For those in the U.S. midwest: Disc Replay

[heavyharmonies]

EDIT: Images removed upon request

Brick & mortar sources for Blu-Rays and DVD are rapidly disappearing from the landscape. As convenient as eBay and Amazon are, as a lifelong collector there's something about digging through shelves and racks of goods... the thrill of the hunt!

I'm old enough to remember when it wasn't easy to own movies. When I was growing up and went to college, the industry was centered around tape rentals. The Beta-VHS wars predate me, but when I was in college, you couldn't afford video tapes, because they were $75-150 and only sold to video rental stores, not to consumers. You went to the local video store, rented a VHS tape for $5 for a night (2 or 3 if you were lucky). You had to remember to rewind the tapes before taking them back ("Be kind, REWIND!") or the store would charge you a rewinding fee.

And just like audio cassettes and 8-track tapes, you hoped that your VCR wouldn't "eat" a rental tape, because it would cost you a fortune.

Then came laserdisc... I remember going to Camelot Music in the mall and browse the (insanely expensive!) laserdiscs. There was a local independent store called "Laser's Edge" that carried Japanese laserdisc imports. I still have a couple Pioneer laserdisc players somewhere in storage.

Then came DVD. Remember "flippers" with 4:3 on one side and widescreen on the other? The "black bar" debates and how so many people hated widescreen versions because at the time all the TVs were 4:3. Heck, my first HDTV was 4:3 aspect ratio, a Toshiba TN55X81.

Then came the big one: The Red vs. Blue wars. I was fervently Team HD-DVD. I was at Best Buy that first weekend in April of 2006, where I bought my Toshiba HD-DVD player and The Last Samurai. The debates and arguments raged like no other before Blu-Ray finally won out.

Throughout all these periods, there were always places you could buy used video: independent stores, pawn shops... even the big box stores had cutout bins everywhere, where you could find import and OOP titles.

Well... that was then.

Now, pawn shops around here are carrying fewer and fewer movies, used CD stores have disappeared, Circuit City is long gone, as is Camelot Music. Best Buy no longer carries music, and a minimal number of movie titles. There's only so far that the Big Lots and Dollar Tree bargain bins will get you.

It's become a pretty barren landscape for those who enjoy scrounging for OOP or unusual titles.

Enter Disc Replay. Think Gamestop, but no PC games, just gaming consoles and games (including vintage/legacy game cartridges and old game consoles in original boxes, etc), and used DVDs and Blu-Rays.

Buy 5 titles and the 6th is free (lowest priced one is free).

http://www.discreplay.com/

ILLINOIS
Bloomington
Champaign
Countryside
Cresthill
Downers Grove
Naperville
Orland Park
Peoria
Rockford

KENTUCKY
Owensboro

INDIANA
Columbus
Evansville
Fort Wayne
Highland
Indianapolis East
Indianapolis North
Indianapolis South
Indianapolis West
Lafayette
Merrillville
Mishawaka
Terre Haute

OHIO
Lima

IOWA
Davenport

MICHIGAN
Battlecreek
Flint
Grandville
Jackson
Kentwood
Lansing
Livonia
Roseville
Saginaw
Taylor
Troy

I'm at a point where the only things I'm buying are 4K steelbooks and 3D blu-rays, the latter becoming increasingly difficult to find on a local basis. Online is really the only option, and frequently the prices for 3D titles are marked up the wazoo on Amazon.

I only just discovered the local Disc Replay store about 1.5 months ago. My particular store is roughly 50:50 in terms of square footage devoted to movies vs. games.

I've been there 3 times and the turnover is actually pretty good. I've come away with 3D Blu-Rays every trip, and was actually able to score a copy of the 4K Steelbook Spiderman Legacy Collection on my trip a few weeks ago.

Pricing is hit or miss. Some are attractively priced, whereas others (especially 4K) are priced as much or more for 2nd hand titles than you pay for new online. It's really 3D Blu-Rays that I'm finding are great hunting there.

Sometimes the titles will have original slipcases, sometimes they'll even have unredeemed digital code slips.

