Just ordered two LPs from Amazon

No longer playing records for the time being. Sold all but 50 or so before an out of state move. Thinking about another move now. I'm too old to box up and move records. I'm buying CDs and enjoying looking for what is considered the best sounding CD of an album. No shortage of info here. Digital, aka CD, has come a long way since I've been away from it. I've been trying out different DACs and that's been fun.

 

I can see myself sliding into this mode, but I can't seem to shake the pursuit of The Sound. With HD Tracks out there with 96/24 files, you'd think that would be enough, but no... the more dynamic mastering is often only found on the vinyl version.
It would be so easy to just get a great DAC and a streamer, but as long as vinyl wins in the SQ department, gotta keep chasin'...

 

I do a lot of headphone listening. I'm currently using my old Marantz CD5003 as a transport. My latest DAC is the new Schiit Modius so I have that connected with a coax cable to the Marantz. I'm using the balanced outputs on the Modius connected to a Rupert Neve headphone amp. Currently using Sennheiser HD650 headphones. I've been a Hi-Fi enthusiasts for over 50 years and the sound quality I'm hearing blows me away. I kept my three refurbished Dual turntables so I don't think I'm completely done with records but I'm loving what hearing these days.

 

FWIW, Carol Kaye, who played bass on everything from The Monkees to The Beach Boys, wrote me once in an email that CDs sounded like what she heard in the studio when she recorded these songs. She wasn't a vinyl fan.

 

There ya go. I love records, grew up with them, but they're just not practical for me at this time. CDs can sound great too depending on the mastering and playback equipment.

 

"All the rest were just thrown in the box, sometimes with those air pillows and sometimes not. One of the shipments had 4 lps loose in the box. Amazingly none were damaged."

That's when I stopped ordering from them. I received three in a row - separately - shipped loose in the box with no packing, and all three were damaged. Nothing from them since. I'll pay a buck or two more per album, to make sure it arrives in one piece. I don't buy many new LP's anymore, and generally have zero problems with packing.

 

You make a valid point and I would agree with you if it was a buck or two more per album.

One of the titles in my original order was King Crimson's Beat. I've been grabbing all of the KC reissues and have gotten each one for about $15 -17 through Amazon by catching sales or 3 for 2 deals, etc.. I just checked with Music Direct and everyone of them are at least $30, some upwards of $34. I just can't afford that big of a difference. I know they run sales too, but 50% off. No.

My local doesn't carry many of the reissues that I want. They are on an extremely limited by appointment because of Covid right now. And.. they would charge list price of $30, no sales. Barnes And Noble would do about the same thing. The other problem is that who is to say the copy they special order for me doesn't arrive damaged. Then, I decide I don't want it. Or, I've prepaid for it already and I'm stuck with the damaged copy. It hurts the local store as they can't return vinyl for credit anymore. I don't want to get into being a jerk with them over banged up jackets and seam splits.

Amazon is a real pain to deal with the damaged stuff. But, I've got to take the gamble and eat the frustration for that big of a price difference.

What Amazon really needs.. is a separate distribution and shipping for vinyl only.. like a sub-company. That would eliminate many of the problems. But.. quantity over quality..

 

I feel ya - that's a significant price difference. Amazon is tough to resist for many reasons, and you brought up some valid points.

For years it seems like, whenever I ordered LP's from them, they would ship in a typical, sturdy media mailer - but for some reason that stopped - at least in my area. Hard to believe there isn't a workable standard for their distribution hubs to refer to. Third party stuff from Amazon would also arrive in a media mailer.

I'm not buying like I used to - at least not new stuff. If I were I would give them another chance I suppose, just because the returns are hassle free. Thankfully, my local shop carries most of what I need, they're close by - and when I do have to return something - which isn't often, they're cool about it.

 

@MickAvory -- your post only mentions Amazon and Music Direct. Have you tried Bullmoose ? Amoeba ? They both have new reissues when they're available for pre-order through a short while after they're released, and their pricing is more than fair, and both pack and ship albums properly.
I've yet to have a problem with either, and Bullmoose is since 2007 for me !

 

Myke... I have tried Bullmoose. I had a really bad summer with them a few years back when I ordered about 9 or so of the Rhino Summer Of Love titles. I got them delivered in waves as they came out. So, I got about 3 or 4 boxes from them of about 3 LPs in each box. Their mailers were too flimsy for my tastes 3 LPs crammed in a mailer designed for 1) and I had damage on almost all of the records (bad seam splits over 2 inches.. severe corner bends and creases... badly mushed up corners). I ended up sending almost all or even all of them back for refunds. I won't be using them again.

