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My first Warped Record experience?


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So, I just received a record I bought from another user on this website in the mail today.  It was a copy of Citizen's record, Youth.

 

16bd8nn.jpg

 

The flower concept on the cover actually legitimately came out on the red side of the record.

 

The thing is, I didn't let the record sit on my front porch or anything, I was sitting on my couch in the living room when the mail lady came by to drop it off.  It's very weird to me that only the red side has any sort of issues as well... I have no idea who to blame for this record being messed up.  The sleeve is fine, everything is fine with the record minus the record itself.

 

Who is really at fault here?  Is this something that is likely USPS, or is this the person sending the record?  The record was packed well, everything is great except the red side of the record.

 

Like I said at the top, I have never received a record warped like this.  I have received records that had bends in the sleeves, seam splits, and sometimes even mailed to me in bubble wrap and a t-shirt mailer (thanks Hot Topic, lol), but I have never received something like this.  I have over 250 records as well, so it's very odd to me.  What do you guys think?

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I came in here ready to post some dumb joke or make fun of the situation, but man, that's kind of insane. I've never in my life seen anything close to that.

 

Not sure what your options are or how much the record is actually worth, but definitely take the time to drop by a USPS office and take the record with you. Regardless of whether it was insured or not, something like this should never happen.

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I mean, I could potentially file a paypal claim saying that the item is damaged, but I just don't know if this is a USPS issue or a personal issue on the other member's end.  I have never, ever filed a paypal claim on anyone, so I don't even know if that is a viable option in this specific situation, and if it is possible that I would win the paypal claim - I do not want to screw this guy over on a record he paid for and sold me at a fair price when it's entirely possible that this wasn't his fault.

 

Hence why I'm coming to VC with the issue, haha.  I have been a member here since 2012, I believe, and I have never run into an actual issue before, let alone an issue like this!

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I appreciate the input a ton everyone - and no, I have not contacted the seller yet, but I absolutely will do it.  I just wanted to get kind of a general consensus on here first to see what people thought I should/could do about the issue.  As much as I like to think I know about this hobby after collecting and listening to vinyl for a while, there's still things for me to learn about, and a part of that is just my "options" as a buyer when situations like this come up with online purchases. 

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That's a major bummer and a sticky situation. I'd contact the seller and let them know, but neither of you should be on the hook for it (unless the seller sold it that way). Unfortunately if it was media mail (uninsured), you might have a tough time getting a refund. :-/ best of luck though! My only USPS claim (priority) went through without issue, so you might be okay!

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According to PayPal, the seller is responsible for the package until it's marked as delivered, so any transit damage would be theirs to either address via a refund or insurance claim. If the seller does not get insurance, then they are liable for the damage and for eating the costs of a refund.

Some sellers disagree with that and say that it's your responsibility to deal with it between you and the postal service but, if you used PayPal and you open a claim with them, you'll get your refund either immediately or after returning the damaged item to the seller. In the latter case, you have to buy return shipping out of your own pocket.

As a seller, I'd refund you and eat the cost and this would be over pretty quickly. But it depends on your seller and their views on this stuff or your own views and whether you feel obligated to eat half the cost or not ask for a refund.

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According to PayPal, the seller is responsible for the package until it's marked as delivered, so any transit damage would be theirs to either address via a refund or insurance claim. If the seller does not get insurance, then they are liable for the damage and for eating the costs of a refund.

Some sellers disagree with that and say that it's your responsibility to deal with it between you and the postal service but, if you used PayPal and you open a claim with them, you'll get your refund either immediately or after returning the damaged item to the seller. In the latter case, you have to buy return shipping out of your own pocket.

As a seller, I'd refund you and eat the cost and this would be over pretty quickly. But it depends on your seller and their views on this stuff or your own views and whether you feel obligated to eat half the cost or not ask for a refund.

This is literally everything I needed to know, and once again, I truly appreciate you and everyone else helping me out in this situation.  I have contacted the seller, and we will see what that seller says.  You guys are great here.  It's still so bizarre to me that it was literally only the red portion of the record that was damaged. 

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If the package wasn't damaged then that would lead me to believe it was either like that when it shipped or it sat in a hot USPS warehouse or car. In which case the red may not be as tolerant to heat as the white which caused the wrinkling.

I've never seen one wavy like that though, very strange. My first thought is that it's that type of vinyl reacting to temperature changes. Hope you get it worked out.

Edit: basically what Shitty Rambo said. That could've been the side with the sun beating down on it in the mail truck. I know the mail people around here put boxes like that in the front with them and they grab them as they go along.

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Contacted the seller, and honestly VC people are the greatest people to deal with in the entire vinyl spectrum for the most part.  We are both going to work together to figure out whatever we can do to fix this issue.  Shitty Rambo made a great point, and I think we will ultimately be screwed in some way as a result of the shipping issue.  It was shipped from California to Michigan, so it wouldn't surprise me if it did have some sort of issues with heat somewhere along the line.  It's just unfortunate that without insurance we may be unable to hold USPS accountable in this situation.  Sucks that the record is not automatically insured.

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That sucks, always a bigger risk of warps in the summer. Consider yourself lucky only coming across one so far though. I'd say I've gotten 7-8 just from retail stores alone over the years, and made a couple mistakes when I was a fledgling collector buying used. In fact even my replacement b&c/TJ split was warped but at least this copy plays through.

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I received something similar a couple of weeks ago:

 

http://s27.postimg.org/8r3u8tdqb/IMG_1072.jpg

http://s1.postimg.org/l9urdde1r/IMG_1070.jpg

 

It was packed really well, and must have just been left somewhere real hot. The pattern of the bubble wrap was actually melted into the plastic sleeve, and then even into the grooves of the record itself. I've never seen anything like it before!

 

When these things happen you can never blame the seller, unless the packaging was terrible. There's no way they can be at fault for the mailer being placed next to something super hot or left in the sun when being transported. And if the record was something that would be hard to replace/super important, it's on you to take the initiative to request they insure the package/ship a higher class, etc.

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