The biggest problem are the f*cking price stickers they put on everything. They use a sticker that does NOT peel off without leaving residue, even if the sticker was only put on the day before. I'm guessing that they don't want them to be easy to come off. What's more annoying is that they frequently apply the sticker in such a way as to cross onto lenticular slips. Judicious work with a hair dryer and/or Goo Gone is required.


Today's haul - $US43.55 (including usury 10% sales tax) for 6 titles = $7.25 each:

My Bloody Valentine 3D, including original 3D glasses still sealed.

Gnomeo & Juliet 3D

IMAX Island of Lemurs Madagascar 3D

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D

Shrek The Complete Collection 3D

Pirates of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides 3D (Best Buy edition). 6-disc set including a Best Buy exclusive bonus disc. Still has the original slipcase with a gorgeous lenticular panel.

[strumdogg]

I have a couple of these close to me, and try to visit about once per week. Usually come away with something good. Their 4K section has been increasingly getting a lot better, but yeah, it definitely pays to check online/new prices.

Also, you definitely see a fair number of Dollar Tree titles on the shelves, usually around $4.99.

[heavyharmonies]

Originally Posted by strumdogg

Also, you definitely see a fair number of Dollar Tree titles on the shelves, usually around $4.99.

Heh. I noticed the very same thing at my location!

[W]

Our local one used to be great and if I searched I could find 2-3 titles a week I wanted and felt good about the pricing. The best thing I found was The Man Who Fell to Earth Criterion for $12.99 - 20% or 30% during a sale. A few years ago (I believe) a guy that owns some in Indianapolis bought the store. Since then everything is either like those Dollar Tree titles or priced much higher than elsewhere.

I saw five copies each of the same exact four Criterion titles for $20-$25 (used of course) sitting on the shelf for two and a half years and asked them if they'd consider repricing them. They typed in their computer and said "No, Amazon has it for x price." So they all sat on the shelf until they had to clear inventory for 50% off.

I used to love the place but I haven't found anything decent at my store in a couple years. I have found stuff in Indianapolis (pre-COVID). And I hate the stickers too.

[YogiYahooeys]

I've got one in my hometown that I go to when I visit family for some holidays, which is usually fortuitous timing, as they generally have great holiday sales, often 50% off their already good prices for 4K, Blu-ray, Box Set, and 70% off single title DVDs. One of my favorite places to visit...

I have had a few instances where I received some titles in bad condition, but they have their own industrial disc buffers that do a darn good job. Unfortunately, with the closing of Family Video, they're just about the only place I know of where I can find someone to clean scratched up discs, not that anyone at the FVs actually knew how to use them properly...

[heavyharmonies]

So this weekend I decided to hit up one of these stores in a town about 45 miles away. This one was branded "Mega Replay" rather than "Disc Replay", but it's part of the same chain, as it's listed on the same website as the others.

So the "Mega" is primarily that it's a larger storefront, roughly 3x the square footage of my local store, and they also sell used books, and also Anime figures, funko-pops, posters, etc.

That said, it's pretty apparent that stores are individually managed, as this store was a complete sh*t show compared to my local store. At my local Disc Replay, all discs are checked for scratches coming in and thoroughly cleaned/washed before going out. If a release is missing a disc, it is marked on the exterior of the case so you know what might be missing.

This store does neither of those things.

Several titles I pulled had scratches or were badly enough smudged/fingerprinted/shat upon that I had them run the discs through their industrial disc repair machines, and a couple of them had to be thrown back.

Over a dozen titles I had pulled had missing discs without anything marked on the case. Now unless I'm buying something as a collectible or for resale, as long as the primary format disc is included, I'm not going to complain if the price is right. For example, all of the titles I pulled were 3D Blu-Rays, so as long as the 3D disc was there and in decent shape, I wasn't going to bypass it if it was missing the regular Blu-Ray, DVD, or Digital Copy disc.

That said, there were 4 titles I had to throw back because the 3D disc was missing. Not good for a 3D title.

