We’ve all seen it; that cartoon depiction of a vinyl record being smashed on someone’s head, and while that’s not really how it works, vinyl records can get damaged very easily. When you want to package your very own vinyl record collection to ship it somewhere, whether you’re sending some as a gift to a friend or selling to a buyer, there are some key things you need to know to ship your vinyl records in top shape.
To safely ship a vinyl record collection, put each vinyl in a new sleeve. Put them and their covers in PVC outer sleeves, shipping stiffeners between each vinyl, and protective wrapping around them. Put the vinyl stacks in a mailing box, fill up empty spaces, and add shipping labels outside the box.
This article will show you how to package an individual vinyl record, a collection of vinyl records, give you some tips on which shipping labels to use, and tell you the dos and don’ts of shipping vinyl records. Now let’s get right into it!
Packaging Vinyl Records
Sending a vinyl record on a journey around the world may seem like nothing special since almost anything can be shipped right to your doorstep these days. However, vinyl records are somewhat different from other things that get shipped around the globe.
For one, vinyl records are much more fragile than most other things in transit, and two, they often hold some sentimental value to the person shipping or receiving them. These records can get broken or bent out of shape during transit, leaving both the party on the shipping and receiving end unhappy. So how should you package your record to protect it during transit? We’re here to show you how!
What You’ll Need
The following are links to Amazon.
- The vinyl you want to package
- Vinyl sleeve (like these Skyreat Vinyl Record Inner Sleeves)
- Plastic outer sleeve (like these Big Fudge Vinyl Record Outer Sleeves)
- Cardboard record mailer (like these White Vinyl 12″ Record Cardboard Multi-Depth Mailers)
- Shipping stiffeners (like these Cardboard Sleeves Folded Shipping Stiffeners Insert or these Corrugated Cardboard Inserts for Packing)
- Protective wrapping (like this enKo Bubble Cushioning Wrap or this METRONIC Honeycomb Cushioning Wrap Perforated-Packing Paper)
- Shipping labels (like these Fragile Handle with Care Shipping Stickers)
- Packing tape (like this Scotch Long Lasting Storage Packaging Tape)
How To Package the Vinyl Record
- Gather all of the necessary supplies listed in the section above.
- Remove the vinyl record from its original inner sleeve and outer jacket. Give the vinyl a thorough clean with a microfiber cloth or a special vinyl cleaning brush.
- Place the record in a new vinyl sleeve. Older inner sleeves were often larger than the vinyl they carried, meaning that the vinyl would still be able to move around in them. When shipping a record, this movement could lead to the vinyl being scratched or ripping the sleeve and jacket’s edges, leaving it vulnerable to bending or breaking.
- Replace the old inner sleeve into the record jacket and set it aside.
- Place the newly sleeved vinyl on top of the old jacket. If it is a double album, place one vinyl on top and the other on the bottom of the vinyl jacket.
- Put all of this into a protective vinyl plastic sleeve and close the sleeve with some tape.
- Wrap the record in a layer of protective wrapping (bubble wrap or honeycomb paper wrapping). Turn the record 90° and wrap it in another protective layer. Remember to secure the wrapping with some tape. If you’re sending the record as a gift to someone, consider wrapping it in some wrapping paper before you wrap it in protective wrap.
- Place your record ‘sandwich’ into a cardboard record mailer.
- If there is still space left inside the mailing box once you’ve placed the record in it, you can use shipping stiffeners to fill up the empty space. This will also have the added benefit of serving as extra support to make sure the vinyl doesn’t get damaged during transit.
- Close the mailing box and tape it shut. We recommend taping all of the sides of the box that open shut and going around the center of the box a couple of times for added support.
- Add shipping labels to the outside of your mailing box on both the front and back to make sure they aren’t overlooked. This will include a sticker that says ‘Fragile’ or ‘Handle With Care.’ Additionally, you could write ‘Do Not Bend’ on it with a permanent marker.
Now that you’ve successfully packaged your vinyl record, you can add the shipping and return addresses and drop it off at your local post office or courier service.
