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Discussion Forums - Questions about SwapaCD
Topic: Damaged cds
Club rule - Please, if you cannot be courteous and respectful, do not post in this forum.
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I received a CD yesterday broken in two and have just discovered that I will get no credit whatsoever for it. Here is the message: Just so you know, there is no such thing as a "free credit". We are facing a major problem here at SwapaCD.com with reports of damaged CDs or CDs lost in the mail. We have to account for every CD credit issued. If we do not do this, then the system would collapse over time with more CDs going out then there are coming in. Of course we do not want this to happen. The accountant has informed us that we are responsible for each and every CD credit that is issued on the site. And up until recently, we have been paying for every CD credit issued. This includes the original 1 CD credit that you were given when you signed up for the club. Each CD credit actually costs us $2.99 for every CD that goes into the club ($1.11 goes towards postage to mail the CD, $1.00 cents to replace the CD, $0.08 to cover paper, ink and tape = $2.00). The remaining goes towards maintaining the database and covering system costs. The expenses to run the club play a major part in the cost of credits. We need help from our members to pay for the database, servers and hosting costs for running this great site. The same is true when we have a member that reports a CD as: A) being mailed out in poor condition, B) it is damaged/lost in the mail, or C) their requestor conditions are not met. Each time that we are asked to give out a CD credit to replace that CD, then we have to pay $2.99 to replace this "lost credit". This money has been coming out of our pocket. Many times the sender thinks that the CD was in acceptable condition when it was mailed out. Or maybe it really was damaged in the mail. When this happens, the Sender still wants their credit for mailing out the CD and that costs yet another $2.99 in credits. This is why we have set up guidelines for mailing CDs. We ask that senders please review the required minimal conditions for CDs to trade and only send CDs that meet these conditions in the future. Also, we ask that requestors please be lenient with what is considered "acceptable" conditions of books that you receive. If you do receive a CD that you do not think was acceptable, please do not re-post it. Thanks for your consideration and ongoing support of SwapaCD. We hope you continue to enjoy the best CD club in America. Have a great day! SwapaCD Team Can someone decipher this for me. On the page preceding this message was a statement saying that it was great that only 1% of cds are damaged in the mail. Yet this statement seems to be saying the opposite. And they are paying $2.99 per transaction?? What postage are they talking about? The other trader paid the postage to send the cd me, I paid the processing fee, and I paid the postage on the cd I traded in order to gain the credit for this CD. I'm a little baffled. Someone help me out here. I'm not a troublemaker or someone who complains all the time. I'm just having trouble understanding the logic in how this system works and why it is so different from PBS. I did submit my concerns through the feedback system yesterday, but haven't heard back yet, so I thought I'd ask here. |
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I am sorry for the confusion. We actually were working on this exact page earlier this morning. The whole page has changed and credits and money are returned if the member's account checks out okay. What you see above is NOT correct. Robert |
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| Thank you, Robert, so much for your reply. I feel much better about the transaction now. | ||
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Bummed out today to receive my first CD - broken! A classical - Mozart for my husband. It was well-wrapped by the sender in the 2 papers plus the info/artwork for protection. But, badly broken in the mail. I clicked on Yes, but a problem, then - damaged by USPS, and instantly received an e-mail, and restored credit on my account. So I applaud this site's responsiveness and integrity - but wonder if we need to revise wrapping suggestions... Judy |
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Hello, I got my first cd today! I just have a suggestion. instead of no didn't get it, yes got it, and yes problem I think there should be a 4th category for people who get the cd's but have not listen to them all the way through to tell them that there is a problem with the CD. Just a thought. |
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| Good point Melanie. Maybe we should all listen to the cds when we receive them before we mark them received! | ||
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| If the CD looks at all scuffed or scratched I listen to it before I mark it received. So far they have all played fine :::knocking on wood:::: | |||
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I chose a fun Halloween CD and it arrived packaged perfectly and with TONS of tape LOL. But alas, it was in lots of little pieces when it arrived. I was so disappointed, I had picked it out for my son's Halloween party coming up in a month. Besides choosing "damaged by USPS", is there anything further I need to do (submit photos, etc.) to receive a replacement credit? Or is this even an option? If not, I'd like to request that all future CDs mailed be sent in a more sturdy wrapper - paper (even with LOTS of tape) just doesn't seem sufficient. I've taken the liberty of mailing a couple of mine out in cardboard sleeves and they've arrived in perfect condition. |
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| Alicia, when you click "Damaged by USPS" it will automatically refund your credit and fee. | ||
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| I did click "Damaged by USPS" and it didn't refund my credit. It's been a couple of days now. How long should it take? | ||
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| Hello? I still haven't received my refund. It's now been well over a week, going on two. How long will it take? | ||
