Damaged records in the mail: what's your limit and what do you do about it?

[JoToRoBo]

So what is the standard on complaining about inner sleeve seam splits on all sides of the sleeve? I would blame USPS, but the record was in a mailer and had lots of shifting space. Lets say the record is Everywhere and His Nasty Parlor Tricks, and I already got a good deal on it, but it was described as being in perfect condition. It really fV<ks with my OCD.

[TheGhostOfRandySavage]

So what is the standard on complaining about inner sleeve seam splits on all sides of the sleeve? I would blame USPS, but the record was in a mailer and had lots of shifting space. Lets say the record is Everywhere and His Nasty Parlor Tricks, and I already got a good deal on it, but it was described as being in perfect condition. It really fV<ks with my OCD.

Inner sleeve seam splits are a pain, but nothing I'd complain about. I mean...it's paper, y'know? It's gonna rip.

So yeah, up to you, but personally I wouldn't say anything.

[JoToRoBo]

Inner sleeve seam splits are a pain, but nothing I'd complain about. I mean...it's paper, y'know? It's gonna rip.

So yeah, up to you, but personally I wouldn't say anything.

That's what I thought. I just felt like it mainly came from the packing job, because it was so loose in the mailer. I think the only thing I will do is not leave him feedback on ebay. I don't wan to leave negative feedback, because it was shipped fast, and sold for super cheap, but I certainly do not want to leave positive feedback because the packing job could be better. I also feel like a dick if I send him a friendly email on how to enhance his packing job.

[TheGhostOfRandySavage]

That's what I thought. I just felt like it mainly came from the packing job, because it was so loose in the mailer. I think the only thing I will do is not leave him feedback on ebay. I don't wan to leave negative feedback, because it was shipped fast, and sold for super cheap, but I certainly do not want to leave positive feedback because the packing job could be better. I also feel like a dick if I send him a friendly email on how to enhance his packing job.

I think sending him the email would be fine as long as you're very polite about it. I'd still leave him positive feedback probably, but state that it could have been packed a little better maybe? I donno, if everything else was in good shape and you got a good deal/fast shipping out of it, I'd see to leaving him some posi

[slushy]

If it's through a huge retailer (Amazon!) or a big label, I will usually attempt to chase up replacements, even if it's just something insignificant. I don't care that much about tiny imperfections, but I figure they can afford it.

 

With small labels I'll let almost everything slide, unless the record is seriously damaged, then I'll try to get a replacement copy sent out at a cheaper price, usually with my next order.

[DakotyTSI]

Limit - Slightest seam split or bend
What I do about it - Swear (unfulfilled) vengeance upon retailer/people responsible for distribution/all of their families

[HybridxReality]

Yeah, I don't do much towards it unless the record itself is damaged.

I recently ordered from MerchNow and it had seam splits.

Didn't trip though, because shit happens. Not to mention, it's such a tiny imperfection. Record plays great AND I've ordered multiple times from MerchNow and things have arrived beautifully, so I didn't feel like it was my place to bitch about something so insignificant.

[nico]

Good to see some sensible people here.

 

I remember a few years ago someone was super pissed about an insert having a small corner folded.

I made a comment about it, that this kind of stuff happens and it doesn't affect playing or enjoying the record and he shouldn't be such a baby about. Needless to say I got down voted by him and his friends like there was no tomorrow.

 

Corner dings of the sleeve almost always happen.

[DakotyTSI]

I got a Teenage Bottlerocket boxset from Interpunk that has a giant gash in the box, didn't email them. I've been waiting for Count Your Lucky Stars to replace a severely scratched record for over a month now and I'm still without. Am I losing my shit? Nope. Will I? Naw. Shit happens and we're all human. Humans fuck up, nothing is perfect.

 

This pretty much wraps up this whole thread imo

[Metal Mike]

There's got to be a correlation in here between the amount of non-play affecting damage a person is willing to accept and the amount of times records get played. 

[moonbeams]

Nice topic.

 

When I ship a record, I take every reasonable precaution to avoid damage. Cardboard inserts, bubble wrap, and tape cardboard wings around the corners of the mailers to prevent corner damage. I posted instructions on how to do this, but most people are too lazy. (Sometimes I don't bother with really cheap replaceable stuff).

