Amazon Blu-ray deals generally mean losing the slipcover. Do You mind? (1 Viewer)

[Ethan Riley]

I don't see what any of this has to do with amazon. Most major releases have a slipcover when they're first produced; the slipcover tends to get lost as production continues, at which time the price generally drops. It has nothing to do with amazon.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Hey Guys!


Just to kind of come around full circle here....


Finally received my copy of Birdman. I bought it discounted on Amazon. It came with the slipcover.


My guess is about the same as most of you. The slipcovers are offered initially, through all retailers and e-tailers until initial product runs dry. At that point, the slipcover is dropped.


I was really amazed by how many HTF members did not like slipcovers and actually tossed them upon arrival.


Thanks for sharing your opinions in this thread.

 

[cineMANIAC]

I ordered a copy of Spielberg's Lincoln on Amazon a couple of months after release date and it didn't come with the lovely white slip, which bothered me a bit, but I didn't think too much of it. My feeling is, if the art on the slip is the same as the art on the actual case then it's a waste of paper.

 

[moovtune]

I'm another one who thinks the slipcover is a waste of trees. Not only do my slipcovers go in the trash, but the blu-ray cases get exchanged for thin blu-ray cases and they go in the trash too. I tried selling them, but nobody wanted them.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I'm another one who thinks the slipcover is a waste of trees. Not only do my slipcovers go in the trash, but the blu-ray cases get exchanged for thin blu-ray cases and they go in the trash too. I tried selling them, but nobody wanted them.

James: Do you have to trim the Blu artwork to get it to fit in the slimmer Blu case? And where are you ordering your cases from?

 

[Robert Crawford]

Hey Guys!


Just to kind of come around full circle here....


Finally received my copy of Birdman. I bought it discounted on Amazon. It came with the slipcover.


My guess is about the same as most of you. The slipcovers are offered initially, through all retailers and e-tailers until initial product runs dry. At that point, the slipcover is dropped.


I was really amazed by how many HTF members did not like slipcovers and actually tossed them upon arrival.


Thanks for sharing your opinions in this thread.

I never thought otherwise considering its BD release date from today.

 

[Dick]

I'm another one who thinks the slipcover is a waste of trees. Not only do my slipcovers go in the trash, but the blu-ray cases get exchanged for thin blu-ray cases and they go in the trash too. I tried selling them, but nobody wanted them.

At least the slipcovers are biodegradable, whereas the cases are here (or in landfills or oceans or lakes) forever.

 

[moovtune]

James: Do you have to trim the Blu artwork to get it to fit in the slimmer Blu case? And where are you ordering your cases from?

Sometimes I do have to trim slightly, sometimes not. I get the cases from here: http://www.cdrom2go.com/product/usdm-thin-blu-ray-case-single-disc-with-logo_1700_73.htm

 

[Charles Smith]

Nice. I love slim cases but didn't know there were any for BD. If only they came in clear as well, I'd be even more tempted to make the change on a bunch of discs.

 

[Douglas R]

At least the slipcovers are biodegradable, whereas the cases are here (or in landfills or oceans or lakes) forever.

And those "ecologically friendly" cases add to the problem because I always throw those away as well and replace them with solid plastic cases.

 

[TravisR]

And those "ecologically friendly" cases add to the problem because I always throw those away as well and replace them with solid plastic cases.

I said it before but the number of people that actually replace their cases is far less than the amount of plastic saved by the eco-cases. It's purely a money saving move on the studios' part but if that greed also helps the environment, good.

 

[Persianimmortal]

Slipcovers.... don't get me started on those! Suffice it to say that I think it's symptomatic of the triumph of marketing over common sense in modern society that a plastic Blu-ray case with an artwork insert gets a superfluous cardboard wraparound with the same artwork. So impractical and wasteful.

As for the eco cases, while I'm not a big fan, I think their flimsiness is being exaggerated somewhat. Sure, I prefer the solid cases, especially as I get most of my BDs shipped from overseas and the postal system can be quite brutal. But I've never needed or wanted to throw away an eco case. Unless you actually sit on them or rest an anvil on them they tend to hold their shape quite well.

Let's remember that we're not going to be passing these Blu-rays onto our grandkids as family heirlooms.

 

[schan1269]

Upon my demise(40 more years?)...if disc based is still around...

My DVD collection will likely be worth more than my BD collection.

Heck, looking on ebay a while back, I have a few pricey VHS in my stockpile.

Regarding slips...

I only keep them if they offer something cool.

