Warped record

Today, like in the past, most warps are caused by the dreaded shrink wrap. I thought the record industry had learned its lesson, but apparently not. I generally return warped records, but once in a while, assuming the warp is fairly minor ( and the record is unusual), I will keep it. There really is no excuse for warped records in this day and age.

Of course you can see why Amazon is not an ideal vendor to being giving special care to vinyl when they are shipping millions of products a day from hundreds of warehouses. 

@mijostyn 

USPS’ manhandling and poor packaging by sellers can make things FAR worse. AMAZON generally does an amazing job of packaging LP’s although I have, just within the past year, gotten several LP’s that weren’t labeled, sealed, or otherwise packaged just tossed into a box full of other stuff. THAT’s bad warehousing.

I spoke with my local postal carrier who tells me there is NO special handling of LP’s, they just come down a chute into a large canvas bag same as they always have and then get pressed against curvature of the bag or squashed by heavier bundles of magazines and boxes. UPS/FEDEX where we’re at (about 1-1/2 hrs southwest of Nashville) aren’t much better as we’ve gotten several packages that were just CRUSHED and a few that were soaking wet (their trucks leak). 

It’s a crap shoot.

I’ve returned TWO dual-LP sets this past month.  July isn’t the best time to buy, but six others were fine, being packaged in THICKER boxes. The two (including GoGo Penguin’s V2.0) were packed in thin, single-layer cardboard and came out of the sleeves looking like frisbees, same as the box they were in.

I own dozens of LPs that have upwards of a 1/4” of warp (usually one-sided) and I have sometimes used a strip of green painter’s tape (like super-postit stickiness) to hold that edge down while I use a center-clamp.

I’m considering buying an ORB while the tariffs on Japan are still at 10%. I just got dinged for a TD124/2 from UK (20%) - ouch - and long-term, having a flattener makes more sense than returning an LP (or set) only to find that to buy it again will now cost $238 instead of the $38 I had paid weeks earlier because that’s just how the market goes, right?

Just waiting for cooler days, and will have to visit Variety Records in Columbia again soon.

For me, buying an ORB flattener was a no-brainer and a decision I haven’t regretted. Size of one’s collection would be a determining factor.

Of the LP's I receive from Amazon, about 20-25% of them come with a serious crease in at least one corner of the outer cardboard jacket, a result (I presume) of the LP being grabbed by a corner of the jacket by the Amazon employee pulling the LP off a shelf in an Amazon warehouse, rather from the middle of the jacket (where the 12" diameter of the LP fills almost the entire height and width of the typically 12-3/8" jacket, thus making creasing of the jacket impossible). I return all LP's received in this condition for a replacement, and about the same 20-25% of the replacements arrive with the same damage. Back they go too, for a third try. Sometimes Amazon does not offer me that option.

I have severely cut back on my buying of LP's from Amazon, it's just not worth the hassle. I made an exception for the upcoming Molly Tuttle album (release date August 15th); Amazon has it priced at $12.99 (retail $24.99)! My sister has an Amazon Prime account, so shipping is free for even a single LP.