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Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

post #1 of 20
3/18/09 at 10:20pm
Thread Starter 
In a list I belong to, someone posted about receiving a sealed Macgyver full series set as a present. It was gotten by someone off of Ebay.

When the discs were inspected it was found that most of them had some degree of blotches on the DVD's. They have playback problems.

I inquired more about them and pictures were posted and yes, it appears that the discs have small cloudy white patches (the pictures were sent to the list and are not available as links yet) that the owner seems to have trouble cleaning off.

I am wondering if it is some type of mold. In this day and age, I doubt it's DVD rot, especially since many discs are affected.

Has anyone ever had something similar happen? Does anybody have theories and possible solutions? I will try to post pictures later.
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post #2 of 20
3/19/09 at 7:14pm

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

It's those Scanavo DVD cases, no doubt. The ones that react with the plastics of the DVDs, creating splotches.
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post #3 of 20
3/19/09 at 9:03pm

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin L McCorry
It's those Scanavo DVD cases, no doubt. The ones that react with the plastics of the DVDs, creating splotches.

Thats exactly what i thought, just reading the title of the thread.
I hear, they clean off, if you get to them soon enough.
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post #4 of 20
3/19/09 at 9:14pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

what should be used? Alcohol?
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post #5 of 20
3/19/09 at 9:18pm

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Rogers
what should be used? Alcohol?

I think so.

But look for an old thread on Scanvanco DVD cases. We talked a lot about it last year.
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post #6 of 20
3/20/09 at 6:30am

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

DON'T USE ALCOHOL as this can potentially attack the polycarbonate plastic of the discs.

Instead, use a mild solution of washup up liquid detergent and water, dampen a cloth and gently clean. Clean discs using something like an inner-to-outer edge, rather than following the circumference of the disc because if you do make a scratch, it will only afftect a tiny portion of each optical track; scratches that follow the circumference, whilst affecting only a small number of tracks, can damage these so badly that the error-correction can't cope.

I don;t keep things in Scanavo cases, because they are so badly designed and almost always require the user to severely bend discs to get them off the hubs.

I've heard of discs forming cloudly, sticky patches on the surface before, but this was a reaction to certain inks used for the picture side. It was removable by cleaning.

It's also possible that it is mould, if the discs were kept in a damp place, or one that was frequently cold and then warm (causing condensation). Mildew will grow almost anywhere damp; fortunately, DVD plastics are highly impermeable (unlike the stuff used for laserdiscs, which eventually allowed mostire to ge to the metal layer, which is why so many more succumbed to "rot"), so mildew and mould can be simply wiped off.

I permanently lost a number of VHS tapes, because mildew grew on the inner reels of tape - they were stores against a (cold) outer wall in a warm room.
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post #7 of 20
3/20/09 at 7:55am

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

The slimline cases that I found clouded discs inside were clear and had a slick oily feel to the plastic.
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post #8 of 20
3/20/09 at 12:57pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

Here is her blog about the discs

Orry's Orations: MacGyver Complete Set DVD Problem

As it turns out, this is the complete series set in which the slimline cases are not used. Rather they are in a cardboard box.
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post #9 of 20
3/20/09 at 8:32pm

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

Want some advice on this problem? Don't buy on eBay. There's always a sucker born every minute and sellers on eBay take advantage of this.

This is why I don't buy from eBay. They are unrealiable, too restrictive and one of the biggest scams that you can find online.

want an honest way to find reasonable prices? Amazon's Marketplace, Amazon.com, Best Buy, FYE ... at least you stand a good chance of being able to replace a damaged set.
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post #10 of 20
3/20/09 at 8:48pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Talmadge
Want some advice on this problem? Don't buy on eBay. There's always a sucker born every minute and sellers on eBay take advantage of this.

This is why I don't buy from eBay. They are unrealiable, too restrictive and one of the biggest scams that you can find online.

want an honest way to find reasonable prices? Amazon's Marketplace, Amazon.com, Best Buy, FYE ... at least you stand a good chance of being able to replace a damaged set.

I don't see why you single out Ebay. I ordered Superman 4 from an Amazon seller once and got a bootleg. Another time I ordered a Superman:The Movie black box set, the Amazon seller never delivered and I had to invoke the A-Z guarantee. I've ordered several DVD's and blu-rays from Ebay and haven't had an issue yet. It's not that Ebay is better than Amazon or vice versa. There are just ample horror stories from whatever big tent that holds individual sellers on line. That's why I don't pull the trigger on anything until I research the seller's feedback and Ebay's feedback system is a bit more straight forward than Amazon's used to be (they've improved it since I've had the 2 problems with 2 Amazon sellers).

