July 15, 2015July 15, 2015 mugwumb Packing Vinyls

Blah Blah Blahhh.. about packaging vinyls etc.. once again

Got home from my short vacation and there was this packages waiting for me.

Art Zoyd and latest repress of their awesome “Génération Sans Futur” on black vinyl. Nice experimental & avantgarde modern classical album and so on.. but I have something to say about packaging.. once again.

Album came shrink-wrapped even though I asked to ship it record and cover separated, well it arrived without seam-splits and I was happy about that. Then I took a closer look and..

one corner smashed..

and another corner nicely smashed.. I do not know what to say anymore. It’s like fighting against windmills with these issues of lousy packaging. I do not even bother to complain about these damages anymore.. It won’t help. And I’m tired of reading mails of me being whining shithead because I just wanted to point out how important it is to use proper mailers or just secure those corners of the mailers or ship vinyls and covers separated etc.. fuck-hell-yeah, I’m that greedy/slimy one who is trying to take advance of your tiny business with pictures of free records in my mind.. blah blah blaah..

It’s sellers responsibility to provide best possible packaging for items they are selling and not to accuse customer being greedy/or something if they are not happy with ordered items arriving damaged. And it’s pointless to blame postal delivery for damages, because You all know that these REGULAR mailers are not secure enough!

Should I send my vinyl with these so-called “crucifix” mailers (extra stiffeners included)?

or with these ones?

or would it be better to use these mailers with “bumper” zones?

honestly.. and as a customer I’m ready to pay some extra for mailers like these.

December 14, 2014December 14, 2014 mugwumb must have, new ones, Packing Vinyls

36: Shadow Play 2xLP

Here it is. Shadow Play by 36. Awesome! I have been following this artist now about 3-4 years and this artist is one of those whose records are ‘must have’ for me. This album is filled with drone & ambient, darkened kind. I don’t know but somehow there’s this sad atmosphere wrapped around it.. sad but waiting. ‘Shadow Play’ is limited to 100 copies for those who ordered (and funded) it, so this record on vinyl format might be little hard to find anywhere. Recommended album and very recommended artist. Keep your eyes on him because he’s about to release new 12″ on January, 2015.

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Here’s a little story about this artist, dedication and awesome attitude about his fans. Few weeks ago I got this package shipped from England and even without opening the mailer I knew that there’s no way that the record (or more like the cover) had arrived without damages. Mailer had damages on three corners out of four and when I opened the package it was obvious that these mailer damages reflected straight to the cover of the album, you can read my outpouring/whining about that issue from here.. Well, I did not mention the artist nor the album in my post but some readers of this blog knew what was the record I wrote about.

I didn’t contacted the artist just because I thought that there’s no way he got spare covers etc. and the damages on the cover weren’t that bad. The point of my post was clearly the usage of those mailers I think are one of the worst available (even though those are most used..).

Then I got this email from the artist himself. Now I have this replacement copy, it came in mailer with crash/bumper zones. It’s in perfect condition. There was some extra item included (gonna write about it in my next post). I hope that this post encourage him to offer these new mailers as an option for customers to choose. And I really want to Thank him about this, I did not ask a new copy but he sent one. Exceptional kindness & understanding!

–.

December 8, 2014 mugwumb Packing Vinyls

Latest purchase from Discogs but even super-secured packaging did not prevent this to happen.. Damn You, postal services!

Hmm.. and damn to postal services etc. Ordered this from Discogs and the album was packaged super secured (mailer with bumper/crash zones, album wrapped in bubble wrap etc.) but it did not prevent some a-hole somewhere along the way to use this package as a frisbee.. One corner of the mailer was smashed in and have to say that I haven’t seen this bad damage ever with these kind of mailers. In this case I’m waving my fingers at postal services. And hey, this time I’m not blaming seller for insufficient packaging.

So if someone out there is willing to sell a copy of Switchblade’s S/T [2009] 2xLP on black vinyl (released by Denovali) with pristine cover, just contact me.

Sincerely, Mug(whining)wumb

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October 29, 2014October 29, 2014 mugwumb Packing Vinyls

here we go again.. got quite expensive, quite limited album packaged like this (and packing & shipping cost me €15.50). Nice.

A picture paints a thousand words.

If some one would like to know what is inside this “professional” mailer, just contact me and I’m happy to reveal that. It’s a pity because I really waited this to arrive. After seeing some pictures of already packaged albums on company’s facebook page last week.. I became very worried. Well..

