Should vinyl records no longer be sold “sealed”?

Whiny millennials we're never allowed to have a jack knife. Haha.

 

Is this your video?

 

I buy a lot of albums just for the collector's sickness that I will never play. But I take the shrink wrap off of them to prevent warpage. Then I know that if I want to sell them later on, that I can't assure buyers that they are "mint." But I have to do it.

As an American I was used to all LPs being sold in shrink wrap. It's just how the industry worked here. I started buying imports in 1979 and records from overseas were never usually shrink wrapped, but the importer [primarily JEM] would put them in polybags which were sealed and had their sticker on them. The polybags don't continue to shrink. No heat gun was aimed at your record. It worked for me to assure newness and protect the record; not possibly expose it to warping. As other importers came into the mix, another gambit was to seal the LP in loose shrink wrap that did not see a heat gun. Leaving sealed wrap very loose on the record. That also worked really well for me, and I wish that was the norm if we have to have this level of product assurance.

 

When I bought LPs in the 80’s, they were never shrink wrapped. And it was the same with CDs in the 90’s. I didn’t mind that, like I also don’t mind buying shrink wrapped CDs nowadays. But I hate shrink wrapped LPs, combined with today’s lousy quality control during production (and transport): I like to check the LP, before taking it home.

I hate how the shrink wrap squeezes the outer corners of a gatefold. And how it presses paper snippets from the inner sleeves into the vinyl. And cause ring wear on inner and sometimes even outer sleeves. I understand that the big online stores demand shrink wrapping, and when done right, it’s probably okay. But most of the time it’s done too tight, even on audiophile releases.

 

No it’s not.

 

Ah, I was just curious if you were Matt from TMR.

 

In the rare case where I buy a sealed record I open it before ever leaving the vendor.

 

Even more reasoning why any sealed record purchased should be opened before ever leaving the store. Lesson learned!

 

When i first saw this post I wasn't buying. I like the thrill of opening a sealed vinyl record but sometimes the shrink is so tight you feel like your going to damage the cover while opening. I think with new vinyl prices starting at 20 dollars or more a sealed poly bag is the way to go.

 

There was also a time when food products in jars - sauces, fruit juices, etc. - that were sold at the supermarket were not sealed. You know how, when you remove the lid, there is always a seal over the top, which you have to peel off to get at the contents, and if you get one where the seal is broken you know that it has been tampered with? We didn't have those until some time late last century. Anyone could happily just check to make sure no one was watching, then unscrew the lid, take a sniff, maybe dip their finger in and grab a taste, replace the lid and walk away. Or, if they were maliciously inclined, they could drop a contaminant into the jar.

Nostalgia is over-rated. Some forms of progress, we should be grateful for.

 

New should be sealed. I like the smell.

 

My local indie record store has several turntables so that customers can play used records before buying them. I would far, far rather be able to test play new records there in the store than buy sealed records blind, take them home, break the seal, and only then discover warping or non-fill.

 

Shouldn't have to test a new record. That's the real problem.

 

Anything that uses plastic unnecessarily is a bad thing!

 

If you are dead set on buying a predictable audiophile product with next to no chance of pressing defects, you should probably buy SACDs.

Squeezing a hockey puck of petroleum by-products into a flat disc with music scratched onto it has never been a foolproof process and never will be.

 

I live in a world where most people don’t do the things you describe. And even if they do, I don’t seem to notice it. I’m happy with that.

 

I dare say you wouldn't notice it. You might get sick as a result of germs that were on someone's finger when they opened the jar, but you probably would not make the association.

It's coincidental that I note you are from the Netherlands. Many years ago I was at a hostel in Amsterdam, and on the reception desk they had these desserts on the counter, lined up in tall glasses, for sale - completely uncovered. While the receptionist wasn't watching, I saw one guy take a quick slurp out of one of the glasses, before wiping his mouth to hide the evidence. Needless to say I did not succumb to the temptation of having any of those desserts.

 

Why did you bother asking if you’re going to dismiss other people’s opinion as ‘cultural bias’? You either want to hear other opinions and disagree with them or don’t.

 

I used to hate this approach. The one they had out on the shelf, if it was the only copy, was battered to death. At least shops like Sister Ray (Selectadisc before) used to put a dummy sleeve out.

 

Given that records are made from petroleum byproducts, and transported to record stores and to and from Amazon, Music Direct, Acoustic Sounds, etc. on trucks, the shrink wrap is the least of the problems for the environment here.

If we truly want to save the planet we should sit around the family piano and sing our own songs.

 

Yes - as long as the white piano keys are not made of ivory. Very bad for the elephant population.

 

If it’s an heirloom piano, the elephants were killed in the 1920s or whenever, so at least you’re not harming the environment today.

But yeah, everyone in America and the world enjoying culture and owning physical media and machines that plug into outlets in the wall to play that physical media doesn’t come at zero cost to the environment.

 

Meh. I have zero environmental concerns when it comes to new LP's. Art will remain my haven from Greta Thunberg, thank you very much.

My concern with new LP's is that "most" reissues sound bad to me, come from unspecified masters and do not warrant the cost. I'd rather spend twenty bucks more for the OP, which "generally" satiates my collecting desires.

 

This thread should be retitled Shrinkwrap=Schrödinger's Vinyl. Sealed records are both mint and unplayable at the same time.

Back in the day(80s), it was assumed by the record labels we'd return 15% of vinyl records as defective. I would say I'm at about 50% with new. Now--I'm not as picky as some...and probably pickier than others. I've gotten new records with light scratches...groove damage--that I've kept, for various reasons. Off center is the only thing that GAURANTEES I take it back because I can't listen to that pitch warble. Had I kept them sealed, I'd be able to sell them for even more money today...with the same flaws.

I recently found out stock was getting low on a record I wanted, so I ordered two. Why? Too often, I've been in the situation where sellers (individual or retail) don't HAVE a replacement available...so, I bought two, hoping to better the odds I get a good copy. That's the reason I've kept the aboe--the flaws didn't outweigh either not having it at all...or the PIA it would be for the retailer to special order another copy.

So my point is that while QC on new records IS worse now, IME, it's never NOT been a significant issue. And then the fact that we reshrunk records at the store--it's not high tech needed to clean a record and shrinkwrap it and sell it as "sealed". Or even to unknowingly have bought "sealed" and just honestly not know it was a return that at some point in history someone reshrunk.

I'm ok with nothing being sealed. What's the harm?

 

If it's stock in big chain store, than I'd pretty much never buy any LP unsealed. No telling how it was handled.
If it's in a music store that I know and trust, I'd be more likely to buy a unsealed record.
Even then I'd probably inspect it thoroughly.
Love the loose poly bags with the tear off sealer, bag doesn't get tossed.