Has the thrill of steelbook collecting diminished?

[leburn98]

I remember when I first started collecting Blus and I was introduced to the steelbook, I loved the collector's aspect of it. Finding a rare steel was a treat and having a steelbook in the collection was a nice show piece. Now it seems like every film gets the steelbook treatment and due to the re-releasing of steelbooks, it has now lost that special something-something.

With that said, I still enjoy collecting them but I find myself not going out of my way for them.

Your thoughts?

[nefilim]

a bit yeah.

too many ... some too expensive ... and before any one starts flaming - i'm just answering a Q !

I'm kind of between ... so it's neither - sorry

[sxerunner]

Some thrill still exists through store exclusives and first run editions. Scalpers are being a pain in the rear, but otherwise I can't complain (but this is coming from a guy who's an avid slipcover collector).

[benzgrl]

I find I'm loving digibooks and digipaks a lot more. Hoping more movies will come this way.

[Moe Szyslak]

The more, the better. I like having the option to get a collectible edition for films I own. For me, it all comes down to artwork and affordability

[Bythepowerofgrayskul]

I think that due to the amount of people who are now collecting these the thrill has gone, It's the same with anything once people want something and it sells out then there will always be someone who buys 10 and cashes in on eBay just look at the ES stuff now they charge premium for Euro releases and then buyers get 25 of them and cash in on the collectors who must have them at 10 times the price

Scalpers ruin everything eventually and film companies now stick anything into a steelbook just to move numbers if a film dives at the cinema then bang it in a steelbook and watch that sucker fly come release day on Blu-Ray as collectors generally require every release as we are

Zavvi are flooding the market this year with them and yes that is a good thing if we get films we want but for those of us that need to have everything single UK issue it is getting a bit beyond a joke now

[Abdrewes]

Never caught the bug myself. With so many movies, I don't feel the need to display any.

[sheldo]

There should be a third option

3) I've never bought releases purely because they were steelbooks - you people are sick!

[Lacrymosa]

I won't buy a steelbook for the sake of the steelbook if I don't like the film (edit let me clarify further, I won't buy any movie I don't like, and a steelbook won't change my mind is what I meant). Sometimes I opt for the steel during a blind buy, but if I wasn't going to blind buy a film or buy a film at all a steel doesn't entice me. I really only buy the steel if I like the cover better than the regular bluray case and I planned on buying the film in the first place.

[MrClarke]

Originally Posted by Lacrymosa

I won't buy a steelbook for the sake of the steelbook if I don't like the film.

Same goes for me. But with any movie regardless of it's packaging. I don't understand the idea of collecting steelbooks/digibooks (or again, just blu rays in general) of films you don't even like for the sake of having a bigger collection. I've blind bought movies of course, but even those, only if I was interested in them.

With that said, when it comes to purchasing a steelbook over amaray, if it comes as a steelbook option, I'd rather get it, just because I like them. I still don't display them on special stands or cases or anything else. They're in alphabetical order with the rest of my movies.

[Moe Szyslak]

It doesn't surprise me that people do this, but I find it odd that collectors will go out of their way to buy expensive premium/foreign editions of films they don't necessarily like since the art looks cool. What's worse is buying something simply because it is a steelbook (that is, if you don't find the art attractive but will pick it up anyway).

[KilloWertz]

I just got into it when Django Unchained came out and have been getting plenty of them since, so not at all for me of course.

[HD Goofnut]

Absolutely not. When I can get a steelbook for about the same price or slightly more than a standard case with slipcover then I can't complain about price. There's also the fact they usually have better artwork and hold most of their value if you ever want to sell them in the future.

[ultlife2013]

The collectors that hoard steelbooks and buy multiple copies to fund their blu ray steelbook habit are killing the fun of collecting steelbooks. I don't know why steelbooks that are oop shoot up 100-200% above their original price, it's insane. Also the resellers who buy multiple copies of a steelbook causing the steelbook to artificially sell out and thus carry the oop status, thus jacking up prices is just messed up. I'm glad they keep rereleasing older steelbooks to put a dent on the reseller market. I enjoy steelbooks but I only buy 1 copy for myself.

[PsyTrix]

Like the videos and DVD's before them - blu-ray steelbooks will be worthless one day. In all honesty, it is a colossal waste of money. And the fact that people buy them and never open them - whats the point? New technology is right around the corner ready to make your precious Steel obsolete.

Open the sucker up and enjoy it - That is the point at the end of the day.. Is it not?

[nefilim]

Originally Posted by PsyTrix

Like the videos and DVD's before them - blu-ray steelbooks will be worthless one day. In all honesty, it is a colossal waste of money. And the fact that people buy them and never open them - whats the point? New technology is right around the corner ready to make your precious Steel obsolete.

Open the sucker up and enjoy it - That is the point at the end of the day.. Is it not?

what is that ?

[Skog]

Originally Posted by nefilim

what is that ?

think he's referencing 4k, smart tv and streaming all of which will not render steelbooks obsolete, even when their value diminishes people are still going to want a nice looking storage for the hard copy of their favourite films.

[Brian81]

Originally Posted by Skog

think he's referencing 4k, smart tv and streaming all of which will not render steelbooks obsolete, even when their value diminishes people are still going to want a nice looking storage for the hard copy of their favourite films.

they'll just go for the 4K BD steelbook

[MattvonSyborg]

Originally Posted by Skog

think he's referencing 4k, smart tv and streaming all of which will not render steelbooks obsolete, even when their value diminishes people are still going to want a nice looking storage for the hard copy of their favourite films.

I think of them as memorabilia, just a physical representation of a movie you like. Maybe one day streaming will be better than blu quality but I'll still keep some nice looking blu packages around. Also not sure if the extras will be available to stream etc... When you start nerding out about special packaging, be it steels, digibooks, slips etc you've left "function" territory and you're definitely a collector.
But IMHO the average steelbook will probably not go up that much in price. There'll be about the same demand or less for most as it is now, with a few rare ones commanding high prices. The same way it is with NES games for example - which people still enjoy and collect even though you could play them all on emulators or just buy a Wii. But it's a minority of NES games that are actually more expensive now than they were on release day.
I don't think having 100 sealed steels around is a good investment. But if you enjoy your collection like that - hey, who is it hurting?

[YoreLore]

Originally Posted by ultlife2013

The collectors that hoard steelbooks and buy multiple copies to fund their blu ray steelbook habit are killing the fun of collecting steelbooks. I don't know why steelbooks that are oop shoot up 100-200% above their original price, it's insane. Also the resellers who buy multiple copies of a steelbook causing the steelbook to artificially sell out and thus carry the oop status, thus jacking up prices is just messed up. I'm glad they keep rereleasing older steelbooks to put a dent on the reseller market. I enjoy steelbooks but I only buy 1 copy for myself.

+1 agree completely