September 23, 2014 mugwumb Packing Vinyls

Pizza delivery straight from Australia…

Haa.. I got this pizza delivery today.. Actually I’m not smiling at all, more like speechless at this moment. Well.. pictures tell more than thousand words.

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Here we can see that this awesome pizza package has nicely bent…

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Oh, even without opening the box I can see what’s inside.. a record.

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And the record itself, placed on the flat surface. How nicely it is twisted.. but that’s not all..

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If I remember right, I asked if the album could be sent without shrink-wrap, vinyl taken out of the cover (in inner sleeve of course..). All this just to avoid possible seam splits.. like seen on the picture. Yes, it is still in shrink and unopened..

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Sorry Aussies, this seems to be very last time I will order vinyl records from Your beautiful country (this is not the first time I have received record, hmmm packaged like this one..). And no, I’m not going to contact seller/band, too long process for me. I just stay here and lick my wounds.

July 11, 2014 mugwumb new ones, Packing Vinyls

Week 28 – Punch of beautiful records on Denovali + something else..

I have been busy with our little puppy last one and a half week so I haven’t been following “stream of records” that intensively during this period.. but here’s some records I have my eyes on..

FRANZ KIRMANN – Meridians 2xLP (ltd. 150 on clear gold vinyl )
Denovali (€19.50 + shipping)
Cinematic, electronic music from one half of Piano Interrupted.

MATTHEW COLLINGS – Silence Is A Rhythm Too LP (ltd 150, on silver vinyl)
Denovali (€16.00 + shipping)
Interesting tunes, abstract modern classical.. or something but sounds amazing!

MATTHEW COLLINGS – Splintered Instruments LP (ltd. 150 on clear gold vinyll)
Denovali (€16.00 + shipping)
And another one from Matthew!

ENSEMBLE ECONIMIQUE – Melt Into Nothing LP (ltd. 150 on clear gold vinyl)
Denovali (€16.00 + shipping)
Been listening this artist and his previous records quite much lately so this is a must buy for me!

ALESSANDRO CORTINI – Sonno 2xLP (Initial copies on clear vinyl..)
Boomkat (£16.99 + shipping)
Easy pick for me, I already have his few records released by Important Records. I like his music a lot (even without these Nine Inch Nails connctions..)

ZU – Goodnight Civilization 12″ (single sided)
Denovali (€13.50 + shipping)
Denovali has this on their distro so why not to grab this insane avantgarde jazz mayhem?

FREE NELSON MANDOOMJAZZ – The Shape Of Doomjazz To Come/Saxophone Giganticus 2×12″
Denovali (€20.00 + shipping)
Well, doomed avant-garde jazz? Available from Denovali’s distro

CURSE THE SON – Psychache LP (ltd. 75, Die Hard edition)
STB Records ($TBA + shipping)
This will be released.. well I do not know but I’m waiting.. stoned heavy!

SPIRAL SHADES – Hypnosis Sessions LP
RidingEasy Records ($22.00 + shipping)
Well, this is pre-order item on grey vinyl. I’m going to wait for those TP & Die Hard editions myself.. when those come, I’m going to be there!!

MATTHEW HALSALL & THE CONDWANA ORCHESTRA – When The World Was One 2xLP
BandCamp (£19.99 + immediate download)
British Jazz.. uuhhhhh

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This was really fast update but maybe there’s also something interesting for You too. Now I’m going to spent some time outdoors with our “record destroying mayhem” (picture can be seen below)

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April 8, 2014April 17, 2014 mugwumb Packing Vinyls

..Isn’t it amazing?

Nice start for this week. Got this package from the States today. From following pictures you can see how it was packaged.. not good at all.

Record was packed in envelope like this. By holding this on my hands I already knew that this one is not going to be in condition I though it was when I purchased this one.

Yep, there was bubble-wrap, but no carton stiffeners etc. Not that bad-looking one but when looking little closer we can see the problem..

Hmm.. there you are, nice collection of creases and some bends all over the cover but that’s not all. Best part is that the vinyl itself is twisted and there’s no way I’m going to place this record on my turntable, ever. Look at yourself.

Record placed on the table and surely every one can see what I mean when I say that there’s something wrong about this vinyl. Oh, and I ordered clear vinyl and got black one.. maybe they should check what they are selling on BandCamp..

Isn’t it amazing..

March 21, 2014March 21, 2014 mugwumb Packing Vinyls

Bast: Spectres LP with bumped corners..

This post is not about the band or their music, this is a post about damaged covers in general. This one is just for an example.