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Alicia, it sounds like a glitch in the system. Use feedback to give them a synopsis of events - that will go directly to them. I don't imagine they have time to read all the forums, and they probably aren't aware that the system didn't work as it should in your case. Last Edited on: 9/20/06 11:54 PM ET - Total times edited: 1 |
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I received my first CD a couple days ago, and to my sadness it was in two pieces. As soon as I answered the questions about the CD, I had my credit and money back. I just don't think that two pieces of paper are sufficient. The envelope was even stamped (twice!) FRAGILE. I would like to see the shipping standards go up a bit, maybe not requiring a bubble mailer, I can't afford that, but just adding SOME padding (like I said in another forum, I use plastic garbage bags, and so far haven't had any problems) would be nice. |
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In my somewhat limited experience so far, the best & cheapest way to mail is to use the mailer with an added piece of cardboard or boxboard. I cut a piece of boxboard that is the size of the rectangle containing the address on the mailer and I keep it on hand to use as a template to cut more as I need them. For anyone who still has concerns, a bubble mailer provides excellent protection, though it will up the shipping cost to $1.11 or $1.35, depending on weight. I would *not* recommend anything that makes the package lumpy or misshapen. It increases the risk of it getting caught in the machines at the PO. I received a package recently where the CD was left in the plastic tray insert (but taken out of the clear jewel case) and then wrapped in the paper mailer. The package appeared to have gotten caught in a machine along the way. Both the tray and the CD were broken. Just a word of caution. |
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I just received my first broken CD out of about a dozen that have arrived successfully. I got my credit and money back almost immediately, AND the system reordered the CD for me! I'm disappointed that this one is broken, but talk about great service! I agree about not sending CDs in just the paper mailer. If I have the case along with the CD, I use the CD sized bubble mailers, and if I just have the CD, I use the SACD wrapper along with a piece of lightweight cardboard. So far I haven't had any complaints. The only thing I could suggest that might have protected the one I received today is for the sender to have written Fragile on both sides in big, bold letters, as I always do with CDs and DVDs. The printed ones just aren't obvious enough. |
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I must be having the same glitch as Alicia. I reported it as damaged as USPS, described the damage, and clicked "Yes, I want to send this message" (or whatever the wording is there). The transaction is still sitting on my "My Account" page, as if it were still in progress. Should I do something further, or give it a few hours to see if the server has to refresh itself or something? |
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| I had the same thing happen yesterday too, Elizabeth. A few weeks ago, when I had one that arrived broken, the CD was automatically taken off of My Account and I was credited for it pretty much immediately. I'm thinking, since they ask now about the type of damage, they're put in more of a review process for refunding credit. At least that's what I hope is going on :-) | ||
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| I had one arrive today broken but recieved my credit back, I'm still bummed I really wanted that CD. | |||
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It's so disappointing to receive a CD that way. I would be just as disappointed to hear that one of the CDs I sent arrived broken. What a waste! I have never liked the idea of using just a paper wrapper for CDs. The postal service can be a cold cruel world for a CD without protection. When I first joined I sent them with their cases and wrapped in bubble wrap. That got a bit expensive ($1.11-$1.35), and I was running short of cases to put the CDs I ordered into. All my CDs go out like this now: I sandwich the CD and artwork between two pieces of boxboard cut to slightly bigger than the artwork, tape that shut on all 4 sides, then wrap the CD with the paper wrappers. It's worked well so far, and most of them are still only .63 to mail. For me, it's worth a little extra effort to help ensure that someone else can enjoy a CD that I no longer need/want. |
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Thanks, Dawn. It did turn out to be a glitch. I sent feedback and got a response and a credit/refund less than 24 hours later. The process isn't perfect, but they do have great customer service. In a way I guess it's good that they don't have really stringent conditions for how to package it. I think I'm careful about mailing and taping and padding, and I would feel a little resentful if every transaction came with a lot of requirements about packaging. But at the same time, I would also be disappointed to hear that a CD I sent arrived damaged - not just because I don't get a credit, but because I want someone to be able to use the CDs I don't want. I'm with Netflix, and I've never received a DVD that was damaged by USPS. I wonder why. Is the P.O. more careful because they have NETFLIX plastered all over the disc? Or they have a shorter distance to travel? |
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After receiving my first CD damaged (broken in half), I've taken to mailing out the CD's with a thin piece of cardboard in the regular paper mailer, to give some extra support to the CD. So far.......so good with the ones I've sent out. The cost may be slightly higher, but I usually just toss on two 39 cent stamps and it goes OK. I'm really surprised that so many of these CD's get damaged. I know it takes quite a bit of force to BREAK a CD in half. I guess if WE think it would be better to add some extra packaging to ensure safe delivery, then that is what each of us should do. Dewey |
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