Slipcover collectors: Don't you get tired of looking?

[RustinCohle]

I know I do. Take today for example. Looper 4K just came out but my local Best Buy didn't have any with slips. So now it becomes a multiple day hunt. I have to either drive and check other Best Buy's or order a copy online. Then you order a copy online and maybe it doesn't come with one either. Or it does but it got damaged in transit. Then you have to start all over. What should have been a five minute trip inside of a Best Buy has now become a week long journey to find a slip. You also HAVE to buy it on or near release day because if you wait till a sale or Black Friday, they may be gone.

I know I'm not alone in this because slipcovers are mentioned in almost every single thread on this website. I'm highly considering parting with all of my slipcovers and then not worrying about them in the future though. It's getting exhausting being a collector lol.

[Aztek]

Originally Posted by RustinCohle

I know I do. Take today for example. Looper 4K just came out but my local Best Buy didn't have any with slips. So now it becomes a multiple day hunt. I have to either drive and check other Best Buy's or order a copy online. Then you order a copy online and maybe it doesn't come with one either. Or it does but it got damaged in transit. Then you have to start all over. What should have been a five minute trip inside of a Best Buy has now become a week long journey to find a slip. You also HAVE to buy it on or near release day because if you wait till a sale or Black Friday, they may be gone.

I know I'm not alone in this because slipcovers are mentioned in almost every single thread on this website. I'm highly considering parting with all of my slipcovers and then not worrying about them in the future though. It's getting exhausting being a collector lol.

Hi!

I'm on the same boat and funny thing I was talking to a friend about this(he collects slipcovers too) and we talked about we sure would save a lot of money if we didn't hunt those precious pieces of cardboard in mega mint condition

Sometimes I wish that companies stop making slipcovers, I'm going to complain? for sure but my wallet will be happy

[pi2loc]

No, throughout all these years of collecting I have learned that you can find whatever it is you're looking for and for a fair price if you're patient. Being desperate and anxious will lead you to pay insane and outrageous prices that will then lead you to eventually give up.

I found The Shallows 4K lenticular slip for $8 - when someone on Facebook wanted to sell theirs for $40, lmao. I also found The Ring (Best Buy Exclusive) lenticular slip for $5. I even bought Drive FutureShop Exclusive (complete set) for around $40. I just had to keep looking every other day.

Sure, I could have saved all this money if these slips never existed but no slipless collection could even compare to the symetry and beauty of a row full of movies with mint slips. It looks way better so in my opiniont is money well spent.

I hope they never stop releasing movies with them. The hunt mustn't be stopped!

FYI, I pre-ordered Looper 4K from Best Buy and it arrived with a mint slip last weekend. Not sure what happened to all the slips at your store, Rustin.

[acroyear2]

Aren't slipcases in a general decline? As the brick and mortar stores shrink their home release selections it seems fewer new titles come with slips at all.

[humansmoke]

first world problems....

Originally Posted by RustinCohle

I know I do. Take today for example. Looper 4K just came out but my local Best Buy didn't have any with slips. So now it becomes a multiple day hunt. I have to either drive and check other Best Buy's or order a copy online. Then you order a copy online and maybe it doesn't come with one either. Or it does but it got damaged in transit. Then you have to start all over. What should have been a five minute trip inside of a Best Buy has now become a week long journey to find a slip. You also HAVE to buy it on or near release day because if you wait till a sale or Black Friday, they may be gone.

I know I'm not alone in this because slipcovers are mentioned in almost every single thread on this website. I'm highly considering parting with all of my slipcovers and then not worrying about them in the future though. It's getting exhausting being a collector lol.

[RustinCohle]

Originally Posted by pi2loc

No, throughout all these years of collecting I have learned that you can find whatever it is you're looking for and for a fair price if you're patient. Being desperate and anxious will lead you to pay insane and outrageous prices that will then lead you to eventually give up.

I found The Shallows 4K lenticular slip for $8 - when someone on Facebook wanted to sell theirs for $40, lmao. I also found The Ring (Best Buy Exclusive) lenticular slip for $5. I even bought Drive FutureShop Exclusive (complete set) for around $40. I just had to keep looking every other day.

Sure, I could have saved all this money if these slips never existed but no slipless collection could even compare to the symetry and beauty of a row full of movies with mint slips. It looks way better so in my opiniont is money well spent.

I hope they never stop releasing movies with them. The hunt mustn't be stopped!

FYI, I pre-ordered Looper 4K from Best Buy and it arrived with a mint slip last weekend. Not sure what happened to all the slips at your store, Rustin.

$40 for The Shallows 4K slip is a steal. I may have even paid that for it. Still one of the slips I'm missing. I've seen them on eBay for $80-$100+

I usually don't hunt for slipcovers though. I buy most movies on release day and get the slipcovers then. Except for the examples like today where I have to drive around and search for one.

Originally Posted by acroyear2

Aren't slipcases in a general decline? As the brick and mortar stores shrink their home release selections it seems fewer new titles come with slips at all.

It seems like more and more releases are coming out without them. Brick and mortar stores will eventually eliminate physical media completely except for maybe huge Disney releases. Amazon will realize that all the returns they're receiving back as "damaged" aren't actually damaged at all because the cases are still sealed and fine but the cardboard cover has a slight ding in the corner, and they'll cut down on allowing returns for that.

