The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Unless it's a seller I know, I always direct them to a good 78 packaging guide. Robert Crumb's video on Youtube is easy to find.

Sometimes, in these cases, both buyer and seller are unlucky. I once bought the 1937 recording by Bruno Walter and the Vienna Philharmonic of Mahler's Lied von der Erde – seven records in the sturdy original album – and it arrived with every disc broken not merely in halves but into several pieces. The packing was by no means the worst I have seen (four sheets of corrugated cardboard inside a padded envelope) and the album covers, about ⅙ inch thick, showed no sign of being bent, as I would have expected them to do after being subjected to a force sufficient to smash all the contents. Being an old-fashioned Englishman, I felt constrained to apologise to the vendor for asking for a refund (which he provided without demur). This must have been something worse than carelessness: either a rogue postal employee or a serious problem within the vendor's family.

Oliver Mundy.

The odds have caught up to me.
I tried to have it sent to me safely, but in the end I am Full'a Blues over this broken Blind Boy Fuller record.

After winning the auction, I sent this...

In your sold history, I see that you deal mostly in small items. I did not notice record sales.
I assume that you know the proper way to ship them. But if this new for you, take a look here...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCRuDtJfoGA
Also, Media Mail will not have extra fees for an oversized box. Nice and safe that way.

A nice reply from the seller, and I felt confident...

Hello my friend I just want you to know I want to give you a compliment the information that you sent me in the last email was very amazing helpful... let me know when you get your record...

James.

I have sold some 78s very well packed - in hard thick cardboard, then bubble wrap, and they still arrived broken (per pictures). Is media mail the worst? I've sent other ways and had packages arrive broken too.

I'm with Torjazzer...why not post the identifying info of careless and irresponsible sellers? (Seems like we owe that to each other and the hobby.)

78recordpicker wrote:I have sold some 78s very well packed - in hard thick cardboard, then bubble wrap, and they still arrived broken (per pictures). Is media mail the worst? I've sent other ways and had packages arrive broken too.

In the years of shipping via Media Mail, I do not remember one disc arriving broken. One cylinder did, and I blame myself.
I do not blame the service for my packaging not being able to be kicked around. I pack it and tell them that they can.
Remember this, Media Mail does not charge extra for the size of the box, Media Mail is cheap and the extra weight cost is minimal.
If you pack it firmly, yet allowing for the shock of impact, it will live.

Gatyam wrote:I'm with Torjazzer...why not post the identifying info of careless and irresponsible sellers? (Seems like we owe that to each other and the hobby.)

I am only willing to share the seller ID privately. Why? This seller communicated reasonably (with arrogance), and a I feel that they will improve.


I received a record today without issue and here's a side-by-side comparison to the broken record's box... James.,

^ That's an LP mailer on the right. When I buy new vinyl LP's through the post from an online retailer, they often come in a box like that and it's acceptable. Not for a shellac disc.

78recordpicker wrote:I have sold some 78s very well packed - in hard thick cardboard, then bubble wrap, and they still arrived broken (per pictures). Is media mail the worst? I've sent other ways and had packages arrive broken too.

I think all packages are subject to potentially abusive treatment, regardless of type of mailing. They get tossed, often roughly, in to airplane holds, on conveyor belts, onto trucks, etc. Even with a layer of bubble wrap, the shock / stress can be too great for a shellac record, especially one that is not secured from shifting around in the box. An LP mailer or the dreaded pizza box doesn't provide enough room for proper insulation.

I have packed and shipped hundreds of 78's, all without incident. Although international shipping rates from where I live are more expensive and at times have been deal-breakers, I would never ever trust media-mail for 78's.

Even though no method is 100% foolproof, I prefer to stick with the tried and true.

Steven

Thankfully, I’ve never had a 78 from eBay show up broken so far. The only time I had a record show up from eBay damaged was purely my fault. I’ve should have known you shouldn’t buy blue amberol cylinders (or any cylinders for that matter) on eBay during 10 degree weather. That experience thought me I will never buy a cylinder from eBay during the months of November-early March ever again! As for 78s, I always check the description to see if they specialize in selling 78s and cylinders, look at the feedback of a seller, and the other items the seller has. It they have a good rating and had previously sold 78s safely I buy from them. If it’s just somebody selling random junk they found and trying to make a cheap buck I don’t. I’d rather just not have the record than have the record show up broken!

Sorry for your loss. I rarely if ever buy 78’s from random people on eBay. However, I took my chance this Christmas and bought a set of Bing Crosby Christmas records. I told the seller to pack well and they said they will since they are like glass, I thought they understood. The records came in a box well packed but my heart sank when I saw how they taped and bubble wrapped them. The sellers took bubble wrap and placed it around each record in the album sleeve. They closed the cover and bubble wrapped taped it together causing all but 2 of the records to snap and break.

I didn’t even bother to write the sellers. I managed to end up with another copy of white Christmas.

But unless they are selling a diamond disc, I usually don’t bother with eBay.