I got this one few days ago (you can read about that from my previous post). Anyways, the point is that when I pay for the record & shipping I assume to get mint condition record (in whole) in secured package. And as you can see, it came with two damaged corners. Did I pay for those bumps on the corners? I thought that I was purchasing new and pristine copy of this album.

Oh, now we draw this “blame it on the post services” card. Lame, post service got nothing to do with these issues if the record has poor package around it. Yes, I know that more secured mailers/more time taking packaging (more stiffeners, bubble-wrap, secured corners etc.) is expensive and if that is the issue, then I gladly pay little more for secured shipping.

Some may say that I’m whining about little things. For some these are meaningless issues but for me as a music consumer & collector it feels bad to receive damaged items. How about if you buy a new television, would you like to place it on your living room with two smashed corners, would you be sitting on your couch smiling? For me these records are little treasures, my precious things.

And what can I do about this? I emailed to the seller, included some pictures, reminded them that I asked to sent the record taken out of the cover (what was done) and asked them kindly to secure the corners of the cover.. (wasn’t done). And did I get answered, no, silence & nothing. I should have bought this from that familiar and customer friendly store, but I took a risk and bought this from different store (with little cheaper prize) and it turned out this way.

The band is great, their music is great but the joy and excitement of purchasing and owning new record is gone.

p.s. I will start (again) a new picture section on my blog about damaged corners (bumps, creases, bends etc.) and especially about seam splitted covers (with tiny, nearly visible damages I can live with). Of course I wont post pictures if it’s obvious that damage is caused by something else than insufficient packaging.

I wont be revealing company/store names but if some one is interested, just contact me. And for clearance, I certainly try to contact the seller but if I do not hear anything from them within 2-3 days, pictures will be revealed.

This is my way to tell what I think. It certainly isn’t my fault if records arrive damaged. And if some one want to put me on their black list because of this, they have a right to do so. I have rights as a customer/consumer too.

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March 19, 2014March 19, 2014 mugwumb Packing Vinyls, Uncategorized

Third week in row… Aaarrghhh %@$!!

Well, seems that bad winds are blowing to this direction.. and it is third week in row..

First I got this package from UK, and you can see with your naked eyes that there ain’t gonna be pristine stuff inside.

And surprisingly, I was right..

Two corners of the cover nicely smashed.. I just wanna say that it’s useless to blame post on these, this would have been prevented easily by using better mailer or at least by using some extra carton on corners as I have advised on my post months ago “About packing vinyl records… part xxxxxx“

Then I got this awesome looking package from US, but turned out that they had mistakenly sent me something I had never ordered (actually my copy came on Monday, the one I ordered). Some one somewhere is now wondering where her/his order is lurking, well it’s here with me and I’m gonna return this package tomorrow back to the source.

Yes, mistakes happen and I do not wanna take advantage of these things. I wrote the label about this immediately and we have agreed that I’m going to return these asap.

Two packages, one had damaged item and the other had records that does not belong to me. The stars are against me..

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Glad thing is that I found this long lost treasure from Discogs yesterday :D

March 17, 2014 mugwumb Packing Vinyls

It took three months via “Sea mail”…

This week started with a package that breaks my heart. It took over 3 months to arrive but the worst thing is that it was packaged like this (I just let the pictures speak..)

There’s no doubt that three months via Sea mail ain’t the best thing for the vinyl album that is packaged in Expandable Though Bag without any stiffeners etc.. :)

“Expandable Though Bags are a strong yet light-weight bag. The side gussets allow the bag to expand to carry bulky non-fragile items as clothing.. “

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February 23, 2014February 23, 2014 mugwumb Packing Vinyls

Shrink-wrapped -> Obviously in MINT condition.. yep

Shrink-wrap, the “Magical” wrapping material that allows you to grade your albums as MINT, without exception.

I do not think so. I give you few examples why.

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This album I bought few years ago from Discogs. Both cover and the record were graded as Mint just because the album was still sealed in shrink-wrap. Well, does this cover look like Mint?

I don’t think so. Record itself was in excellent condition but the cover..

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Then I have another example how this magical component, shrink-wrap,
makes even folds to disappear. this album was not sealed, shrink-wrap was opened
from one side (but hey, wrap was still on), and the cover was graded as Mint.

hmm.. this does not seem mint to me either.

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Conclusion is that when the record has shrink-wrap on (even opened one), you can grade it as MINT! Bollocks!

