How To Pack Records 101

It seems that as of late I have received a few fucked-up records in the mail from other collectors. Hell, even from some labels. And I’m not talking about the ocassional crimped corner or split inner sleeve. I’m talking about bent, cracked, warped, and destroyed records.

So with than in mind, here’s a handy visual guide on how to properly pack a record whenever sending it out to a fellow collector or eBay buyer or your cousin on Wichita. It’s very simple and all common sense.

(Pics borrowed and recycled from a VLV poster a million years ago…thanks for taking the time to take them!)

How to properly pack a record:

All you really need to safely pack a record is:

• LP or 7″ mailer (A bubble mailer or pizza box do not count!)
• Packing tape
• Bubble wrap (optional…but recommended)
• Backing board

Following the simple steps illustrated above you can make the conscious effort to avoid any misphaps to the record your’re sending out. Granted, once it’s out of your hands and at the mercy of the USPS, then it’s a gamble. Not to mention the miserable summer heat that 99.9% of the time will cause records to warp if they’re left sitting on your doorstep long enough.

But by safely and properly packing the record, you’ll be confident in knowing that you made a effort in avoiding damages such as these:

For further reading and more in-depth look on the matter, also check out Crucial Times’ Ultimate Guide to Packing Records.

Don’t forget to write FRAGILE on the outside of the mailer too! (Not that it will help b/c if the postal worker feels like playing frisbee with the package they’ll still do so regardless). But at least you tried!

“Safely & Properly Packing Records Since 1995”