moonbeams

I press all my records at Packaged Sounds in UK. https://packagedsounds.com/
Tom Reiss runs it and he's been a good buddy of mine through these forums for a decade now.
They specialize in very artistic colored vinyl. Here are some pics of records they pressed for me. They also printed the artwork:
 

The yen has tanked.  Anything listed on Discogs in yen is now 30% cheaper than it was a few weeks ago. Now is a great time to buy from Japan.

I press all my records at Packaged Sounds in UK. https://packagedsounds.com/
Tom Reiss runs it and he's been a good buddy of mine through these forums for a decade now.
They specialize in very artistic colored vinyl. Here are some pics of records they pressed for me. They also printed the artwork:
 

I press all my records at Packaged Sounds in UK. https://packagedsounds.com/
Tom Reiss runs it and he's been a good buddy of mine through these forums for a decade now.
They specialize in very artistic colored vinyl. Here are some pics of records they pressed for me. They also printed the artwork:
 

As a fan, half the records I get pressed at GZ are scratched up from their paper inner sleeves.
Also not a fan of direct metal mastering. Though recently I've seen labels that have their own lacquers made, but use GZ for the pressing.

I press all my records at Packaged Sounds in UK. https://packagedsounds.com/
Tom Reiss runs it and he's been a good buddy of mine through these forums for a decade now.
They specialize in very artistic colored vinyl. Here are some pics of records they pressed for me. They also printed the artwork:
 

It is time to share this (now that FC is dead).
Last year a book I wrote on the Misfits discography was published. It was a limited run and sold out quickly. That's not the point though.
In the 5 years of research it took to write the book, I made a very important discovery for record collecting.
It is is something called "Matrix Alignment" and it assumes that that stampers don't shift much during a pressing, so the A and B sides are mostly aligned.
It also assumes that black pressings can do 1000-2000 copies before stampers wear out and colored vinyl is about 500 copies.
So one with many variants can use matrix alignments as a predictor for the pressing information.
Keep in mind that a lot of the info bands give on their pressing numbers is bullshit. (I myself run a label and can't remember how many of what color were pressed a year ago).

Now some caveats: stampers are checked and moved around in some pressings. Others presses have reference points for the stampers to be aligned at. So it's possible for a repress to have the same alignment.
Here are the pages from the book:


 
Here is a printable template link for 7":
https://docs.google.com/document/d/0B9e-rt-UZaxyRy1SRnVYeUYwMHNJOU5JWnluUVc3REdGVm9n/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=110956706318821180845&resourcekey=0-aJnidMNJjCqGFvt6jE3Hsw&rtpof=true&sd=true
Here is instructions and a 12" template:
https://tiny-url.com/matrix-align

Everything pisses me off

I think all of those look amazing, so I personally wouldn't be upset getting any variation of them.

Hit me up when they go on sale. Definitely wanna grab. The rain / rain run off ones are especially cool. 
 
And yah, as far as a variant collector goes, I’d echo just being upfront. If there was a small run of say /100 that had some variations in the mix I wouldn’t lose sleep over trying to buy 10+ of them just cause different colors were in the mix. I’d still count it as one variant. 

I personally don't care if the color looks different than the original mockup or description. Most preorders indicate the actual color might be different anyway. Only thing I would really care about is if I received the wrong variant (example - if I ordered the blue swirl edition out of 100 and received the solid white out of 5000). 
 
If the records just look different than the original mockup, then I would let people know and give them a chance to say they want to cancel the order. 
 
Now, if I bought a car in a certain color and they sent me the wrong color, then I would be pissed and would demand they paint it the correct color for no charge. 
 
In your case, since they haven't gone on sale yet, you could always list it as random colored pressing and post a few pictures of examples. You could also add a note box on the order and allow people to indicate if they have a preference of color. If they don't, just send one at random. 

I've seen and received records that are so far outside of what the mockup was and legit awful looking, all of those look pretty great. it's not like you're saying "transparent blue nebula swirl" and shipping out a solid purple record like some labels do.

Agreed. That’s super annoying. 
 
Was curious if you were gonna chime in given your awesome and extensive MT collection. 

well the thing it with the Minor Threat pressings, that started out over 40 years ago and it has been repressed numerous times in different formats over those 40 years. That is a whole different ball game imho than the new Terror album, that starts out with that many versions. Or a repress of a Bad Religion album in 7 different versions.