Despite the minefield that was their inventory, it was large enough that I found a considerable number of 3D titles I didn't have (I'm a bit of a Johnny Come Lately to 3D releases, so that's actually not that difficult... my issue is not wanting to pay the inflated prices that 3D titles as NOS appear to bring on Amazon and other places).

Averaging things out and factoring in their "Buy 5, get the 6th one free" deal, the movies I picked up averaged $5.80 apiece including highway robbery sales tax.

All in all, not a bad haul and worth making the trip.




3D Magic Forest. I didn't realize it while shopping, but apparently this is faux 3D and not real 3D. Oh well, can't win 'em all.

The Box Trolls

Escape from Planet Earth

The Legend of Hercules. Artwork is a bit munged on this one.

James Cameron's Deepsea Challenge

Finding Nemo. Artwork has seen better days.

The Smurfs

Resident Evil: Afterlife

Resident Evil: Retribution

The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

Men in Black 3

Guardians of the Galaxy

Flying Swords of Dragon Gate

Bolt. Still sealed.

Kung Fu Panda 2

Upside Down. With slipcase

Yogi Bear. Lenticular slipcase

The Smurfs 2. Lenticular slipcase

Ice Age Continental Drift. Foil slipcase

Captain America the Winter Soldier. Embossed slipcase

X-Men Days of Future Past. Foil slipcase

Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug. Lenticular slipcase

Despicable Me. Lenticular slipcase

Despicable Me 2. Lenticular slipcase

The Lion King. Lenticular slipcase

[heavyharmonies]

Since I had to go to a store right across the street from my local Disc Replay I figured I'd drop in again, even though I had just been there a week ago. It would be a good test of how their turnover was, as I'm only looking for 3D titles, which is now somewhat of an esoteric niche.

I didn't have high hopes, and wouldn't have judged things harshly had there been nothing new in a week, but darned if there weren't four 3D titles that I don't have that weren't there a week ago. Roughly $6.50 after tax per title.


Doctor Who - The Day of the Doctor 50th Anniversary Special

Run

Zootopia

Journey to the Center of the Earth. Lenticular slipcase and 4 pairs of branded 3D glasses.

[heavyharmonies]

NOTE: I have removed the images from this thread and will no longer be posting pictures, as I received several complaints about the images.


So this being a long weekend, I decided to venture a bit further afield, traveling to Indianapolis, IN to hit the 4 Disc Replay stores there. Then I looped around to hit the store in Terre Haute, IN before returning behind the iron curtain of The Peoples Republic of Illinois.

All told, including the roughly 1.5 hours each way to Indianapolis it was roughly a 12-hour trip door to door, with 5 Disc Replay stores visited.

I decided I needed to be a bit more selective moving forward. Rather than just buying a 3D title because I didn't already own it, wait for a copy that still has a slipcase, unless it's a title I'm pretty sure didn't come with one, or a title that was unusual or appeared to be somewhat more scarce, i.e., I would have had to spend $20+ on (per Amazon and eBay).

The 5 stores ran the gamut from tiny footprint like my local store up to 2 of the locations being much larger like the Bloomington, IL store I mentioned above. I ended up buying titles at all 5 locations, and across the board the stores did not have the issues I mentioned above with the Bloomington location. The youngsters working the counters were exceptionally polite in all cases.

All told, I came home with 33 new (to me) Blu-Ray titles, averaging $7.35 per, including sales tax. Not a bad haul for a day of scrounging.

All titles are 3D Blu-Rays.

