nooo I just ruined nearly 20 DVDs!!! (1 Viewer)

[Nathan McMahan]

In all my years of following the Home Theater Forum, this is by far one of the most educational, amusing and fun threads I've read. Catalogue techniques, worst case scenerios, insurance policies, culinary and geographical insights, customer service accolades, total peer support, diplomatic courtesy and even a little Canadian appreciation. What more could you ask for in an evening's entertainment. This is what I love about HTF.

...and Marco, I do feel your pain.

 

[Dane Marvin]

My replacement cover experience:

Criterion will almost always replace in-print cover art. They gave me a "Brazil" 51.2 cover because my set had two 51.1 covers. It took just one e-mail and about a week and half. Sent in a big flat envelope in great shape. Additionally, Shout! Factory replaced a "Freaks & Geeks" box for me for no charge because I got drunk and fell on mine while the digipack was not inside it. Those are the only two claims I've made. Had great experiences with the customer service departments both times. I imagine Warner Bros has a good CS dept, too!

Marco, I feel for you. I am every bit the stickler you are. You know how a few studios are putting slipcases on quite a few releases just for the initial pressing (ex: Sideways, Friday Night Lights, the newest Warner Bros. two-disc SEs)? I have to have those. I can't not have those. So I have to buy practically everything when it streets. I can't have creases in boxes, small tears in the cover or blemishes on discs. I have to have the best version of every DVD -- even if it's just a book and CD like the "Stand by Me" LE! I have OCD when it comes to DVDs.

Edit: I'm inclined to give you the outer box to my Hitchcock set. Too bad you live in Canada. It wouldn't devalue things on my end much because the titles are worth more individually than in the set, and because my set had all the UPCs for each title completely intact (which I was pleasantly surprised about). (Now that I look at it, it has some creases on a couple corners from shipping, but no gravy)

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

hehe Dane, I'm EXACTLY the same as you!

Though I'm beginning to feel that it might all be a lost cause.

Not only am I as anal as you about things like slipcovers and upgrading to the "ultimate" newest editions, but I'll even import titles from such as the R4 NTSC Gremlins box-set from Korea if it has cooler packaging or I could avoid a snap case, bonus features, etc. After having too many box-sets ship from other countries with small dents or creases in the packaging, sending them back to endure high postage costs and double customs fees, only to have to wait weeks longer to receive my sets... I've begin to feel hopeless towards our cause, brother.

heh.

No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to keep my collection in pristine condition... and I take every measure imaginable! I refuse to own any DVD's with bilingual text on the packaging which means importing all my Disney DVD's, though I'm unable to do that since they all come with slip-covers and I need to look them over and carefully inspect them in person to make sure the slip cover is not scratched or dented. This means driving up to Vermont every time a new Disney DVD is released!

I recently came back from Florida and finally found The Lion King & Sleeping Beauty in perfect condition with slip covers. I packed them in like 20 ziplock bags stuffed with kleenex and toilet paper in my luggage. I was so happy to finally display these alongside my remaining Disney collection on shelf... until a week later when I was fumbling for the Toy Story box-set and accidentally dropped The Lion King on the floor... crushing the slip cover!!! I spent 2 weeks in Florida driving around looking for one in mint condition. It's tiny obsessions like this that make me consider just giving up and not caring anymore, but man I've devoted so much effort towards it!


haha, do your friends and family think you're crazy too Dane?

When my dad comes over and sees me handling my DVD's, he thinks I should see a psychiatrist...

 

[Dane Marvin]

Well, I'm the intake specialist at a psychiatry clinic in Omaha, so let's hope my family doesn't think I'm crazy. I do have a brother who is the same way about his DVDs though.

 

[Deepak Shenoy]

I ordered 3 of the Warner boxsets that I had been holding off on (now that Warner may be redoing the packaging and cover-art) - Bette Davis V1&2 and Joan Crawford V1. The Crawford set arrived with all the DVDs intact but the outer cardboard box looking pretty beat up. It has several tears and pockmarks. I am pretty anal about this stuff but wanted to get opinions on whether a damaged outer box (not a big deal in the overall scheme of things) is a legitimate reason to return the set and ask for a replacement ? When you pay $40 for something I guess it is not too much to expect the product to be in pristine condition.

Has anyone had experience dealing with Warner directly to get replacement outer boxes ? Any HTF members who don't need their Joan Crawford V1 outer box (the people transferring their DVDs to binders and slimcases) that may be willing to part with it for a nominal amount ?

-D

 

[Tim Tucker]

Who did you buy them from? I recently ordered Crawford V1 from Amazon, and the set arrived in much the same condition. I request a replacement from them and it's on its way now. I hope that it will be an improvement. And if not, I'll keep trying.

And it's for incidents such as Marco had that I have a craft cart filled with plastic bags in a variety of sizes. I can handle everything from a CD to some of the larger DVD box sets. And I came up with a technique of encasing these cardboard slipcases to protect them while still being able to remove the keepcases.

