[78-L] leaving negative feedback

[melodicmarimba at comcast.net]

I completely agree with Cary. When a vintage record breaks during shipment due to inadequate packing, a financial refund does not replace the piece of history that is lost forever. Ebay is helping record collecting due to unprecedented accessibility of inventories information, browse-at-home record hunting, and exposure to a wide customer base. The downside, though, is that there are now many new sellers who do not understand, or care to learn, the care required of shellac discs and wax cylinders.

Fortunately, those types of sellers are the minority. I have dealt with many dedicated professional sellers online as well, including some record dealers who have been in the activity for many years or decades. These enthusiasts were collecting and dealing in recordings at record shows and through mailing lists and networking long before eBay. You'll never find them trashing records in the mail by failing to pack well.

However, I also have been on the receiving end of destroyed recordings packed by, let's face it, morons. I purchased a 78 from an eBay seller who wrapped the disc in paper and addressed and labeled the paper and shipped it just like that. No box, no padding, not a padded envelope - just brown paper cut from a grocery bag and absolutely nothing else. It arrived shattered into many pieces. When I emailed the seller in a diplomatic and objective manner, without having left any feedback yet, the person accused me of being unfair and unreasonable to cause a problem by complaining. Then, the seller left negative feedback comments for me.

Best, David Harvey