Sometimes your local store just doesn't have what you're looking for or you need a record NOW! It's cool, you're not cheating on your local haunt.
It can be scary to spend you money on a "VG+" 6 eye Mono copy of Miles Davis Kind of Blue from rainblow records in some town you've never heard of, but i'm here to help you!
Now I'm not going to pretend to offer a list of online stores to buy from. There are hundreds, if not thousands and I haven't ordered from any of them and...
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SPOILER ALERT:
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None of them paid me to wax poetically about their amazing offerings. Yes, most of those 10 best record stores are riddled with paid placements, just like mattress reviews.
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What I would like to say is that Spatula City is by far the best shop from here to Pluto. No. That's not true. There is a killer shop on Saturn that is to die for. Sorry. I get distracted easily by shiny things and pretty words. What I would like to offer are some things to look for when sifting through google ads on how to decide if that deal on the Rare Herb Alpert White Label Promo is too good to be true or not.
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1. The most important thing, in my mind, is how do they grade their records? Do they have a FAQ page explaining this? There are a lot of different grading systems, some use VG++, some don't use mint, some use EX, etc. This is up to you to find that info and understand it before purchasing. If they don't, Excellent and Very Good take on completely different meanings. Very Good to someone on ebay that doesn't sell records for a living is not going to know that a light scuff on a Miles Davis record is going to sound different than a light scuff on a Metallica record. Do not rely on pictures. You cannot tell the grade of a record from a picture I don't care how great the lighting is.
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2. What are their reviews? There are tons of free third party review sites that are offered to all website companies like Shopify and BigCommerce. Trustpilot and yotpo come to mind. Most websites have links so you can review them. If they don't it doesn't mean they're bad, but it's certainly something to take note of. You can also do a google search of "record store #1" review and see what happens.
The only problem with these services is that most websites are held hostage by them and there is no recourse for poor reviews, which is good, but also bad. Example, I have one from a customer that admitted he didn't read the grades and assumed they would be in great shape. I refunded him, he kept the records, and still left the review and I can't do a damn thing about it. Not really fair, but it is part of life on the internet. Just read the reviews with a grain of salt both positive and negative.
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3. How do they handle returns? I don't buy from sellers that have a SOLD AS IS/ NO RETURNS policy. In a brick and mortar, sure, but If I've never purchased from you and I don't know your grading or they don't send insured, Nope. Sorry I'll go somewhere else. The exception to this rule is sealed records. It is what it. The seller cannot be expected to assume responsibility for a sealed record that is 30 years old.
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4. How do they ship? Typical white cross boxes are fine and usually don't have issues, but they do often see corner damage in transit. Not an issue on a $3 record but a $200 NM record? Not cool. If they don't explain this, ask them. This will also give you an idea how they handle questions and customers. Amazon is NOTORIOUS for shipping records in plastic bags. At Spatula City Records, we build our own boxes and they are damn near indestructible.
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5. Do they have a Social Media Presence? This is mostly to weed out scammers. Most online sellers have IG or FB so that's easy to check, but what if they don't or you're buying on FB marketplace? There's not a lot of ways to vet marketplace sellers other than to ask around which can be tough so the only way to protect yourself is to buy in person or use Paypal and DO NOT send via friends and family. If they ask for that then walk away. It's a scam, you cannot get your money back. So if they say their having account issues or send venmo or whatever, don't do it. Walk away. It's a scam.
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Most online shops will bend over backwards to help you and keep a customer, so we are probably more scared of incorrectly grading a record than you should be of ordering from us.
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Thanks for reading and Happy Hunting