how to buy used records

[papabearjew]

My wife informs me she wants to go to Joanne Fabrics in Monroeville tomorrow. It's across the street from Half Price Books. Any hints on telling if a record is good when there is nothing obvious. I haven't bought that many used ones but most of the ones I have bought are good for Frisbees. I'm also out of Fuzzy's record cleaning fluid for use with my Discwasher. Do they have anything decent. I also need paper slip sheets/envelopes. I'm hoping they have them too. Thx

[Jim Pittsburgh]

I don't think they have sleeves, I buy mine from "Sleeve City"... good prices and very good products. I like the Diskeeper sleeves the best.

When buying used albums I look for absolutely  NO scratches and then look at the sheen, scuffs are OK and are usually from putting the album into the sleeve. Other than that, I look at the label, meaning some companies pressings sound better than others.

When I run out of cleaning fluid I just use distilled water with Dawn soap and alcohol. You can get the mix ratio on a number of web sites. Then I spray with distilled water to rinse.

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

Sleeves are a dime each at The Attic.   It's actually cheaper than most on line outlets.

This is how I buy used records...

Look at the record for any obvious defect that won't clean away.   Once you have a pile that pass that test, find a dark corner and inspect them with an LED flashlight.   I use the 9 bulb cheapies from Harbor Freight.   These really make fine scuffs and scratches jump right out.   Then of course you have to be able to discern a scuff from a scratch.   Scuffs will look "hazy" under the light and don't generally have an audible effect.   Scratches will be much sharper in appearance and no amount of cleaning will get rid of them.

Many opinions on cleaning fluids.   If I were in your position, not having kids and being unsure of my steadiness of hand, I would just buy one of those Spin Clean things and be done with it.   People really obsess over what fluid, but IMHO any fluid or even just water will be beneficial for most of what you will find at HPB.   

Then there is the issue of deadwax markings.   I'll hold it to my one rule of thumb for ease.   Handwritten almost always trumps stamped, and the more writing, the better.

Oh, and check the label for spindle marks.   Light ones are okay, but deep ones are a good indicator that the record was owned by someone who didn't care for it.

At HPB, don't let price sway you into thinking it is an indicator of condition.   They seem to make most of their pricing decisions based on stock on hand.   I've seen minty records in the buck bin and garbage in the locked box.

What time are you going?   Perhaps I could meet you.

[scorpio333]

HPB pricing is all over the map. I've found great deals there and laughed at prices on others. Every once in awhile there's something good in the $1 bins. The Bethel Park store has a crate on the counter with the pricey records in it. 90% of them have been in there for over 6 months.

Make sure the record matches the sleeve! Scratches, CRACKS, chicken wing finger prints, heavy dust, I seen everything under the sun in there. My local HPB takes returns, so you can take a chance and return it if it's horrible. They also mark certain records "as-is", some clerks tell you those are not returnable and others say they are.

I believe I saw the RCA discwahser kit there in the past. I mix my own fluid, so I don't pay much attention.

Galaxy next to Jerry's is the only local place I know of that sells sleeves. Like Jim said, Sleeve City. Better selection and prices.

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

Sleeves are a dime each at The Attic.   It's actually cheaper than most on line outlets.

[papabearjew]

Thanks everyone for the help. The flashlight is all ready!  I have a complete Spinclean system but have never used it. Normally I only need to use the Discwasher on my own records which is why I want more fluid for it. I guess if I buy a handful of records at HPB it might be worth setting up the Spinclean.
STaL, I'll most likely hit HPB in Monroeville early afternoon. If you want maybe we can coordinate a time window to meet. Anybody else is welcome to join in of course. I also have a Grado Black with no stylus.  It's mounted on a separate oem headshell as my Grado Gold. I plan on getting a stylus for it from Tom and use it on used records I buy. I can easily interchange these two headshell/cartridges as needed without having to rebalance the tonearm. I also have a Shure M995ED with a generic stylus that came with the turntable. I have it mounted on a generic headshell. I also have a Stanton 681 EEE mk II that I bought new back in the day. They sell for quite a bit on eBay now.

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

Sorry I missed this post.   I guess early afternoon is gone.

[papabearjew]

we are going tomorrow after all. Interested?

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

Depends on the weather.   Tomorrow is supposed to be Jerome's Kennywood Day, but the sky isn't promising on that front.   Shoot me a text around noon, I should be out of church or at the park by then, and I'll know if I can meet you.

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

Oh, and does your wife get the JoAnns coupons?   I have a few if she needs.