Steelbook headaches. I think I'm done.

[richieb1971]

I am from the UK and I find that most of my steelbooks problems arise when I import from the USA.

If I buy from Italy, France, Germany and UK its perfectly fine.

A week or so ago I asked a friend to buy Inside out 4k from Best buy. He got it in the mail and straight away there were signs of flecks of missing paint and QC issues with the steelbook.

When Viva metal cases were in circulation I remember buying all of them from the USA and Canada and I never got a bad one. There must be something in the distribution of steelbooks in the USA which is the problem.

[Brian81]

I no longer import from Amazon UK. It's almost guaranteed damage. I'll pay double the price off eBay not to use them. Same with Amazon ES. I have three copies of 'Empire of the Sun' and not a single one is good. Same with Amazon IT. I'm 0 for 5 with them. The last looked like it was fired out of a cannon into a tree. Even the plastic shell was trash. I only have any luck with Amazon DE. And they all package the same. It's like German Amazon packages are treated better. I don't know.


I started collecting SteelBooks for better art (theatrical art) and the lack of miscellaneous reviewer text on the front. I quickly liked the idea of the disc specifications not being on the backs. It provided the future opportunity for reusing the case for a remastered disc, as no listing of disc contents = anything could be in there! Especially if the future remaster had shitty looking artwork. In the case of Warner steels, I loved that the film credits were on the back. It was an added touch - gave them that 'movie poster' aesthetic. But like you, damaged steel after damaged steel, I am left feeling like it is thousands of dollars of wasted money in the end. Many seem to like glossy steels, but I continue to find that these are more commonly scratched and chipped (it's NOT a matter of 'visibility' - they ARE scratched and chipped more often). Where glossy really fails is when it comes to minor dents. You can never make a mild dent in a glossy steel look presentable. With a matte, you can use the spoon trick and get it to where it's barely noticeable in some cases. Not most, but some. They don't have that sheen.

[RUN-DvdMC]

Glad I’m not the only one that gets steelbook condition anxiety!

[pab1219]

This is always my 1ST choice, only a couple of minor aches so far.

[severe conservative]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

I can't remember when it is that so many people started fussing about making sure all their collectibles were always in "mint" or "flawless" condition.

I'm not trying to knock anyone here, but honestly, there was a time nobody gave a crap if the stuff they collected had some minor smudges or small dents or slight slashes, and everyone seemed so much happier then!!!

So, what are you going to do, if it has to be either 100% in perfect condition or you just don't want it AT ALL?

Life is short. When we die, all the stuff we hoarded will either get thrown away or go to a garage sale. Don't sweat the small stuff.

Just sayin'!

If youre talking about steelbooks that are at the bare minimum price which is about $13, you might have a point, but for those steelbooks that are closer to $30 or more, they should be in mint condition. No excuses. I will say I have been largely lucky. I only have 3 steelbooks with a spine slash (one of them used). Only one has a dent, one has a large scratch on the front but you can only see it when held at a certain angle against the light. One steelbook actually had a slight curvature to it but I was miraculously able to bend it back into place. This is out of about 50 steelbooks.

[TheBiz]

Digging up an old thread here but bought a bunch of older steelbooks that were on sale during black friday through BestBuy.com. Half the steelbooks had issues like spine slashes, huge dents, crushed spines, etc.

What sucks is BestBuy.com doesn't offer an exchange program, they want you to take the steelbooks to the store to get them exchanged. What is up with that? During a pandemic? What a ridiculous policy

Was waiting for the TENET Steelbook to come back in stock but now not even sure it's worth it.

[don3663]

Granted I never intended of amassing a big collection and still don't have a big collection, but after about 20 or 30 I called it quits. Just too expensive. I can't afford to drop £30 on one movie. I'd never part with my Carpenter steelbooks though. I am very anal about slipcovers however, just it doesn't cost THAT much to buy a movie with a slip as apposed to without. .

[richieb1971]

I have had very few damaged steelbooks and have 100's.

I have a guy in the USA that helps get USA steelbooks for me (I'm in the UK) and he does a thorough check of all steels before forwarding them on. I think about 20% of them are damaged.

From the UK only 1 in a 100 are damaged. I have had much more issue with massive limited edition boxes. Some of which I got full refunds because they couldn't make a single journey without corners crushing or hinge breaks going on. Steels are much more robust in that sense. Its negligence on the part of the factory or shipper companies that destroy them.

edit - my 5CM per second steelbook from Zavvi came damaged the other day. I spoke too soon. It looks like it got crushed on the corner and the spine looks a bit out.