Not buying this, you are way off base on several points. You see there WAS a period of time that you describe and long for- it was called 2008. As the vinyl industry picked up in popularity, the labels were mass producing records to meet this new demand and relatively cheaply; $15-20 for new LP's and maybe $25 for doubles. But with such convenience came terrible quality- garbage digital transfers, shit jackets and sleeves, near bootleg labels (Plain, 4 Men With Beards), pressing plants that gave 0 fucks about quality (Rainbo, United).
And what happened? Buyers spoke with their wallets. They were tired of the bullshit, they wanted quality pressings and masterings. The industry adjusted, guys like Bellman and Gray started getting booked for all major reissues. Plants like Optimal, Pallas, QRP, RTI got more and more business and it became a selling point on hype stickers. High end vendors started using better shippers, offering better customer service. Prices went up!!!, But so did quality.
As a friend of mine who owned a record store told me about doing online business, returns for things like seam splits, bends, etc is just cost of business. You are going to eat it sometimes but the goal is to retain business. You tell a customer that it's not your fault that the jacket split in shipping well that's great you won the battle, but they will never buy from you again, so you make it right. This isn't even unique to records- ask any chef how many meals they've comped over customers just not being happy with what they ordered- you think those chefs tell them to stick with Olive Garden because the alfredo sauce tastes the same every time? If this becomes enough of a problem for vendors they will adjust in other ways; they'll make better shippers (like Acoustic Sounds), they will offer options to ship outside the jacket, etc. Good businesses don't adapt by blaming their buyers for not enjoying what they are selling. It's never worked.
No, the solutions isn't "accept imperfection or gtfo". You have every right in the world to get what you pay for and no one should take you on a guilt trip laying the ever rising costs of a hobby on you. If VMP emailed everyone tomorrow and said "hey we reached an agreement with Pallas where they can handle demand for our Essentials but we are going to have to raise prices to $50 a month" bro memberships would SOAR. Because music collectors don't mind paying for quality, they have a problem paying for a lack of it.
Sorry, but although you make some fair points here, I was buying records in 2008.
In 2008:
There were massive complaints about dishing and other issues with RTI pressed Classic records. They blamed it on 200g, but it was a big issue.
Amazon wasn't selling records. So you did not have the phenomenon of people buying a record and returning it because they didn't like the music, or for a minor cover crease. Since Amazon have become the de-facto go-to, that has become endemic.
There were plenty of big name mastering gurus doing vinyl. Bernie Grundman, the unfortunate Hoffman, Doug Sax, Stan Ricker, and even Grey at RTI. Those guys were being booked for major and even semi-minor reissues back then.
There was WAY WAY more junk vinyl. Rainbo was in full bloom, United was a major player competing with Rainbo to be the worst, MPO in France was so-so, Record Industry was ok, Optimal was pretty small, Pallas was first rate, Furnace was in business but not that highly regarded, GZ was operating but not as big (when American venture capital bought in in the late 90's, it really went downhill)...overall, there was worse quality then than there is now.
No one had a Crossley. If you got into vinyl in 2008, it was because of the sound, not the coolness. You had a proper turntable and stereo.
In 2008, it was common to see RTI or Pallas hype stickers.
QRP is new. RTI hasn't got any new business in decades - they are always full capacity, and won't expand that. Pallas also doesn't care to expand - they turn away business.
Digital mastering was prolific in 2008 as it is now. Maybe more now - labels rarely let master tapes out anymore.
In 2008, Acoustic Sounds, Music Direct, Elusive Disc and all the other major vinyl vendors used very secure shipping packages. Only Amazon did not. VMP did not exist.
You will note, upon investigation, that the cost of manufacturing really hasn't gone up all that significantly since 2008. But the prices have. Why? If it costs rather pennies more to produce to that better quality you seem to experience. So why the price jumps, which are massive?
It is well known. Returns. This is a simple economic reality.
Crossley players. Bent corners. 15 year old stylus, too cheap to replace. Misalignment. Didn't like the music. Though it was the super duper with xxx-yyy in the deadwax but it isn't. Not mastered well. Paper inner sleeve has a split. Think I'll go through 3 or 4 copies to get the best.
If you go to a restaurant and order chicken, and send it back because you really don't like chicken, that should be on you. If you are just experimenting at a restaurant and there is nothing wrong with the meal, but the experiment didn't work out, fuck you. If you are one of the deplorables who make a habit of returning means in the hopes of getting a freebie, you should get put out on your ass. If you are just that fussy, loud, constant complaining customer who won't be satisfied no matter what, the restaurant is better off without you as a customer.
Reality is, it was
perceived to be better in 2008 because we were a small, dedicated niche who all had decent turntables, knew how to set them up, and there was little gimmicky stuff like colored vinyl and variants, we bought from real stores or online big boxes who packed bullet-proof and would ship with the records outside the sleeves to prevent seam splits, and there weren't as many players in the market.
And I am actually happy living in the now, and don't long for 2008 at all. Thanks for checking in on that.
By the way, the most vociferous defect complainers do NOT speak with their wallets. They keep on buying those groovy, cool, exclusive splatter colored vinyls and admiring their Discogs values. Back in 2008, we did not give two flying fucks about that. There was no Discogs. We just cared about the music and the sound.