February 10, 2014February 14, 2014 mugwumb Packing Vinyls

Here we go again… (updated 02/14/14)

02/14/14 UPDATE: Issue with this shipment is now solved with the record company and I’m waiting for the replacement one (and for your information, band had nothing to do with this task).

When you got a package like this, thin and mangled, you quite well know what to expect.. (surprisingly from UK). Let’s take a closer look on the package..

Here we can see that the package has few bends on the corners. And when keeping this on my hands I can say that there obviously ain’t any stiffeners etc. to secure the record..

yep, none. No carton stiffeners nor bubble wrap, just a record in the.. box.

nice bend. Let’s take a closer look..

This did not come the way I politely asked, shrink-wrap removed, record shipped outside the cover etc. Lack of using carton stiffeners caused these bends on the corners and I’m quite sure that the vinyl itself is twisted. Only positive thing is that this came without seam splits even though it is sealed. One carton stiffener (even one!) could have prevent these bends to form.. Yes, I do not even bother to open this one. Poor and lousy packaging, no respect towards end-user, I may say.

…..

February 6, 2014February 6, 2014 mugwumb Packing Vinyls

A mint graded album with a tent to cover it from Discogs..

Picked this up from the Post office today, a record with a tent. Bought this from Discogs and both record and cover were graded as Mint. I think that we have some differences about grading records with this seller. The point is that this is not supposed to be gatefold cover..

and yet another picture of this “Mint” cover..

Well, is there more I can say about this.. no. But the question is: How would You grade this cover?

January 21, 2014 mugwumb new ones, old ones, Packing Vinyls

John Carpenter: Halloween 2xLP (orange) Replaced One!

And with this one I’m very happy!! This came today from Mondo. Some of you who have been following this blog of mine know that I got this record few months ago with nasty looking seam splits. I was not that pleased with it (you can read about that here and here).

But now, I’m very pleased about Mondo’s customer services (especially Thanks to Mo!). This replacement album came records taken out of the cover and in perfect condition (and this came on orange vinyl!!). Now I just keep on waiting for the replacement for that version B (It was sent on same day with this package but according to USPS it’s jammed in Austin.. :( and somehow that does not sound good). Anyways, Thousands Thanks to Mo & Mondo, I really appreciate this!!

Here’s few pictures of that damaged one:

January 14, 2014 mugwumb Packing Vinyls

One example of awesome packaging!

Got that Luke Howard’s album today and it was packaged the way I like, the way I asked it to be packaged. Record was taken out of the cover, wrapped in bubble wrap, secured with carton stiffeners and packaged in mailer with lovely “bumper zones” (securing the corners of the cover). And the record, it turned out to be in perfect condition!

The main point is that this package came from Australia to Europe and the record was in perfect condition. What I’m trying to say here is that artists/record companies should take little more effort on packaging LP’s: rip those shrink wraps away (those causes only seam splits), take records out of the cover before sending (seam split issue once again) and use mailers with “bumper zones” (or secure those corners of the cover some other way, read: use your imagination). This may save you from everlasting harms of claims and returned records..

Of course there are those who want their records to be sealed, choice is yours. But keep in mind that You, as a customer, have a right to get what you have paid for in that condition it was when you ordered it. It’s sellers job to make that happen.

Fortunately I have seen more and more companies/artists using these secured mailers nowadays and I’m very glad about that. And those who read their emails..

Mailers with “bumper/buffer zones”:

Brookvale Records has awesome mailers: http://brookvalerecords.com/vinyl-shipping-boxes/

And here is one in UK: http://covers33.co.uk/index.php/record/record-mailers/reinforced-lp-mailer-suitable-for-box-sets

And thanks to Luke Howard for this one, I really appreciate how well this was packaged and secured!

December 31, 2013December 31, 2013 mugwumb new ones, Packing Vinyls

John Carpenter: Halloween 2xLP (translucent orange with black splatter) and once again.. with NICE seam splits!

Got this today, and now I have to say that I’m not happy at all. Some time ago I wrote here on my blog about the other version (version A) of this soundtrack and how disappointed I was when it came seam splitted.. With this version I sent email that could they remove shrink-wrap etc.. and send records taken out of the cover blah blah blah.. And this is what I got (version B).

Shrink wrapped album, once again and nice seam splits…

I’m kind of pissed of because these albums were not cheap to order here over the ocean.. Oh and just to remind, here is a pictures of version A I got earlier..

