What percentage of new vinyl you buy is defective?

All good reasons to send back imo! And I think of all your factors, sheer luck is the most important. I buy a lot of vinyl...I feel bad for those returning half or more. Just seems like bad luck to me!

 

You guys will laugh, but I keep a drill bit by my turntable. If slightly off centered or too small, I just fix it in one second. Easier than shipping back.

 

That's not funny. It's the reasonable thing to do, IMO. I'd never bother to return an album as defective when I can fix a minor problem like that.

 

Speaking of the hassle of shipping defective records back... I finally played my Duran Duran "Diamond in the Mind" record I received from The Vinyl Factory. Worst warp I've ever seen in a new record. Tone arm was riding up and down like a roller coaster. I emailed them informing them if the issue, and they wrote back saying that if I could send a video clip of the warped record, they'd send out a replacement and prevent me having to send it back. Thought that was pretty cool. Replacement is in the way.

 

Maybe 1 in 100.

 

Wish I could say that! Out of 100 perhaps 25 to 30 at the very most would be OK. Would you like to be my buyer?! LOL

 

I guss I'm at about 10% I just learned what n0-fill is. A BS vol 4 (Rhino) I bought last week is loaded with it. Usually it has been a slight warp or pops and other surface noise. I can deal with that.

What I find interesting is 30 years ago most every record was fine and they were like 6-9 bucks.

 

After a recent experience with Amazon, I don't think I'd buy new vinyl anywhere that didn't accept returns.

I bought Nirvana / Bleach and the new Com Truise on vinyl from Amazon. Both were very, very slightly warped. Bleach had an audible scratch on one side. Wave 1 had a tear in the label, while Bleach had a "divot" in the label. I returned both of them. Wave 1 cost something like $22, and it's only an EP. For that kind of money, I expect perfection. Bleach cost less, although it still wasn't cheap.

Amazon overnighted the Wave 1 replacement (talk about service!) and the vinyl was perfect. I got a refund on Bleach because others had said the pressing was lousy, so I figured any replacement might be even worse. Trouble is, I still kind of want that album on vinyl but I don't know if I should take another chance with it!

Anyway, Amazon's vinyl return process was awesome. (I had never returned anything thru Amazon before.) Believe me, I get the part about supporting local record stores, but I'm not shelling out $20+ for new vinyl if they don't offer a way to return it.

Out of curiosity, I wonder what Amazon does with the returned items. Are they sent back to the distributor?

 

I have a not-very-original theory as to why people report such widely varying defect rates. There's a thing called selective auditory attention, or selective hearing, whereby the human brain blocks out extraneous environmental noise and listens only to what it wants to hear. My theory is that some people do this better than others. For example, most people find it fairly easy to have a one-to-one conversation with someone else in a noisy, crowded room. I find it very difficult - I just can't seem to block out all the other voices. I think the people reporting very low defect rates are highly successful at focusing on what matters - the music - and blocking out the extraneous sounds of ticks, pops, nonfill, off-centre pressings etc. Those (like me) reporting high defect rates just aren't as successful at hearing selectively.

Or maybe some people are just luckier than others.

 

around 5%

 

Your local record store gets them

OK Just kidding. But yes I agree about returns with Amazon. They ship a replacement right away usually even before you send the bad one back. Print out a return label and you're done. I buy local too and so far I've been lucky or more hesitant to return something unless its really bad.

 

I believe that there is indeed a luck factor involved, and I've been pretty lucky. However your first paragraph also holds true. I also have trouble blocking out all the other voices in a crowded room. Some people are more tolerant of defects than others. For example, I'll return an album for having several ticks and pops (non-fill, and off-center get returned every time), but I won't return one for one little tick or pop. You and you alone have to decide what you're willing to accept. The biggest reason I'll tolerate a single one is that there's no guarantee that when you return that one you won't get one with two or more. Back in 1975, I purchased Roberta Flack Killing Me Softly, and it took 5 visits back to the store to get one that was barely passable. The other four copies were unlistenable because of nearly constant ticks and pops. I finally got a good copy last year through eBay. BTW, if you don't have a copy of that album in some format, I highly recommend it.

