Our Target-exclusive Decepticon Purple copy of Transformers: The Movie — The Soundtrack, The Reformatted Edition arrived from an individual seller on eBay. The disc color is terrific, but getting to it involved a decidedly rough-looking shipping box.
The eBay packing problem
The box looked battered and hastily taped together, with a messy seam and a presentation that did not inspire much confidence. We photographed the box before opening it, then the inflatable packing material inside. This is one of the risks of buying collectibles from private sellers: packing care varies widely. The photographs show poor presentation, not proof of damage to the record, and this is not a claim that all eBay sellers pack alike.
The flat cardboard shipping box from the private eBay seller
Messy tape and rough packing along the box seam
Inflatable packing material inside the shipping box
Decepticon Purple — the record itself
The Target-exclusive markings identify this copy as the Decepticon Purple pressing. It is the Reformatted Edition, a new take on material connected to the 1986 film rather than a straightforward repress of the original soundtrack. A printed foreword adds context to that reinterpretation. The deep purple vinyl is the feature that immediately stands out once the album is removed from its sleeve.
Target-exclusive Transformers Reformatted Edition cover
Decepticon Purple variant sticker on the album
Foreword for the Transformers The Movie Reformatted Edition
Deep purple vinyl with its colorful center label
What we can and cannot conclude yet
We can evaluate what arrived and how it was packed. A visual unboxing cannot establish how the pressing sounds, whether there is surface noise or how it compares with other releases. Those are questions for a follow-up listening review. All photographs are from our own copy, conventionally optimized and discreetly watermarked.