To return or to return...

I got Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot from Amazon today. Thanks to the heavyweight vinyl the discs split the printed inner sleeves. Damage: rather unsightly torn inner sleeve, not a clean split. And the discs themselves are superficially scratched by working their way through the inner sleeves. Not really scratched, but polished. Totally superficial. The small segment of the discs that rubbed on the split paper has this different shimmer or shine. Not audible though.

So, it's cosmetic damage to the discs and the printed inner sleeves. Cover itself is not damaged.

Keep or return?

 

Isnt there a method to exchange for a new one but you can wait till the new one arrives before sending back the old?
Then you can keep the "perfect" vinyl in case the new one has issues with that instead and just send back the bad stuff, hoping the new sleeves are not split.

 

Don't know Amazon works in Austria but I'd want an exchange at no cost to me and better packaging.

 

I've had this issue, a lot. Manufacturers really need to start beefing up their inner sleeves... I wouldn't even bother honestly. I've never once had a successful return where the replacement is actually undamaged.

 

If the LPs are unwarped & playback is silent then I say keep 'em.

 

The very last album I got was like this too, its a real shame. I only put up with trying again when its something I love.

 

I think I returned Lana Del Rey's newest album about three times before I just gave up. MPO can't press records...

 

To return or to return? I choose... to return.

 

Damn! My subconscious wants to return the album obviously!

 

I bought the yellow one at a store and it's perfect. Sorry to hear about your experience. It's the best record of 2021, so far.

 

Exchange it. It will bother you forever otherwise. I have a handful of records I wished I'd exchanged. Amazon has a great return policy. Your case is likely a one off considering. But per Leonthepro, don't send yours back until the new one arrives. Play both and swap sleeves if necessary.

That said, unless the inner sleeve damage was really bad, personally I'd keep it if the vinyl and jacket were pristine. I switch my records to protective inner sleeves and the originals pretty much just get stored in the jacket. I only pull them out when I feel like looking at them.

 

Was that pressed elsewhere? I know that's sometimes the case with coloured vinyl. I agree about it being one of the best 2021 albums. I think OK Human from Weezer might top it though. It's hard to say, they're very different.

 

I should have mentioned that too. Definitely keep the first record until the second arrives. Sometimes I switch things around and take the best sleeve, inner sleeve, and record. It may mean I have to switch around the contents of three different copies, but at least what I keep is minty in the end.

 

I don't know where the yellow ones were pressed. I will listen to the new Weezer. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

Why on earth would you keep a damaged copy like that when Amazon makes exchanges so ridiculously easy?

I suspect the replacement copy would already be on its way to you if you had requested the exchange when you posted this thread!

 

exchange it...it will always be a thorn...

 

I’ve had dozens of replacements that were totally fine.

 

Did you buy the record to listen to the music or to obsess over the potential resale value?

 

I didn’t see him say anything about resale value. These things aren’t cheap, and brand new should mean brand new, not damaged.

 

But is the split in the inner sleeve going to affect the music? Are we buying physical media to listen to the music or to gain another acquisition with a dollar value attached?

 

I’m more concerned with the damage to the discs, if I’m picturing what he describes at all accurately. Also, he describes a tear, not a minor split. You’re focusing on dollar value, which neither I nor OP mentioned. Some of us, believe it or not, like to buy nice things and actually get to enjoy them as nice things.

 

Consider yourself lucky!

 

I would, but I’ve also had plenty of titles for which I’ve given up after several copies, and to this day do not own copies of those titles...

 

What’s the Music Direct or Elusive Disc equivalent in Austria/EU? Is there one?

 

I just the other day received a record through the wonderful U.S.P.S media mail chain, only to miss the mailperson by seconds, and saw out the window my package being tossed like a frisbee onto the porch. My first reaction was OMG SEAM SPLITS. Somehow the gods of music allowed it not to happen...this time. Many thousands of records bouncing around in the back of delivery trucks all day long, every day, the horror. I have returned records with seam splits only to get the same problem 3 times in a row with one record and not much luck with others. I have learned to accept if small and the album plays great.