[CrowKiller]

Not sure what mainstreamers obsession with slipcovers for their movies is about. Most of the modern movie slips are just thin pieces of cardboard with the same art as the case, which usually new crappy art. Seems boring and pointless to me. That's one thing I like about a lot of old sleazy stuff I buy. Places like Vinegar Syndrome have high quality thick unique slips worth even paying extra for. Other similar companies have unique slips as well. Different art on the slip, reverse original poster art on the other side of the case art. Has a nice effect to it.

Once you get used to that, it's hard not to laugh at mainstreamers obsession over mediocre presentations. Even most mainstream steelbooks art IMO is mediocre in most cases. Ultimately a case is a case and what's on the disc matters the most, which also usually comes up short for mainstreamers as well. Beyond the audio/visual presentation anyway.

Crazy how old sleazy movies get such amazing presentations for their releases, while most mainstream movies get the bare minimum and usually garbage new photoshopped art. Wish the major studios would at least use original poster art for their releases. I can see why they don't really go the extra mile though. Most of their consumers aren't collectors, don't care about the cases/art, don't care about extras, and often times won't even bother buying a physical disc to begin with. I mean... you couldn't even get most of these people to sit down and watch a movie with commentary, even if their lives depended on it. lol

[RustinCohle]

It's more about the complete collection than it is about the design itself, IMO. Having a slipcover on everything vs. just having them on the boutique label releases. It wouldn't make sense to me to throw away some slipcovers but keep some. It's gotta be all or nothing.

[weberrygt]

If I am going to purchase a movie, and it comes with a slip, and slips are still available, then yes I will want a slip in the best condition possible. I have become less obsessed in terms of having mint slips, but if I see one I will generally get it, but fewer selections in stores has sort of forced my hand to just say ok and let it be. It’s sort of a relief almost.

[F13BluRay]

Yes I did! Finally got to the point where I stopped caring about them.

Sold about 450 of them for close to $400 about 6 months ago.
One of the best decisions I ever made regarding my collecting

[RustinCohle]

Originally Posted by F13BluRay

Yes I did! Finally got to the point where I stopped caring about them.

Sold about 450 of them for close to $400 about 6 months ago.
One of the best decisions I ever made regarding my collecting

Only $400? I probably have four rare 4K slips that I could get $400 for. I was thinking more along the lines of $3-5k for the whole 4K collection.

[F13BluRay]

Originally Posted by RustinCohle

Only $400? I probably have four rare 4K slips that I could get $400 for. I was thinking more along the lines of $3-5k for the whole 4K collection.

Time to sell then

I'm not sure how rare any of mine were. It was more about getting rid of them/not collecting them anymore than it was profit

[King O.A.]

Originally Posted by RustinCohle

I know I do. Take today for example. Looper 4K just came out but my local Best Buy didn't have any with slips. So now it becomes a multiple day hunt. I have to either drive and check other Best Buy's or order a copy online. Then you order a copy online and maybe it doesn't come with one either. Or it does but it got damaged in transit. Then you have to start all over. What should have been a five minute trip inside of a Best Buy has now become a week long journey to find a slip. You also HAVE to buy it on or near release day because if you wait till a sale or Black Friday, they may be gone.

I know I'm not alone in this because slipcovers are mentioned in almost every single thread on this website. I'm highly considering parting with all of my slipcovers and then not worrying about them in the future though. It's getting exhausting being a collector lol.

Thought I was the only one who was this OCD. I feel much better about myself now.

[siavash1996]

I refuse to buy releases without slipcovers for two reasons:

1. I take just as much pride in the display of my collection as I do in the quality of the films.

2. Limiting myself to slipcovered releases saves me a fortune by drastically shrinking the number of movies I can buy. Otherwise I would buy so many more films from Amazon when they go on sale.

The only release I've paid a premium for solely for the slipcover so far has been the Collector's Edition of Sleepaway Camp.

[RustinCohle]

Originally Posted by King O.A.

Thought I was the only one who was this OCD. I feel much better about myself now.

Unfortunately I'm diagnosed OCD in all aspects of life. Counting things, constantly straightening things, timing things etc. Deciding to collect movies only makes it worse.

[sethcfaulder99]

I definitely do. However, sometimes things work out. I had been hunting the 4K slipcover for “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” as it was the only one in the set I didn’t have. After about a year, I found someone selling it for $10 on eBay. That beats the close to $80 people were trying to get for it on other sites.

[thelwig14]

I have a fully slipped collection (6 custom ones).

I will do whatever is necessary to get a mint slip. Thankfully I only buy a handful of movies a year now.

[bkhage01]

Sometimes I buy naked slipcovers when I don't even own the movie!



In all seriousness, I enjoy slipcovers. I'm not obsessed about the condition (although I don't want beat up ones, I am generally just satisfied as long as there is one there in good condition).

As pi2loc said above, if you're patient, you can generally find what you're looking for at a good price. Does require some time/effort occasionally though, if you're not a day 1 buyer. If it comes to spending $50-100 for a movie with a rare slipcover, I'll go without it and just keep an eye peeled. It may get re-released anyway

[Luke Dodge748]

I'm noticing the same thing with new bluray and 4Ks, almost as if the store employees are taking them to sell? What else could it be when day 1 these movies come out and they are slip-less... I'm almost trying to train myself to not be so reliant on collecting slipcovers, because the prices are just too stupid on the second hand market. Especially my favorite - Scream Factory. I've held out on dozens of titles because they didn't have the slips. That's just stupid on my behalf.

[DVD Josh]

Originally Posted by RustinCohle

Only $400? I probably have four rare 4K slips that I could get $400 for. I was thinking more along the lines of $3-5k for the whole 4K collection.

Curious what those titles would be (as a fellow slip collector).