How to Safely Ship Vinyl Records

If you plan to ship vinyl records, extra care should be taken to make sure the record, the outer jacket, and the inner sleeve arrive at their destination in the same condition as when they left. Whether you’re shipping 12-inch or 7-inch records, BCW Supplies has several shipping accessories to help you ship vinyl safely.

The first step is to examine the record to make sure it is clean. You don’t want dust or pet fur on your record or inside the inner sleeve. If the original inner sleeve is damaged or worn, slip that into the jacket by itself and put the record in a new replacement inner sleeve before shipping.

• 12 Inch / 33 RPM Paper Inner Sleeves, Rounded Corners, With Hole
• 12 Inch / 33 RPM Paper Inner Sleeves, Square Corners, With Hole, Polylined
• 7 Inch / 45 RPM Paper Inner Sleeves, With Hole
• 7 Inch / 45 RPM Paper Inner Sleeves, With Hole, Polylined

Once your record is in a clean inner sleeve, place it behind the outer jacket. Shipping the record in an inner sleeve outside the jacket minimizes ring wear and potential jacket seam splits during shipping. Place both inside a BCW outer record sleeve or outer record bag. To clarify, BCW defines sleeves as being open on one side, while the bags have a flap that wraps over the jacket. In the case of shipping records, we advise you use the record bag option to ensure all edges of your record jacket are covered. Record bags will protect the cover art from scratches, and protect the edges.

• 12 Inch / 33 RPM Resealable Record Bags, 2 Mil
• 12 Inch / 33 RPM Resealable Record Bags, 2 Mil, Snug Fit
• 7 Inch / 45 RPM Record Bags, 2 Mil
• 7 Inch / 45 RPM Resealable Record Bags, 2 Mil

Before inserting your records in a record mailer box, place a record pad on the top and bottom of your stack of records. BCW record pads are thick cardboard squares that provide extra protection during the shipping process. We offer these in bundles of 25 pads.

• 12 Inch / 33 RPM Record Pads
• 7 Inch / 45 RPM Record Pads

Then insert the records and record pads into BCW record mailer boxes. These simply wrap around the records to form the box, so packaging tape is required. The mailers have two score lines, so you can fold the box to hold a small stack of records, or a few more records if you fold the box for the larger pattern.

• 12 Inch / 33 RPM Record Mailer Boxes
• 7 Inch / 45 RPM Record Mailer Boxes

If you have the 12-inch / 33 RPM mailer boxes folded in the larger pattern, you can fit four records in the mailer, assuming you use two record pads. Naturally, these mailers will hold less if you have double LPs, thicker vinyl, or record artwork filling the box.

If you have the 7-inch / 45 RPM mailer boxes folded in the larger pattern, you can comfortably fit eight 45s in the art sleeve and a 45 Record Bag.

When folding, make 90-degree corners with no gaps. Tape tightly along the seams and corners. When sealed properly in these record mailers, you can be confident your record will arrive at its destination safely. Writing “fragile,” “vinyl records” and “do not bend” on both sides of the mailer is a good reminder for the postal worker to handle with care.

See all of BCW’s record accessories.