How Much Damage to Brand New Vinyl is Normal?

[Dining Dead]

Okay, so I am brand new to the world of vinyl records. I am a novice. So, I won't act like I know anything except the basics. I have a very, very modest set-up which consists of an Audio-Technica AT-LP120-USB turntable, Polk Audio RTIA3 bookshelf speakers for the left and right, a cheap Polk Audio sub, and a barebones Pioneer receiver.

I have been buying a lot of brand new, factory sealed records. However, I've noticed that many (over 50% of them) come with some varying degree of scuffing, scratches, dimples, non-fill, chunks/divits out of the grooves, center hole far too small to easily place on the turntable, etc.

Is this normal, or am I being too picky? As far as physical media is concerned, I can only compare to blu-rays, DVDs, and CDs, and it is a very rare occasion that I receive a brand new, factory sealed item with damage. But I know vinyl is a totally different animal.

Recently, I ordered Tom Waits' Small Change and Jenny Lewis' Acid Tongue from Barnes & Noble. Small Change had a lot of scratches and there was a chip out of the edge of the vinyl. Acid Tongue was just scuffed to hell. Both played, but there was a ton of static and pops. I have successfully played other albums that are near silent, and I realize that there will be some cracks and pops with vinyl, and am okay with that. But it seems the noise on these two albums was especially bad. I got replacements today and Small Change had a brown powder on one side and a rather large divit out of the grooves on the other side. Acid Tongue again had large scuffs over the entire width of the record.

So, is receiving new vinyl in used condition just the norm and I need to get over it? Is it just a medium that comes kind of "pre-damaged" and it's up to the buyer to clean/fix it?