Packing & Shipping Materials:

Customer service has become a lost art. In the world of mailorder consumerism and internet retail, even the largest record labels have cut costs by skimping on shipping materials and the lengths they go to in ensuring that your purchase arrives in the condition you expect it to! We know this as well as you do. Just like you, we are tired of, even bothered and angered by, record labels that ship CDs by tossing them loose into a cheap mailer, with nothing more than a thin layer of plastic bubbles - or used newspaper! - between your CDs and a mail carrier who will almost certainly be less careful in the handling of your package than you would like them to be. Is one more layer of bubblewrap really that expensive? No! Would it bankrupt these record labels to take special care - or any kind of precautions at all - in packaging such items as those presented digipaks, box sets, and A5-size digifiles? No! ... So why don't they take greater care in serving you?!

Variety in album packaging is exceeded only by the variety of music available in this scene. Not every album comes in a sturdy, replaceable jewel case, so we don't package everything for shipment as though it was! Even though a customer could easily purchase an empty standard 1-CD jewel case to replace one that arrived cracked or smashed in the mail, we do not want you to have to! We package your order under the assumption that no matter how careful mail and parcel carriers claim to be, your package will probably be mishandled or dropped at some point during the shipping process. With the way that we package your purchased items, with the greater care that we take in doing so, those items are less likely to be damaged if they are mishandled.

Most record labels and retail distros receive their merchandise in thin-walled, elongated rectangular boxes that house 20-25 CDs each. What these retailers do is use those boxes again when packing your order for shipment. If the box is too small? Oh well. If the box is too big? Stuff the sides with wadded up newspaper and hope that the box is crushed, if at all, on the ends. ... Why do you continue to put up with that? Is that really OK with you? With as expensive as CDs are, don't you think that retailers make enough money to be able to afford at least a little bit of bubblewrap at $0.08-$0.10 per square foot?? ... Don't put up with it any longer. It's not OK. You should not have to make a special request of any retailer to take care - just a little extra care than usual - in packing your order. That should come standard with each order you place. And it does come with every order you place from Dark Music Domain!

So how do we do it? Well, it's so simple that you won't believe it! ...

... With shipping materials! That's our secret! ... Not busted cardboard boxes that were used three times already and taped back together, not with wads of plastic bags or used newspaper, not with handfuls of nondescript garbage that smells oddly of cigarette smoke and cat urine. We buy all brand new shipping materials. Taken in late 2010, the photo above shows you about 75% of the shipping materials we had on hand at the time. What you do not see here is another case of 200 bubblemailers, bin after bin full of scrap cardboard used to add strength to an already excellent job of packing, and another 1,500 feet of bubblewrap divided among 6 rolls in 2 diferent sizes of bubbles. In addition to 5 sizes of bubblemailers, 4 sizes of vinyl glamour mailers (non-bubble), 3 different sizes of USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes, and numerous rolls of shipping tape, we also stock the follow sizes of cardboard boxes in bundle quantities! We have a box for every item size and order size!

16" x 12" x 8"
13" x 9" x 9"
13" x 9" x 6"
9" x 7" x 5"
9" x 7" x 6"
9" x 6" x 2"
9" x 6" x 3"
9" x 6" x 4"
9" x 6" x 5"
9" x 6" x 6"
7" x 7" x 3"
7" x 7" x 4"
7" x 7" x 5"
6" x 6" x 2"
6" x 6" x 3"
6" x 6" x 4"

Still don't believe that we're different from the other shops? Still don't believe that we do a better job than they do?! Let us prove it! Place your order today!

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