Finally, this problem with this DVD set was with a set that was still sealed when it was received by the original buyer and gifted to the person that ultimately wound up with the messed up discs. Under those circumstances, I would not place the blame on the ebay seller who probably believed that a sealed set equaled a mint set.
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post #11 of 20
3/21/09 at 12:10am

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

Well you made it look like sellers are big nasty ogres living under the bridge ready to take a bite at you. If would put yourself in the place of one you would have to bear with countless Nigerian guys trying to get the item without paying (and this has happened a lot). Between scams, paypal or credit card chargebacks, fees, etc, I sometimes feel sorry for what sellers have to endure. Make no mistake, it is much better to be a buyer then a seller. Ebay has got your back as a buyer because buyers are the backbone of ebay so it's pretty safe to shop there, as is with Amazon.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Talmadge
Want some advice on this problem? Don't buy on eBay. There's always a sucker born every minute and sellers on eBay take advantage of this.

This is why I don't buy from eBay. They are unrealiable, too restrictive and one of the biggest scams that you can find online.

want an honest way to find reasonable prices? Amazon's Marketplace, Amazon.com, Best Buy, FYE ... at least you stand a good chance of being able to replace a damaged set.
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post #12 of 20
3/21/09 at 2:14am

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

It doesn't take a genius to realize that eBay is filled with an overexcessive amount of rippoff sellers. If you buy something on ebay, you take the risk of being scammed. It's why I never buy anything from any of their sellers.

Just a simple look at someone's feedback tells it all. I can't say how many sellers I've found with 300+ (points) of negative feedback in a given month. You takes a risk when you buys on ebay.

And you've found out ... defective macgyver set ...

'Nuff Said.

Thiunk of it as "lesson learned."
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post #13 of 20
3/21/09 at 7:50am

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

It's a bootleg set.
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post #14 of 20
3/21/09 at 11:40am

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Talmadge
Just a simple look at someone's feedback tells it all. I can't say how many sellers I've found with 300+ (points) of negative feedback in a given month. You takes a risk when you buys on ebay.
That's why you don't buy from those sellers. I've probably sold more than 200 items (mostly old DVDs that I've upgraded) and I've bought probably another 300 items and I've never had a problem with either. Just because you're scared of eBay doesn't mean that we all have to be.
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post #15 of 20
3/21/09 at 12:57pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Talmadge
It doesn't take a genius to realize that eBay is filled with an overexcessive amount of rippoff sellers. If you buy something on ebay, you take the risk of being scammed. It's why I never buy anything from any of their sellers.

Just a simple look at someone's feedback tells it all. I can't say how many sellers I've found with 300+ (points) of negative feedback in a given month. You takes a risk when you buys on ebay.

And you've found out ... defective macgyver set ...

'Nuff Said.

Thiunk of it as "lesson learned."

First of all, this is not my defective Macgyver set... I posted this on behalf of someone else.

Second of all, I said you have to do research on the feedback before you bid. That means going to the feedback profile if it's anything other than 100% positive and going through the comments. I don't look at the points, I look at the percentage and then I do a search of the sellers latest negative feedback entrees and see if my opinion it was fair or not (sometimes buyers will post negative feedback for unfair things).

A high volume seller with hundreds or thousands of feedback ratings is bound to get some negative feedback no matter how good and honest they are.
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post #16 of 20
3/21/09 at 1:03pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

Quote:
Originally Posted by elec08
It's a bootleg set.

What makes you draw that conclusion? If it's the packaging, Paramount did release a full Macgyver series in cardboard (non plastic) packaging.

The pictures of the discs are too fuzzy to determine if they have the little barcodes on the hub. Maybe I'll ask her if they do have the barcodes.
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post #17 of 20
3/21/09 at 2:05pm

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Rogers
What makes you draw that conclusion? If it's the packaging, Paramount did release a full Macgyver series in cardboard (non plastic) packaging.

The pictures of the discs are too fuzzy to determine if they have the little barcodes on the hub. Maybe I'll ask her if they do have the barcodes.

The question that isn't being addressed is how Paramount stocked these complete boxsets. Were they freshly struck DVDs for the Complete collection? The original season sets were inside clear double sided slimline cases.

Did Paramount split up season sets that had been returned by retailers? That would explain how residue discs could have ended up in the cardboard packaging.

