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Annoying packaging trend- non-shrinkwrapped slipcovers! (1 Viewer)

Jesse Skeen

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While this may be a rather small complaint as the content of the actual disc is far more important than its packaging, I am an obsessive collector-type and like to keep all my discs in as perfect condition as possible.
Over the past year a number of discs have come out in cardboard slipcovers that are not shrink-wrapped, but the plastic case inside is shrinkwrapped. I first noticed this on some Disney titles that had a fold-out on the front to show more details of what's on the disc inside, similar to what I've seen on computer software. Other titles have a regular slipcover with no fold-out, but they are still put outside of the shrinkwrapped keepcase. Most of the major studios have put out some discs this way, and now Image and even one of the public-domain budget labels has been putting them out like this as well.
I don't know if these are meant to be kept, but I've decided to keep the ones I've gotten. Some of them are very nice-looking. The problem is however, since these don't come shrinkwrapped, most stores are sticking their price tags (and sometimes anti-theft alarm tags) directly on the covers! To me this poses an immediate problem, as I don't want to keep them stuck on the covers, but removing them sometimes ends up damaging the cover even further in the process!
This often ends up affecting whether I end up buying a title, if I can't get it in the best possible condition. I've gotten most of the Disney titles online so price tags were never stuck on them, others I've gotten at stores like Target that don't put any tags on their merchandise. a couple I've paid more for than I could have bought them elsewhere with tags on them. A few titles I've felt haven't been worth paying more for, or simply too much trouble to bother ordering online but would have picked up in a store, but as all store copies have had price tags on them I've simply ended up not buying at all.
Again, this is probably a small complaint, but it's important that my discs be in good condition; this is one of several reasons why I never buy used discs. However not shrinkwrapping the slipcovers not only presents the price tag problem, but also leads to some of them getting banged-up on the shelves. I've noticed some unsold copies of "Die Another Day" which has been out for several months looking a bit worn. I've also heard customers in stores ask if they were used DVDs, since they were not shrinkwrapped and price tags were stuck on the front.
I don't know what the reason for this packaging trend is, but I'm finding it very annoying and it's affected where I've bought some discs and in some cases buying them at all, so I would like to see this come to an end- the slipcases are nice but please put the shrinkwrap OVER them!
 

Jesse Skeen

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Apr 24, 1999
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I saw a bunch of titles released yesterday with slipcovers outside the shrinkwrap- most notably was I Robot, which has a clear plastic slipcover, but again the shrinkwrap is on the case inside so the stores put their tags directly on the plastic slipcase! The stores shouldn't do this to begin with, but why are they being packaged this way???
 

Jesse Skeen

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Apr 24, 1999
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Come on, guys, WHY is this still going on???

Latest packaging travesty is the new Simpsons set (the plastic Homer head, which is kinda neat but a bit flimsy), which has NO shrinkwrapping whatsoever on it!! I bought mine at Target which didn't stick anything on it, but I can only imagine how messed up these are going to be in a lot of stores! There's only 2 strips of plastic holding the case closed, so it'll be an easy target for shoplifters as well- they'll at least get away with the discs. Saw that Sin City has 4 different cardboard slipcovers outside the shrinkwrap; I'm just waiting to see those start getting "separated" from their discs.
 

Paul.S

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I appreciate the need to kvetch even more than the next guy, but I think the lack of colloquoy herein is telling, Jesse.

Is it really that much trouble to order online, particularly from Amazon, to avoid an issue you obviously feel strongly about? More trouble than, say, nursing a thread on the subject for nearly a year . . . ? ;)

-p
 

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