Shipping 45 RPM Records

[ericsells75]

Anyone here ship 45 RPM Records? I just came into a big lot of them and i don't know the best way to handle the shipping. Looking for some suggestions if anyone regularly sells these. 

They don't fit my standard size bubble envelopes so not sure if i should invest in a bunch of slightly bigger ones. Or do you think they are too fragile to ship in an enevelope (even a padded one)? 

All suggestions welcome 🙂

[reallynicestamps]

At some point a carrier will attempt Very Hard to fold them so they will fit something.

Use a box.

[marnotom!]

As all the CDs my wife and I’ve received in sealable corrugated cardboard mailers have arrived unscathed, I’d say those would give adequate protection for a 45 as well as discourage someone from bending them.

[mrdutch1001]

IMHO, 45rpm 7 inch records should be given the same consideration as 12 inch 33-1/3 rpm records and shipped in the appropriate cardboard mailers.

[recped]

@ericsells75 

I've shipped thousands of 7" singles, I use custom made mailers using micro-flute cardboard (thin but very stiff). In order to get a good price for those I had to order 3,000 so this is probably not a viable option for you.

You can probably buy (on eBay?) pre-made mailers that would be similar.

Or you can make your own very easily.........

Find some good quality cardboard, you need two pieces, one that is (approximate sizes) 8" x 16" and another that is 8" x 8". Take the 8x8 and the record and fold over both of those with the 8x16 piece and then tape around the edges. The "flutes" on the 8x8 should be at right angles to the flutes on the 8x16 piece, this will give you a very stiff package that cannot be easily bent. No additional bubble envelope is required.

A package like this will probably weigh about 5 oz, depending on the cardboard used you MIGHT be able to get it under 4oz (my custom mailers when packed are almost always over the 4oz mark).

Alternatively you can use a single 8" x 24" piece of cardboard which will give you the same triple layer package when folded, the disadvantage is that the flutes will all be going in the same direction making it somewhat less stiff. This is probably fine for most times but will make it slightly more bendable and therefore a bit more risky.

Of all the singles I've shipped this way the only time there has been a damage report was when the package was obviously (tire tracks) run over by a fork lift.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

A place like the Discogs forum might be a good source to ask this question. Or, if you do a search there, it likely has been asked before. 

If these are cheaper items going lettermail, I would suspect that a 7 inch record would be fine sandwiched between 2CM of cardboard and placed inside either a paper envelope or a poly bag. If you use a paper envelope, you want to seal the inner package in a moisture proof bag. You also may want to remove the disc from the sleeve to prevent seam splits, but depending on the package that might not be needed.  Keep in mind, I would only do this if we're talking about super cheap records where the buyer is paying lettermail rates for shipping and understands the no frills aspect. 

If these are going to sell for a reasonable price, and you suspect that you will have a high sell through rate, bite the bullet and buy actual mailers. Uline used to have 7 inch mailers, I don't know if they do anymore. Duplication.ca carries 7 inch mailers for about a buck a piece before shipping. 

It's always better to bulk-buy specific supplies when you have a lot of one item, but I get that space can sometimes be limited and keeping the quantity of supplies on hand needed to bring down the overall price to something tolerable can be difficult.