shrinkwrap on records

[thisisahiijack]

don't care one way or the other as long as i know the quality i'm paying for in advance. from my point of view, i'm more apt to pick up a record that is just in a polybag as opposed to a record that is shrinkwrapped, because i rarely buy anything that is of the scale where the label would have wrapped it in the first place. regardless, when i buy a record sealed, the wrap gets removed as soon as i get home. i don't give a shit if it somehow "lessens the value"

[headtowall]

Out of the shrink wrap and in a poly sleeve.

[xxmartinxx]

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.

The vast majority of what we carried was what you (not the royal you, but you specifically) would define as large punk labels like SST, Dischord, Alternative Tentacles, Polyvinyl, Touch And Go, etc, etc... you know, the popular unpopular stuff. I suppose the difference is that for a mailorder distro you need to carry more of the niche labels (ie - the ones without webstores to undercut you) were as in a brick and mortar, those things can be hard to move.

I guess what it comes down to was the record the guy ordered. If he ordered something on Fat that wasn't in shrink, he has a reason to be skeptical. If he ordered something from a Shitturdcrustcore Records (a fictional label I invented for this conversation, if you're thinking about Google-searching it), he's a dumbdick.

[kazimierz]

kazimierz is a huge dork. LOL @ REO Speedwagon.

Listen to it again! Side A is epic.

[dreamover]

Haven't read through the whole thread. I don't mind getting a record in shrink but I don't see the point if keeping it in shrink. My local record store opens a copy, puts the cover in a polysleeve and puts it out on display. When you bring the cover to purchase, they will give you a sealed copy if they have more copies (and the come sealed). If It's the last copy, they will go grab the record and pop it in the display cover.

In this case I'd rather have the sealed cause the display cover had been handled. I want the sealed cause it's untouched not because it's in shrink.

The first record my label released, the plant shrink-wrapped em at no extra cost. It's kinda nice when I get an order to just grab one off the shelf and know the record and cover is untouched. Makes it easier.

Those are all the positives of shrink.

If I was running a distro, I'd keep it shrink-wrapped and offer to remove the records and ship them outside of the sleeves if the purchaser wanted that. No use in them sitting on your shelf out of the shrink-wrap.

[penthrive]

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.

That is a false statement. I've had instances where priority mail set me back $9+ to ship one LP from MY to MD. I'd much rather pay $3-$5 because a buck is buck and there is no major rush for any record, let alone a rush that will end up costing me more than the actual record I purchased. I can't imagine someone from Honolulu being pro-priority instead of media mail. Should it be offered? Yeah, and that's why most online shops do, but many opt for media due to the difference in costs.

As for shrinkwrap, I take it off or slit it when I'm out of poly sleeves, but eventually take it off entirely. So, I am NAY to shrinkwrap.

[kazimierz]

That is a false statement. I've had instances where priority mail set me back $9+ to ship one LP from MY to MD. I'd much rather pay $3-$5 because a buck is buck and there is no major rush for any record, let alone a rush that will end up costing me more than the actual record I purchased. I can't imagine someone from Honolulu being pro-priority instead of media mail. Should it be offered? Yeah, and that's why most online shops do, but many opt for media due to the difference in costs.

As for shrinkwrap, I take it off or slit it when I'm out of poly sleeves, but eventually take it off entirely. So, I am NAY to shrinkwrap.

If there's no rush, so be it, but i'm just saying that Priority should be offered, and obviously the buyer would pay. I just shipped a record to RJ from mightier than sword, and i did it by Priority because media to New York would have taken a week or two. Being from Honolulu, media and parcel take a LONG time, but Priority is the same flat rate and shipping time that you pay on the mainland so it's great!

[vinyljunkie]

I can't imagine someone from Honolulu being pro-priority instead of media mail. Should it be offered? Yeah, and that's why most online shops do, but many opt for media due to the difference in costs.

i would think if ANYWHERE was pro-priority it would be hawaii or alaska, just cause media mail to those places can take 4-6 weeks, as opposed to the 3-5 days for priority. whereas the mainland is only 7 days for media for the most part, which isnt a big deal.

And i did offer both media and priority for the first maybe 3 years i had the site online. No one ever chose priority, except on accident where people clicked too fast and didnt read then wanted a refund, and it was just a hassle, since literally maybe 2 people chose priority in a couple years, i just did flat rate.

[penthrive]

If there's no rush, so be it, but i'm just saying that Priority should be offered, and obviously the buyer would pay. I just shipped a record to RJ from mightier than sword, and i did it by Priority because media to New York would have taken a week or two. Being from Honolulu, media and parcel take a LONG time, but Priority is the same flat rate and shipping time that you pay on the mainland so it's great!

I see where you're coming from, literally. Now that I think about it, I did buy a record from HI a couple years back & it was around $11 for priority shipping because the seller said it was not worth sending anything via media mail.

[punksishippes]

my god. i can't wait for comics or baseball cards to be cool again. get these tourists out.

[vinyljunkie]

If there's no rush, so be it, but i'm just saying that Priority should be offered, and obviously the buyer would pay. I just shipped a record to RJ from mightier than sword, and i did it by Priority because media to New York would have taken a week or two. Being from Honolulu, media and parcel take a LONG time, but Priority is the same flat rate and shipping time that you pay on the mainland so it's great!

I see where you're coming from, literally. Now that I think about it, I did buy a record from HI a couple years back & it was around $11 for priority shipping because the seller said it was not worth sending anything via media mail.

i dont know if i would say "not worth it" ever. I personally would rather have saved 6 or 7 bucks on that shipping and just wait a month to get the record. But im never in a hurry, and have no problem waiting a month to get a record, i have plenty of others to keep me occupied in the meantime.

[AlexH.]

I hate shrinkwrap. I get why people think it's nice to know that you're the first person to touch the record and play it, but it's reeeally not a big deal. Fuck this guy, though. Send him a shrinkwrapped turd.

[moonbeams]

This thread inspired me to take the shrink off two records I had. They are my two fav LPs and long out of print. I was saving them as back ups. But after reading this thread, I realized that they will be just as playable without the shrink wrap. So off it went. Probably won't ever se another sealed copy again.