shrinkwrap on records

[vinyljunkie]

Do people really assume that if there is no shrinkwrap on it that the record is used? or are these just new to record collecting kids who usually buy major label releases at major outlets.

I just got a rude and sarcastic email from some douche, who first off complained it took a WHOLE WEEK to ship his record to him (which means it was almost 2 weeks until he actually recieved the record, which is inconceivable!)

But mostly he was pissed, and saying things like gasp! and crazy! in reference to how i sold him an obviously used record because he recieved it without shrinkwrap. and therefore demanded (not asked), that i "make this right" with him.

I dont think that more than maybe 10% of the records i have in the distro are shrinkwrapped. And a lot of people request that the wrap get taken off, cause if it sits on the shelf for a year or couple, especially if it ever gets hot, the wrap shrinks and curls the corners.

So ive read comments on boards and stuff of people asking that stores remove the plastic wrap, or complaining about shopping at places where the records were still in wrap, and have even gotten requests with orders that i take the records out of shrink before shipping.

As im trying to get this store opened, this could be useful, cause i dont need a store full of curled corner records (like ive seen in many places), but i also dont need to be hearing this shitty feedback from idiots who assume if its not in shrink i am ripping them off selling used records disguised as new.

So whats the status. yay or nay on shrinkwrap. Leave it on if it comes on the record? Would you skip over a non shrinkwrapped record in favor for one that was wrapped?

[Guest eriathomas]

Nay to it. I think it's stupid. I'd rather them just toss it into a sleeve right away.

tossing in extra words ftl.

[dutchrudder]

Nay to it. I hate think it's stupid. I'd rather them just toss it into a sleeve right away.

[deafmx]

too bad we can't go to the source of the shrink wrapping and make it END. waste of plastic and resources. i'd much rather have a open sleeve than a sealed record.

i think it's more than fair to take the shrink wrap off records to stop the covers from getting mangled.

[kurtz]

Wow. You always seem to get the most absurd emails from newjacks who shop at your distro.

I don't care either way about the shrink wrap. I've never personally bought a record that was damaged from the shrink wrap. That's including records that have been sealed since the 80's. I'm not real anal or picky about the condition of my records either though.

[vinyljunkie]

I don't care either way about the shrink wrap. I've never personally bought a record that was damaged from the shrink wrap. That's including records that have been sealed since the 80's. I'm not real anal or picky about the condition of my records either though.

weird. i wonder what makes the difference then. Maybe those records were never in sunlight in a window or something? cause ive definitely been to stores where records that are only a few years old, have the corners getting munched, or curled in cause the shrink is getting too tight.

[kurtz]

I don't care either way about the shrink wrap. I've never personally bought a record that was damaged from the shrink wrap. That's including records that have been sealed since the 80's. I'm not real anal or picky about the condition of my records either though.

weird. i wonder what makes the difference then. Maybe those records were never in sunlight in a window or something? cause ive definitely been to stores where records that are only a few years old, have the corners getting munched, or curled in cause the shrink is getting too tight.

I don't know. Maybe a dinged corner that others would call damage, I wouldn't even notice.

EDIT: Okay, I just looked at a record I bought recently, sealed since 1981, and one of the corners is a little munched if you really wanted to nit pick. I probably just don't pay enough attention to that stuff.

[One Hundred Fifty-Two]

Out of the shrink wrap and in a poly sleeve.

[fourfourtwo]

Out of the shrink wrap and in a poly sleeve.

[aviolentworld]

i bought an agent orange record that still had shrink wrap on but it was cut to let the record out. i took it home and was taking the wrap off and it was stuck to the sleeve. i took a little of the jacket it with it.

i wouldnt worry about it too much cuz of one email. im sure you have shipped a ton of records without any problems. if he has got that big of a problem and he wants you to make it right just tell him to ship it back and refund him his money.

[Guest afsdan]

no refunds if the item was described accurately

[kazimierz]

I expect shrinkwrap unless there's an outer sleeve. And I haven't found problems with shrink wrap. I can imagine that there is a chance that heat could cause it to bend the corners. But i have an REO Speedwagon Hi-Infidelity record that had wrap on it, and it didn't do anything to it. And that's well north of 2 decades. I regularly get new albums with bent or dented covers, so i'd rather have shrink wrap than nothing.

As for shipping, USPS Priority Mail needs to be offered. I ordered a Blink 182 Dude Ranch from you, actually, and it's been 4 weeks. Priority Mail doesn't cost significantly more than parcel or media, and it should be offered.

[stegabilly]

Just as i was reading this Mayflowers Cellophane came on, spooky. I'd never thought about it bending the sleeves before. Interesting though.

[croy]

kazimierz is a huge dork. LOL @ REO Speedwagon.

[croy]

dudes i just got a MEAT LOAF record from vinyl junkie and it took him three weeks to send it. i'm thinking of filing a paypal claim just on principal.

[plasma36]

No shrink wrap. I've bent too many corners being too eager to get it off.

[240jw]

The shrinkwrap isn't that big of a deal. I would prefer it though. If you explicitly state there is no shrinkwrap and I can get the same record, same price from somewhere else with shrink wrap, i would opt for that.

If you're getting in new records and storing them properly then the corner thing should be a non-issue. If I didn't want my records to stay in the shrink wrap, I would just open them up when I received them.

I try to keep my records in good condition, which is why I would choose shrink wrap. No telling what will happen to it between it's unwrapping and getting to my house. I'd rather be the one to unwrap it.

