Record Stores that sell new LPs opened?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by James Glennon, Feb 14, 2016.

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  1. Sytze

    Sytze Senior Member

    Back in the day, here in the Netherlands, lp's never came sealed. Always saw that as a US thing. Sleeves were displayed, records were behind the counter. You'd never know if a "new" record had been listened to before in the store. Only in recent years, with the vinyl resurgence, do they come sealed.
     
  2. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    Dang....harsh!
     
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  3. Alternative4

    Alternative4 One of These Days I'll Get an Early Night

    Location:
    New Zealand
    I was surprised by this practice in the UK. However it worked in my favour as the attendant let me pick from 5 different copies of the album. That is cool.
     
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  4. snorker

    snorker Big Daddy

    But there is a big difference. In the UK (at least back when) my understanding is the manufacturer didn't seal the records, so it wasn't as if the shop was opening anything. What is being described about this Chicago shop is taking a factory-sealed product, intended to be retailed as a sealed item, and opening it before selling it to the consumer.

    I understand why they'd want to do it. It would cut down on returns for defective pressings, but really is that actually selling the record new, or used?
     
  5. jimod99

    jimod99 Daddy or chips?

    Location:
    Ottawa, ON
    Do they play the record?

    If not how can it possibly be used?
     
  6. James Glennon

    James Glennon Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    Strange you should say that because when I tried to trade in a few sealed LPs at said record store, I was told even though they are sealed, I have to regard them as secondhand! I didn't part with them!

    JG
     
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  7. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

    Sometimes shrink wrap shrinks a little too much.
     
  8. This Heat

    This Heat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Reckless Records in Chicago does this most of the time
     
  9. JimSpark

    JimSpark I haven't got a title

    Were the records 5 different colours, or were there 5 different label or jacket designs? I'm not trying to give you a hard time specifically, and I'm glad it worked out for you, but I'd like to understand why anyone feels that practice could be beneficial for a record buyer.

    Wow, so the record buyer gets screwed either way!
     
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  10. snorker

    snorker Big Daddy

    I don't know if they play them, I've not been to that shop. I've never seen a store do that. It's just a bit odd to open an item and sell it new regardless of whether they played it, right? I don't have strong feelings either way, it's just unusual in the US.
     
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  11. Alternative4

    Alternative4 One of These Days I'll Get an Early Night

    Location:
    New Zealand
    No all the same. Some copies had scuffs (factory made no doubt).
     
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  12. oxegen

    oxegen Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    When I started buying albums in the late 1960's, the sleeve was in the rack and the album was stored behind the counter. If you bought an album in Eason's (Cork), the assistant placed a sticker across the opening of the inner sleeve stating that the record was "guaranteed unplayed" when you made your purchase. Though I suspect that, in common with many other stores, the record had already been played.
     
  13. Buggyhair

    Buggyhair Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ann Arbor, MI
    Try that policy at a supermarket or department store. Open up a box of cereal and put it back on the shelf at full price. Is the cereal itself still sealed in the bag within the box? Yes. Has anyone eaten any? No. Now try selling it at full price. Once the packaging is tampered with, nobody is going to buy it, so those items usually get donated to the local charity, returned to the manufacturer or sold by a clearinghouse. Why should it be any different for a record store? If you are going to buy the item and you want to see inside of it, it's your option to ask. Otherwise, the seal shouldn't be broken by the store. I wouldn't shop there.
     
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  14. mestreech

    mestreech Forum Resident

    Always open in the Dutch shops and it should be. You can check and play the record you want. If you like it you buy it.
    Why do you want it sealed?? To put away for later? as investment?
    Vinyl should be played.
     
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  15. Dr. Mudd

    Dr. Mudd Audient

    I like vinyl played by no other people, thank you very much. I prefer my lps virginal, in other words.
     
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  16. Schoolmaster Bones

    Schoolmaster Bones Poe's Lawyer

    Location:
    ‎The Midwest
    So glad I'm not bothered by this.
     
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  17. jimod99

    jimod99 Daddy or chips?

    Location:
    Ottawa, ON
    When you are in a bookstore if you buy a book that someone has previously looked through is it new or used?

    If you are in a clothing store and purchase a pair of jeans that someone has previously tried on but didn't buy for whatever reason are they new or used?
     
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  18. Buggyhair

    Buggyhair Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ann Arbor, MI
    Especially when you're paying $20 or $30 for them, not $3.99.
     
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  19. PyroMessiah

    PyroMessiah Forum Resident

    Location:
    Martinsburg, WV
    Half the fun in buying an album is opening it when you get home. I almost never buy used vinyl and like others have said... open = used.
     
  20. Buggyhair

    Buggyhair Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ann Arbor, MI
    I'm so glad too.
     
  21. Buggyhair

    Buggyhair Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ann Arbor, MI
    Books aren't bothered by handling or fingerprints. Records don't need to be tried on.
     
  22. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    Yup; I think the same. Strangely enough down here import cassetes were sold in shrinkwrap whereas lps were invariably opened. And they played them (even sold you a cassette transfer for way less money) !:realmad:. But locally-made media wasn't factory-sealed.

    In the 90s they stopped manufacturing lps and the imports were sealed-only. But cds came without shrinkwrap till the early 00s:realmad:.

    Unsealed=used in my book, regardless of condition, even when I've had my fair share of sealed messes (dirt/scratches/dust/fingerprints) on both cds and lps.
     
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  23. Schoolmaster Bones

    Schoolmaster Bones Poe's Lawyer

    Location:
    ‎The Midwest
    Reckless in Chicago is thriving.
     
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  24. Mrtn77

    Mrtn77 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris
    Books are "bothered" when they're mishandled or abused. Any book that spends a couple of months as a presentation copy in a bookstore is, in effect, fit to be thrown away. Ask a publisher to show you their returns, it's a pitiful sight.
    Conversely, records aren't "bothered" when they're handled correctly.

    As for the OP's question, I've never seen that done with new records in France, but wouldn't mind : it'd be good to see if a record is scuffed or warped before paying for it.
     
  25. Records even used to be imported here from oversea this way (no shrink wrap). Only at some point in the mid-70s did I start seeing shrink wraps on LPs imported from the UK. It is strange in a way... I just never had any problem with any of those... And I'm fussy as hell...
     
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