The residue looks just like what I found on my Hogan's Heroes DVDs.
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post #18 of 20
3/21/09 at 2:49pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

Quote:
Originally Posted by Corey3rd
The question that isn't being addressed is how Paramount stocked these complete boxsets. Were they freshly struck DVDs for the Complete collection? The original season sets were inside clear double sided slimline cases.

Did Paramount split up season sets that had been returned by retailers? That would explain how residue discs could have ended up in the cardboard packaging.

The residue looks just like what I found on my Hogan's Heroes DVDs.

That's a distinct possibility.
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post #19 of 20
3/21/09 at 2:52pm

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

Michael, I know that. I was posting that for you to pass along to your friend. Also, when you do business on eBay, it doesn't matter if a seller has a feedback number of 10 or 10,000. If you do business on eBay and you buy from that seller because they have "sold" a ton of items then you deserve to get scammed from the sellers who do business there.

That was NOT mean't as a slight. It's mean't to convey caution.

When doing business on eBay you don't look at overall feedback scores, you look at their most recent feedback. If they have an excessive amount of negative feedback, I consider more than 5 to be excessive, then if you receive defective merchandise, you deserve it for not doing your research first.

For large purchases like that MacGyver boxed set? I would never have bought that through eBay. You can find a better deal elsewhere. Last year, I hadn't thought about buying that Northern Exposure complete collection set but I did. Since it was retailing for $180, I was able to order it through Barnes & Noble.com and I ended up paying $120 for that set because it had already been on sale $140 and I also ended up able to use a 25% off online coupon for that purchase.

Since the MacGyver set was purchased through eBay, you cannot even return it to the manufacturer for a replacement because most studios now require a receipt to be sent along with the defective item.
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post #20 of 20
3/21/09 at 8:00pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Blotches on DVD's in a Macgyver complete set

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Talmadge
Michael, I know that. I was posting that for you to pass along to your friend. Also, when you do business on eBay, it doesn't matter if a seller has a feedback number of 10 or 10,000. If you do business on eBay and you buy from that seller because they have "sold" a ton of items then you deserve to get scammed from the sellers who do business there.

That was NOT mean't as a slight. It's mean't to convey caution.

When doing business on eBay you don't look at overall feedback scores, you look at their most recent feedback. If they have an excessive amount of negative feedback, I consider more than 5 to be excessive, then if you receive defective merchandise, you deserve it for not doing your research first.

For large purchases like that MacGyver boxed set? I would never have bought that through eBay. You can find a better deal elsewhere. Last year, I hadn't thought about buying that Northern Exposure complete collection set but I did. Since it was retailing for $180, I was able to order it through Barnes & Noble.com and I ended up paying $120 for that set because it had already been on sale $140 and I also ended up able to use a 25% off online coupon for that purchase.

Since the MacGyver set was purchased through eBay, you cannot even return it to the manufacturer for a replacement because most studios now require a receipt to be sent along with the defective item.

I understand the sentiment. I am just saying both Ebay and Amazon secondary are usable for DVD/Blu-ray purchases with appropriate caution as to whom you are buying from. Also, when I use Ebay, I usually use paypal and while I have never needed to utilize it, others that are somehow dissatisfied with an Ebay purchase can lodge a complaint and get a charge back of what they paid.

I know a couple buyers that have done so with no problem.

I would tend to use a bigger outfit with a return policy for larger sets myself (seeking the best price, of course). But once actually will take the chance on something that is really well priced from the seller with good feedback.

Case in point, the Land Of The Giants complete series set. It premiered at about $200 with a wooden box and a bunch of swag I wouldn't mind having but didn't want to pay a premium for.

A Ebay seller, having the DVD's from another source (Columbia House, I think)wanted only the swag and sold the DVD's in the slimline cases for about $60. After asking some questions that these were indeed the legit official DVD's and even showing me a picture of the front and back of one so I can see the DVD label ring (these are double sided discs)on one side and the little barcodes on the hub of the under side.

100% feedback and him showing me what I needed to see I pulled the trigger. A few days later I had the DVD's and enjoyed watching all the episodes over next month or two.

And yes, with this new thing I know about the slimline cases I checked them and they are still mint looking.

Did I take a risk? Yes, but decided that as far as I could tell I was dealing with a honest seller and chances are I would get what I expected (but I also kept in mind the recourses that were available to me with Ebay and Paypal should it turn out to be less than I expected).
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