I've only ever bought four records from Germany and ALL FOUR I've had problems with.
The first time, I had to return because it was nowhere near as described and even then I had to argue with the guy to get my return postage paid. To be fair though, that was resolved but not without a big difference of opinion. Everything between us is okay now, I think? :o)
The second time, I never received my record, nor did I get a refund, largely due to being unable to make my dispute via eBay / PayPal as you have to do it via the German branch of eBay / PayPal and it's all in German. Unfortunately, I cannot communicate in any way in German, I took French at school as my language option. :o(
The guy would not return my communications via eBay.
If anybody knows how I can register a dispute via eBay / PayPal without it having to be in German, please let me know. I've been in touch with eBay / PayPal and they say there is nothing they can do to help. What a load of crap. They just don't want to know because the amount I'm disputing is so low they probably don't think it's worth the effort. I'm trying to make the dispute on principal, not because of the amount involved!!!
If there is anybody out there from Germany that would like to help, please PM me. Thanks if you can.
The third time, again, I never received my record but at least this time the guy has kept in touch and has established with his local Post Office that the wrong address was used? I can only guess he wrote down an incorrect or incomplete address and it was somehow returned to the Post Office from whence he sent it? Anyhow, he's got my correct address now, which was clearly available to him the first time around as I paid by PayPal, but I still haven't received my record. Having said that, it was only about a week and a half ago, so there's still a bit of time yet before I find myself having to contact him again.
The fourth and probably the last time I'll buy from Germany at this rate, the record arrived with a dent / tiny crack, and a small chip hanging on by a thread on the outside edge of the styrene record adjacent to the dent / crack. It still plays but it "ain't as described" and I suspect it was sent in that state, or it's been damaged in transit. There is a dent in the packaging, fairly close to where the dent / crack is but what makes me suspicious is that where the dent / crack is, on the flipside of the record, the corresponding 'bump' shows signs of local wear at the centre of the bump, suggesting the dent / crack has been there a while and has rubbed against other records or flat surface causing this wear. A bit like the wear you might expect around the knees on jeans or elbows on a corduroy jacket, etc, if you get my meaning.
I was hoping to sell this record on to help pay toward my own collection copy but I'm not sure I'd get much more for it now than what I paid. Cost me $40 and was hoping to sell it for about £60.
So, as you can see, I've definitely not been at all lucky with my transactions with Germany.
Do any of you have similar experiences that might be worth mentioning because I'm on the verge of forgetting all about purchases from Germany, which is a shame, because I doubt if every transaction from Germany has been as bad for others as my four. Or have they???
Please let us all know.