I've never tried Amoeba.

I've made 1 order with Intervention.. Shane packs them airtight. I've gotten a few orders from Third Man and am a vault member. Never any damage.

I had trouble with Acoustic Sounds a few years ago on their really expensive Beach Boys titles. They made it right, but it was a pain. I was forced to use them recently for an out of print title and it was fine. I had a massive run in with Sundazed a few years back. They were a pain and they were very rude about it, but they sent me replacement jackets. Their packaging is lousy.

Vinyl Me Please has been really good lately and I haven't had any damage, except for one title about 3 years ago. RunOutGroove has been mostly good lately.

Barnes and Noble has been really spotty about their packaging, but luckily, the few things I've gotten mailed from them have survived.

 

After 10 days, Homegrown showed up. I was surprised to see the mailer wasn't a Whiplash. My last few orders from them all came in a Whiplash. Today was the simple fold-over with the perforated pull tab.

My experiences with Acoustic Sounds have always been a pleasure, down to the bomb-proof packaging. I just rarely use them as I can't always afford their prices. They just shipped me a copy of Robert Cray's Strong Persuader today, mainly because I sold the MFSL Gold CD to help finance it.

 

I just looked up those Whiplash mailers. They seem pretty sturdy and I don't think I've ever gotten anything in one of those. Third Man uses something similar for their big vault releases, but its not specifically a whiplash. Light In The Attic uses something similar. They are also ones I've never had a problem with.

One of my big pet peeves is seam splits. I got an LP today from Amazon that has a seam split but I'm going to have to eat it because I feel I've returned too much to them already. I have learned that with Acoustic Sounds and Music Direct to request them to remove the LP from the jacket so that it will prevent seam splits. I just wish you could request that from Amazon. Yet another reason why they need a dedicated vinyl department.

 

+1 for Intervention and Third Man. Elusive Disc has been my go to for new stuff for years and has never disappointed.

 

Have you listened to Strong Persuader yet? Would like to have a copy myself.

 

Still on it's way. I had to ask my son as my memory couldn't call up if I started with the cassette back when it was released in 1986, just after my 28th birthday ! Then the MFSL gold CD I just sold here last week, and now the Ryan K. Smith cut vinyl.

 

LOL - I was twenty-five and it seems like forever ago - had the cassette and then the CD. Well, if you get a sec and think about, post a quick note for me lol. I always thought he was an underrated artist, and I love that album.

 

I have ordered recently from Amazon and both LPs came in record mailers inside of a huge oversized outer box so no complaints from me other than taking a bit longer to ship than usual but COVID has affected everyone so not complaining.

 

The fact that there is no set standard for Amazon's shipping of vinyl has posts going both ways, going back further than the 10 years I've been here.
This guy's came in an album mailer, this guys came with an address label on the shrinkwrap with no packaging whatsoever.
No two are the same.

 

Well, Amazon must be reading this thread, because I had ordered two more LPs from Amazon that arrived today, and these came packaged in individual mailers inside a box. Amazon is nothing if not utterly inconsistent.

 

I was just about to start a thread on this topic, but decided to do a search and found this very recent thread. (Wasn't easy - did several different topic searches, finally got this.)

Anyway, I have been doing a lot of vinyl ordering recently (Elusive Disc, Acoustic Sounds, Music Direct, E-bay and Amazon.) The only one with packing problems is Amazon. Today took the cake...2 boxes came. First one was a big flat box with a single LP (Ellington - The Feeling of Jazz) and the second a medium rectangular box with a single LP (Sinatra - Wee Small Hours) and a box set (The Beatles White Album 4 lp set). There was absolutely no packing material in either, with LPs rattling around freely in both. The Ellington had a large crease in one corner, the others were relatively unscathed. I'm probably not going to return to save the hassle (I know it isn't that hard to do, but just don't feel like it). It just pisses me off, though. To be fair, I did recently get the Abbey Road Anniversary Vinyl Box set that was very well packed, with record box inside a larger Amazon box.

I get what you are saying about the irresistible lure of Amazon's pricing. Also, I have several gift cards that friends and my kids have given me that I need to use. So I just keep rolling the dice.
I remember this being an issue in the past, but I thought that Amazon had gotten the message and it was OK to start ordering vinyl from them. Guess not.