Amazing Spider-man 2
Ant-Man. Embossed foil slipcase
Arthur Christmas. Lenticular slipcase
Avengers. Embossed foil slipcase, includes Target exclusive BR "Building a Cinematic Universe"
Brave (Disney/Pixar). Lenticular slipcase
Captain America Civil War. Embossed foil slipcase
Captain America, The First Avenger. Embossed foil slipcase
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Conan the Barbarian
Drive Angry. Embossed foil slipcase
Finding Dory. Lenticular slipcase
Ghost Rider, Spirit of Vengeance
Godzilla. Lenticular slipcase
In the Heart of the Sea. Lenticular slipcase
Insurgent. Lenticular slipcase
Iron Man 3. Embossed slipcase
John Carter (Disney)
Kung Fu Panda 3
Legend of the Guardians - The Owls of Ga'Hoole
Lion of Judah
Monsters University (Disney/Pixar)
Penguins of Madagascar (Dreamworks)
Priest (Unrated)
Secret of the Wings (Disney). Lenticular slipcase
Tangled (Disney)
The Green Hornet
The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey. Lenticular slipcase
The Last Airbender. Lenticular slipcase
The Martian. Slipcase
The Spongebob Movie, Sponge Out of Water
Thor The Dark World. Embossed slipcase
Thor. Embossed slipcase
Transformers Dark of the Moon. Lenticular slipcase

[strumdogg]

Originally Posted by heavyharmonies

NOTE: I have removed the images from this thread and will no longer be posting pictures, as I received several complaints about the images.

I did not mind the images. If the complaints were about their size, you could just use the built-in images from the site listings like others often do, e.g...

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=424

[heavyharmonies]

Another weekend, another opportunity for a road trip...

This time, instead of looking outside the walls, I stayed behind the iron curtain of The Peoples Republic of Illinois, but set my sights northward, to the heart of the evil empire... that's right: Chicagoland.

I planned a route through the Chicago suburbs, hitting 5 different Disc Replay stores in the region:

1. Orland Park (http://discreplay.com/orland-park)
2. La Grange/Countryside (http://discreplay.com/countryside)
3. Downers Grove (http://discreplay.com/downers-grove)
4. Naperville (http://discreplay.com/naperville)
5. Crest Hill (http://discreplay.com/crest-hill)

In retrospect, and the next time I do this loop/route, I should have done the list in reverse. Coming from downstate IL, I started my return trip home as the sun was setting and it took me through a long stretch of back roads to get me back to I-57. Had I reversed the route, I would have hit those roads at the beginning of the trip in full daylight and my entire trip home would have been on the interstate. Lesson learned.

I learned that the Chicagoland Disc Replay stores are distinctly different from those in Indiana and downstate IL, presumably due to a different owner/franchise group:

1. The signage/branding is different.
2. Unlike downstate and IN stores, these stores also carry used CDs and vinyl.
3. They don't use a digital check-in and rewards system like the stores I'd previously been to.
4. The first 3 stores above do *NOT* have a "Buy 5 get 6th free* deal.
5. The stores have a dedicated section for 3D Blu-Rays... which is a misnomer. I didn't realize until I hit the third store that there were also 3D blu-rays mixed in with the regular stock. I'll have to go back in a month or two and revisit the regular blu-ray stock of those first 3 stores.
6. Chicagoland prices are much higher than downstate IL and IN stores, which I guess is true of all merchandise and services... prices rise in relation to proximity with Cook County. They especially mark-up 4K and recognized 3D titles, frequently to prices higher than what you pay for new if you shop deals.

I picked up quite a few titles, but the average spend was about 40% higher than previous trips, averaging $11.37 including sales tax per title. Now we're treading into price territory where moving forward I will need to be more judicious, focusing on titles that aren't easily found elsewhere or would cost me $20+ new. I would imagine that as my 3D collection fills out there will be increasingly diminished returns for these sorts of trips.

While the vast majority were 3D blu-rays, I did pick up one 4K steelbook title and a pair of music performance blu-rays to add to my collection.

