Can someone tell me what I need to watch out for when buying a vinyl record?

[Ladyanne3]

I was gifted a record player but I don't have any records. 

So, I was going to buy this one but I don't know what to watch for or what to expect : https://www.ebay.com/itm/305460483361?it...R8KBlsDKYw

[ill88eagle]

Vinyls deteriorate from mishandling. The grooves the pickup goes inside are literally carvings of the soundwave your speaker is supposed to reproduce. Even a tiny speck can ***** up your listening experience. Some flaws can be removed with some rubbing alcohol. Others are kinda permanent. My copy of ac/dc's high voltage record had a scratch in the tnt song making the it skip a beat in 2nd verse- unfixable. One of my ozzy osbourne vinyls was left on a record player in a window on a sunny day- curled up and became unplayable

I mean to say: You wanna check the physical condition of the disc. The problem buying online like this is you cant hold the record and investigate properly. You just gotta trust the seller i guess. The one in your link says "near mint", but I cant tell from the pics... Me I would suggest going to thrift stores and flea markets to rummage through the cheap second hand vinyls there

[Ladyanne3]

Vinyls deteriorate from mishandling. The grooves the pickup goes inside are literally carvings of the soundwave your speaker is supposed to reproduce. Even a tiny speck can ***** up your listening experience. Some flaws can be removed with some rubbing alcohol. Others are kinda permanent. My copy of ac/dc's high voltage record had a scratch in the tnt song making the it skip a beat in 2nd verse- unfixable. One of my ozzy osbourne vinyls was left on a record player in a window on a sunny day- curled up and became unplayable

I mean to say: You wanna check the physical condition of the disc. The problem buying online like this is you cant hold the record and investigate properly. You just gotta trust the seller i guess. The one in your link says "near mint", but I cant tell from the pics... Me I would suggest going to thrift stores and flea markets to rummage through the cheap second hand vinyls there

Hmmm flea markets and thrift stores.

Do you think they would have the old stuff?    Hey, can records made in the 1940s be used in on a modern record player?

[ill88eagle]

I think the 33rpm lp was invented in the late 40ties. Records before that were 78rpm and only yielded about 3 minutes per side. A proper record player will have a switch for different speeds: 33, 45 and 78 rpm.

And yes you will definitely be able to find old obscure stuff at any second hand store/market/garage sale - its a bit like treasure hunting

[GetBach]

My number one gripe, the absolute MUST-AVOID issue with vinyl, head and shoulders above all else is: off-centre holes. If that central hole in your record is off-centre by just a fraction of an inch, your music will wobble like jelly, constantly speeding up and slowing down as the record rotates in an elipse. Sometimes it can be unnoticeable at the start, but as the stylus gets closer to the middle the effect only increases.

SO, when puchasing a record in store, ask the assistant to demo the record for you, and watch the stylus: if it swings from side to side, you have an off-centre record and should ask for another copy. Test both sides: it is common for a record to be fine on one side but pressed off-centre on the other!

This is an incredibly common issue with mass-produced vinyl. ABout 80% of my collection has ths issue, which I resolve by boring a slightly bigger hole in the centre then manually adjusting the position of the record on the turntable. Interestingly, not a single one of my Beatles colection suffers with this, and they're all just standard issues bought in the 70s and 80s, none are audiophile issues. They all play just perfectly. Maybe EMI are a particularly good label for this.

But I personally stopped buying new vinyl decades ago as was so sick of this issue, and also because hi-res digital music and DACs have become so good. Although I still occasionally switch off my router and spin my old Beatles records!

[lustrous]

I was gifted a record player but I don't have any records. 

So, I was going to buy this one but I don't know what to watch for or what to expect : https://www.ebay.com/itm/305460483361?it...R8KBlsDKYw

https://www.discogs.com/search/?format_exact=Vinyl 

[panahwayer]

buy it on Japan market like Zenmarket.com or bidding on amazon. i bought all records on the internet. DM me for more info.

[LouLockman]

Vinyls deteriorate from mishandling. The grooves the pickup goes inside are literally carvings of the soundwave your speaker is supposed to reproduce. Even a tiny speck can ***** up your listening experience. Some flaws can be removed with some rubbing alcohol. Others are kinda permanent. My copy of ac/dc's high voltage record had a scratch in the tnt song making the it skip a beat in 2nd verse- unfixable. One of my ozzy osbourne vinyls was left on a record player in a window on a sunny day- curled up and became unplayable 
Uno Online
I mean to say: You wanna check the physical condition of the disc. The problem buying online like this is you cant hold the record and investigate properly. You just gotta trust the seller i guess. The one in your link says "near mint", but I cant tell from the pics... Me I would suggest going to thrift stores and flea markets to rummage through the cheap second hand vinyls there

I think they still sell old stuff but the problem is that it will be expensive compared to current stuff. Because it's been around for so long that it's been discontinued now if they still have it, they just keep it until now.
As for whether it can be used on modern recordings, I don't think so. Because now they have reformed it to be modern. You should try it and maybe it works.