Damaged Steelbooks. What do you put up with?

[samzach]

Originally Posted by Psychoscot

Absolutely OCD 100% mint perfection is all I will tolerate!

I agree with most of the others . There is no such thing. Only people who think they are mint. Which by the way is all that matters. Give me a couple of minutes with any steelbook and you can find something. If nothing else paint chips along opening edges. So again it comes down to what you put up with

[Whirlygig]

My tolerance for defects is possibly increasing. My Dr. Mabuse steel from the UK has a huge scratch on the side that opens up but since the art on that one is pretty minimalist and the side is all solid green and boring I decided I didn't care enough to ask for a replacement. I have a minor spine slash on The Shining but it was way better than the first one I got so I shrugged it off. I have a dent on the corner of my Rocky remastered and again I just said "meh". It depends on how much I love the film and whether I want to risk making Amazon or Zavvi mad at me over it. With imports its a crapshoot... Domestically I can usually find perfection (enough for me) in a store.

[PoLskA]

within reason is my tolerance...

a minor paint chip thats hidden under the j-card... minor spine slash... very minor dents...

anything more, it would depend on the steel and its rarity...

[Petra_Kalbrain]

If I hold it at arms length without a light source reflecting off of it and the imperfection is noticeable, I will seek out an exchange/refund. If it's not noticeable at arms length, it's fine with me.

[Phocough]

I just started collecting steels, and I'm really OCD about them already. Whenever there is a US release, I'm in the store for twenty minutes looking for the perfect ones. I get the strangest looks. I have a scratched Enders game steel and it drives me mad, I hide in the corner lol..

[levcore]

Not too fussed really, as long as it's not battered to bits.

[JimDiGriz]

I dont put up with any scratches or dents. A tiny hardly noticeable paint chip is OK though unless there are a few in which case no.

The only tiny dent I have is on my 2001 steel and I got a refund for that anyway

[HotRats]

Any damage and back it goes. The only possible exception might be minuscule damage on something that had sold out on preorder. That hasn't happened yet to any steelbook but I did keep a digibook of Senna with a slightly dinged corner

[BlueAngel7]

Maybe a few scratches and the occasional paint chip. Any dents or spine slashes though and it would go straight back.

[Moviefan1203]

Some of you guys really look at steelbooks in a much different way than I do. I buy steelbooks because I think they are really neat. However, I buy them to watch the film inside. I want the steelbooks to be in good condition, but I don't go overboard. I only buy steelbooks for films that I rate high enough to add to my Bluray library, and even then I have to be impressed by the artwork. To me, the film itself is more important than the artwork on the steelbook. The steelbook is just a nice perk for the one's that make the cut in my eyes.

[JimDiGriz]

Originally Posted by Moviefan1203

Some of you guys really look at steelbooks in a much different way than I do. I buy steelbooks because I think they are really neat. However, I buy them to watch the film inside. I want the steelbooks to be in good condition, but I don't go overboard. I only buy steelbooks for films that I rate high enough to add to my Bluray library, and even then I have to be impressed by the artwork. To me, the film itself is more important than the artwork on the steelbook. The steelbook is just a nice perk for the one's that make the cut in my eyes.

I buy them for the film too - thats the most important thing. But its nice to have a steelbook of a film you really like.

Im pretty sure there are those who think differently though..

[Slinch]

Originally Posted by samzach

I agree with most of the others . There is no such thing. Only people who think they are mint. Which by the way is all that matters. Give me a couple of minutes with any steelbook and you can find something. If nothing else paint chips along opening edges. So again it comes down to what you put up with

This, exactly.

I'd say only about 15% of my steels are absolutely 100% mint. Though lately I've learned to not let that bother me, and now my life is much simpler

[black_maths]

Originally Posted by FlawlessVictory

Okay I received a dented copy of Gladiator from Futureshop a few weeks or so back and sent that back and ordered a replacement. Now earlier today I just noticed I had a nice ding on the edge of my The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Steelbook that I also bought from them online that I hadn't previously noticed when I unwrapped it. I'm sending that back as well and already ordered a replacement.