I've always lived where there is active recycling. So, as long as you recycle plastic, it never ends up in landfills.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Sometimes I do have to trim slightly, sometimes not. I get the cases from here: http://www.cdrom2go.com/product/usdm-thin-blu-ray-case-single-disc-with-logo_1700_73.htm

Interesting. Many thanks.


Years ago I had converted nearly all my DVDs to slim cases. I don't think many of my DVDs (as I've upgraded most of them to Blu) have much value at all. I used to think most of that was based on the fact that I trimmed the DVD cover art to fit the slimmer cases. But now I doubt that it has had much impact on value at all. {not to mention I've still got all the old Amaray DVD cases still in storage).


I could see me slimming my Blu collection to regain the shelf space.


What a hobby...

 

[Mike Frezon]

I get the cases from here: http://www.cdrom2go.com/product/usdm-thin-blu-ray-case-single-disc-with-logo_1700_73.htm

Well, that math is easy...even for me. Regular cases are .5". The slim cases are .25". The slimmer cases take up half the space.


And I know from slimming my DVD cases that the spine artwork usually doesn't suffer much in the transition.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

For what it's worth on the "eco-cases"... I'm not sure if this information is still correct, it's very well possible that by 2015, it's out of date, but I can share a little experience with the eco-cases from back in 2009, when I was working at a smaller home video label that had just entered the Blu-ray arena. Just mentioning this because I always get a little bit of a laugh when people start talking about them. This is all, of course, with the caveat that the story behind them may have changed in more recent years.


Back in 2009, however, the eco-cases actually cost more than standard Blu-ray cases. I don't remember what the price difference was, it wasn't gigantic, but it was at least a few pennies more for the eco cases than the standard cases. The reason for adopting them wasn't price savings, since it cost us more. Rather, the reason was consumer demand. Every bit of market research that was presented to us showed that consumers preferred packaging that was more economically friendly versus packaging that was considered wasteful. I also suspect that clients that did a lot of mail order (like Amazon) preferred the eco cases because they're a little lighter, the shipping costs might have been a little less on them for when they ship out the individual orders. But, at least from where I was sitting, the switch to eco cases was never about saving us (the label) money, but about providing the product in the configuration that our customers were asking for.


To my knowledge, slipcovers came out primarily as a theft deterrent. First the studios had the shrinkwrapping and the security sticker on top, and then added the security stickers on the top and bottom of the package, but retail thieves can get into those pretty quickly. When I worked at a video store in college, we were trained that a clever thief could slit the seals with a razor and have the disc out in mere seconds. They tried the plastic tabs on the DVD cases for a while, and they were somewhat helpful but still fairly easy to steal. The slipcovers are meant to be an extra obstacle along the way that would take a potential thief extra time to remove. Whether or not that actually is true in practice, I don't know. That a lot of consumers end up liking the slipcase ended up just being a bonus; for most commercial releases, the original idea behind them as far as I know was to deter theft, but I think as studios have realized that consumers like them, they've kept it up.

 

[Dave MJ]

I like slipcases even though I know they are a waste of paper. I'm always a little sad when I get a title without the slipcase. At least they are bio degradable. I hate the eco-cases because they are so flimsy, even though I know they are better for the environment. My favorite blu ray cases are the clear plastic cases used by the Criterion Collection and a few others labels. They are more sturdy and just look better to me than the standard blu cases. That said I really hate some of the larger, non-standard cardboard cases Criterion uses for some of their blus. They often get crushed while in the mail and don't hold up well on the shelf.

 

[Charles Smith]

I'm not a slipcover fanatic, but they do look nice on the shelf. For the most part, though, barring special ones such as lenticular, I can take 'em or leave 'em.

What I don't like is when a series of releases, such as seasons of a TV show, are not supplied with them consistently. Why they refuse to keep series packaging consistent throughout boggles my mind. (I would make the same complaint about changing box styles, and changing the spine layout of a series.

As I recall, Mad Men Blu-rays weren't issued with slipcovers for the first couple of seasons, then they went over to using them and those look exceptionally nice. They also changed the positioning of the title on some season's spines, which looks haphazard completely aside from the slipcover question.

In short, how about someone putting just a modicum of thought into such things?

Data point: My Disney Club Swiss Family Robinson arrived yesterday sans slipcover -- even though it was just released and their other "exclusive" BD releases have had them.


In this case, I don't give a shit. The cover artwork is going into the wastebasket, and these barebones BDs are residing in the truly deluxe Vault Disney DVD cases (with all that lovely bonus material) that Disney very obviously took pride in back in the day...the very opposite of the way they're treating the Blu-rays.