A guide to shipping shellac 78 rpm discs-

Do not count on the USPS to protect your shellac 78rpm disc! They are very fragile, and the USPS is not known for carefully handling any items marked 'fragile!'

I recently received a cracked 78rpm disc from a seller who stated that this had never happened before. Here is an synopsis of the seller’s packing method for shellac 78rpm discs:

The seller in question packed the record in a manner allowing an open space between the disc and the packaging. The seller only had a two-inch buffer of corrugated cardboard acting equally on one inch of either outer edge of a ten-inch disc, thus resulting in eight inches of the disc being subject to damage from impact. The crack that was present on the record I bought from the seller occurred exactly one inch in from the outside diameter of the record- the exact amount of buffer the seller provided.

Here's how this is easily avoided:

When you send one of these records, you have to ensure that there is no space for the record to flex between the outside of the package and the disc itself. Also, you have to ensure that there is a buffer between the package and the disc . (You know, something to absorb an impact to the package.) A piece of corrugated cardboard on either side of the disc (before being placed in the packaging) will provide a minimal, yet satisfactory buffer for the disc. Shellac 78rpm discs are the most fragile of all records! If you don’t belive me, take a shellac 78rpm record, (this is, after you’ve done your research, and determined that the record is worthless! Try a Doris Day Columbia from the 50‘s…) hold it by the outer edge, and, with moderate force, tap it on a sharp corner of a table. The record will, most likely, shatter into several pieces! This is akin to the minimal amount of abuse any record will be subject to during shipping!  Again, 78rpm shellac records are very fragile.... You want to reduce any and all shock during shippment!

A preferred method among collectors is to secure the disc between two pieces of corrugated cardboard, then place the disc inside a larger mailer on a bed of packing peanuts or crumpled newspaper, both above and below the pre-packaged disc. This will result in higher shipping cost, but will guarantee you the best feedback for selling these items that you have ever received.

Hopefully this will become the standard shipping recommendation for shellac 78rpm discs throughout the eBay community. Please rate this article favorably when you are done reading, so that more people in the eBay community may see it.  If you think of anything I may have left out, please notify me, so that I may ammend this article!

-Eric Lee