[chiefwahoo]

I've been buying albums for 25 years. For some reason, I prefer the shrink wrap to stay on the record, especially if there's stickers on the shrink. I've never had it hurt the sleeve. Recently, I've been more careful about making sure that when I slit the wrap, it isn't still covering the two corners on the open side if it's a flimsier sleeve. I've certainly seen sealed records from the 80s with corners starting to curl because the shrink is so tight. But I don't feel like that's the norm at all.

[scully]

Not big on shrink, the stuff on the cap n jazz repress was way tight. I've even had a cover torn from older records, with shrink, that had stickers on the shrink. Not worth it.

[xxmartinxx]

Do people really assume that if there is no shrinkwrap on it that the record is used? or are these just new to record collecting kids who usually buy major label releases at major outlets.

I just got a rude and sarcastic email from some douche, who first off complained it took a WHOLE WEEK to ship his record to him (which means it was almost 2 weeks until he actually recieved the record, which is inconceivable!)

But mostly he was pissed, and saying things like gasp! and crazy! in reference to how i sold him an obviously used record because he recieved it without shrinkwrap. and therefore demanded (not asked), that i "make this right" with him.

I dont think that more than maybe 10% of the records i have in the distro are shrinkwrapped. And a lot of people request that the wrap get taken off, cause if it sits on the shelf for a year or couple, especially if it ever gets hot, the wrap shrinks and curls the corners.

So ive read comments on boards and stuff of people asking that stores remove the plastic wrap, or complaining about shopping at places where the records were still in wrap, and have even gotten requests with orders that i take the records out of shrink before shipping.

As im trying to get this store opened, this could be useful, cause i dont need a store full of curled corner records (like ive seen in many places), but i also dont need to be hearing this shitty feedback from idiots who assume if its not in shrink i am ripping them off selling used records disguised as new.

So whats the status. yay or nay on shrinkwrap. Leave it on if it comes on the record? Would you skip over a non shrinkwrapped record in favor for one that was wrapped?

I owned a record store for nearly a decade. 95% of new records come shrink-wrapped. Granted, there are some exceptions (ie - No Idea records are never shrink-wrapped), I can totally understand someone getting a record being sold as new without shrink being all "WTF?".

As someone who listens to my records, I want my records sealed when I get them. That way I know some jerkoff didn't decide to give it a spin on their doo-doo turntable with their beat up stylus.

Yes, if you buy a record that has been sealed for 30 years, the corners might be a little bent and the record a little warped, but otherwise I don't know why someone would ask to have to have the shrink removed from their records before they were shipped. Maybe they want you to remove the record from the sleeve so it doesn't blow out the seams? I dunno.

[stranaspank]

As long as it's in good condition, I don't care if it's wrapped or not. Older stuff I'd prefer unwrapped to see if the LP got scuffed up from bouncing around in the sleeve for years and years.

[vinyljunkie]

I owned a record store for nearly a decade. 95% of new records come shrink-wrapped. Granted, there are some exceptions (ie - No Idea records are never shrink-wrapped), I can totally understand someone getting a record being sold as new without shrink being all "WTF?".

uh what? did you mostly carry larger label, and mainstream records? I have nearly 10 thousand records in my store, and im not exaggerating when i say less than 10% come shrinkwrapped.

I dont know a single small independent punk label that shrinkwraps their records. Unless they are a bigger place like equal vision or revelation, but i try to keep things smaller than that.

[xxmartinxx]

I owned a record store for nearly a decade. 95% of new records come shrink-wrapped. Granted, there are some exceptions (ie - No Idea records are never shrink-wrapped), I can totally understand someone getting a record being sold as new without shrink being all "WTF?".

uh what? did you mostly carry larger label, and mainstream records? I have nearly 10 thousand records in my store, and im not exaggerating when i say less than 10% come shrinkwrapped.

I dont know a single small independent punk label that shrinkwraps their records. Unless they are a bigger place like equal vision or revelation, but i try to keep things smaller than that.

You have 10,000 new LPs? (Just checked your website... It says you have 1,387. Perhaps you have 7 copies of each?)

Define "small independent punk label"?

[thedavidescapeplan]

I just got a package from Vinyl Junkie yesterday and they were all shipped without shrink. I'm totally fine with this as long as they come in poly bags. The records went on my turntable that night anyway so it just saved me some time.

[vinyljunkie]

You have 10,000 new LPs? (Just checked your website... It says you have 1,387. Perhaps you have 7 copies of each?)

Define "small independent punk label"?

easy dude. im not trying to argue. Just pointing out that i thought it was odd the HUGE difference. Im not saying you are lying about having 95% shrinkwrapped records or anything.

i have way more than 7 copies of some records, yes. I just meant overall, including 10"s and 7"s etc. I probably have closer to 5,000 new LPs alone if you count the doubles. Currently in stock there are almost 1400 different titles in the store, and according to the database i have had over 6200 different LP titles at one point or another.

i would define a small independent punk label as just that. Some label that has put out a small handful of releases at most, and has no corporate backing (ahem victory, etc), and is not considered an established business.

i looked through, and saw that i currently deal with 104 labels/bands who send in their releases regularly, and only 2 of them shrinkwrap their releases on a regular basis. which is a very small percentage. Some like deathwish shrinkwrap some of their releases, but not others. Granted when i order from larger places like temporary residence, or revelation, i get more shrinkwrapped records. literally less than 5% of the records i get in are shrinkwrapped.

once again, not arguing or calling you a liar. Just saying that is a weird difference between 95% and 5%.

most larger labels, and mainstream labels shrinkwrap them for sales in stores, etc. The smaller labels, who dont expect their records to get into larger stores generally dont. its like barcodes.