Am I unlucky?
30% of vinyl from amazon I sent back because it’s warped…despite being 180gram. I’d have thought thicker would have been easier to produce flat records.I play my albums from the 80’s and they’re fine so I don’t understand this. Amazon returns are easy unless its a marketplace seller who seem to expect the recipient of faulty goods to pay for the return (which Amazon rectify if you complain)
you should buy on discogs. You can choose the condition of the media and cover, the year of pressing, the country of expedition, …
This site is a must for lp lovers. I returned perhaps 2 lp on 100 bought. I choose only mint or near mint condition.
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I’ve just started buying records, and got a nice clean copy of Who’s Next . . . with an off-center hole. So off-center that it’s unlistenable with the pitch changes. Bought it via E-bay and had return shipping paid and a refund without hassle.
I buy a lot of vinyl from a specialist Internet record shop in sunny Wales, never had an issue and their return policy is superb, can’t reccomend them highly enough
I’ve had several instances of warped / damaged vinyls from Amazon. But not 30%… the OP is unlucky I guess.
By far my best source is either Discogs or a local vinly shop who will source just about anything I ask them to (and most of the times cheaper than Amazon).
I buy a few records from Amazon, but make sure it’s direct from amazon and not from a marketplace seller imho, amazon themselves tend to store them respectably.
My main record purchases though are all done through either direct from labels, or via dedicated vinyl outlets like Sound of Vinyl in the UK or Abbey Road Studios.
Then any I’ve missed the actual release of I source through Discogs, always go for sellers with over 99.5% positive feedback, or go through their feedback ratings to see if it’s obviously unfair negative reviews. I very rarely have a problem on Discogs, it’s a superb site although there are some unforgivable scalpers on there that will jack up prices exponentially, just have to hunt around a bit. Brilliant site. I also use it to catalogue my collection, you can add custom fields, so I’ve got a field saying which box or shelf the record is in, it will do rough evaluations based on discogs sales of that item. Invaluable resource.
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I’m not a fan of 180-g vinyl. IME it adds nothing to SQ, can throw-off VTA
(versus traditional weight vinyl), and takes unnecessary storage space.
As far as your experience receiving warped 180-g vinyl from Amazon, it’s tough to presume where in the delivery chain the warpage occurred. Upon pressing at the plant, or during the multiple handlings to and from Amazon before finally arriving at your door? Anytime the vinyl is stored horizontally, has another package placed on top of it, or is exposed to heat it is subject to warping.
I buy most of my vinyl from eBay. The decent sellers are easy to spot - they state their records are played for accurate grading, list them with lots of photos and clean before posting. Not had a problem yet and I generally try to buy originals which are cheaper. I am now buying vinyl versions of cd’s which sound like watered down repros of the originals. The pop bands Japan and Roxy Music are particular culprits.
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I find that box sets of several LPs are a real pain. In a set of maybe five records I invariably find 2 or 3 warped discs. So I return it (an easy process with Amazon) only to receive a replacement set with 2 or 3 warped discs!! This cycle of returning could go on forever so now I order 3 sets and endeavour to make one good set out of the 3. Then return the other 2 for refunds.
you can find mint and unboxed at discogs. Not next day delivery, but nice stamps from all over the world !
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