November 21, 2013November 21, 2013 mugwumb Packing Vinyls

Another pile of records.. and damaged covers

Picked these form Post office earlier today. And once again I could see with my bare eyes that there is going to be records with damaged corners. I was not wrong (once again).

From this day on when I’m going to purchase any record I’ll do this:

Contact the sellers and suggest that I’m ready to pay more if they can promise me that they do everything that the record will arrive secured. Ask them to add carton stiffeners, bubble wrap etc. And I’m ready to pay extra if they decide to use those mailers with bumper zones (I know that those are expensive but I’m ready to pay that too). I’ll do all this even though it’s not my fault if record is packaged incompletely and arrive damaged.

Package 1.

On the top of the pile we can see this big carton letter (these are usually used by British..). So let’s take a closer look of this one. First few pictures of the mailer (or can we even call it a mailer..)

And as we can see, all corners has taken some damage during shipping.. And next we can see few pictures of the cover itself.

Bends. In the other picture it is not as visible as the bend on first picture. These “mailers” are the worst anyone can use (I have seen Rocket Recordings using these and it’s interesting to see how damaged my upcoming Goat’s live album will be). Not happy with this one.

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Package 2.

This came from The States. Holding this in my hands reveals that what ever this package is holding, it’s moving freely around the package.. So I expect that this item is not wrapped in bubble wrap etc.

Let’s see some pictures of the mailer’s corners..

Yep, doesn’t look very promising. The thing is that I paid quite lot of this (deluxe) item and it is already sold out. Let’s take a look what we got inside.

Three of four corners ruined. And that is not all, a seam split..

There was not any kind of carton stiffeners nor bubble wrap or anything to secure the album. JUST AN ALBUM IN THE BOX.. I’m seeing RED right now!!

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Package 3.

I’m so damn angry at this moment. But lets see the package number 3. and what it is holding in.

From outside the package looks pretty fine. There is just one problem. The item inside the mailer is moving so I expect that there are no carton stiffeners etc.

I was right with this one too. No carton stiffeners or bubble wrap of any kind. Amazingly just ONE corner of the cover has bump.. but sad to say, this is not enough.

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Package 4.

Let’s see the package number four, and in this point I have lost my hope with these totally.

Quick look and it does not seem that bad but let’s take closer look..

Three of four possible corners does not look fine to me anymore. Opened the package and no carton stiffeners but there was little piece of bubble wrap around the record.. and it is just amazing that only one corner has taken minimal damage, with this little bump I can live.

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Uuuuhhh.. This is what it seems to be nowadays. It seems that artists and companies, who are selling and shipping records to fans and customers, do not have respect towards their customers. Or is this just lack of common sense when it comes to shipping items around the world.

At least three out of these four companies/artists will have email from some angry customer within few days. I do not have to accept this.

And once again, feel free to comment if you like

Sincerely, MugWumb.

Here are related posts about this issue:

little post about vinyl mailers..

About packing vinyl records… part xxxxxx

more about packing vinyl records… part xxxxx2

pile of packages i picked up this morning..

November 14, 2013November 21, 2013 mugwumb Packing Vinyls

Pile of packages I picked up this morning..

Here we are, with a pile of packages I picked up this morning from Post Office. Let’s go these trough one by one with pictures.

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Package 01

This is that usual mailer most of the companies are using. With this case there are visible bumps in every corner of the package. I can also feel how record is moving freely inside the mailer. Few closer pictures of the mailer’s corner (actually pictures of every corner..)..

Well, looking quite sad? Opened the package and no carton stiffeners nor bubble wrap. And the result can be seen below.. amazingly only one corner has taken damage..

How can anyone assume that record packed like that reach the customer in proper condition? Those “Fragile” & “Do Not Bend” stickers can’t help if record is packed like this..

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Package 02

And then we investigate package number 2. Little better looking package and I can say right away that there are carton stiffeners inside. But lets see closer pics of those corners.

Not that bad but I got a feeling that it’s not enough. Well, stiffeners have been used but those corners.. see for your self..

a bump.

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Package 03

hmm.. picture tells more than thousand words. Packed in thin carton envelope and as we can see, there are visible bands on corners.. Few closer pictures follows..

Can some one honestly say that this is proper packaging for LP records? And now some pictures of the record cover itself

no-no.

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Package 04

Looks pretty fine even though there is visible bend on top left corner of the package. But lets see some closer pictures.

Actually there is just one bend.. hmm. And then the record..

Only this minimal bump.. I can live with this one. Amazingly there was no major damages even though this was packed in these common mailers..