Packaging a Vinyl Record Collection
Knowing how to package and ship a single vinyl record is all good and well, but what happens when you want to ship a whole collection of vinyl records. Several vinyl records packed tightly together in a box are more likely to cause damage to one or more of the records. They are also more likely to move around and break the box that contains them, which can lead to several worst-case scenarios, all of which end with you being upset.
If you are looking to ship more than just one vinyl record, there are a few extra steps you’ll need to take in the packaging process. Luckily, we’ll lay out a step-by-step process that you can follow to ensure that you’re doing it right.
What You’ll Need
- The vinyl records you want to package
- Vinyl inner sleeves
- Protective outer plastic sleeves
- Shipping stiffeners
- Protective wrapping (like bubble wrap or honeycomb paper wrapping)
- Shipping Labels (like these TapeCase “This Side up” Labels, and these TapeCase Shipping Packing “Heavy” Labels)
- Packaging tape.
- Cardboard mailing box of an appropriate size
How To Package a Vinyl Record Collection
- Gather all of the supplies you need to package your collection, as laid out in the list above.
- Take one of the vinyl records out of its cover and inner sleeve (if there is one).
- Then, using a microfiber cloth or a vinyl cleaning brush, clean the record to ensure there aren’t any fibers or dust on it.
- Put the original sleeve back into the album cover and set it aside.
- Slide the cleaned vinyl record into a new vinyl sleeve. This new sleeve will ensure that your record stays dust-free and protect it from getting scratched during transit.
- Place the vinyl on top of its original album cover. If there is more than one vinyl in this specific album, you can put the disks on either side of the album cover and create a sort of ‘vinyl sandwich.’
- Put the record and its cover into a protective plastic sleeve and tape it closed to ensure that the vinyl can’t slip out.
- Repeat steps 1 through 7 for every record you want to ship before continuing to the next steps.
- Once you’ve prepared all of the records you want to ship, you can move on to putting them in the cardboard mailing box. The size of the box you get will depend on how many records you want to ship.
- Place a cardboard shipping stiffener in the bottom of the box, and one on all four of its sides.
- Create a vinyl record stack by first placing down a record, then a shipping stiffener, then another record. Continue doing this until you have created a stack of between 5 and 10 records (depending on how many records you are shipping). Repeat until you’ve stacked all of the records you want to ship.
- Wrap each of the record stacks in two layers of protective wrapping (bubble wrap or honeycomb paper wrapping). Ensure that all four sides of the stack are covered. Secure the wrapping with some packing tape.
- Put your wrapped record stacks into the mailing box. If there is still some leftover space on the top or sides, you can add some more shipping stiffeners or protective wrapping until space is filled.
- Close the mailing box and tape it shut. Wrap the tape around the box entirely once lengthwise and once widthwise. You could also add a wrap of tape around the center of the box to help it retain its shape and protect it from ripping while in transit.
- Add shipping labels to the outside of the box. This includes a ‘Fragile’ sticker on all four sides and top of the box to ensure it doesn’t get overlooked. You should also add a ‘This Side Up’ sticker to indicate which side is the top of the box, and it doesn’t get turned upside down by accident. If the collection you are shipping is particularly large, you should also add a ‘Heavy’ sticker, so the people handling it are aware.
- Lastly, add the shipping and return address and postage/courier stamps to the top of the box.
Once this is done, you can take your box to the nearest post office or courier company and have it shipped to its destination. Refer to our “Do’s and Don’ts” section to read about insuring and tracking your package.
Additionally, you can watch this video on how to ship vinyl records safely:
Shipping Labels
One of the most important parts of shipping a vinyl record collection is the labels you put on your package when you ship it.
No matter which shipping method you choose, you should always add a ‘Fragile’ sticker to your vinyl record package. This doesn’t guarantee that your package will be treated like a newborn baby, but it will at least make those handling the package that it is valuable and needs to be handled with more care than the average letter in the mail.
Once they’re made aware of the fact that they’re handling precious cargo, they’ll be less likely to throw your package around and will place it at the top of the heap rather than squeezing it into whichever hole it’ll fit into.