 

When receiving, if I buy from a store that has others in stock, I will ask for an exchange if the record itself is damaged. If the record was well-packed and the damage was clearly the fault of USPS, I will send an email that says, "I received the record, thank you, but unfortunately it was damaged in shipping." Most good businesses will offer to send out a replacement.

 

For private sellers, I expect them to pack better. As I mentioned in another thread, last week I received 2 orders in paper bags. Both were knew sellers. One guy got positive feedback for being cool. The other got no feedback. I told him if he wanted positive feedback, then he should refund my shipping. He didn't. I reserve negative feedback for assholes. One moron sent a few records overseas with the corners hanging out in the air of the mailer. I messaged him to complain about the packaging and responded with a personal attack. He got negative feedback.

 

If the record is damaged, but well packed, I'll let it go. There was nothing else the seller could have done and it is my responsibility to ask for insurance. I shipped an extremely well packed record as part of a trade to a guy 90 minutes away from me. It arrived shattered. Even though it wasn't my fault, I sent him back the record he traded to me.

 

If the poor packaging resulted in damage, then I ask for a refund.

[moonbeams]

After reading some of the other responses, maybe I'm crazy. I expect my records to arrive in perfect condition. If a label can't figure out how to mail stuff without it getting damaged, I stop ordering from them.

I don't expect anything I order online to arrive damaged. Not sure why one would expect less just because it's vinyl.

When my records get damaged, I want it to be from me drunkenly mishandling them not some jerk I don't know!

 

I agree with this, too. That's my outlook as a seller. The buyer should get the record in the EXACT condition I listed, so when I package it, I should take precautions for abuse in the mail. I've seen postal workers toss and fling packages into sorting containers.

 

Another thing I often do is tape bubble wrap around the outside of the mailer, especially the back. Bouncy, bouncy, no damage.

[slushy]

I got a Teenage Bottlerocket boxset from Interpunk that has a giant gash in the box, didn't email them.

 

I would definitely make a point of getting a refund (or partial refund)/replacement from Interpunk, especially on an expensive item. I understand that shit happens, but Interpunk are not a tiny bedroom label or a band quickly packing up records for mailing after getting home from their day job. They are a mail order business, packing records for shipping is literally all they do! And if they're packing shit up properly it should only be a handful of damaged items a month and they can take that on the chin.

[ZeroFourNine]

What about defects in the vinyl? I have received a few new records with tiny "dimples" in the vinyl. For lack of a better word I guess dimples is what I would call them, but when they appear there are usually several and on both sides of the album. I have also come across a new record with a lump on one side that stood about 1/8th of an inch off the surface. It looked like a blister but was solid. That same album had a weird pattern all over the other side that looked like someone dumped a bunch of coffee straws on the hot vinyl then pressed them in to make visible dents. They couldn't be felt but they were visible.

At what point do defects like these in the vinyl affect playback? Should I be more strict about returning them?

[arem]

If you can hear a problem when you play the record you should contact the label about a replacement. I bought a very noisy copy of Whirr - Sway recently and Graveface had no problem sending me a new copy when I contacted them about it.

[moonbeams]

What about defects in the vinyl? I have received a few new records with tiny "dimples" in the vinyl. For lack of a better word I guess dimples is what I would call them, but when they appear there are usually several and on both sides of the album. I have also come across a new record with a lump on one side that stood about 1/8th of an inch off the surface. It looked like a blister but was solid. That same album had a weird pattern all over the other side that looked like someone dumped a bunch of coffee straws on the hot vinyl then pressed them in to make visible dents. They couldn't be felt but they were visible.

At what point do defects like these in the vinyl affect playback? Should I be more strict about returning them?

 

Do not play records with lots of "dimples." They can cause your tone arm to jump off the record and damage the stylus. Happened to me with a record from Fat Wreck. They replaced it with my next order.

 

GZ, the plant in Czech that makes all the crazy splatters for Pirates Press, Vinyl Guru, and a lot of European releases, has terrible quality control. I can't tell you how many times I scored a limited release variant that sold out, only to open it and find zig-zag scratches on across the record. Sometimes there has been label debri in the grooves.

[TFP]

What about defects in the vinyl? I have received a few new records with tiny "dimples" in the vinyl. For lack of a better word I guess dimples is what I would call them, but when they appear there are usually several and on both sides of the album. I have also come across a new record with a lump on one side that stood about 1/8th of an inch off the surface. It looked like a blister but was solid. That same album had a weird pattern all over the other side that looked like someone dumped a bunch of coffee straws on the hot vinyl then pressed them in to make visible dents. They couldn't be felt but they were visible.

