[78-L] The Zen of 78 acquisition

[Malcolm Rockwell]

To keep an item from shifting, if and when I use them danged peanuts, I 
tie them off in those plastic bags you get from the grocery store. That 
holds the record "sandwich" in place so it doesn't shift inside the box 
and still weighs almost nothing.
Works.
A couple of times a year II usually sell or give the peanuts I receive 
to a recycler or to the local packing/shipping/PO Box/fax business 
downtown. I rarely use them for records, but they work great for 
shipping rare guitars!
Mal

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On 12/15/2011 7:52 AM, David Lennick wrote:
> Charming! Sorry he took umbrage at your sally. I hate when my sally gets
> umbraged. As for me, after years of cursing dealers who use styrofoam peanuts,
> I've had to go over to that side because they're cheap and weigh nothing, and
> if the records are sealed (or in another smaller box) they're safe from
> intrusion. A bag about the size of two pillows costs $5 at my nearby U-Haul.
>
> dl (just about to recycle a box you sent Roger M. and which Don C. had sent to you)
>
> (Jeez..SpelCheq took umbrage at my spelling of "styrofoam" because I didn't
> capitalize it. Ma fungu!)
>
> On 12/15/2011 12:33 PM, Malcolm Rockwell wrote:
>> I just went through one of the strangest experiences I've had in my
>> years of surfing and buying from eBay.
>> I bid on and won a record on the Zen label out of New York. Could have
>> cared less about the material, but I got a kick out of the label head.
>> $13.00 total.
>> I sent my regular instructions for packing:
>>
>> It's a long way to Hawaii so here's how to pack: use 4 10" sq. pieces of
>> box cardboard - put record(s) between - tape edges - put 7 or 8 pcs
>> crushed newspaper in a 12x12x4 or larger box - put record sandwich in -
>> put 7 or 8 more pcs crushed newspaper in to fill - shake - if contents
>> shift there's not enough paper - if box bulges there's too much -
>> readjust and seal - Thanks -- TMR
>>
>> I then got an outraged note back telling me how he was going to pack it
>> and if I didn't like it that was just too bad, so there.
>> I replied that his method was really very nice but mine had a breakage
>> rate of around 2% over 30 years and would he please, etc., etc.
>> He sent me back this:
>>
>> Do you expect me to go out for an hour and look for a 4-inch box to buy,
>> then buy a few newspapers--I don't read newspapers so I don't have any
>> (I read news on the web)--and cut my 12" fillers 2" to meet YOUR
>> needs--FOR A $13 RECORD???????????? NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For a $50
>> record, yes. NOT for a cheap $13 record. I'll send the cancellation form
>> out right away.
>>
>> I them told him he should just put it in a manila envelope and send that.
>>
>> He took umbrage at my sally and then refunded my payment and canceled my
>> order, even though I refused it (which I didn't know one could do with
>> eBay). At this point I wanted the record as a point of honor, if for no
>> other reason. Because of that I can no longer send him feedback praising
>> him for his packing method and his even-tempered way of dealing with a
>> new customer.
>>
>> I guess I gotta be Zen about it! That's okay with me.
>> I'd still like to have a "Zen" record, though.
>> Mal
>> _______________________________________________
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