Ha ha HAh hah.. If any secrets are out there.. The best one is to buy only new. (I buy used!) The second secret is to find a seller who is not screwing you.
RANT:
I stopped buying on eBay because it was ALWAYS graded two notches too high. Locally, I have a few places I go, only one of whice has really pretty good quality LPs. (they are small, and cannot afford to lose any customers)
I find the auctions at a certain web site (to be unnamed) hilarious (for two reasons: first; waaaaay overpriced, second the drivel they are selling is only for the desparate, who want some LPs, no matter how boring the artists are, and will overpay, gratefully, for the chance to buy crap fifty cent Goodwill dregs)
ADVICE: So you want advice: Never buy LPs that are dusty. (they didn't care about them at all!!)
Never buy LPs that you can see 'washing' marks.. that is telltale signs the LP was wiped off with a wet rag... bad.. very bad.
If you can see marks or scratches on the LP surface: tilt the vinyl so you can see the curious shimmering from the grooves reflected in the light: IF you cannot see the scratch in the shimmering area NOT AT ALL (even a trace of the mark means it is into the groove), though it is visible looking straight on, the scratch is NOT going to affect play. Tilt the LP both ways 45 degrees or so to see both sided into the grooves shimmering. I find this is a great tool when an LP I want has some marks, but I do not want one that has ticks!
Sunlight is your best friend: if you can use sunlight do the shimmering thing in sunlight, if it rainbows well (that is has color shading visible) IMO that means it has been played very little, and has been kept clean. It sparkles!!
Watch out for vinyl that is too 'shiny', it just means some dope wiped it off with a 'shiner' substance.
Some LPs are dull naturally, especially labels like Telefunken.
Do not worry as much about worn covers. (for owning, for resale, they matter more)
Older is better: a repressing of a Bluenote is worth a twentieth of the original, Six eye Columbias are worth more than two eyes and later Columbia repressings are worth waaaaay less if the original LP was from the six eye era.
Also, just DO NOT BUY LPs that are scratched. PERIOD!
The real value of any LP is when it is perfect.
The grading system for LPs reflects that. The price is halved for each grade lower than perfect. and everyone grades too high because they want the money. The crooks grade several levels too high, Honest folks just grade one level too high! But EVERYONE grades too high.
Do not buy stupid records. Being desparate for more vinyl can make one crazy, and waste money on crap one does not really want to play. Better to buy one great LP than six crappy ones.
I hope this helps
RANT:
I stopped buying on eBay because it was ALWAYS graded two notches too high. Locally, I have a few places I go, only one of whice has really pretty good quality LPs. (they are small, and cannot afford to lose any customers)
I find the auctions at a certain web site (to be unnamed) hilarious (for two reasons: first; waaaaay overpriced, second the drivel they are selling is only for the desparate, who want some LPs, no matter how boring the artists are, and will overpay, gratefully, for the chance to buy crap fifty cent Goodwill dregs)
ADVICE: So you want advice: Never buy LPs that are dusty. (they didn't care about them at all!!)
Never buy LPs that you can see 'washing' marks.. that is telltale signs the LP was wiped off with a wet rag... bad.. very bad.
If you can see marks or scratches on the LP surface: tilt the vinyl so you can see the curious shimmering from the grooves reflected in the light: IF you cannot see the scratch in the shimmering area NOT AT ALL (even a trace of the mark means it is into the groove), though it is visible looking straight on, the scratch is NOT going to affect play. Tilt the LP both ways 45 degrees or so to see both sided into the grooves shimmering. I find this is a great tool when an LP I want has some marks, but I do not want one that has ticks!
Sunlight is your best friend: if you can use sunlight do the shimmering thing in sunlight, if it rainbows well (that is has color shading visible) IMO that means it has been played very little, and has been kept clean. It sparkles!!
Watch out for vinyl that is too 'shiny', it just means some dope wiped it off with a 'shiner' substance.
Some LPs are dull naturally, especially labels like Telefunken.
Do not worry as much about worn covers. (for owning, for resale, they matter more)
Older is better: a repressing of a Bluenote is worth a twentieth of the original, Six eye Columbias are worth more than two eyes and later Columbia repressings are worth waaaaay less if the original LP was from the six eye era.
Also, just DO NOT BUY LPs that are scratched. PERIOD!
The real value of any LP is when it is perfect.
The grading system for LPs reflects that. The price is halved for each grade lower than perfect. and everyone grades too high because they want the money. The crooks grade several levels too high, Honest folks just grade one level too high! But EVERYONE grades too high.
Do not buy stupid records. Being desparate for more vinyl can make one crazy, and waste money on crap one does not really want to play. Better to buy one great LP than six crappy ones.
I hope this helps