posted on September 5, 2004 04:44:54 PM
I am getting ready to list some older vinyl and was wondering if one of our vinyl experts could point me in he direction of mailing tips (are there shipping sleeves ? Where & How Much?) etc.
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on September 5, 2004 05:35:56 PM
a new pizza box works really well. The box is stiff enough to add extra protection to the album. wrap in bubble wrap and turn the pizza box inside out. works like a charm.
posted on September 5, 2004 05:40:16 PM
Yep, when I sell laser discs I ship them in pizza boxes (turned inside out, & new, of course).
I wrap the album with tissue paper, sandwich it between two pieces of cardboard and place it in the large pizza box that has a segment of bubblewrap padding both the top and the bottom.
I have shipped a hundred or so this way & have never had any arrive damaged.
____________________
"Bad temper is its own scourge. Few things are more bitter than to feel bitter. A man's venom poisons himself more than his victim." --Charles Buxton
posted on September 5, 2004 06:30:11 PM
I've shipped a lot of records in the past and never turned the new pizza box inside out. The P.O. people didn't complain at all. I know it doesn't look as attractive. Do all of you turn them inside out?
posted on September 5, 2004 07:30:44 PM
McJane,
LOL...I was wondering how long it would take for someone to bring up the used pizza box with ants. You beat me to it this time
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on September 5, 2004 07:55:28 PM
Roadsmith,
You should always turn the pizza box inside out. Otherwise, you run the risk of the guys in the backroom of the Post Office oppening it at lunchtime and eating the album.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on September 6, 2004 08:03:47 AM
I sell LPs as my main business. I've received albums in the pizza box before (one even had nasty grease stains), but I send in special LP mailers. Depending on how many LPs you are going to sell and how special/ valuable they are or could be, you may want to order some boxes from:
http://www.bagsunlimited.com/
I recomend getting the "MLP6" boxes which are expandable up to 6 LPs and then getting "FLP" corrugated fillers, 2 for each box. That way, you put one on each side of the LP and they act as padding. The more you order, the less you pay, and I can't remember exactly what my cost is, but it comes to about $0.60 to $0.75 per order so I just mark up a $1.00 to cover it.
Vinyl buyers can be really particular. One more thing that I'll recomend is getting some of the "SLP2" polypropalene sleeves and taking the inner sleeve (holding the vinyl) and slide it into the sleeve behind the cover. This protects it from ring wear caused by being packed in the box. Again, all of this would depend on the type of pieces you're selling. If it's just a bunch of run-of-the-mill rock or garage sale type vinyl, this may be too much trouble for you. You'd be surprised, though, how picky people buying records can be and if you list in your ad that you pack your records this way, you'll be more likely to get more attention. I've been doing this for the last 2 years and from my research and experience I can tell you that it's usually obvious to me when I see a seller who is familliar with selling vinyl and who isn't.
Good luck. If you're new to selling vinyl and have any other questions about it, I'll be happy to help.
posted on September 6, 2004 11:58:53 AM
Thanks for the info Play! Many are just regulr everyday pieces but I was surprised at how much some of the others are bringing in. The boxed "Concert for Bangladesh" set is one I am keeping though... eclectic mix of great artists that I remember loving when I was younger.
BTW - I don't think the aforementioned MBoyko and my old friend are the same person. my friend was more than a little crazy but in a very fun and good natured way. He's the kind of guy that would make up the story of the ants in the Pizza box just to see what reaction it would get as opposed to somone that would actually ship ants in a pizza box.
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
Never did think it was your old friend, just a coincidence. Big difference here, your friend was fun loving with a sense of humor, this M. Boyko is a first class creep & stupid too.
He was dumb enough to come here & post how to cheat eBay out of a listing fee.
Of course eBay monitors these boards, they saw it & right away cancelled his auctions & NARU him.
Back in 2002, when I was sending out my father's vinyl albums, we found that a vinyl shop about 20 minutes away had cardboard mailers we could buy a few at a time. They were white cardboard; came as a flat piece that you fold up four ways, with four flaps; and they were expandable to hold up to 12 albums. Hard to explain in the abstract how they're expandable, but if you have just one or two albums, you fold along the creases that give you a smaller, tighter box. And then the creases go wider and wider to make a side of the box that's thicker.
They were real easy to use and looked great. They cost us $1 apiece, but well worth it versus all the scavenger hunting I had been doing to try to find boxes that were at least 13 x 13 but thin and flat.
For the bigger groups of albums, I was able to get right-sized boxes when the local drugstores were unpacking boxes of cosmetics or candy.
I worked out a deal with the manager of a local drugstore. They unpacked cosmetics on Thursdays, so I would go in around 9 PM, and they would save a couple of boxes for me every week. That size of box is used for things like lipstick, and also small boxes of candy.
posted on September 9, 2004 12:57:48 PM
Hey there...we sell a LOT of vinyl and agree with the poster above (who also sells records @eBay) that- a)record collectors can be VERY particular and sending vinyl in pizza boxes would NOT be recommended (would you want your items shipped that way?).
Secondly, it's important to also use interior boarding to pad the record between. Each record we ship, is sent to the bidder in a new 4 mil Polybag protective sleeve (New), and is protected between cardboard (2 pieces), in a new professionally manufactured record shipping box (and Bags Unlimited is a good place to find them via the web or direct mail...)...depending on where you live, stores like BOX CITY, and BOX BROTHERS (national chain) carry record shipping boxes, and generally you can get them as cheap as 75 cents each (in #50 piece lots). When we have regular customers who buy records that are in the $50-75 range, they don't want it showing up on their doorstep, smashed, warped, or full of greasy pepperoni stains...
At 75 cents a box, it's a cost that you can easily put into your S/H. (BTW- we include a full explanation in our ad descriptions about our S/H, and what they get for their $$$, with nary a complaint). Take good care of the customer and they'll come back for more...often....good luck!