This is the main reason that collecting is less and less appealing to me each year. The fact that you have to come here and ask this, especially that you didn't even sell them because of the fear that your buyers will be pissed of is so sad. Collectors are the worst, they complain about shipping delays, colors not matching the mockups, bent corners etc. I don't want to sound a boomer (well, im becoming one in the recent years) but who cares if it doesn't exactly match, you get a record you like while you are supporting a label you like. There are bigger problems out there... 

I expect all records I buy to look 15% like the mock up and am genuinely surprised when they actually do. The only thing that pisses me off about buying records in the year of our lord 2022 is the insanely high prices for single disc releases. Fuckin' inflation. 

Just list them as colored vinyl and be done with it. Record collectors are irrational morons.

Not so much, I do hate every single store getting there own color and before you know it, there are like 16 different colors being pressed for a release as a first press.

If it's not on sale yet I would just be upfront about what happened when you sell them. Just say, "Hey, these came out with some transition colors, here is a sample of what you may get." Just be upfront about it and it shouldn't be an issue.

Send out an email and let people know what the issue is and that they might not receive what they ordered. With that email offer to refund them if they would like to cancel. Be apologetic and I think a large number would understand. For those who do not cancel I would consider doing what the post above me said.
 
This kind of thing happens, but this is your reputation and your (and the plant) fuck up.

Some customers will be inordinately angry, some won't care, and some will be mildly disappointed. For those that do complain maybe think about providing them a code for 15-20% off their next order. Also maybe provide a note with each copy shipped that the pressing didn't meet your expectations. A heads up could ameliorate their disappointment.

Definitely some of the coolest looking 7" variants I've seen ,and the music is great too. Grab one and support a DIY project. 
https://deeperblue.bandcamp.com/merch
I mean look at those Nebula variants; damn cool.

No sure where to put this stuff as VC shifts more & more to mainstream music. 
GOODCYTE RECORDS - premiere instrumental label.
Sold here:
https://deeperblue.bandcamp.com/
Prices are $11~$16, shipping is $5 within USA sh.ipping from FL, and if you live outside USA, ships from Tokyo for $6

Like post rock for short attention spans. Instrumental punk.
Add some zap & emotion for a quick weight lifting session or doing laundry, etc.
  Everything is crafted with visual details to make a balanced visual/auditory experience.
   
1. Oneironautics I (Deeper Blue/Redlight Stare split) - It's a space dream
These are almost sold out 130 copies on blue nebula and 80 on red nebula.


Each is unique:

 
2. Sinking Dream (Deeper Blue) - There's 5 variations, 4 in stock in USA & Japan through our bandcamp

 




 
3. Night Rain (Deeper Blue) - our best seller. Nostalgic surf punk melodies carry this one.
 



Black vinyl pressed in Japan. High quality.
Also lower quality European purple 1st pressing still available (almost sold out, black is sold out):
But it comes in a sweet spined jacket:

 
 
 
 

No sure where to put this stuff as VC shifts more & more to mainstream music. 
GOODCYTE RECORDS - premiere instrumental label.
Sold here:
https://deeperblue.bandcamp.com/
Prices are $11~$16, shipping is $5 within USA sh.ipping from FL, and if you live outside USA, ships from Tokyo for $6

Like post rock for short attention spans. Instrumental punk.
Add some zap & emotion for a quick weight lifting session or doing laundry, etc.
  Everything is crafted with visual details to make a balanced visual/auditory experience.
   
1. Oneironautics I (Deeper Blue/Redlight Stare split) - It's a space dream
These are almost sold out 130 copies on blue nebula and 80 on red nebula.


Each is unique:

 
2. Sinking Dream (Deeper Blue) - There's 5 variations, 4 in stock in USA & Japan through our bandcamp

 




 
3. Night Rain (Deeper Blue) - our best seller. Nostalgic surf punk melodies carry this one.
 



Black vinyl pressed in Japan. High quality.
Also lower quality European purple 1st pressing still available (almost sold out, black is sold out):
But it comes in a sweet spined jacket:

 
 
 
 

I'm going out on a limb here, based on the information presented:
You're new to vinyl. As said above, this is just a scuff, usually caused paper sleeves.
If you're new to vinyl, it is possible you have an entry level turntable (under $300).
These tables do not have the best tracking and skips are very common. It's probably a coincidence that the record skips where the scuff is.

As for cleaning, try a SpinClean.