You can also add a ‘This Side Up’ sticker to the top of your package to indicate which side should be facing upward. This will help your package not get laid on its side, something that could break or bend records inside it because of the pressure exerted on them by the other records in the box or other packages stacked on top of your package.
As a courtesy to the people handling your package, consider sticking a ‘Heavy’ sticker on it to indicate this to them if it is rather large or heavy. This will prevent them from injuring themselves when picking your package up and subsequently dropping it (and damaging the records inside) because it is too heavy for them to lift comfortably by themselves.
If you’re sending your package through the post, consider typing up and printing out the shipping and return addresses and sticking them on with tape; this way, they’re less likely to come off (or be scratched off as might happen if you wrote them on with a marker). Printed addresses also negate the issue of having legible handwriting, and anyone handling the package will be able to easily read the addresses, making their jobs much more pleasant.
You may also want to do this with the postage and airmail stamps to ensure they stay on your package until it reaches its destination.
Courier companies will often print out the shipping and return addresses on their own labels, so there shouldn’t be any need to worry about those coming off of your package, but you should make sure that they’ve entered the addresses correctly; otherwise, your package might never even make it to its intended destination.
What To Ship Your Vinyl Record Package With
Now that you know how to package a vinyl record collection properly and which shipping labels to use let’s discuss who you should ship your package with. Whether you are shipping your package locally or internationally, there are two options to choose from when it comes to shipping (unless you are willing to drive the package to its destination yourself).
Courier Services
When shipping your package with courier companies, there are a few things to keep in mind when making your decision, which we’ll go over now before we list some of the best courier companies to use when shipping your record collection.
Delivery Speed
Different courier companies will have different delivery speeds. This is something you need to keep in mind when thinking about shipping your package.
If you need to get your package to its destination in a hurry, choose a courier company that offers expedited or overnight shipping. This will come at an extra cost, of course, so if there’s no specific date by which your package needs to be delivered, cheaper alternatives like an ocean or less than truckload (LTL) shipping is your best bet.
Shipping Rates
We have already mentioned that expedited shipping costs more than standard ocean or LTL shipping, but shipping prices will also be different from courier to courier. Thus it would be best if you “shopped around” and compared the different prices from various courier companies and what other benefits are included in that price before deciding which one to go with.
Just beware that some cheaper options may not have the same reliability and customer services as the more expensive options.
Remote Area Delivering
If the person to whom you are sending your package doesn’t live close to a big city, you’ll need to check which of the couriers you are considering using to deliver to remote areas.
Some couriers don’t deliver to areas outside of a certain radius around a big city, while others may partner with local delivery services to deliver to outlying areas. However, this will mean that the service quality and package tracking capabilities may be impeded on this last leg of shipping.
Weekend Delivering
Just like remote area delivering, weekend delivering is something you’ll need to keep in mind when sending your package somewhere. If the date you’d like for the package to arrive at its destination coincides with a weekend, you’ll need to factor this into your shipping time. It could be that your package will only be delivered the following Monday, meaning it will arrive a day or two later than you had wanted it to.
Check to see which courier services deliver on weekends.
Shipping Restrictions
Some courier companies have restrictions on the countries they deliver to; this may be due to that country’s customs process or another reason. There are also size and weight restrictions that your package will need to adhere to. Either way, it’s good to know each courier company’s restrictions before deciding which one to ship your package with.
Customer Service
This is one thing that definitely can’t be left out of your considerations when choosing which courier company to ship your package with. You need to be able to communicate quickly and easily with your chosen courier company about your package once it has been shipped out of their facility. You can ask a friend about their experience with a particular courier company’s customer services or look at reviews online.
Tracking and Insurance
These two factors are the ones that will most help put your mind at ease out of all of the things we have discussed. Knowing where your package is in real-time and knowing that it has been insured should it get damaged or lost during transit are two of the most essential factors in shipping a package. Most courier companies will offer these services, albeit for an extra charge.
Still, nothing feels better than knowing you’ve taken as many precautions as possible to ensure your package reaches its destination safely.
Now that we’ve discussed the factors that should go into your decision about which courier company to use to ship your package, we’ll list some of the most popular shipping services and what they’re best known for.