Cars 2 3D, lenticular slipcase
Cats and Dogs, the Revenge of Kitty Galore 3D, lenitcular slipcase
Deadpool 2 4K UHD Steelbook, with Best Buy plastic slipcase
Gamma Ray - Live Skeletons & Majesties
Green Lantern 3D, lenticular slipcase
Gullivers Travels 3D, foil slipcase
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, 3D
Hoodwinked Too, Hood vs. Evil 3D
Hotel Transylvania 3D, lenticular slipcase
Hugo 3D, embossed slipcase
Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs 3D
Jurassic World 3D, tin with cardboard stand-up
Marillion - Brave Live 2013
Oz The Great and Powerful 3D, embossed foil slipcase
Point Break 3D, lenticular slipcase
Predator 3D, lenticular slipcase
Star Wars - The Force Awakens 3D Collectors Edition, lenticular slipcase
Texas Chainsaw 3D, lenticular slipcase
The Darkest Hour 3D
The Great Gatsby 3D
The Little Mermaid 3D, embossed foil slipcase
The Three Musketeers 3D, embossed slipcase
The Universe in 3D, 3-BR box with lenticular box cover
The Wizard of Oz 3D, lenticular keep case
Top Gun 3D, lenticular slipcase
Toy Story 2 3D
Tron Legacy 3D, lenticular slipcase
Wreck-It Ralph 3D, lenticular slipcase

[Ari_Gold]

Disc Replay can be a solid place. I've had tons of great finds through the years at these stores in metro Detroit.

If they ever have a grand opening, you will want to line up early to get first crack at items. Most people go right for the rare vintage games, and nobody usually looks at the movies right away. The stores are always loaded on day 1.

[MazeRunner]

Please repost the pics!

Just post one to show and the rest behind a spoiler cut.

[heavyharmonies]

Had a business trip yesterday so since I was close by, I hit the one downstate IL Disc Replay I hadn't been to yet, the Peoria store (http://discreplay.com/peoria).

It was ok. I picked up six 3D titles. Far enough drive for me (1.5 hours) that I wouldn't make a special trip. On the way back I hit the Bloomington, IL store (http://discreplay.com/bloomington) that I had been to a couple of weeks ago. Nothing new at all in my interest area.

I also hit a number of pawn shops that I used to routinely hit back when I was doing my monthly CD scrounging circuit in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and sadly physical media really has gone the way of the dodo. Fertile if you collect plain DVDs, as that's about all that the pawn shops seem to have, and likely have been in stock for years. None had any major blu-ray inventory, let alone 4K.


Then today being a day off from work, I decided to make a circuit up into northern Indiana, the last remaining area of Disc replay stores that are doable in a single-day drive. The Michigan stores are too far away.

I left at 8AM and was home by 8PM, having put 420 miles on the car and hit four Disc Replay stores in the process... the trip was both good and bad.

The first store I hit was in Lafayatte, IN (http://discreplay.com/lafayette), the home of Purdue University. Very good selection! The trip was off to a banging start, with 12 3D titles.

Next came the longest leg of the trip, taking me to Mishawaka, IN (http://discreplay.com/mishawaka). As I entered the store, I got a text message from the Disc Replay rewards provider: thanks for visiting here's a 15% off coupon for one item. Sweet! The store didn't have much, but they did have sealed copy of The Incredibles 4K steelbook, but as with most of their "collectibles" it was VERY high priced... as in high-end eBay unsold asking prices. I asked whether the price was negotiable, and was told no. So I said I would use the coupon on it... "what coupon?" So I showed them. "Oh, we don't honor those here."

Dafuq?

At this point I was just annoyed by the douchenozzle, so I left the other titles I was planning to buy on the counter and just left. It was the farthest trip store for me, so no reason for me to bother returning again.

Another hour and 20 minute drive to the third store in Merrilville, IN (http://discreplay.com/merrillville). Annoyingly, Google Maps took me to a location several blocks away from the actual store and after driving around I had to ask directions... putting me in an even more dour mood.

To add insult to injury, the Merrillville store is a dead store walking. Not only was the selection the worst of ANY of the Disc Replay stores I'd ever been to, but they tried to hide their lack of inventory by spreading all the titles out across racks, and even at that the place looked empty. Hardly any foot traffic while I was there either.

So as I started my drive to the last store in Highland, IN (http://discreplay.com/highland) I reflected on how a trip that started so well went south in a big fat hurry, and if I struck out at the last store I would likely be raging for the entire 2-hour drive home... in the dark.

