Mail-order / sleeve damage question

[robes]

Just wondering what you guys think of this scenario.

 

You order a record from a EU dealer (who use flimsy mailers) and specifically ask them in the "comments" section of the order to remove the LP from the sleeve prior to shipping to prevent any seam splits. They ship the LP inside the sleeve and don't remove it from the sleeve as I requested. The LP arrives, and guess what? huge seam split on the sleeve!

 

I know buying records online is a bit of a gamble when it comes to possible damage and whatnot, and I'm ok with letting some stuff go, but since I specifically requested for them to remove the LP from the sleeve, should the store/dealer possibly reimburse me or replace the copy? what do you think?

[David The Gnome]

I think they were only obligated to send you the record when you paid for it, nothing else. Most labels would consider your comment and follow through but that doesn't mean they ever have to. Sure, you can send an e-mail asking what gives and for them to replace/reimburse but they certainly don't have to do so. 

[robes]

I think they were only obligated to send you the record when you paid for it, nothing else. Most labels would consider your comment and follow through but that doesn't mean they ever have to. Sure, you can send an e-mail asking what gives and for them to replace/reimburse but they certainly don't have to do so. 

 

Fair enough. I emailed them to see if they are willing to do anything, waiting for a reply.

[vinyl addict]

It's always worth a shot. Depending om how bad the damage is, I would prob give you half your money back.

[flood]

I order a lot of records from overseas.. honestly if it can come half way around the planet without being cracked in half, you're ahead of the game.

[slushy]

UK/EU labels/sellers really do need to stop using those thin cardboard mailers though. I don't know if they're the only suitable mailers available to purchase over there or maybe it's a case of regular mailers creating enough extra weight to bump shipping costs up a significant amount to the point where people back out of purchases, but pretty much 50-70% of stuff I've received has been bent up to fuck.

[HoneyFrosted]

When you make the order, you're requesting the merchant to send you a working copy in the mail. That's it.

Any "minor" cosmetic damage can be chalked up to bad postal handling, since there's no real way to know. If the record is okay, the transaction is usually done unless you're dealing with a cool label that responds to messages.

Any notes or comments you leave are completely optional and aren't really legally binding. However, the way your record is shipped and the disregard to the request may lead you to not purchase from that label / seller anymore. That's on them.

 

Usually with EU sellers I expect the worse. It entirely depends on the company. The Tyler, The Creator - Bastard bootleg I received came in top notch shape. The AUS Bewilderbeast LP came warped. Sometimes it's in a mailer by itself with nothing to protect it, sometimes it's one of those fancy tab-to-hold-the-record-in-place deals that has pretty much 0% chance of the label fucking it up. Or those cardboard-squares-to-eat-up-the-empty-space-to-make-a-perfect-square mailers. Fuck, those are so sweet.

[keithyap]

UK/EU labels/sellers really do need to stop using those thin cardboard mailers though. I don't know if they're the only suitable mailers available to purchase over there or maybe it's a case of regular mailers creating enough extra weight to bump shipping costs up a significant amount to the point where people back out of purchases, but pretty much 50-70% of stuff I've received has been bent up to fuck.

 

I agree... even the mailers used by Amazon Europe is as bad and inferior compared to the ones used by Amazon US. I've filed many complains with Amazon on this and getting replacements. Sometimes the replacements comes in worse condition than the first one they sent!

[One Hundred Fifty-Two]

I'm guessing you ordered from Europe because you couldn't find the record in the us. Seam splits are unfortunate, but not really worth a refund.

[keithyap]

Yup that's right. I only order records from europe because it's not available in the US. I don't get that many spilt seams records. It's mostly badly bent corners that ruin the covers.

[kk-downing]

Recycled paper mailers are the price of doing business with Europe. Nothing you can do about it. 

[Tommy]

My Mew record just came like this from Europe.....

 

 

They're replacing it, of course

[allenh]

UK/EU labels/sellers really do need to stop using those thin cardboard mailers though. I don't know if they're the only suitable mailers available to purchase over there or maybe it's a case of regular mailers creating enough extra weight to bump shipping costs up a significant amount to the point where people back out of purchases, but pretty much 50-70% of stuff I've received has been bent up to fuck.

 

Yes they are the standard mailer but if you take a bit of care like putting in two card stiffeners and the record outside of the sleeve when using them there shouldn't be a problem and yes the Royal mail postage break points tend to mean that using the much heavier mailers pushes some parcels into the the next price bracket. A 2LP set in a heavy gatefold sleeve packed will be over 500g which is the next postage break point and even some single LP's in heavy gatefold sleeves can just go over.

 

I tend to re use mailers so use a lot of the heavier ones but buying new from a label or a shop that sells a lot of vinyl means they will buy their mailers new from a stationary supplier and might not have a lot of choice in what they are getting.