Buying Supplies - Bags Unlimited vs. Amazon vs. ???

I've always bought my record supplies from Bags Unlimited, going back to the pre-internet days, and I've always been pretty happy with their products.

In fact, the only reason I say "pretty happy" instead of just "happy" is that they've apparently stopped making the paper inner sleeves with rounded corners, which has led me to poke around on Amazon a little.

I see a few different sellers offering essentially the same thing that I buy from B.U. at a slightly better price (3 mil polyethylene outer sleeves and 16# or 20# paper inner sleeves -- with rounded corners). I can probably get free shipping from Amazon, too.

Now, I realize that these items (especially the paper inner sleeves) are pretty plebian for SHMF, but if any of you are bottom-feeders like myself, do you have an opinion on whether it's worth paying a slight premium to get these from Bags Unlimited? They manufacture their own items themselves, so the hypothetical advantage (as they claim on their website) would be better manufacturing tolerances and quality control, but I have no idea whether this actually makes a difference in practice.

Any opinions/suggestions? (Other than "Dude, you need to put all your records in MoFi sleeves!")

 

I used to buy outer sleeves from them, but their shipping to Canada has gotten to be way to much. I found the 3 mil sleeves to be a bit too thin and tight fitting. The last package I bought was from Amazon and was 5 mil. They are actually too thick, but the shipping was free and fast.

I’m sorry to say it, but the MoFi sleeves are the way to go.

 

I usually get Diskeepers from Sleeve City, plus they run 15% off sales often.

 

I buy the MMP CD mailers from Bags Unlimited and their single CD cardboard mailer.

The rest I get on Amazon. The rounded paper inner sleeves and the Mofi inner sleeves. Also you can't beat the Amazon prices on album mailers and pads. I use the 3 mil protective sleeves to reduce mail weight.

For my over $50 vinyl albums I use Whiplash mailers.

Been using the above since 2012, except for the Whiplash mailers.

I buy the Whiplash in qty of 10 or 20 from a nearby seller friend who uses them for all his vinyl. He drops them off at my workplace in downtown Portland. Our box office is always open even when we're not working shows.

 

I use the CD/DVD Diskeeper sleeves, purchased through Amazon. Much better than storing them in a paper digipak without the plastic CD holder.

 

I moved out here from Wisconsin in 2017. It rips me that Bags Unlimited charges UPS for orders west of the Mississippi. When I lived in Wisconsin I would get free UPS for a certain dollar amount. So I limit my purchases from them.

The nice thing is that Oregon does not have a sales tax!

 

I like Sleeve City for all of my sleeves. I buy:

Ultimate Outer 5mil: LP outer sleeves that are strong and durable and super clear.
Ultimate Audiophile Diskkeeper: diskeeper ultimate audiophile inner sleeve

The outers are clear and thick and very protective.
The inners are smooth like the mofis but have the paper inserts on both sides meaning they keep their shape if you put them back into the cardboard sleeve. It is expensive, but they are great products.

Like ScramMan2 said, they have 15% off sales a lot, and if you keep each order to two units of 50, you can choose media mail packaging which always gets to me without damage. And they don't fold the sleeves when shipping! I hate the fold marks in other sleeves because of that.