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What's the deal with bubble wrap CD mailers?


muel

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Why on earth has Amazon moved from cardboard to those bubble wrap CD mailers???  This has been going on for quite some time. 

It used to be a small percentage of CD's I order would have a cracked case but I have a box full of old jewel cases that allows me to swap out cracked parts.  I didn't complain because it was easier just to replace the cracked parts.  But now most shippers are using bubble wrap mailers all the time and the percentage of cracked cases is getting ridiculous!  The 3rd party sellers on Amazon are pretty bad about this too.  It doesn't matter if the CD's are new or used they ship them in those thin flimsy bubble wrap mailers that don't protect them from much of anything.  

 

In the last two days I have received 3 separate orders of CD's and all 3 are cracked.  I don't order as much vinyl but they haven't done a whole lot better protecting them.  Yes, I actually received a record in a bubble wrap sleeve and I was surprised to find the record unharmed but the corners of the sleeve took some hits as if Wile E. Coyote was holding it when stepping off a cliff.

 

I recently got a SACD from Music Direct in bubble wrap.  I was surprised because they used cardboard boxes before.   Sure enough, the nice SACD case was cracked and I don't have any spares so I let them know.  They were very quick to send me a replacement case in a... you guessed it... a bubble wrap mailer.  The case wasn't cracked thankfully but sheesh!  These companies are really taking a chance with customer satisfaction by trying to save a few pennies on shipping!

 

My encouragement to you, the CD buyer, is to not stand for even the smallest crack in your cases.  Let the shipper know that they need to make it right and replace the case or give you a refund.  When these bubble wrap mailers become too expensive for them because of complaints maybe they will stop the practice.  Even putting a small mailer inside of a bigger mailer goes a long way to protecting the CD better.  

 

There certainly are a lot more important things going on in the world but it really bugs me seeing a brand new CD still in the shrink wrap with a big crack across the front.

 

 

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Well, yeah... I knew the answer too so I guess it was a bit rhetorical.  My idea is that they are going to have to start replacing more than just a few cases now and then from me.  I will no longer accept any cracked cases and I will go to the trouble to send them back at their expense every time there is any defect.  How many CD's do they have to sell without a problem to make up for that one loss?  When you bought a CD at the brick and mortar store would you have accepted it if the clerk broke the case before handing it to you?  

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Those cases probably cost about 2 cents out the door plus they break with normal use so they don't care. I break about 2 out of twenty just with normal handling. If they scotch tape them in two places for shipment they wouldn't break. I could be a spokesman for the bubble wrap industry.

JJK

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2 hours ago, JJkizak said:

Those cases probably cost about 2 cents out the door plus they break with normal use so they don't care. I break about 2 out of twenty just with normal handling. If they scotch tape them in two places for shipment they wouldn't break. I could be a spokesman for the bubble wrap industry.

JJK

Cheapest I've found were around 33 cents each for a minimum order of 200. If I care that much I suppose I could just buy a bunch.  These broken cases aren't all standard cases though... some 2,3 and 4 CD holders as well as the nice SACD type.    A cracked case doesn't bother me as much when I paid 4 bucks shipped for used.  Seriously, a second layer of bubble wrap or a slightly bigger wrapper so it can absorb corner hits better would make a big difference.  

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I am in the same boat. I order quite a bit of music on CD / SACD. Mostly through amazon. Damn near every one of them is cracked when I receive it. I have a replacement set of jewel cases so when the broken one arrives, it goes into the trash and a new case is used.

 

I also regularly get CDs and SACDs from Russia, Japan, Germany, etc. None of them are broken because extra care was taken during packing. Pretty sad that a CD can come from firkin Russia and not be cracked. But if it comes from right here within our own country, it will be cracked upon arrival.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just picked up about ten cds this week from Amazon and most came in great shape, two however had cracked jewel cases. I don't care so much because after I read everything I toss the cases and insert the disc into my books...all in alphabetical order....my life has to stay in order.....lol

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When I order CDs from Amazon (direct, not 3rd-party) the only time I get one with a cracked jewel case is when they put more than one disc into one of those friggin' bubble-wrap mailers. Single CDs always seem to arrive OK. I've given Amazon lots of packaging feedback but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

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