Security seals must go! Or at least come up with a better way. (1 Viewer)

[Inspector Hammer!]

I just came from Best Buy and bought two dvd's Meet the Fockers and What's Eating Gilbert Grape, they both had security seals on each sides of the case and I tore the soft clear plastic getting them off!

I was being as careful as I could be, but they just would not come off without tearing the case's. :frowning:

Are the studio's aware that this is a problem that must be addressed? Isn't ONE security seal on one side of the case enough? It also doesn't help matters that the plastic used on the case's is as soft as melted butter, maybe tougher plastic is in order?

I don't know, i'm ranting. It's just really irritating that I buy two brand new dvd's and they end up looking beat up and torn just trying to open them! Somethings off about that to me.

 

[Rob T]

I just run a pocket knife down the middle of them and that takes care of it.

 

[PeterMano]

Believe it or not, one of life's little pleasures is buying the Warner box sets and not having to deal with security seals. Its such a luxury. No muss, no fuss, the boxes are in pristine conditionm, they don't have those gouge marks from my fingernails trying to get under the stupid seal to remove it. Ah, the bliss.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Rob,
I really wish I could do that and be done with it, however I have an anal-retentive personality that MUST remove them altogether.

 

[TravisR]

I wish I only had problems like this to worry about

 

[Bob Turnbull]

Actually Rob's idea helps toward getting them off completely. Run the knife down the middle and then open the case. Peel off each side from the inside out. Much easier and less chance of ripping or gouging the outside plastic.

It's the only way I open mine now...

 

[Kain_C]

Whatever helps quell theft and helps keep the prices down is fine by me. If there was a better way, they'd probably have thought of it by now. It's not something I worry about at all.

 

[Shane Martin]

While not something I worry about as I've never had an issue, I do understand why they do it and don't mind.

I'm extremely careful and never had an issue. The knife way is something I haven't tried yet. So far just being careful has worked well.

 

[DanHal]

Oh, make sure you have a bottle of Goo-Gone handy as well. I just can't stand having sticky strips of goo all over my cases!

 

[Yousaf]

What's even worse is when the plastic wrap stick to the spine of the DVD...granted I haven't really worked at it, but I haven't found a way to get that off.

 

[Mark_TS]

little flaps/tabs at one corner would help get the removal started-sometimes knife slits dont work-and you can easily gouge the plastic trying to get a grip on a corner.

 

[Clinton McClure]

This is exactly how I open mine.

What irks me is the way Hastings does some of their used movies. They will put a magnetic security device on the outside of the case then shrinkwrap the whole thing. The cases will not sit well side by side on my shelf because of the security device. The adhesive is so strong that if you try to remove it, you will destroy the plastic on the case. I can always put the DVD, insert and cover art in a new case, but if the original is a snapper...

But I can't complain too much. I pick up 9/10 of my movies used from Hastings. All are in pristine condition and cost between $5 and $15.

 

[dpippel]

Which is all someone stealing a DVD from a retail store has to do. Ten seconds is all it takes. The "security" seals AND the ionized security tag are defeated, and Mr./Mrs. Perpetrator walks right out the front door with a DVD in their pocket.

Security seals probably only discourage the impulse shoplifter. They are of no consequence to someone who knows what they're doing.

 

[Roger_R]

I use the knife method on the security seals too and have never had a problem with them.
What I really don't like are the security tags inside the cases. They're not in the way on regular DVD-cases, but whoever puts them on tends to put them in the least practical place on boxsets. My Stargate SG-1 boxsets have them inside the box, but beneath the DVD-cases and you can't take them off without making a mess. It's hard to get the cases into the box and on one of the boxes, the bottom almost got ripped off when I tried to put a case back.

As Doug said, both seals and tags are not in the way of a shoplifter so why keep them? If they don't want their DVDs stolen, they could simply put demo cases on the shelves and keep the real ones behind the counter.

 

[Sean Aaron]

They are the dumbest thing ever and one thing I hate about getting DVDs and CDs from North America. They don't use them in the UK and it is so refreshing to open up a DVD without those or the annoying security devices glued inside (although I have started to see the latter).

Is this something that the studios are doing to prevent retailers from trying to re-sell product that's been returned as new?

 

[dave bula]

Where? Where? I haven't been able to find Goo Gone for over a year now, and really miss it. Is it still for sale anywhere? Please, I'd really like to know where you get yours. This is no joke. I collect a lot of used hardcover books, and so many of the ex-library copies I get of OOP books are littered with horrible stickers that I can only remove with Goo Gone.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Thanks for the suggestions, fella's. I'll try the knife method next time.

Dave,
have you tried using household 3 in 1 oil? That stuff works wonders at removing all sorts of sticky gunk.

 

[Greg_M]

Paramount now uses pastic tabs on the side of the DVD case, which must be unsnapped before the case will open. Though this becomes a slight inconvience when opening the case at a latter time it helps cut down on theft.

 

[HienN]

I don't understand why they often put security stickers on all 3 edges though. Wouldn't one along the long edge be sufficient to prevent the disc from being removed?

 

[Jesse Skeen]

What REALLY needs to go are the cardboard slipcovers that are put OUTSIDE the shrinkwrap! About 9/10th of every store will stick their price tags right on them, plus they get dinged easily if they've been on the shelves for a long time. I heard people in a store ask if they were USED discs since there was no shrinkwrap on the outside! I've only bought titles that are packaged this way from places that DON'T put price tags on their merchandise. I hate this 100 times more than anyone who hated the snapper cases!