Why all the precautions? Well, you don't want to see what smoke and water damage can do to a media collection. It's not a pretty sight. :frowning:

 

[soop.spoon]

The DVD Gods are trying to tell you something...

... gravy is bad for you!


Listen to the DVD Gods!

 

[Deepak Shenoy]

I got mine from DVDPlanet and you have convinced me that I should also send mine back and try my luck with a replacement.

-D

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

My GOD...and people think I'm a bit obsessed with DVD collecting...

Refusing to own any DVDs with bilingual packaging? 2 weeks driving around Florida looking for a mint condition Lion King DVD slipcover???

Man, you're outta control.

 

[David_B_K]

I once ruined a friend's laserdiscs in a similar way. A friend and I used to borrow each other's laserdiscs. I had 9 or 10 from him on the floor leaining vertically against my electronic shelf. Overnight, my water heater sprang a leak in the garage, and the water flowed into the room where the discs were. My own laserdiscs were fine, as they were off the floor on the shelf. But anything on the floor was water damaged as the water wicked its way through the carpet.

I felt compelled to replace them all, and laserdisc prices were a lot steeper than DVD prices (a few were Criterions!).

At least it is your own collection, Marco, and replacement art may be available. Good luck.

 

[Frank@N]

Consider for a moment that bulky packaging is a burden instead of a boon.

I have all ~27 (?) seasons of Star Trek and the 5-feet of packaging took the entire top of my entertainment center.

Eventually, I needed that space for a sub-collection of movies (animated) and the ST boxes had to go...

I placed all the discs in a single binder and threw out all the boxes, which didn't really jive from show to show anyway and looked somewhat clunky (Enterprise).

However, if the packaging you lost was from varied and non-connected sources, I can see how putting everything together in a binder might not be the optimal choice.

 

[James Corey]

I feel for you, and not to be obtuse about this, but was it Swiss Chalet or St. Hubert's ?

 

[Lord Dalek]

I know how you feel, Marco. My Superman Ultimate Edition has cracks in at least 6 of the 14 trays due to me accidently sitting on it (don't ask). I'd love to get a replacement and was completely unaware that such a thing was possible. Maybe I'll look into it now.

 

[MielR]

Marco, maybe this is a blessing in disguise....

A couple of years ago, my cat (not the one in my sig) decided to chew on the spines of some of my near-mint Queen LPs (she liked the taste of the plastic sleeves, apparently). I was pretty angry, to say the least, but about a year later, she passed away at age 6 from a heart defect. I look at those LPs now and I don't feel angry anymore, I just feel guilty about being mad at her and yelling at her at the time.

I've always been an OCD-type collector, so I totally understand how you feel, but sometimes something happens that just puts things in perspective. Maybe if you just say "screw it- I'm keeping the BBQ-stained cases!" You won't feel so compelled to have all your future purchases be so "perfect".

Or....maybe not. Just a thought.

Oh, and in NY all the old men call spaghetti sauce "gravy".

 

[Greg_S_H]

This thread is three years old, so I'm sure Marco has worked it out by now.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

Woah, this thread is pretty old!

That lasted for like the first year of collecting... I'm really not like that at all anymore!

Although I do order Fox titles online to avoid the bilingual covers and try to pick up sets in the best condition possible. But even I'd agree that such obsessiveness is a bit nuts!

I had completely forgotten about this old thread or that it even happened! :p

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

I can't rightly recall as this thread is almost half a decade old... but I'd wager Chalet BBQ!

 

[Sumnernor]

I first read this thread about 2 days ago and thought that this just happened.I felt very sorry for Marco. I then discovered It was almost last century when it happened! I would like to know - how did you solve your problems. It sounded like the DVDs were not damaged. Were you able to get replacements from the companies?

In regards to loosing data on the PC - Back your data up (very often). I brother has a store add a 2nd hard disc and they cleared the 1st. When ever you back your data on - DON'T have it attached to the computer while you are online.

Concerning the Superman, I haven't done it but I will replace the disk holders (? book-type?? what is the name?) with the 2-DVD thin DVD boxes.

I hope you are eating again! I loved the post given earlier:

Quote: by Holadem

Plus my lunch was ruined cause I have no sauce for my chicken now.
Now that's absolutely terrible.

I also didn't understand how "This means driving UP to Vermont" from Canada. I don't have a map, I would think DOWN to Vermont.

 

[Deepak Shenoy]

Although my query was only tangentially related to Marco's original predicament, I am glad that I resurrected a thread that has proven to be quite entertaining and enlightening at the same time.

Marco, it must be a relief that your obsessive-compulsive tendencies when it comes to DVD collecting lasted only for the first year. For a lot of us those tendencies are not so easy to shake off (they are still going strong in my case after nearly 10 years of DVD collecting !). In any case, would love to hear how you got over the damage caused by the BBQ sauce mishap. How many of those titles did you end up buying again ?

Speaking of OCD tendencies (going back to my original query) anyone with a Joan Crawford V1 outer box they can spare (PM me if you do) ?

-D

 

[PaulDA]

The one on Sherbrooke? Great chicken.