Exploring the best and most reliable places to buy vinyl records online
In this guide I want to go over the many different places where you can purchase records online. For a number of reasons I always prefer to buy vinyl records at brick and mortar stores, but if you’re after something specific or hard to find, buying the record online might be your only option. Never fear, despite many horror stories of unsuspecting record collectors getting scammed or receiving records that were broken, scratched or otherwise not as advertised, there are still plenty of reputable online retailers where you can find the records you’re looking for with minimal fear of throwing your money in the garbage.
Before you jump right in and order from the first website you see, there are a number of things you should be aware of.
Shopping For Records Online: Common Issues
With the comeback that records have made in the last decade, there are literally hundreds if not thousands of online record stores out there. It may not offer the same experience of flipping through bins of dusty records at your local shop but there are many instances where shopping for a record online is the best option. Not only will the selection available online beat any record store in the world (the internet is a big place after all) but you can often find records at better prices and in better condition than you might find in your local record store. With that being said, it’s still common to have a bad experience buying from online record stores.
Records are notoriously fragile and most shipping companies are notoriously careless with packages. Vinyl records getting damaged or completely broken in transit is unfortunately still a common occurrence. Besides the physical harm that might befall your records, there are also plenty of dishonest record sellers out there. Sellers may claim records are in better condition than they are, bootleg records can be sold as the real thing, and people that never even had the record to begin with can simply take your money and disappear into the bowels of the internet, never to be seen again. Of course, not all online record stores are this terrible and there are plenty of reputable shops out there. But how can you tell the honest sellers from the scammers? The careless money grabbers from the enthusiasts that care about their product?
Should I Buy Vinyl Records Online?
Just like shopping for any product on earth, there are obvious benefits to shopping online. When it comes to buying vinyl records online, these boil down to selection and price. There are a lot of records out there, like millions and millions of records. So, if you are looking for something specific, there is a very good chance that your local record store will not have what you are looking for or might only have it available at a price that is higher than you are willing to pay. In this case, your only choice might be to track down the record and buy it from an online seller.
Warning signs for shady record stores
Choosing an online record store can be tricky. Even online retailers that specialize in vinyl records can be careless with their packaging and shipping methods. Should you order from one of these shops and find that the record was damaged upon arrival, you will likely have to go through the tedious and aggravating process of talking to the website’s customer service and attempting to get a refund or another copy of the record sent out. If this is a rare record we are talking about, then they might not have another to send at all.
To avoid wasting your time, money, and energy on broken records you should always try to order from reputable sellers. Shipping a vinyl in a way that will arrive safely is simply not that difficult. You always want to order from someone who will take the care and necessary precautions to get your records shipped out safely. Below, I’ll discuss a number of things to look out for when purchasing records online from individual sellers. I’ll also recommend some online record stores with good track records.
The Safest Places to Buy Vinyl Records Online
If you are looking to buy a record online, there are a number of routes you can take.
- Buying directly from the artist (Such as through the official website of the artist)
- Buying from an online retailer (record labels, online record stores, big-box stores)
- Buying from an individual collector (Discogs, Ebay, Etc.)
Each of these has distinct advantages and disadvantages that you should be aware of.
Buying directly from the artist
Buying directly from the artist is often the most reliable way to get a record and the best way to ensure that the artist you are supporting sees the maximum amount of money from your purchase. If you are looking for a new release, check out the website of the artist to see if they are selling the record on their website. Of course, not every record you want will be offered by the artist directly. In many cases the artist might not even be alive. In this scenario you have a couple options to choose from.
Best for:
Purchasing new releases and supporting your favorite artist.
Buying from an online record store
Buying from a large online record store is a solid option for many records. Most online record stores will only have new records available to ship. Even if the record store has a brick and mortar location, the logistics and time required to catalog every single used record they have is often not worth the effort. Still, this is good option to shop for new releases, repressings, and stock up on classic albums that are frequently pressed on vinyl. For example, if you wanted a copy of “Kind of Blue,” by Miles Davis, you could go to one of the online record stores below, purchase a new, sealed copy of the record and have it shipped to you.
The biggest benefit of shopping at these stores is reliability. Most online record stores will have well established shipping methods as well as refund policies should a record get damaged, or not arrive at all.
Best for:
Gathering all the “essentials.”
Buying from individual collectors/sellers
Finally, there is the option to buy vinyl records online from individual sellers. This is the “high risk, high reward,” option. If you are hunting for a specific pressing, or a record that is rare in any way, you are going to have to go through an individual seller.
In the record collecting community, this is most often done through a website called Discogs, which is sort of like Ebay for vinyl. Basically, it’s a big marketplace where anyone can make an account and buy and sell records. Discogs takes a small cut for facilitating the sale, but the seller ships the record directly to the buyer.
Best For:
Obtaining your “grails,” and other hard to find records.
Don’t get scammed
There are several major issues that can befall you with this method of purchasing records. Unlike a physical record store, buyers have no way to guarantee that the record they are purchasing is as advertised until they receive it in the mail. This means buyers can end up with a record that was advertised as mint condition, but is actually heavily damaged and unplayable. Since you are dealing with an individual, getting a refund for this situation can be a nightmare.
Another problem is that not all sellers take the necessary steps to secure a record for shipping, so records breaking in transit tends to be a lot more common than it is with large businesses that have established shipping and packing standards.
Finally, there is the risk of getting scammed. Especially when seeking rare records. Scammers often target collectors searching for hard-to-find, special records. Basically, the rarer the record, the more careful collectors will need to be. Traditional internet wisdom prevails in these situations, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
With all that being said, there are plenty of passionate and caring sellers on Discogs that are simply fellow record collectors like you and me. Just like you would on ebay, always check if the seller has a good rating from previous customers before waving your credit card around for that Beatles first pressing. Although there are potential issues, buying directly from other collectors through websites like Discogs is the only way to obtain extremely rare records or even specific used records, rare or not.
Online Record Stores You Should Be Shopping From
Now that you are fully prepared, here is my list of recommendations for online record stores.
The artists website
If this is a new release, there is a very good chance that the artist is going to be selling the record on their own online store. If your first priority is to support the artist, as it should be with smaller artists, their website is going to be the first place I would check.
Bandcamp
Ordering through Bandcamp has the same benefits as ordering directly from the artist. You get the record you want in a timely fashion and get to support the artist that made the wonderful music in the process.
Your local record store
Even if you don’t have a record store in your town, check and see if a record store you’ve been to before or in the next town over has an online record store. These days, independent record stores will want to get business any way they can get it and many will be more than happy to ship you a record if they have it in store. When in doubt, give them a call.
Amoeba Records
Amoeba records has several locations across California and I would highly recommend checking out their brick and mortar store if you ever find yourself nearby. However, their online record store is one if not the best out there. Their online selection is hard to beat and you are supporting one of the most important names in independent record stores instead of Mr. Bezos.
Rough Trade
NYC based record store Rough Trade is another highly reputable online record store with a giant selection of records to choose from.
Easy Street Records
Seattle’s Easy Street Records is record store royalty and has a massive place in the city’s musical history. The Seattle shop is incredible if you are ever in the Emerald City, if not, their online record store is super dependable.
Discogs
The premier online record marketplace. Discogs is easily the most well known place to buy records online. The best place to get that Velvet Underground pressing of your dreams and the most likely way to have your dreams crushed by sloppy packaging. Be careful, but in some cases, it’s the only way.