Damaged Steelbooks. What do you put up with?

[neoz]

I'll except a few paint chips but other then that....I'm getting a new one.
Spine slashes, dents, dented corners and scratches are a no go for me.
Like other members I've been very lucky.

[Tony208]

Paint chips and tiny dings.

As for keeping them sealed... Toy Story 2.

[casperuk]

I've got a few tiny paint chips scratches. But these have happened while I own them. The only spine slash I have is skyfall and I got it from eBay which.didn't state the slash. But that's ok with me.

As for dents I wouldn't knowingly buy a dented sb or accept one that was sent out.

[Taikero]

I have one of those cheap Heat Steelbooks that has a massive bend in the metal near where the top of the case is. It was hidden by packaging so I never noticed it but after opening it the dang thing is an eyesore. I'll probably be replacing that one in the future.

Other than that I have a few with minor issues but most of them don't bother me much. The Heat Steelbook is the only one that grates me and that's because it's a big sharp dent. Missing paint is a bit obnoxious too but I only have one or two with that problem and it's only small amounts missing.

[Smigro]

Originally Posted by FlawlessVictory

Kinda pissed off today, received another dented steel from ordering from Futureshop. I've struck out and got dented steels on all three orders I've placed with them now. I think I'm done ordering from their online site.

Yeah, FS packaging is as bad as BB packaging down here. Like you I just don't but online from BB but FS has a lot more steels and runs sales on them so I see your dilemma.

[Taikero]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

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

It really does seem a shame that recycling is not allowed in the case of electronics. Rare earth metals are already getting hard enough to find as is. Soon enough we'll be raiding the landfills for all that destroyed equipment for the raw materials.

I know that policy is policy, but there has to be something better that can be done with valuable goods like that other than just destroying them.

[CasuallyDressed]

A few of my steels are <perfect. Ted has the typical chips on the back, I somehow managed to scratch Evil Dead 2, Cabin In The Woods has a few scuffs, as does Fight Club. Hell, I've just knowingly paid for 2012 with a small ding in it just because I was tired of trying to find it on eBay. Ever tried searching for 2012 on eBay? Good luck.

My OCD was pretty high when I started, but now that I have ~80 steels my tolerance of imperfections has increased slightly.

Regarding the retail world throwing out perfectly good equipment: Been there. I worked at Maplin (UK's answer to Radio Shack) for 5 years and anything that wasn't electronic or a consumable IE batteries, tools, ink cartridges, were all destroyed if returned unsealed. So many perfectly good batteries and full inks. Sometimes you can sneak away with a couple of bits, depending on the amount of blind eyes there are. Hey, it's only gonna wind up in a landfill anyway, right?

[guidofistpimp]

Originally Posted by FlawlessVictory

What grinds my gears is I can order a Steelbook all the way from the UK from amazon and have it show up in mint shape but i can't even get a Steelbook shipped from Futureshop from only two provinces over without it being banged up! Also it's hard to know if these are actually being damaged during shipping or if they are already banged up at their wharehouse and just send them out anyways.

Not sure if I'm going to keep the Gangs of New York steel that came banged up or not. Either way I'm not going through the hassle of sending it back to them. If anything I'll sell it on the forums for a big discount if somebody wants it.

I heard the Canadian post Throws Steels at moose for target practice.

[stlcards]

I recently opened 4 steelbooks that I had bought quite some time ago. Resident Evil: Afterlife & Resident Evil: Retribution were perfect. The Amazing Spider-Man had two dents under the J-card. Underworld: Awakening had paint chips on the spine and opposite side where you open it which had been covered by the J-card also. It completely ruined the steelbook.

I also opened G.I. Joe: Retaliation which I got recently and it was great...no dents, etc.

[nashcameronn]

I have a couple with spine slashes. I can tolerate that though.

My Sin City with Rosario Dawson has multiple cuts on the front but that steelbooks is so awesome I can't get rid of it.

[quickdraw]

I'll accept paint chips if they're minor. I'll accept dings only if they're minor or I think I can knock them out. I can usually knock them out well enough that only I would know where they were (sometimes, even I can't find 'em though ), but it takes a little patience, practice, experimentation and luck.

[Riddler The Slag]

The cut down the spine of my Skyfall Steel was a real tough one for me as I wanted to send it back but I also knew how hard it was to get a copy. In the end, I was credited back the damage and it still remains a jewel in my Blu-Ray collection.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by Riddler The Slag

The cut down the spine of my Skyfall Steel was a real tough one for me as I wanted to send it back but I also knew how hard it was to get a copy. In the end, I was credited back the damage and it still remains a jewel in my Blu-Ray collection.

I didn't notice the spine-slash until a week or so later but I was lucky enough to get a replacement. I think that was just luck as it seems an awful lot were slashed as every other member here seemed to get one!

[Hard Times Chaney]

Thank God for this thread. I thought I was just being unlucky when buying Steelbooks, but reading this thread it seems to be the norm to receive Steels with some small chips or scratches.

Not a big Steelbook collector, usually just get ones for movies I love.

[Spiderwalk]

If you get yourself a set of acrylic artist paints and a very fine brush it's fairly easy to touch up minor paint chips.

I have done this on some of my steelbooks and the repairs are invisible, doesn't do anything for dings though.

[oXdanXo]

Originally Posted by Hard Times Chaney

Thank God for this thread. I thought I was just being unlucky when buying Steelbooks, but reading this thread it seems to be the norm to receive Steels with some small chips or scratches.

Not a big Steelbook collector, usually just get ones for movies I love.

Same,
I'm currently collecting the Disney and Marvel ones though, so far apart from Jungle Book I was lucky and all was great. Now I'm on my 4th order of Bambi 3rd Brave and I'm hoping Zavi Outlet have a spare Thor 2 tucked away somewhere as I paid a £30 premium to them for that all from Zavvi who have the worst state of mentality when it comes to returns.

[Welshsteel]

I have to date been really lucky, I have about 50 steels now and received only one that had a dent. However my "taste" in steels is changing now and instead of mainly ordering from the UK I am moving to Asian steels, so I may get more problems. I will accept the odd paint chip and small scratch but anything more is not acceptable IMO. I really pay a lot of attention to the sellers packaging details which is why I am moving to GB's as these people love steels and know what it means to get a mint.

[MarcusZoller]

Originally Posted by Welshsteel

I have to date been really lucky, I have about 50 steels now and received only one that had a dent. However my "taste" in steels is changing now and instead of mainly ordering from the UK I am moving to Asian steels, so I may get more problems. I will accept the odd paint chip and small scratch but anything more is not acceptable IMO. I really pay a lot of attention to the sellers packaging details which is why I am moving to GB's as these people love steels and know what it means to get a mint.

The Asian retailers pack them up like they were transporting a faberge egg too, never had an issue yet

[Welshsteel]

Originally Posted by MarcusZoller

The Asian retailers pack them up like they were transporting a faberge egg too, never had an issue yet

That's great to hear, thanks.

[thecalm_7]

I tolerate chips/small blemishes if in store but not dents or large blemishes. If shipped, I expect the same treatment, but pending the return shipping I scrutinize more. I've only had one major issue with steelbooks. Once I received one where the inner plastic had cracked and the front art and spine were separated from the rear portion. I luckily found it in store and bought it again, but returned the defective copy.

I've gotten away from steelbooks lately unless the price is better. Like on Wolf of Wall Street, my local Target had 25 copies, I scanned them over and grabbed the best looking copy. I like those scenarios. I hate going in to BB and seeing 1 copy of a steelbook and its scratched up.. Then I pass completely.