Do you keep shrinkwrap on your vinyl purchases?

I leave it on until I've played the record and know it's not a noisy, warped, scratched, pocked, etc. POS that needs to be returned. As soon as Side 2 is safely done, off goes the shrinkwrap.

 

Same here

 

If it's got a cool sticker on it I might leave it on. I don't like the way records look with shrink wrap or plastic protectors on them.

 

If it comes in a loose wrap I will, but otherwise I toss it and slip it into a protective sleeve.

 

Me too, never had a problem.

 

It's Vinyl not Vinyls.

 

thanksnothanks.

 

I always keep the wrap on unless its really dirty or about to fall off.

 

I may have bought records from you before

 

When we were teenagers, we used to make fun of people who did that. It was something our parents did.

Yeah, I do it now.

 

BTW, wouldn't warping only be an issue if the LP was still sealed? Once you've cut a slit to remove the LP, the pressure's been released and I don't see how the shrinkwrap would cause warping.

 

This is fascinating stuff.

 

...and then I still leave it on.

 

But a lot of people buy records to play,not to worry about how much it's worth in the market.
And my experience differs in that shrink wrap has warped the cover of albums I own. Usually because they are tightly wrapped.
I now discard any shrink wrap of albums purchased.
A freshly added new outer will protect the record just fine.

 

That's the first i ever heard that aswell

 

This.

 

It's part of the packaging for me, so yes I've always tried to keep the album in the shrinkwrap.

Gatefolds, of course, are a different matter. Sometimes I can keep it on and just take it off when enjoying the artwork and then put it back, but sometimes that just doesn't work out. But that's what two copies are for!

 

For me its worth is secondary to keeping the cover nice whether you keep it in shrink or buy a protector...although it's an added bonus!

 

Not treating all purchases as investments is bad money management. We all buy to keep and love our music, but there are thrift stores, garage sales, and used music stores filled with used LPs and CDs that were presumably purchased with the same philosophy in mind. Its naive to think that its not important to treat your music as an investment. Do you look after your music and store it safely? if so, why? Because its an investment and you don't want it damaged, and you don't want to have to buy it again. You are protecting your investment because on some level it has value and you are trying to preserve it. So, I'm not buying what your saying, but it does have that higher purpose ring to it. Not sure what you are doing, but I've been at this for 40 years with no issues of cover warpage.

 

Well I'm just guessing here, but I really don't see how slitted shrinkwrap could cause warpage.

That said, I don't really see how sealed shrinkwrap cause cause warping by itself. I can see it as a contributing factor, but the LP would still have to be stored improperly.

 

Likewise.

 

If it's not a gatefold, I do keep it in the shrink.

 

I refuse to coddle my vinyls. Shrinkwrap is off and in the trash after purchase - along with hype sticker, obi, or any other related nonsense. Album jackets are expected to do their job, which is to protect its contents. Outer liners are not allowed in my house.

 

It depends. If the shrink is tight I take it off and save any stickers. Otherwise I try to keep it. It's a pain to keep the shrink on double LPs and some gatefold covers so I'm probably going to remove the shrink and keep any stickers.

 

As much as I like leaving it on because of hype stickers and possible increased value, I've had shrinkwrap take a little of the paint off of an LP cover if it's been pressed against the cover strongly and has been exposed to humidity. With newer LPs that have paper thin covers, such as Beck's Morning Phase, I've also had it warp the LP cover pretty badly--in such cases, I take the shrinkwrap off.