't grade CD cases as they can easily be replaced & are not a major concern, just the quality of the inserts & disc are all that matters...

great_knuthulhu · Post by **great_knuthulhu** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 11:41 am

I don't really care that much about what the CD looks like as long as it plays. Also, if there is damage to a CD, it can usually be fixed, unlike vinyl. However, sellers on ebay and the like should be held to their word and deliver mint quality if they describe it as mint.

I see a lot of sellers on ebay actually have the same description of quality regardless of item, i.e. they use a template that includes a "mint" description for ALL their auctions. I NEVER buy from any of those sellers.

Avenger · Post by **Avenger** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 2:08 pm

Korgüll wrote:If I buy a 'mint' CD and pay good money for it, it has to be MINT! No fingerprints on the booklet or tab indentations & definately no scratches on the disc.
it has to be mint (& rare) for me to fork out the big bucks..
I don't grade CD cases as they can easily be replaced & are not a major concern, just the quality of the inserts & disc are all that matters...

I'm with you 100% on this.

MEXDefenderOfSteel · Post by **MEXDefenderOfSteel** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 12:21 am

I didnt trust "buying music on eBay",theres nothing like browsing albums in the shelf and having a BIG surprise finding that wanted album!

... until recently, my wife helped me and it turned out to be good,well the stuff i buy from europe always delays a month or so (shitty mexican post offices)...I just know that once i recieve a cd or Lp scratched and teh description says other thingthen ill get pissed and sure ill report that seller

btw i do care about the condition of the booklets or cases not just the scratches, however if its really hard to find and i have the chance but its not in perfect condition, ill still buy it for sure