- DHL – DHL is one of the best international shipping companies best known for their express delivery of small parcels, handling specialty and fragile packages, various shipping options including road and rail freight, air and ocean shipping, and expedited shipping options, and remote area deliveries.
- FedEx – FedEx is a go-to courier for many people shipping out of the US and is best known for its ability to handle delicate and fragile shipments, climate-controlled shipping services, fast shipping times at affordable prices, very high parcel weight restrictions, good tracking services, and weekend deliveries.
- DB Schenker – DB Schenker has over 2000 branches worldwide and is best known for its outstanding parcel- and LTL services throughout Europe, fastest international ground freight shipping, fixed delivery times options, and cheapest international air freight shipping.
- UPS – UPS is a household name for shipping inside the US, but they are also an excellent international courier service. They are known for delivering packages within five days of receiving them, overnight and two-day deliveries at an extra cost, international ocean and air freight shipments, and advanced tracking capabilities.
Postal Services
While sending your package via courier service may seem like a no-brainer, the good ole postal service should not be forgotten. Sending your package through the post can be just as good as using a courier service, as long as your country has a reliable postal service.
Postal services are best for sending packages domestically. Still, they can also deliver packages worldwide and will often have a bigger range than courier companies do, and at a lower price too.
Postal services like the USPS (United States), Royal Mail (United Kingdom), Deutsche Post (Germany), and PostNL (Netherlands) are all postal services that are known to be reliable in delivering packages. Of course, you will know best whether the postal services within your country are trustworthy enough to handle your package.
The Do’s and Don’ts of Packaging and Shipping Vinyl Records
When shipping a vinyl record collection, there are a few other things that you should be made aware of that are not covered in the “packaging” section.
Insure Your Package
If your postal or courier service offers it, always insure your package. This will likely cost you a few extra bucks, but it isn’t exorbitantly expensive and will help put you at ease. If anything were to happen to your package, the insurance would cover the loss of the vinyl records inside, and you’ll be able to repurchase the records that got lost or damaged in transit (unless they are very rare, of course).
Have Your Package Tracked
If the option is available, you should also opt to have your package tracked. This, again, will cost you a bit extra, but will also give you some extra peace of mind. You’ll be able to see where your package is at every point of its journey, and you’ll be notified once the package has arrived at its destination. This is especially helpful if you’re sending the records to someone as a gift or a surprise, as you’ll be able to notify them to expect a package.
Take a Picture of Your Package
Take a picture of both the front and back of the package before sending it off. This will come in handy if anything does happen to the package and you need proof of what it looks like or that you mailed the package to begin with. This will also help you deal with insurers when you need to claim lost or damaged goods.
Use High-Quality and Sturdy Boxes
Ensure that the mailing boxes you are using are of good quality and sturdy enough to hold the number of records you want to ship in them. You wouldn’t want your box to break before it has even left the shipping service’s facility.
Don’t Send Your Records in Regular Mailing Envelopes
They aren’t strong enough and won’t offer enough support to prevent the record from being damaged or broken, even with multiple layers of protective wrapping and shipping stiffeners. They might get bent out of shape in between other packages during transit, or the envelope will tear open at one of the seams and spill the contents out, leading it to most likely get lost or severely damaged.
Don’t Reuse Mailing Boxes
These mailing boxes are only made to withstand the abuse of one use in transit and will likely already be damaged by the time they have reached you the first time around. Reusing them is almost guaranteeing that the records you are sending won’t make it to their destination intact. At the very most, you can use your old shipping boxes as protection between vinyl records and as stuffing to fill the box with.
Don’t Mention That You Are Shipping Records
If possible, don’t mention the fact there are records inside the package, especially if they are rare or limited edition. Thieves will take notice of this and either take the package or open it to see what is inside, most likely damaging the record in the process of doing so. Try to keep your packaging as plain as possible so as not to attract any unwanted attention.
Conclusion
Sending out packages that include fragile or valuable can become quite a headache, between knowing how to package everything properly and deciding which courier or postal service to rely on to get your package to its destination, it can seem like quite a task. Hopefully, this article was able to help make this process easier for you. Good luck packaging and shipping your record collection.
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