RECORD RAGE!!! ... or why can't people safely ship a simple record album?!?

One out of every 20 or so LPs I order from Amazon come shipped this way - maddening. They apparently have Frustration Free packaging and Frustration INDUCING packaging.

 

People need to learn how to pack shlt

 

I ordered black vinyl copies of Faith No More's Introduce Yourself and The Real Thing (MOV pressings) from Amazon UK to Canada, they shipped separately. I was quite pleased when The Real Thing arrived as I got the more expensive coloured vinyl, the next day Introduce Yourself arrived and looked like this:



Inside:



Turns out it was ALSO the coloured (yellow) vinyl. What a shame. I went on to Amazon UK chat support and send them a link to two pics showing the damage, they immediately shipped out a replacement and it arrived in just 2 business days even going transatlantic...it was another yellow copy. I've found the coloured vinyl pressed at Record Industry sounds great so I was quite happy to have the limited edition versions of both of these albums, and very happy with Amazon's swift response.

I use the white perforated mailers and always include additional cardboard stiffeners inside. I cellotape around every single edge to ensure no weather elements can get through the perforations. This is what mine look like when they ship and I've never had a single complaint about shipping, it's pretty easy to get it right if you give a toss about what you're doing IMO. (this was a 200g sealed copy of Classic Records Peter Gabriel Us)

Spoiler

 

No people need to learn how to pack LPs. **** is easier to ship but just as annoying with the packaging splits.

 

I've had very good luck. Only seen a couple of badly packed albums come my way. Never had one damaged either. The one at the top of this thread had an encounter with some post office machinery. We had a bundle of the Bobby Sutliff benefit cd eaten by a machine. Lost 6 of the cds in the case. If people are selling vinyl they had better invest in some good mailers and fillers. If you buy in bulk that means you are play about $1.25 for materials. The price of doing business. Some people should not be in this business. I've had a couple of pieces of recording studio gear packed in a way that all that could happen is they would get busted.

 

With properly designed mailers you do not need fillers and stiffeners.
And you still cannot prevent -deliberate?- acts of vandalism like in the original post.

 

I paid $75 for an autographed copy of Jack Bruce's last album. It was a very flimsy mailer and the album arrived all four corners crushed and a 3 inch tear in the jacket.

 

Shipping times internationally are a huge issue for items I've ordered. Domestically, I get most packages within the US in a few days. 4-5 tops.

But when something is sitting in transit for up to 15-20 days from Europe, it almost doesn't matter how well it's packed. Not much can withstand the abuse of 20 days of travel through global mail services that treat packages like garbage.

 

I rarely get a LP in 4-5 days...do you pay for Priority Mail?

 

JEEEEZ !! I've never had any problems with lp shippings. Then again I may have not bought as many as most folks on the forum ( a few dozens against a gazillion) so statistically speaking it's your experience that has to be taken into account.

¨I still think the LP packaging by Amazon, the Frustration Free Packaging is wonderful, oversized and fluted C3 cardboard¨

Right ! I've hold onto these and I'm still using them to keep my pic discs safe.

 

Not typically. I'm near a major USPS hub in Philly though, so I wonder if that shortens my sort times or whatever. I usually get packages from the West Coast in 5 days via medial mail.

 

I wish you luck. When I ordered the Lucifer soundtrack, I got confirmation within days that I was getting the numbered edition and then it was nearly 2 months before it arrived with no communication during that interval. When I saw the "package" in my doorway, I first thought someone had dumped a big piece of trash cardboard at my door. After getting over the initial disappointment of the condition of the album sleeve, I emailed Page's website (basically the webmaster as there' was no one to email about product issues) for an exchange or refund. I never got any sort of response and after several tries, just gave up and decided I'd never order anything from Page again. I'd rather just find something from his site I'd want on eBay, pay the extra $ and at least be sure the item was in excellent condition and have recourse for a refund or exchange if it wasn't.

The other thing I forgot to mention, I was supposed to get Killing Joke's "MMXII" vinyl in the same order. Apparently it was shipped separately. I'm dreading what that one is going to look like.

 

I used to love the smell of their vinyl...

