How many times will Amazon exchange albums?

How many times will Amazon allow you to request an exchange for a record before they tell you to go pound sand?

I was on a streak of great new vinyl, but apparently it is over. First copy of a Jack Johnson album had a sorry side #2, replacement has something causing a skip on second side and I cannot get it out. Can't even feel it with a fingertip. I see it, not sure if it was a pressing issue or debris. I will get a loop on it but was wondering about Amazon's policy.

 

I don't think there's a set number.

 

There should be no limit...a defective item, is a defective item, and its up to the seller to sort it out....of course they are entitled to simply give you your money back and offer no more replacements.

 

I’m sure Amazon get a lot of vinyl returned. They must know the format is prone to problems. So I’d assume you be OK to return your LP until you get a copy that’s satisfactory.

 

The question is.... what do they do with the return? Reshrinkwrap (is that a word) and pass it on to the next person that orders that album? It would be cool if you could write on the cover "this album is damaged" with permanent marker to make sure that someone else doesn't receive it.

 

The best I can tell is it’s not a limit on number of times you can exchange, but sometimes there will not be a replacement in stock, or the price will have gone up enough that they won’t exchange, or, sometimes, they will even pull inventory if there have been a lot of returns.

You can always return, though. You just might have to place a new order rather than having it process as an exchange.

 

I do wonder what happens to them. I think there’s a good chance they just throw them out, honestly.

Also, I have had several instances of Amazon telling me just to keep the bad copy, I assume because cost to ship back is more than it is worth to them, which I in turn assume is because they would just dispose of it, anyway. Maybe not, though?

 

The reason I brought up the question is because I have bought items from Amazon (not only music) that I could tell were used.

 

You know, I have, too... though I can’t confirm from memory whether they were actually sold by Amazon or other vendors fulfilled by Amazon. I got a copy of Axis: Bold as Love mono that had the LP actually loose in the package, no shrink wrap on the jacket at all... that was obviously not correct.

 

Ive been considering this very question as I have inadvertently left an amazon return record in my car during a fairly intense weeklong heatwave.

The cover creasing it had should have never made it into the box but I get that amazon warehouse folks are under a lot of pressure.

Now, who knows.

I guess what I’m saying is if you see an “open” copy of BN80 Doin Allright on amazon in the next few weeks, pass on it lol.

 

They are inspected for damage and sell them as from their warehouse as used records. I've never seen a warped record listed, but dinged up corners are resold with the damage listed.

It isn't cool to vandalize property you are returning. Would you like it if they took a sharpie on your brand new record and wrote "this album is perfect"?

 

I returned the Sgt. Pepper SDE CD set 4 times before I got one that wasn’t damaged. I blame the USPS. On one of them I actually witnessed the carrier throw the box like a frisbee onto my porch from about 6 feet away.

 

I know this thread is about vinyl, but they do re-shrinkwrap cds for sure. I just ordered 3 albums during the recent '3 for the price of 2' sale. One of the cds, even though it arrived shrinkwrapped, has visible signs of wear on the spine and top and bottom corners (it's one of those cardboard digipak cases). It also did not have the 'hype' sticker that would have normally been on it if it was new. All three of the cds were listed as "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com" with no indication that they were items that had been returned. The other two cds were definitely new and not previously owned. This is the second time I've received a used digipak that has been re-shrinkwrapped and sold as new. Debating whether I should email them about this latest one or not.

 

You misunderstand me. I am saying that I know for a fact retailers re-shrinkwrap albums and put them back on the shelf. I bought a "brand new" Tom Waits CD once with no booklet in it. I went to the manager and asked for a refund and was given a hard time. That's just wrong. I was asking if Amazon does similar repackaging, and would it be noble of a person who was returning a defective item to somehow mark that it was defective to make sure that it wasn't sold to someone else.... intentionally.

 

It's one thing if you are told that the items are repackaged, quite another if you are being sold used goods at new prices. I'd contact them.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if part of Amazon's decision is based on your worth as a customer. We may well have a customer score or ranking and the more highly we're ranked the more lenient they are.

Not saying they do that, but I would be surprised if they don't have a way of assessing our worth to them based on previous transactions.

A bank I worked for was doing this 20 years ago, every customer had a "customer score" that immediately told us how valuable a customer they were to us.

 

I would think that risking their reputation by recycling bad product wouldn't make profit for them overall. Especially if the can get return credit on them.

Of course, it's their business model that causes the risk. EMI can assume they accidentally sent it out defective, but it's their problem if it's damaged in shipping. Cost of doing business.

 

They do have some scoring algorithms that they employ regarding return frequently. We had one forum member discuss getting banned from Amazon for too many returns compared to his overall purchases. They won’t admit they do this, but apparently they do.

 

Up to the point where they ban you for life.

 

Amazon is the most cooperative, fair and understanding bunch of customer service reps I've ever dealt with. A defective item isn't their fault...my experiences with them have always been positive.