The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

So, on Ebay a 9" Emerson record, seller says looks like it has never been played----well it never will be played because he sent it in a vinyl record mailer and it arrived broken. In his description--says things are packed well and with a name like fonofan--- I let my guard down, thinking no problems here. Well another life lesson learned---don't take things for granted.

Oh no!

I just bought a 12” shellac record from him. It’s in transit. I sent him packing instructions, three times, with no acknowledgement other than a threatening reminder to pay.

Supposed to be here Monday, which means a slow method with more handoffs. I’ll let you know how finely powdered it is upon arrival.

Ok, my record arrived today, packed reasonably well, and intact. It was a single 12” Victor scroll, and he sleeved it, sandwiched it between two 12” squares of corrugated cardboard, and put that in a 12” flat cardboard LP mailer box, total thickness maybe 1” - usually good enough unless it gets compressed or bent at all. It did have the word “fragile” written on it.

He’s in a place called Surprise, Arizona.

I wrote three different times about my packing concerns, and giving detailed instructions the last two of those times. I got zero response from him. There was no communication from him of any kind other than a vaguely threatening “reminder to pay” form letter from eBay. I generally wait to get an acknowledgment from the seller on the packing before payment, because it’s the only leverage a buyer has.

So it’s seeming like the guy “kind of” knows what to do, but isn’t really too interested in the overall process.

Ok, my record arrived today, packed reasonably well, and intact. It was a single 12” Victor scroll, and he sleeved it, sandwiched it between two 12” squares of corrugated cardboard, and put that in a 12” flat cardboard LP mailer box, total thickness maybe 1” - usually good enough unless it gets compressed or bent at all. It did have the word “fragile” written on it.

He’s in a place called Surprise, Arizona.

I wrote three different times about my packing concerns, and giving detailed instructions the last two of those times. I got zero response from him. There was no communication from him of any kind other than a vaguely threatening “reminder to pay” form letter from eBay. I generally wait to get an acknowledgment from the seller on the packing before payment, because it’s the only leverage a buyer has.

So it’s seeming like the guy “kind of” knows what to do, but isn’t really too interested in the overall process.

emerson wrote: ↑Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:21 pm So, on Ebay a 9" Emerson record, seller says looks like it has never been played----well it never will be played because he sent it in a vinyl record mailer and it arrived broken. In his description--says things are packed well and with a name like fonofan--- I let my guard down, thinking no problems here. Well another life lesson learned---don't take things for granted.

Have you given him a chance to "make it right"? It's best to do that before airing the issue here.

Hello Jerry, I joined Ebay in the very early days and they Thanked me for that. Since then I have received records broken by sellers way to often. I now nine times out of ten message sellers and say---Have you ever shipped fragile shellac records before? They need to be shipped in a good size box, between 2 pieces of cardboard, and surrounded by a cushioning material for protection ----I hate to see a record that has survived for 100 years broken due to lack of packing knowledge. I have said in the past to sellers that didn't know how to ship---that I would not leave negative feedback for them---if they follow the right way to keep any record regardless of age safe from being broken. When they say they will---I give them the benefit of the doubt that they do what is right and will not leave negative feedback------we all make mistakes and need to learn how to do the right thing the right way. Thanks for your concern.