In a different world, which we think was shortly before COVID and MAGA and all things bad and in ALL CAPS occurred, Scene Point Blank had the idea to write a comprehensive piece about mailorder experiences from the people who dedicate their free time to sending you records, cds, tapes, zines and the like.
Time makes fools of us all, and this piece disappeared into the digital abyss for a while. But when we reviewed the half-finished piece maybe a year ago we liked what we had a little too much to let it go.
It's not written the way we first planned, but we've compiled 6 interviews here with a mission to give you a glimpse behind the scenes of an important and overlooked part of the biz. The interviews are with labels, zines, and distributors. The idea is to humanize the experience even more. Support your neighbors, support the people who play a role in that joy you get when you put the needle to the wax. Many fingerprints have touched your record before it was in your hands, in your ears, in your head and in your heart.
Keith Ulrey – New Granada Records
Scene Point Blank: Tell me a bit about who you are and what you do.
Keith Ulrey: I've been running DIY label New Granada since the mid '90s. I also own/run small indie record shop Microgroove in Tampa, FL. My wife Susie and I play in the band Pohgoh. Music pretty much consumes our lives.
Scene Point Blank: Why did you start the label/distro?
Keith Ulrey: Originally the label started as a true co-op, a communal name to be shared among other indie/DIY/punk bands... We seemed to be the only ones using it, so we took over the name and ran with it, hahahaha!
Scene Point Blank: How many orders do you fill per week (or month -- feel free to estimate here)?
Keith Ulrey: We're a very small DIY/bedroom label, so probably not nearly as many as other indie labels.
Scene Point Blank: How many countries do you ship to? What are the main destinations?
Keith Ulrey: Right now we only service the US, but have titles distro'd in Japan (Waterslide Records) and Germany/EU (Thirty Something Records).
Scene Point Blank: What medium do you send the most of (cd, vinyl, tape, zines, etc)?
Keith Ulrey: Vinyl and CDs
Scene Point Blank: What is the official name of the post office or service you use in your country (e.g. United States Postal Service)?
Keith Ulrey: USPS.
Scene Point Blank: How often do you go to a post office or shipping center?
Keith Ulrey: It all depends on what we have lined up for releases: usually at least once a week, maybe twice. We package up and print postage from home, then simply drop it all off at the post office.
Scene Point Blank: Basically, and this is the biggest question, what is the craziest story you've had with trying to ship an item to somebody?
Keith Ulrey: I don't know if I have any real crazy stories, but occasionally we get messages from people asking for signed/personalized items, thinking they are ordering direct from the artist/band and that said entity is handling orders and customer service emails.
Scene Point Blank: Do you have any entertaining stories about your trips to the local post office or shipping center? Do you have a relationship with the employees there?
Keith Ulrey: don't think I have too many interesting stories directly related to the post office. But, yes, I do know the staff pretty well and they tend to treat me and my packages nicely. (Fingers crossed is continues!)
Scene Point Blank: What's the weirdest thing a customer has told you related to a package you sent them?
Keith Ulrey: A couple years ago we released a pretty successful (in DIY terms) title where I shipped close to 600 LPs out of my house. We literally had zero issues, returns, etc. ....except this one person on the West Coast. He said his record arrived with a distinct "warp" and sent pics of what, to me, looked like someone had taken a cigarette lighter to the record in one small spot, not a standard "lip" or bend. I sent him a replacement, the second one "arrived" in this same exact condition. I finally sent him a third copy, expressed my disbelief in a record showing up with a perfect one-inch melted spot just like the first one and advised this would be the last copy I was sending and asked politely to not order from us again. Not sure what someone would benefit by self-damaging an LP over and over again.
Scene Point Blank: How often does somebody email/call/text that they didn't get their package? Does it happen often?
Keith Ulrey: Knock on wood! We've pretty lucky in this department.
Scene Point Blank: What is a bigger problem: lost mail, broken mail, or returned mail?
Keith Ulrey: Owning a record store and a label has me kind of neurotic when it comes to safely packaging records. I use the Mighty Mailer brand of LP mailers and they're awesome. So, from a safety perspective, our records tend to arrive just fine. USPS tracking, non-delivery and lost packages is a nightmare, though. USPS basically removes themself from any explanation of where something could be if lost...just "lost in the system somewhere". Ugh.
Scene Point Blank: Do you have any unusual stories about receiving packages from others?
Keith Ulrey: Not me, personally. My favorite record shipping story is, years ago, a friend bought a very pricey/rare jazz LP online. The mailman literally folded the package in half like a taco and shoved it in the mailbox. The record was obviously snapped in half. Ha! I can laugh at it now.
Scene Point Blank: Do you have any sage advice for other labels on how to send the perfect package?
Keith Ulrey: Care and quality packaging will save a lot of headaches.
Scene Point Blank: What is the worst thing to do?
Keith Ulrey: Send a vinyl LP in a standard manilla envelope. I've seen it done. It's bonkers.