My question is this: What are you guys willing or not willing to put up with in terms of imperfections/damage to a Steelbook?

I personally will accept a very mild ding that looks more like a slight impression than anything else. Also a faint scratch or the odd slashed spine. I understand these things happen. But in terms of moderate to severe dings etc that are very easily noticable I just will not accept that. I think I am fairly tolerant of mild imperfections, but anything past minor I will not take.

If it's damaged and noticeable on first look-it goes back

[BeWaterMyFriend]

I stopped caring for the most part.

I found that being too obsessive about tracking down a "mint" copy of it was too much of a waste of time. If that is what makes the hobby fun for some, that's cool...reminds me of toy collectors and "the thrill of the hunt" for limited variants.

I also wouldn't want to be "that guy" who goes back to a store 3-4 times to exchange a Steel over and over again due to hairline scratches behind the j-card and essentially taking away a new Steel for 3-4 potential customers who likely would not have cared.

Also one of the reasons I never cared for buying Steels just to re-sell. I remember I was unloading a bunch of random Steels a year ago that weren't even valuable or rare and I had people on Ebay messaging me asking inane questions like how many times the disc was played or if I used gloves when handling the case.

If it was some super limited import going for a c-note I'd understand, but these were the Best Buy Steels that didn't even have inside artwork and were on sale new for like 12 bucks at the time.

[thewerepuppygrr]

Originally Posted by Moviefan1203

Some of you guys really look at steelbooks in a much different way than I do. I buy steelbooks because I think they are really neat. However, I buy them to watch the film inside. I want the steelbooks to be in good condition, but I don't go overboard. I only buy steelbooks for films that I rate high enough to add to my Bluray library, and even then I have to be impressed by the artwork. To me, the film itself is more important than the artwork on the steelbook. The steelbook is just a nice perk for the one's that make the cut in my eyes.

I agree wholeheartedly with this. I'm not buying extra plastic cases for my steels - I keep 'em free range.

[Apinamakina]

If the damage is noticeable and in the middle of the steelbook, I will return it.
But if the dent/scratch/whatever is very small but still noticeable I'm not bothered about it.

Just few weeks ago I bought Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl-steelbook from ebay, and noticed there is a medium size dent on the front. You can only see it in certain light, but I am definitely going to return it since for the money I paid for it, there shouldn't be any damages at all.

So obviously the amount I paid for that damaged steelbook also counts.

[willo007]

I just got done purcasing Fast Five (BBY) & Fast & Furous 6 (Wide) because they were both dented, and every time i walked by them on the shelve my stomach would turn, Its my OCD.

Now all I'm thinking about is the spine slash my Iron Sky (US) Steelbook has!!

I have put up with minor chips .


but minor factory paint errors are driving me cracy, my Thor 2 (BBY) has a black dot on the top right side of the front plate, and my Underworld: Awakeing has a weird halo behind Kate Beckinsdale's head on the front plate.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by Moviefan1203

Some of you guys really look at steelbooks in a much different way than I do. I buy steelbooks because I think they are really neat. However, I buy them to watch the film inside. I want the steelbooks to be in good condition, but I don't go overboard. I only buy steelbooks for films that I rate high enough to add to my Bluray library, and even then I have to be impressed by the artwork. To me, the film itself is more important than the artwork on the steelbook. The steelbook is just a nice perk for the one's that make the cut in my eyes.

Most of us agree about the "film first" mentality. However, when purchasing a steelbook, no matter the purchase source, there is an extremely high percentage chance that we are looking at having to pay a premium as steelbooks rarely go on sale... not the good ones anyways. As a result, we should be entitled to feel like we are getting our premium payment honoured by getting a "nearly perfect" premium bonus. Otherwise, I wouldn't spend the extra $3-$5 for the special case.