However I needn't have worried. The Highland, IN Disc Replay store is a rock star! Busy AF with respect to customer traffic and a very large selection. What surprised me most though was their selection of collectibles in the locked cases including a very large number of steelbooks. All flavors (Blu-Ray, 3D Blu-Ray, 4K), both new and used, and quite a few imports as well. Not cheap by any means, but I picked up a couple of 4K steelbooks that I can no longer buy new. Well worth visiting!

I can be a bit OCD when it comes to my collecting habits (not just Blu-Rays, but in all the areas I collect), so if I discover a new version with new/different art, I might pick it up "just cuz". Also, when I jumped back into filling out my 3D collection, I initially didn't have any plan, nor did I do any research, so I'm now seeing copies with slipcases, of titles I previously bought without... which obviously won't do, so I find myself re-buying some titles. Sigh... oh well, the replaced copies will be fodder for eBay or the sale/trade threads here... damned OCD.

Here's the list of pickups from yesterday and today:

Amityville 3-D
Bait 3D
Born to be Wild 3D, lenticular slip
Dolphins and Whales, Tribes of the Ocean 3D, embossed slip
Edge of Tomorrow 3D, lenticular slip
Exodus Gods and Kings 3D, foil slip
Found Footage 3D
Friday the 13th Part 3 3-D
Glee, the 3D Concert
Great Gatsby 3D, lenticular slip
Imax Under the Sea 3D, lenticular slip
Jurassic World 3D, lenticular slipcase
Legend of Hercules 3D, embossed slip
Life of Pi CE (including 3D), foil slip
Mars Needs Moms 3D
Megamind 3D (Samsung promo)
Michael Jackson's This Is It, 3D
Monsters Inc. 3D, lenticular slip
One Direction - This Is Us 3D, lenticular slip
Pan 3D, lenticular slip
Paranormal Activity The Ghost Dimension 3D, slipcase
Passengers (4K + 3D steelbook)
Resident Evil: Vendetta (4K steelbook, new sealed)
San Andreas 3D, lenticular slip
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3D, lenticular slip
Terminator Dark Fate (4K steelbook, new sealed)
The Lorax 3D, lenticular slip
The Protector 2 3D
The Walk 3D
Tintin 3D, embossed slip
Underworld Awakening 3D
Wonder Woman (Best Buy exclusive 4k steelbook, new sealed) the one with her arm as the cover art, a reissue I think?
World War Z 3D (Target exclusive with book and slipcase)

[robtadrian]

Nice finds..especially Amityville. Just a note Found Footage is anaglyphic 3D only (no polarized available). Your versions of Journey to the Center of the Earth and My Bloody Valentine might be as well since they come with glasses. Polarized versions are available...

[W]

I found a bag of Disc Replay stuff I bought sometime last year and never messed with. A couple digibooks (a Star is Born, How the West was won) and a super clean, complete copy of Once Upon a Time in America Collector's Edition. I had no clue it was super sought after. Luckily the pricing sticker peeled off perfectly.

[heavyharmonies]

Yeah, I usually end up spending quite a bit of time with a hair dryer and scotch tape after a Disc Replay trip...

[heavyharmonies]

Another weekend... what to do... where to go? I've already hit all of the Disc Replay stores within easy driving distance. The single stores in Iowa and Ohio are too far away to justify a trip. The stores in Michigan would be a multi-day trip, so nah. At some point I may try to combine the Evansville, IN and Owensboro, KY stores into a trip, but that's still a long-azzed drive.

So I decided to combine two of my previous trips and optimize routes to maximize coverage, now that I've hit all the stores in the region and have at least an initial feel for them.

Also, the 3 Chicago suburbs stores (Orland Park, Downers Grove, Countryside), while not participating in the same rewards program the other stores have, give you a coupon that can then be redeemed in a specific future time window. I don't know the actual parameters, but for example, the last trip up there I earned a $10 off any purchase coupon, redeemable at any of those 3 stores, but only between March 1 and March 13. As I earned another coupon for $10 this time around, based on the purchase amount, I assume it's something like $5 on $50+ purchases and/or $10 on $100+. Not sure if there are other tiers. This new coupon expires at the end of this month, but I won't be going back before then, so that's lost.