At what point do defects like these in the vinyl affect playback? Should I be more strict about returning them?

 

Sounds like you need to take some records to the record doctor....blisters and dimples....haha

[bigdz68]

What about defects in the vinyl? I have received a few new records with tiny "dimples" in the vinyl. For lack of a better word I guess dimples is what I would call them, but when they appear there are usually several and on both sides of the album. I have also come across a new record with a lump on one side that stood about 1/8th of an inch off the surface. It looked like a blister but was solid. That same album had a weird pattern all over the other side that looked like someone dumped a bunch of coffee straws on the hot vinyl then pressed them in to make visible dents. They couldn't be felt but they were visible.

At what point do defects like these in the vinyl affect playback? Should I be more strict about returning them?

This describes my side one of Olivia jean I just got from amazon. Spun it this evening to see a huge lump in it....it just got stuck in a groove on two of the best songs....sending it back tomorrow...noticed quite a few of my recent 3rd man albums have had defects lately...not sure what's going on at that pressing plant....

[slushy]

noticed quite a few of my recent 3rd man albums have had defects lately...not sure what's going on at that pressing plant....

 

they are not defects, they are Jack White's experiments!!

[ZeroFourNine]

Well, I am going through all my recent purchases tomorrow with a more strict eye then.  Dimples are the most common defect I have seen, but I don't think I have kept many records I found to have them.  Here are some pics of what I speak...

 

Dimple - middle of the image on the far right side.

 

Another dimple - they show up in multiples, sometimes clustered together three at time. 

 

Blister - dead center about 1/4" long x 1/4" wide raised bump, easily 1/8" tall.

 

Coffee Straw Dents - covers one whole side of the record with visible, but not felt dents.

 

All of the above defects are on the same album!!!  I have an email in to the retailer for a refund.

[Shinji]

I basically always let jacket dings, seam splits, etc. go, but it really makes me mad when I am shipped a 20+ year old record that was in NM+ condition and the USPS just straight up fucks it up. It's not anybody's specific fault if it's packaged well, so I don't ask for a refund, but still. I got an original blue copy of Jawbreaker's Dear You that came bent almost at a 90 degree angle (alright, maybe not that much). Luckily, the record was suprisingly okay, but the sleeve that was mint was so fucked. Just makes me sad to see 2 days in transit ruin a record that has been mint for 20 years.

[Shinji]

And also, I do occassionally get the records that seem almost way too fucked up and mangled to not have been done on purpose.

[smailtronic]

So what is the standard on complaining about inner sleeve seam splits on all sides of the sleeve?

Complaining about rips in five cent paper inner sleeves? VC's getting into r/vinyl territory.

[JoToRoBo]

Complaining about rips in five cent paper inner sleeves? VC's getting into r/vinyl territory.

 It wasn't a paper one, it was the printed one inside Everywhere and His Nasty Parlor Tricks. If it wasn't a crappy packing job I wouldn't even care.

[hezagenius]

I typically let small corner dings and very small seam splits go, as long as the packing job was done well.  If it was packed well, then it is hard to fault the seller.  Of course, you could make the argument that if something gets damaged in the mail, it wasn't packed well enough.

 

If the packing job was shitty and the record or jacket gets messed up, that thing is getting returned.  If I'm paying good money for something, I expect to receive it in that condition and that the seller do everything they can to make sure that happens.  Sellers that say "shit happens" when they don't take the time to pack something well are just being lazy and are not looking to make customers happy.  I don't get to pay 50% of the price and say shit happens.

 

Is it too much to ask that labels/sellers pack a record correctly?  A padded envelope is not acceptable unless there is significant reinforcements inside.  I can't even count the number of times I've received a record in a padded envelope with absolutely no reinforcement.  Sometimes they make it OK.  Usually there is damage to the jacket.

 

The record should at a minimum be sandwiched between two pieces of cardboard and then put into an LP mailer box.  Those things are not expensive, especially when you buy them in bulk.  For what labels/sellers are charging for shipping these days, they can afford to use them.  If a record is packed like that, the chances of getting damaged in transit is pretty low.