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Vinyl from Barnes & Noble

 Last week I used a Christmas gift card to purchase an LP there. 180 gm , pressed at RTI, new 25th anniversary  remaster.... The album was wrapped in a baggy crinkly plastic. Inside that was the typical vinyl sleeve, which was not sealed. When I took the LP out I was amazed.... Filthy, covered in fingerprints with 2 very prominent scratches covering one entire side.. This was obviously not virgin vinyl. B & N of course returned it. The associate told me " you wouldn't believe  how often this happens ." ???!!!   I asked if it was company policy to repackage used items and sell them as new. He didn't answer that, instead merely insisting that this is a common occurrence. WTF!   Any one care to comment/ have similar experience?

winoguy17
gromitinwa's avatar
gromitinwa
11 posts
 
@gasbose - perhaps the ultimate irony is that the large B&N that used be at the U Village mall in Seattle is now a much smaller Amazon Books.
jnorris2005
185 posts
 
@bdp24

Sorry if you misunderstood, but I did not mean that B&N has only LPs from digital sources.  I meant that they only sell mainstream records that are most likely from digital sources.  The truly analog, less well-known records will most likely be found in hard-core record stores.

I would also beware of colored records.  My recollection of them - and this is going back a ways - is that they are noisier than black vinyl.
wolf_garcia
6,795 posts
 
I've bought vinyl from Barnes and Noble and only once had a scratchy LP and they took it back and refunded me no questions asked. 
winoguy17 OP
1,231 posts
 
As I said previously, B& N returned the LP without hassle, my issue was being told that this happens quite frequently. I foolishly assume that buying new means I am the first person to open that LP.

wolf_garcia
6,795 posts
 
Are you suggesting that I actually thoroughly read posts? I get that now…I have bought a few LPs from B&N and can't imagine that the quality issues are pervasive since if they were, they'd get all over the distributers to avoid a public relations issue. Maybe.
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