 

Records are big. Bulky. And fragile. That was one impetus for going digital.

So shipping issues are part of the territory

But look at us as a group. Almost impossible. One says pizza boxes are an abomination. Others swear by them

I bought some album mailers that were addressed but never sent or used. You would not believe how many complaints I get over that when I ship with those.

Couple that with how one accurately grades these platters. A whole new issue.

I have much less vinyl now and am not adding.

Hi res flac is where I have headed

 

I always reuse the album mailers. I like to recycle and have never had anyone complain about it at all. Hell, half the LPs I buy are shipped to me in reused boxes. As long as everyrging is good inside, I think its fantastic.

 

I don't know what is or is not wrong with Media Mail.
When I said "no Media Mail here" it's because I'm in Australia as per my 'Location'.
I can fly a record from Europe for what it costs to send domestically here.
I've got a shed load of proper mailers I've saved for the purpose.

 

If somebody complains about a reused album mailer, that's mighty freakin' lame - not to mention disregarding the ol' planet earth at the same time.

 

I've found that once a mailer has gone through our good old USPS system the structural integrity of the box is often severely compromised. While I don't reuse shipping boxes I do cut out the central panel to use as a stiffener and recycle the rest.

 

Such a thing happens only very rarely, in my experience. When it does, of course, I'll use a different one that is structurally sound.

Maybe the USPS is just too dang good to me!

 

Looks like he cut up a Priority Mail box, which is why he had to use the overwrap to disguise it. The Postal Service will refuse to accept anything sent using Priority Mail packaging if it's not actually being sent Priority Mail. Most cheap sellers that steal Priority Mail boxes to use as "free" mailing boxes used to just flip them inside out instead of cutting them up, but that was before the Postal Service changed the box design to print Priority Mail legends on the interior as well as exterior surfaces.

 

(regarding the Spoiler) Thats the way I pack LPs! Remember these packages go thru hell and back so they have to be packed well.

sean

 

If you don't mind me asking, how much do all those materials add up to per record?

 

Blackie, all this costs a lot of money and add up to the costs, but I couldn't do it any other way, this is how I've always dreamed to receive my online purchases, and now it's a huge pleasure for me to send out these packages

It's not easy to determine exact cost per shipping of one or more records because I buy these materials in large quantities (otherwise it would be commercial suicide) to try to keep operational costs a little less that "absolutely HUGE", and there are taxes involved with all prices (the ones I pay and the ones I charge). For example, to keep the cost of my special boxes reasonable I had to order thousands of them at once, and that means finding the storage space to keep them... it's a little crazy for a very small business like mine, but it was my only option, there simply wasn't any off-the-shelf option available that would meet my specific requisites for extremely safe vinyl shipping.

I'd say that on average, if I ship a single item (one double LP for example) with full Vinyl Gourmet "combat ready" packaging (for example any international orders I send must be packaged like this), the packaging is costing me around 2 Euros. If the same packaging takes 2 or sometimes 3 items in it, it hurts a little less... This is an operational cost, that means I'm not adding this cost to the shipping, I'm taking it away from the profit... basically, it costs me to ship like this, and I still love to do it!

This includes my custom designed box with safety impact absorbing zones and made of double weave card board covered with very hard and perforation resistant "craft" paper, the "white stuff" expanded polystyrene boards (or sometimes board slices attached to both sides of the box) you can see on the photos, plastic air-bubble-wrap around the LP's, sometimes additional plastic outer sleeves for each cover (included with my Expert packaging Option) lots of adhesive tape and cardboard strips for additional protection on all sides (also can be seen on the photos) and to keep the fit snug inside the box.

But more than the actual cost of materials, it's the time it takes that makes it really crazy... you wouldn't believe how long it takes to have all the materials ready for packaging (this involves cutting the white boards, cutting the cardboard strips, cutting the air-bubble-wrap, this is all a manual process, nothing arrives here already cut to the right size), and the actual packaging of each order is made with extreme care, not rushing stuff out the door...

It's a labor of love

 

Yeah I still get these from time to time. Usually instead of bubble wrap people use plastic bags they got from the local convenience store with some newspaper for good measure. At least there weren't any big grease stains.