No more damaged vinyl records. We will help you demystify how to ship multiple vinyl records to your customers and ensure that none of them gets damaged during shipping and delivery.
Vinyl records are growing more popular day by day. These vintage records are back in demand, most likely for their aesthetic appeal and sentimental value. If you are in the vinyl record business and have got customer requests to get them shipped, this blog is something you should read to the very last word.
How to ship vinyl records the right way
1. Choose the right box
Most cases of damaged vinyl records are reported when the business owner packs them in a box that’s not meant for the vinyl records. Find a box that perfectly fits these records so that no space is left unutilized. Instead of filling the box with unnecessary packaging materials and incurring extra costs, get a custom-designed box.
Use bubble wrap or form sheets to protect the vinyl records. If you are packing multiple records, ensure that there’s a sheet of bubble wrap between each of the records to avoid these rubbing against each other during transit. When you wrap these materials, ensure you don’t do it so tightly. Leave enough space and secure the ends of the wrap with tape. Then place the wrapped records in a rightly sized box.
Once it's all packed, place a fragile seal on top of the box to let the concerned persons know that these packages are to be handled with care. Don’t forget to stick the “Don’t Bend” sticker as well. This step is unavoidable, even if you are sending the records to nearby places.
As you already know the size of the vinyl records, you can even design a box that matches the flat rate shipping option of the courier service you go for. This way, you can save money on shipping costs while ensuring that your products reach the customers in perfect condition.
2. Get the vinyl records insured
Vinyl records are quite valuable, especially with growing demand and vinyl records earning vintage status among millennials. The first edition records or rare releases can get you quite a fortune. So if you were to send these by courier, insure them before your pack and send it.
No matter how well you packed it, and even if you put the fragile sticker on top of it, you won’t be able to predict the situations through which these records pass through before reaching the destination. Especially the courier personnel can be quite rough in terms of handling the packages, and there’s no guarantee that these items will reach their destination in their perfect state.
Get it professionally packed, insure them for the right amount and then send it off to the consignee. This way, you can be at peace of mind and won’t incur losses if the product reaches the consignee in a damaged state.
3. Arrange pickup and delivery options
If your customer is nearby, offer them a pickup option, or you can deliver it directly. You will be surprised as to how many customers would be readily available to pick up the vinyl records from your place. These records are now considered priceless among ardent fans, especially the rare editions of famous artists.
The pickup or delivery option will also help you save a lot on shipping costs and ease your mind of all tension and stress.
Final Thoughts
Shipping vinyl records isn’t a tough job. You just have to pay enough attention while preparing the packaging boxes and gathering the right [packaging materials. As a rule of thumb, ensure that the materials you procure for packaging are soft and provide enough support and protection for the vinyl records throughout the journey.
Additionally, to keep your shipping costs fixed, set up a strategy wherein you determine the kind and quantity of materials you need to pack a vinyl. This way, you can even levy a part of the shipping costs from the customers themselves. Further, since vinyl records are quite fragile, it's better not to go for slower shipping methods. The longer it's in transit, the higher the pressure and tension are, both for you and the customer. If the customer is ready to bear the cost of express shipping, then that would be the best choice for shipping vinyl records safely.
