Writing a good description
The catalog already carries most of the metadata — title, artist, label, year, catalog number, tracklist where known. Your description is the specifics of this copy: condition notes, completeness, provenance, anything unusual.
What buyers want from a description
- What grade adjustments apply to this particular copy. "VG+ media, plays clean except for a small click on side A track 3." "Sleeve VG+ with a small ring wear trace on the front."
- What's included. Original insert? Sticker? Hype band? Original obi? Inner sleeves? OBI strip? Booklet? Saying "complete with insert and obi" matters.
- What's missing. "Insert is missing." "Original shrink wrap is gone." "The original sticker has been removed, slight residue."
- Pressing details if relevant. First press vs. reissue, matrix numbers, country of pressing, coloured vinyl variant if applicable.
- Provenance only if it adds something. "From the original owner's collection, single owner since 1983" is meaningful. "I bought it at a fair last year" is not.
What to avoid
- Marketing language. Words like "ultra rare", "mega scarce", "killer record" tell buyers nothing. The price tells them what you think it's worth.
- Vagueness. "Plays well" is not a grade. "Excellent" is not a grade. The Goldmine scale is the grade.
- Excessive length. Four short paragraphs is plenty. A wall of text gets skimmed.
- Hyperbole about the music itself. Buyers know the record — they're here for the copy.
A short, good example
First German pressing on Mute (INT 146.825), 1984. Media VG+ — light cosmetic marks under angled light, plays clean throughout. Sleeve VG+ with one small ring trace on the front and faint shelf wear on the spine. Original insert present and clean. From single-owner collection.
That's enough. Buyers can decide.
When the record has a quirk
State it once, clearly, near the top. "Side B has a 4-second pressing fault around track 1 — included in audio sample if requested." Quirks discovered after purchase become disputes. Quirks disclosed up front become decisions the buyer makes with open eyes.
Tone
Plain English. First person where useful. No artificially upbeat sales-speak. Buyers on this platform are not browsing for nostalgia copy — they want the specifics. Give them.