Oh yeah.. I ordered the Mono Sundazed of The Notorious Byrd Brothers. Showed up in a plastic bag only. All banged up. This was on 8/27. Put in for a replacement, but its lost in limbo due to Hurricane Ida down here. If I don't get it soon, I'll ask for a refund. Despite what some people on here say, it is NOT a company wide change. Maybe some distribution centers have gone away from the bag, but obviously some haven't.
I just received a package for an album in a cardboard mailer in a cardboard box with air pillows. That's probably how 99% of my vinyl comes. For what it's worth, I'm in the Chicago area.
I had been getting all my LPs recently in a snug inner box, then placed into an outer box. This consistency helped create a long-streak of mostly-damage-free LP deliveries. That streak ended yesterday when I received an LP tossed into a larger outer box - no air pillows or other protection, so of course it's got a bent corner and shrink-wrap starting to shear off. Another copy of this LP is due to arrive today (long story), so I'm going to compare the two and return the one that's more damaged.
Most of what I order comes from my closest distribution center which I think is in Mobile, Alabama. The Baton Rouge one isn't up and running yet. I've noticed that when I order a new release as a pre-order or near to the time it is released, it usually comes from my distribution center. It is most often packed in a cardboard mailer and then either placed in a box or a baggie. Usually it survives, but I still have big seam splits occassionally. When I order something that has been out for a while, and Amazon has to send it from another distro center, it is often packaged poorly. I've had two things come from California in only the baggie recently. Unfortunately, we can't control where the stock is coming from.
... And the other copy of this same LP just arrived a few minutes ago. A Tale of Two Packages. This other package was in the same sized outer box, but also had the LP well-protected in an inner box ("frustration-free packaging"), and then padded with rows of air pillows. Guess which one was damaged, and which one arrived in perfect condition? Guess which one I'll be returning?
I live in California and have never once received an LP in a plastic bag. Almost always double boxed with those air pillow things. A few times just a rigid cardboard mailer. There seems to be no logic to it. Weird.
Add me to the aggrieved customers. I bought an lp from the Amazon warehouse that was shipped in a thin gray plastic bag. I’m sure our postwoman innocently tried to fit it through the mail slot. I’m used to receiving Amazon records in a mailing box placed inside a second box with air pillows for padding. I hope this isn’t a trend.
And yet my 8 dollar Metallica album came in a large outer box, with various air bubbles inside and a standard high quality mail shipper. It’s weird stuff.
I got one for the first time in a bag the other day. Jacket was damaged and the vinyl was dished, so I returned it. The replacement was in a box, but it was dished too. I have sent a number of LPs back lately. One LP was open, so it must have been a return. Ugh!
Just received the Joni Mitchell box in an outer cardboard box with no padding. 1 day here in Philly. Sealed in shrink wrap, no dings, but with obvious watermarks along two edges. Ugh.
So I bit and bought one of the scratch and dent versions of The Who Sell Out. It was listed with “cosmetic” damage so wasn’t expecting something in great condition . I’m not sure whose definition of “cosmetic” they were using though as the entire bottom of the cardboard sleeve was torn off and missing. While I thought about going on a dead parrot rant I just decided to do the return…after reading…I mean accessing the damage to the book (it had a broken spine and ripped bottoms of the hardcover.) Probably gonna buy a “new one” once the refund comes in. This was the first (out of several dozen) Amazon Warehouse purchases that made me go ‘WTF.’
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08YRZF7YN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Fleur - S/T LP on pink vinyl for a shade over $8. Modern yé-yé pop from Holland. If you dig Fabienne Delsol or April March you'll most likely enjoy this.
Already up to $14.83. I was at Amoeba in San Francisco a month ago and almost picked this up on a staff member's recommendation. I'll see if it comes back down, because definitely interested in checking it out. Thanks for the tip!
NOT AN AMAZON DEAL, sorry, but if you like that French girl vocals sound, I enjoyed this album. It's a collection of French Bossa Nova songs. Amazon carries it, but it's expensive. Tchic Tchic French Bossa Nova 1963 1974 (2020, Vinyl) I spent some time the other night loading videos onto Discogs for your listening pleasure.
i grabbed it for a bit more than than when i shared it a couple weeks ago in this thread. price has been going up and down regularly, so if anyone missed out: just keep your eyes on it. really, really like this album. pressing was fine and sound was nice.
I just took delivery on this box set (not a scratch and dent), which was packed in an outer cardboard box within a larger box (with another album I ordered). One of the corners of the Sell Out outer cardboard box was torn open with a black smudge around the edges of the tear. It's interesting that this somehow happened considering the larger box that contained both the Sell Out and the other album was undamaged. I can only speculate it was a conveyor belt incident. There was only a small, barely noticeable crease in the product itself, so no big deal, but it's disconcerting that this kind of damage could occur before the package even ships. Edit: I should clarify that the corner of the box wasn't just torn. It was torn off. Missing. Not there.
Foo Fighters https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005STGJHQ/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_J5AX9C9EJQ5YRTA08PC9 $12.37 first Foo Its their best. Probably the only one you need.
Cat Stevens - Mona Bone Jakon [4CD/2LP/Blu-ray Super Deluxe Edition] - Amazon.com Music $73.91 Had to snag one at this super low price.