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Package 05

Right away I can see that there are some kind of bumper zones in this package.. Let’s open the package.

This is the way to do it! Bumper zones to protect the corners. Packaging done right with this one. But. This was purchase from Discogs and record/cover was grated (NM or M-).. well, cover is more like VG or VG+ to me..

Yep.

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And the conclusion is that there was 1-2 records that came in acceptable condition. Some might say that I’m whining too much, but the THING is that I buy records and I assume that sellers pack those in proper way and customer gets what customer ordered. If it’s impossible task to provide buyer what buyer is expecting, then there should be a mention about that. For example, I do not want to pay full prize from the car that has scratch on the windshield. Frustrating.

You can follow my battle against windmills here

November 12, 2013November 21, 2013 mugwumb Packing Vinyls

more about packing vinyl records… part xxxxx2

And here is another post about packing vinyl records more secure way.

With this case we need: packing tape, double-sided tape, carton stiffeners, some kind of knife (pink scissors can do), bubble wrap and two large pieces of carton. Oh and of course we need a plan!

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1) We have to plan the body of this mailer. And here are plans how to cut and fold those carton pieces:

The plan of smaller piece, let’s call it hmm.. a small piece :)

and then we have to make a plan for a… big piece

This may look little confusing but it will get clearer and clearer when we reach the end of this post.. I hope. But anyways, here are these carton models nicely cut and folded :)

small piece

big piece

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2) Then we take this nice self titled album by Vixen and wrap it all over with bubble wrap.

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3) Place carton stiffeners on both sides of bubble wrapped album.

and use tape to get the whole thing together

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4) Next part is to combine this nicely wrapped and secured “thing” with the small piece (that smaller carton piece). Just like shown in the picture.

Place double-sided tape like shown in the picture below

And now just fold and attach the small piece to your nicely wrapped vinyl..

And now we have much nicer package.. but this is not done yet.

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5) Next part is to attach this nice little package to that bigger piece of carton we have cut and folded. Place double-sided tape as shown in the picture

Then turn the whole thing around and attach it center of that bigger piece of carton (big piece).

Then place more double-sided tape..

fold and attach..

And what we got here. We have created bumper zones to our package! You may ask what are these for? Well, these are created just to secure the corners of the vinyl album. As we all know, during shipping these precious items (vinyl records) without exception will be handled very roughly.

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6) Finally, use packaging tape and tape the whole thing together, for safety’s sake. Package might not be beauty but it surely will secure your vinyl better than some so-called “professional” mailers.

Oh, then you can attach some nice “Thank You!” card inside the whole thing. Makes the shipment more personal :)

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And once again, this just one way to wrap your shipment together, little more secured. Feel free to comment.

-MugWumb-

November 8, 2013November 21, 2013 mugwumb Packing Vinyls

About packing vinyl records… part xxxxxx

Here I’m going to show how you can, at least, pack records for shipping. I know that everyone has their own secret ways but this is minimum what you can do..

1) Well, here is what we need: mailer, packing tape, bubble wrap, carton stiffeners (carton, cut to size of the record but it’s better cut those cartons little bigger than the cover, choice is yours), some kind of paper knife (Rambo knife and scissors can also do that job) and little extra pieces (thicker the better) of carton for the corners of the record mailer..

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2) In this example I use brilliant album (latest) by Cloudkicker (do not worry, I’m not going to sell this one). Take the record out of the cover, this is just to prevent seam splits to form. What seam splits? Well, inside the cover, record use to move during shipping and when it bangs all over inside the cover, it usually split seams from inside. And if you have those blank inner sleeves to spare, use those if your record has printed inner sleeves (those are on the line also during shipment). Seam splits are big problem when record is sealed in shrink-wrap. In those cases, I usually politely ask seller to open shrink and send record and cover separated.

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3) Use bubble wrap (lots of it) and wrap it like hell around the record..

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4) Use carton stiffeners, place those on both side of the record (and use tape to wrap this whole thing together).

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5) And here is the mailer itself (use these regulars if you do not have already those with bumper zones.. I have mentioned about those earlier in my blog).

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6) And now we come to the most important part.. using these extra pieces of carton just to secure corners of the mailer (usually corners of the mailer take the most of the damage during shipping). Use packing tape (or glue) to attach these on the corners of the mailer.

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7) And here we are. At least you can do it like this, in my opinion. I do not say that this is the best way but this is one step closer to secured shipping of the vinyl record.

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And thanks, I hope that this is useful to some of you out there. Feel free to comment on this one.

-MugWumb-