Why I don't think I'll ever return to vinyl - brief rant

@mikempls 

I wish I shared your enthusiasm for Acoustic Sounds. As I’ve mentioned a few times on this forum, I’ve had pretty bad luck buying LPs from them in recent months - badly warped records, spindle holes that were too small, creased covers, etc., etc. They actually asked me to send them videos of the warped records to prove that my claims justified an exchange. They eventually exchanged the LPs, although it took a couple of weeks because their returns department was "understaffed" (according to their customer service rep).

I requested a refund for a subsequent shipment of warped records because I got tired of spending the time to go through their exchange process. That took weeks to process as well. Oh, and their customer service rep was incredibly rude when I asked a simple question about something I was hearing on one of the 45 RPM LPs I purchased. I was simply curious whether it was on the original master tape, in which case I would have been fine with it. He essentially told me that he’d already invested too much time dealing with my customer service issues and that he was done. I was shocked that they would speak to a customer that way. Simply put, if they improved their QC, they wouldn’t have to deal with so many customer issues or need such a large staff handling exchanges and returns.

As some have suggested here, maybe I’ve just had a run of bad luck. But others have posted about having similar experiences, so I’m not so sure. That said, there are a few LPs I’d like to get that aren’t available from my local record stores, so I may try my luck one more time. I’m a glutton for punishment. 

With the exception of a few all analogue releases, all new vinyl comes from digital files. New groups are probably doing vinyl for young fans who don't really know the difference and don't have very good turntables. If you like older jazz, classical, or rock, you can find all analogue vinyl made before 1980. A lot of that is very good. But as I purchase more vinyl, I find that I need to be careful. I talk to AI a lot about various vinyl productions and pitfalls. But good vinyl on a good analogue front end is fabulous. It can be too much of a hassle for some people, and if you can afford a good streamer, the sound is coming much closer to vinyl.

@cleeds Not sure what your point is. Would you describe yourself as a "vinyl guy" (my term) if you only rarely purchased or listened to vinyl?

And for context, back in the 70s and early 80s I was a vinyl guy. I had a pretty heft library. That's why I said "return" to vinyl.

Or are you suggesting that you have to make a deep commitment before you can tell?  You know, buy all the expensive gear, then do a lot a research into each vinyl purchase making sure you buy from someone with a liberal return policy and only then can you determine if you might be a vinyl guy?  

If so maybe you can understand why so few guys are "vinyl guys".

I find it amusing that some folks who have responded here see my account of my experience as some sort of personal affront to their core belief structure. When in fact I did not, in this post, criticize anyone regarding their choice nor did I criticize the medium at large.

The irony is that many of the replies, which kindly suggested a path forward if I so desired, actually put the medium in a bit of a bad light from a beginners perspective. 

For those who have commiserated or suggested better ways to approach vinyl from the perspective of a someone dabbling with the idea of getting more serious (and has had a bad experience or two) I genuinely appreciate at it.

For those who couldn’t help but being snide or insulting.......no big deal. For whatever reason it just seems to be endemic in the audiophile community and we’re all used to it.

n80 

... are you suggesting that you have to make a deep commitment before you can tell? You know, buy all the expensive gear, then do a lot a research into each vinyl purchase making sure you buy from someone with a liberal return policy and only then can you determine if you might be a vinyl guy?  

No. What you describe is actually just a caricature of a "vinyl guy."

I think @cleeds says (whom I never agree with  )

your post is confusing. Or maybe I am just projecting.