 

If you returned a record for one tick/pop you would have to return every record ever made. Repeated/sustained noise is damage or defect. Occasional pop and ticks are part of the deal and unavoidable. They may or may not even be in the vinyl, can be from static, loose debris, etc. But it's not like records are pressed in an ISO 9001 cleanroom. And there can always be some impurities even in "virgin" vinyl. If you have many records that only have a single pop or click, or less, I would suspect your system might not be that revealing, hearing not that acute (I'm sure I notice noise less than i did when younger), etc.

 

It's actually pretty revealing, to be honest. I was merely trying to make a point about what we find "acceptable" vis a vis defects. I notice plenty of pops and clicks on vinyl, but I've been pretty lucky with audiophile pressings. Interestingly, it is these records with their dead-quiet surfaces where pops and clicks really stand out the most.

 

i always prefer to buy local if i can, but the percentage of new vinyl that's warped or defective is way too high. i'd say 20-25% of the LPs i get are. that's why i end up buying from amazon, because they take good care of me with their great return policy.

 

At least half. Lots of crackles and pops. I had a DSOTM reissue that had three deep 2" to 3" scratches on side A. I've gone back to buying used mostly.

 

For the very first time ever, I've had to return a record : my first copy of the 200g Mono Axis Bold as Love reissue by Sony / Legacy was so warped it wouldn't lay on my turntable's platter. Quite remarkable really.
The salesman I brought it back to had never seen such a monster (not a young guy either). They had another copy which I took home. Pretty badly warped as well, but think I'll keep it nonetheless as it sounds great (amazingly good, really, not a crackle or pop on this thing). But watching the record spin like a hula hoop is making me feel a little queasy to be honest.

 

Since 1955 I've had/bought exactly one record that had a warp. In the past 7 years about 70% of the records I've bought have had no-fill, stitching, very serious gouges/scratches, etc. but no warps. My luck ran out 7 years ago!

 

Half, more or less. Warping is the primary offender, mostly with shipped LPs. Having received two fruit bowls recently, I think I won't be ordering any more records over the summer. One of them was so badly warped that even the cardboard mailer was out of shape. Maybe the lenghty transport process is the culprit.
For records bought in brick and mortar shops, the return rate is much lower, say 1 in 6, and it is not always warps, more often scratches.

 

Latley I have been buying my "New" vinyl locally thru a place called the Exclusive Company in North Eastern Wisconsin. They have 2-3 stores. So far I have had to return about 40%. I got Ben Kwellers Go Fly a Kite and both copies I bought had severe warpage. It was the worst I have ever seen. So bad that I would not even consider playing it and risk jumping the needle.
Also, I believe where the vinyl is made has a HUGE effect on the quality. For example, I always try to determine of a record was pressed in the USA or in germany. Every record I have bought that was from Germany was damn near perfect. On the other hand, just about every record that I have bought that had un acceptable problems was pressed in the USA. Go figure...
And I expect new vinyl to be nearly perfect.

 

I've only had a problem with one new album, Iron Maidens Killers picture disk album, I got it a couple of years ago and never opened it till this summer, it has drop outs all over the place, almost unlistenable, actually it is. anyhow its soured me on ever buying another picture disk

 

I've had better luck waiting for a vintage copy then new...

If things come in the mail are they sitting in the sun all day until you get home...? I have a place by my mailbox that is labeled "leave records here..." A lot of reissues are just bad pressings...AC/DC back in black is horrendous, same as Breakfast in America...My Kind of Blue has a hiss...

I'd say I'm ticked off 2 to 3 out of every 10...

 

Don't feel too bad. Picture discs were pretty crappy back in the '70s as well. If you buy them, don't consider them anything more than just the novelty they are.

 

None that I'm aware of. I stick with the audiophile labels mostly so perhaps that's the reason.

 

The only problem I have had in the last 10 years are 4 men with Beards , some Sundazed & Jamacian Studio One. I tend to buy from a shop (never on line ) so problems can be resolved.