Originally Posted by FlawlessVictory

Does anyone know what most retail places actually do with returned products as far as blu-rays and DVDs for things that are defective and or damaged?

In retail, damaged/defective product gets reported back to the manufacturer. This is usually called an RMA (Request for Manufacturer Approval). It is a request to ask the manufacturer what they would like the retailer to do with the damaged/defective goods. Then, 1 of 2 things will happen...

1. The manufacturer will respond telling the retailer to have the product sent back to them. This probably results in reusing functional parts or fixing the item and reselling it. The store then gets refunded their manufacturer purchase value for that item.

However, the more likely scenario is...

2. The manufacturer wants nothing to do with the damaged/defective product. They refund the retailer for the purchase value of the product anyways and tell the retailer to destroy the item(s) in question.

And trust me when I say #2 happens more often! I worked in retail for the better part of a decade with 3 different major nationwide franchises. I've seen thousands of printers, monitors, laptops, cameras, phones, hard drives, etc, etc, etc, thrown into the trash. I was even responsible at one point of "ensuring the item could not be salvaged from the garbage outside the building." In other words, they handed me a crowbar and told me to go Office Space on all of the items listed above. Very therapeutic I must say, despite the terrible nature of compounding the growing waste issues of the planet.

So, with steelbooks, given the lack of reusability/fixability of thin steel with printing on it, they probably just get snapped and bent and destroyed. The sad part is that the discs also get destroyed even though there is nothing wrong with them.

[Moviefan1203]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

Most of us agree about the "film first" mentality. However, when purchasing a steelbook, no matter the purchase source, there is an extremely high percentage chance that we are looking at having to pay a premium as steelbooks rarely go on sale... not the good ones anyways. As a result, we should be entitled to feel like we are getting our premium payment honoured by getting a "nearly perfect" premium bonus. Otherwise, I wouldn't spend the extra $3-$5 for the special case.

I guess a lot of you are just pickier than me. I wouldn't accept a steelbook that is all dented up, but I also recognize that they are very delicate and it's going to be very challenging to find one that is perfect. If at a quick glance, I can't find anything wrong with a particular steelbook then all is well in my eyes.

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

However, the more likely scenario is...

2. The manufacturer wants nothing to do with the damaged/defective product. They refund the retailer for the purchase value of the product anyways and tell the retailer to destroy the item(s) in question.

And trust me when I say #2 happens more often! I worked in retail for the better part of a decade with 3 different major nationwide franchises. I've seen thousands of printers, monitors, laptops, cameras, phones, hard drives, etc, etc, etc, thrown into the trash. I was even responsible at one point of "ensuring the item could not be salvaged from the garbage outside the building." In other words, they handed me a crowbar and told me to go Office Space on all of the items listed above. Very therapeutic I must say, despite the terrible nature of compounding the growing waste issues of the planet.

So, with steelbooks, given the lack of reusability/fixability of thin steel with printing on it, they probably just get snapped and bent and destroyed. The sad part is that the discs also get destroyed even though there is nothing wrong with them.

That's such a damn waste. It really bothers me to read that.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by Moviefan1203

That's such a damn waste. It really bothers me to read that.

Corporate mentality... if it will cost more to ship it back than the profit that can be made from refurbishing it, then just have it destroyed at the location it currently resides. It's all a matter of dollars and cents in their world.

To add to that, those items HAVE TO BE DESTROYED. The retailer is not allowed to do anything else with the product. If they were to, let's say, give it to a local recycling program, that would be considered fraud/theft from the manufacturer and would result in fines/prosecution. Even batteries/ink cartridges/etc (anything of a refillable nature that could be used in a functioning unit of the same product) must be disposed of in a manner which NOBODY could use them. I remember taking the batteries out of some product before destroying it to use for store equipment. My General Manager found out and sat me down for an hour long "conversation" (a.k.a. a lecture) about the severe situation that I had created by trying to make use of perfectly good batteries that came out of a product that was deemed to be destroyed by the manufacturer. DOUBLY