I get the idea of having time-restricted reward coupon, as it keeps people coming back into the store(s) on a regular basis, but unfortunately it's not so great for customers living outside the area.

Interesting note: the owner of these 3 Chicagoland stores appears to be a fan of the Hamilton Book drops, as I saw a number of Olive titles from recent drops in their "new sealed" sections of horror/niche/art films... of course priced to the max. None of the stores outside these 3 carry any new movies.

This time out I combined my previous northern Illinois trip with the 2 westernmost locations of my northern Indiana trip. In terms of miles driven, it ended up being the best Disc Replay route I've come up with to date, reaching 7 different stores, roughly 12 hours door to door, driving 373 miles in total.

Some may wonder why I would spend all the time and money to revisit stores I've been to within the last month. Several reasons:

1. I enjoy "the thrill of the hunt".
2. I enjoy day-long drives. I can crank up the tunes or zone out to NFL radio and just relax.
3. My car gets just over 50 miles to the gallon even at 78mph, so the total gasoline cost of $20-24 for a day of entertainment really isn't that much.
4. It allows me to gauge the potential short-term turnover rates of different stores, for planning future trips.

In short, trips like this are recreation for me.

I went into the trip with low expectations, and while some of the stores fulfilled that expectation, others did not. Of the 7 stores:

2 stores: 0 titles purchased
2 stores: 1 title purchased
1 store: 3 titles purchased
1 store: 9 titles purchased
1 store 13 titles purchased

And the specific store results this time didn't exactly match the purchase results from the previous trip; the two stores where I found the most titles where somewhat surprising to me. In the case of one of them, I think I timed it lucky, as it appears that the majority of titles all came in at once from the same seller (per the clerk) ... all in pristine condition, all paperwork included, and all with original slips.

Quite a few purchases were "upgrades" from when I first started this journey, when I was buying anything that had "3D" on the spine without bothering to check whether they had originally come with slipcases. Now I know to check online while at the store before buying to see whether a release originally came with one or not (eBay listings are good for this purpose), and my default is to look primarily for items on the shelves that are in slipcases; titles not in slipcases are secondary and likely won't be purchased unless I can ascertain for certain there was no slip originally, or it's ultra-cheap and I think will make good trade/sale items.

Why wouldn't I just buy some of these 3D titles online, since some are still available? Because actually getting a slipcase is insanely hit or miss across most vendors. About the only way to be sure you get a slipcase is to buy on eBay, from a listing using non-stock images that show the slipcase. Once you factor in shipping costs and tax, it's usually the same or more than what I'm paying even factoring in trip costs... and I get to examine the condition of the slips and discs in hand before buying.

There's something to be said for the tactile experience of shopping in person... which I feel in a few years time will have gone the way of the dodo. I think that for certain commodities, the only way to buy will be through online venues.

I'm also picking up alternate versions of titles I already have if I feel the packing or extras are interesting, e.g., steelbooks, retail exclusives, etc. My completist tendencies are having a bit of a field day...

I did splurge on a pair of new sealed steelbooks at somewhat outrageous prices at one of the stores (images in spoiler at bottom).

Otherwise, my pickups included:

Alice in Wonderland 3D (lenticular slip)
Batman v. Superman Dawn of Justice 3D, lenticular slip
Bolt 3D commercial release version with lenticular slip
Divergent - Insurgent 3D + 2D steelbook with original J-card
Dredd 3D, embossed slip
Goosebumps 3D, lenticular slip
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 3D, lenticular slip
Hellbenders 3D, paper slip
Hotel Transylvania 2 3D, lenticular slip
Inside Out 3D Ultimate Edition, Best Buy exclusive with collectors cards, lenticular slip
Jack the Giant Slayer 3D, lenticular slip
Jurassic Park 3D, embossed foil slip
Madagascar 3 Europe's Most Wanted 3D, paper slip
Paranorman 3D, lenticular slip
Resident Evil: Retribution 3D, lenticular slip
Rise of the Guardians 3D, embossed slip
Rogue One (5-disc oversized case with swappable cover plates; includes 3D)
The Boxtrolls 3D, lenticular slip
The Hobbit Battle of the 5 Armies 3D, lenticular slip
The Incredible Hulk 4K steelbook with original J-card
The Martian 3D, paper slip
The Pirates! Band of Misfits 3D, lenticular slip
The Spongebob Movie 3D, lenticular slip
Titanic 3D, embossed slip
X-Men Days of Future Past Ultimate Edition, Wal-Mart exclusive with comic

