I am 30
years old, living in Canada, near Montreal. I have been listening to metal since I was a 10-years old kid, and I do not plan to stop. I have been collecting CDs for the last 15 years, and I have made quite a few friends worldwide during that period. I am also the webmaster of the Metal Label Encyclopedia, a small community whose goal is to list all releases pressed by collectable labels.
My favorite subgenres of metal are thrash metal and death metal. My
favorite bands are Forbidden, Testament, Exodus, Tankard, Kreator, Sentenced, Nevermore, the Belladonna-era Anthrax, the pre Load-era Metallica, Dark Tranquillity, Entombed and the list goes on. As you can see by my display picture, I am also a Guitar Hero/Frets of Fire addict even though my guitar skills are limited. ;-)
WHAT I DO ON EBAY
Buying and selling. When I need money, parts of my personal collection end up here. When money isn't an issue, then I become a buyer. When I sell, I always try to bring you excellent and/or rare metal CDs, from the 80s or the early 90s, in great shape. I do NOT sell counterfeit discs, Russian/Mexican licensed-pressings or CD-R copies. I only deal with original CDs, and most of the time with original pressings on CD of the albums, because I am not a big fan of re-issues. Being a collector myself, it is always more pleasant for me to deal with hard-to-find original pressings than re-issues I can get at my local store anytime.
I try to give you the most accurate shipping costs on eBay. How many of you have ordered items within your own country, paid a certain amount for shipping, and realized it did not cost the seller half of what he charged you? You will never be in that situation with me. What you pay is what it costs me at the post office - the actual shipping costs and the price of the padded mailer/box used to send your stuff. I do NOT add any type of handling charges whatsoever, or try to disguise eBay/PayPal fees.
I always do my best to describe CDs accurately, giving you the most information I can about them, sometimes comparing the bands to others. I always mention the
condition of the CD and the inserts, the label which released it, the year of
release and the catalogue number. I do not mention the track listing because it
is information you can get easily from CDDB, FreeDB, Metal-Archives, iTunes or a bunch of other sites. All the CDs I SELL are usually in great shape and should pass the Exact Audio Copy test error-free. If the disc is a cut-out (ie. if inserts are cut, punched, drilled, etc.), it will be mentioned in the description.
MY POLICIES AS A SELLER
I accept many methods of payment. The most popular one is PayPal, which I accept free of charge. Yes, I absorb the additional 3-4% they charge me plus their conversion fee to Canadian currency, unless you insist
on doing your part and add a little supplement. I also accept Canadian money
orders, and international ones. I am sorry, but I cannot accept the green/yellow USPS
ones, simply because it is impossible to cash them here. European bidders can pay me via bank transfer in Euros. Other payment methods are also available, contact me by email. NO PERSONAL CHECKS! Just like regular USPS money orders, I cannot cash them here.
I usually expect to receive payment in the 21 days following the end of the auction, unless we agreed on something before. If payment is not received in 21 days, I will send you a reminder email, and if that does not work out either, I will claim back my selling fees from eBay (that is basically reporting you to them). If you are reading this though, you probably are serious and
have nothing to fear. :-)
I appreciate positive feedback from bidders once they receive the item(s) they bought. I will return your feedback afterwards. I used to give them right when payment was received, but some dishonest bidders abused of that and thought they could lie to PayPal/eBay saying they did not receive the items (even though they got the discs) in an attempt to be refunded. If feedback is already left, I have no ways of making the behavior of those bidders public.
I usually try to send CDs the same day I get your money. Sometimes it is impossible though, so your stuff can be sent the next day or the day after. I usually go to the post office 2 or 3 times a week, so there is no need to worry, you will not wait too long before getting your item(s).
I only ship by air mail or letter mail, unless you prefer to have your item(s) delivered by surface mail to save on shipping. All items are sent in padded mailers, and the CDs are usually sent in brand new jewel cases unless the original had something special or that you request to get the original. Bigger parcels can be occasionnally sent in multiple envelopes - Canada Post has some weird policies which sometimes makes sending 3 parcels cheaper than sending one with all your stuff in it. Sometimes I might even end up throwing in a few free CD-Rs or promo stuff if the weight limit for your parcel is not reached. I ship worldwide, I do not mind filling those little green form for customs. Bidders must be aware that I have no control on a parcel once it leaves my hands though. If you live in an area where the postal system is not safe and that you do not want the parcel to be registered, it is at your own risk. I cannot be held responsible for anything that happens AFTER the item is sent. Please be aware that I am no longer able to register parcels to some countries. Canada Post changed their policies for international shipping, so only items sent as "letter mail" can be registered - and that's usually an excessively high fee of 12.50$.
All my CDs should play fine, as they are usually all tested with Exact Audio Copy. If for some reason you get a CD which skips, just send it back to me and I will refund your money once the CD is back in my hands, or will swap it for another if I have a spare copy. Be advised though that I carefully check
my CDs before I list them, so I should definitely be able to know if the CD is
in the same condition than when it was shipped. Do not be too quick to give
negative feedback if you think something is wrong - send me an email first, and
we will discuss about it. I answer my emails on a regular basis, but please, try
to avoid the emails asking me if I got your payment. Just check the "Payment received" status of your items in My eBay, I always indicate there when a payment is received. I do NOT refund if the music on the CD is not for you - I already give a brief description of the band, and there are so many resources online to make up your mind about a CD before buying it that it would not make any sense for me to refund in those cases.
HOW I GRADE MY CDs
I grade both the CD and the inserts. My CDs are free of holes, cuts or any other
alterations, unless otherwise mentioned in the description. I use my own grading method, which can be described in 6 different categories :
Mint : As new. Either still sealed or almost never manipulated. Near Mint : Almost as new. No visible marks on the CD, inserts almost as new. Excellent : Still in great shape. Almost no marks on the CD, inserts still in great shape. Very Good : Average for old CDs. Maybe a few light marks on the CD, inserts showing a little use but not much. Nothing to worry about. Good : Not so bad. Some marks on the CD, inserts a bit used, but still in acceptable shape. Used/Ok : Many marks on the CD, inserts used, but still playing Ok.
Read the descriptions carefully if you are really picky about the condition of your CDs. I do not want to get emails saying you found a little mark or hairline on the disc if it was listed as excellent or very good. I also want you to remember that it is almost impossible to find 15 years old CDs in mint shape. Those are not sold in stores anymore and can only be obtained from other collectors or from second-hand CD stores across the globe. If you are looking for brand-new copies of some discs, you might never end up finding them.
I do not pay attention to the condition of the jewel case. I usually send CDs in brand new jewel cases, so it is not something that should be a problem. Try to avoid coming back to me saying that the jewel case is cracked. As mentioned earlier, it can happen sometimes once the parcel has left my hands. We all have our own horror stories about what is going on behind the doors in postal offices. A generic jewel case is worth basically 0.20$, so the value of your CD will not drop if something bad happens to the case during the trip to your country.
If you have any other questions, feel free to send me a message!
)
)
) 