As I’ve said before, unwrapping the Decca record set I bought at eBay was a real pain. As you can see, the bubble wrapping and heavy cardboard the fellow used was a lot bigger than the set. I also had to cut through a lot of wrapping tape. But the main thing is the records arrived in one piece.
A while later I found an offer for another set at Amazon Marketplace. The price was much less than I had paid for the eBay one, so I decided to order it and compare the two. It came yesterday in a bubble envelope with a few flimsy pieces of cardboard.
It did not survive the trip.
The lesson here is it’s better to overwrap than to underwrap if you care about the contents.
In fairness to the second sender, 78 rpm records were made of a very brittle shellac-based compound — they are not nearly as forgiving as vinyl records. I didn’t know that either until last night.
January 11, 2014
Well, you did get to compare, but not what you planned to compare.
For some reason, I do remember how different the old brittle 78s. Probably broke one or two. 😉
I did learn a lot by buying that second set. In fact, I also found a third set at Abe Books. It was only $12 + $4 shipping, so I couldn’t resist. I thought at the time it was overkill, but in fact I’m glad I ordered it. I’m curious to see if it survives the trip.
Those 78 RPM discs used to be converted into decorative plates and sold on footpaths here!
I would be curious to see what one of the plates looked like. I hope they weren’t as fragile as the records themselves.
Jean: can you get a refund for the broken wares? I wonder how many other people have got the flimsy packaging? How disappointing even though it was a comparison test you put in place…
I am quite careful with my packaging when I sell on-line, even pre-loved magazines are flat packed because people get annoyed if the post person rolls it up to put in a letter box. I am trying to give the buyer a reason to re-purchase in the future…
If it won’t package properly it is pick-up only. Usually a major item like furniture…then it is up to collector to deal to it.
I’m reasonably sure I’ll get my money back. I’m mainly sad for sentimental reasons. These sets were so hard to find and now there is one less in the world. I also feel sorry for the sender. She wrote, “Thank you! Enjoy.” That was friendly, and I’m sure she’ll be disappointed too.
thank goodness the seller of the treasure you bought for andy treated it as such!
Yes. Bless him! Unlike some of us, he understood how easily the records broke.