[Show spoiler]

[W]

Found Criterions of:

Breaking the Waves $12.99
Fish Tank $3.33 (listed as a common DVD)

They had a few Eclipse Series DVD sets, but all like $2 under new.

[heavyharmonies]

Well, after yesterday's 760-mile jaunt up into southern Michigan and down through central Indiana, I've now been to the following in the last 3 months:

8 of 9 Illinois stores
12 of 12 Indiana stores
1 of 1 Kentucky stores
5 of 11 Michigan stores

I've been to quite a few of the IL and IN stores multiple times during that period... and I think I'm now done exploring new Disc Replay stores as the remainder are just too remote to be worth the travel involved.

It's been a lot of fun, but the combination of increasing travel time and expense vs. the diminishing returns as I fill out my 3D Blu-Ray collection makes extreme long-distance jaunts non-viable. I'm getting to the point where most titles I don't have are going to have to be acquired as imports. Bleagh.

That said, across the 26 Disc Replay stores I've been to, there are "clusters" that due to routing and proximity to one another, are worth my taking a trip once a month or so.

1. Northern IL route encompassing 7 stores (5 in Chicagoland + 2 in western Indiana).

2. Indianapolis IN encompassing 6 stores (4 Indy + Columbus + Terre Haute), and can be extended to include Lafayette IN on occasion, but that store is somewhat out of the way compared to the others.

None of the stores in these 2 routes overlap. I've done each of these routes in some variation at least twice in the last 3 months. They also include relatively high-population areas, so the turnover has proven to be decent thus far.

One additional aspect to these used-media stores that is fun for the treasure hunter is finding retailer-exclusive or limited edition versions, and the stores tend not to place any premium on these. So if there are exclusives out there that you missed, or in my case to make good trade/resale fodder, these stores can prove worthwhile. For example, yesterday I found a copy of the Wal-Mart exclusive edition of Blade Runner 2049 with the metal spinner model, and the model was still sealed.

Also, if you're looking to obtain or replace lenticular, foil, or embossed slipcovers, stores like this can be fertile ground... of course condition is all over the map. But the nice thing about shopping in person as opposed to online is that you can actually examine things in-hand before buying rather than relying on online pictures.

So that's probably about it for new Disc Replay store discoveries, but I plan to hit the ones closer to home on a regular basis. What I don't need for myself, I can always trade or resell.

P.S. The Fort Wayne, Indiana Mega Replay is garbage. I don't think I've seen more photocopied artwork and marked up ex-rental discs in one location. The Blu-Ray section is 1-20th the size of the DVD section, with literally less than 20 4K titles in inventory. Also, virtually none of any of the Blu-Ray titles had slipcovers at all; much more extreme than at any other location I've seen... which leads me to believe that there is an employee/manager there that just throws slipcovers into the trash... which triggers my collector's sensibilities immensely.

[heavyharmonies]

I dropped by my local store this afternoon with an old PS3 slim that's been sitting in storage for ages, just to see what they would offer. I wasn't expecting much, since they sell them for $79. Still, better than dealing with scammers or returns and shipping costs on eBay.

For the PS3, 1 controller, power, USB, and video cables, they offered $45 cash or $67.50 store credit... actually more than I expected.

I promptly used the store credit on an item I saw sitting on their back counter, something that completely flew under my radar when it came out, and is now no longer available: a mint copy of The Big Lebowski 4K UHD collector's edition (with the bag, sweater, pencil holder, etc.) in original packaging.

So that old dusty PS3 bought me a nice item. Can't complain.