Got any tips for lending DVDs? (1 Viewer)

[Eggert]

I've had no problems...none. all because I never let my dvds out of my sight. that calls for too much trust in others...and I have none in anyone...except me. guess my system is working pretty well. being tight has nothing to do with it.

I don't know about you, but that sounds "tight" to me.

What do you say when friends and family ask to borrow DVDs? In most cases I have offered to lend my DVDs (to a few select individuals), but my immediate family has asked to borrow them and I just say "no problem".

I mean, these people are my family and my friends, and we're only talking about DVDs here (ask to borrow my car and I'll probably say no), and so long as we are not talking about a very expensive out of print edition the potential downside is not high.

Sure, if someone damages a DVD, we'll have a talk. And if it happens more than once, that person might not get to borrow more DVDs, but that would only apply to that one person.


Best regards,
Eggert

 

[Todd Robertson]

nobody asks me to do such a thing. they have thier own librarys and...brace yourself for a shock....they understand and feel the same way as I...so there is no problem. being labeled tight is the same as being called cheap. dont confuse cheap with smart. I've invested in nearly 1,000 dvds so far and dont want them screwed up by anyone else but me. sharing things with people has proved a headache in the past....I have no time for replacing dvds that have been mistreated because of stupidity.

 

[Eggert]

By saying "tight" I didn't mean "cheap". If it came out that way I apologize.

But, I think we will just have to disagree on this. I do not see a problem in lending out DVDs to friends and family (and yes, many of them have their own collections and would understand if I said no). I have never had a single problem (except that one person I mentioned, and he did not get any more DVDs after that).

Even though I love my collection, these are just DVDs and I enjoy sharing them with others.


Best regards,
Eggert

 

[Lars Vermundsberget]

There is no absolute "yes" or "no" to this question. It depends on what you know about the people who are likely to ask you to lend them your dvds.

 

[Todd Robertson]

no worries, mate. we dont agree on this, as you said, and we both have our reasons. I have no family left alive, with the exception of my wife, and I have few friends with as intense an addiction as I, for films/dvds. so honestly...the issue does not come up that often. guess you could say I'm both lucky and un-lucky...depending on how you look at it.

peace,
Gut

 

[Ricardo C]

I've only loaned out ONE of my DVDs, to my cousin André, and only because his girlfriend was with him, and they'd just come from Blockbuster, unable to find a single copy of FOTR. Being such a big fan of the movie, and knowing that his gf had never watched it, I let him borrow it. They were both happy it was the widescreen edition, so I knew I'd made a good decision He returned it the next day, scratch- and fingerprints-free. But I wouldn't want to make a habit out of it.

The one person I'd lend discs to every tinme (if she owned a DVD player) is my cousin Barbara. I'm one of only three people she lends CDs to (she has a very exotic collection full of obscure European albums that are impossible to find here), so I feel obligated to return the favor. Plus, I know how careful she is with her CDs, so I know my discs would be in good hands.

 

[Joshua_W]

I've learned to never lend out books, DVDs, CDs, LPs, or anything else that I don't want damaged -- or that I want back, for that matter.

I'm a collector. I like to keep my things in nice shape. That's just the way I feel -- and too few other people I know feel that way.

I've had some bad experiences lending out books and CDs in the past, so when I started in on DVDs, I learned my lesson.

I've so far had:

5 CDs loaned out that returned scratched.

1 CD loaned out that never returned.

2 CDs loaned out that came back without the cases or inserts.

2 books loaned and never returned.

And the straw that broke the camel's back...

1 AUTOGRAPHED MINT CONDITION book returned to me nearly destroyed. A person asked me to let them borrow a rare book, one that was autographed and in mint condition. I loan out the book, along with a promise that it would come back to me quickly and in the same condition it was when it left my home. I get a promise that it would. SIX MONTHS LATER, I'm over at his place, and he gives the book back to me. The dust jacket of the book was missing. The spine was broken, nearly to the point that the pages were falling out, and the pages had been soiled. Needless to say, I was not pleased and let my displeasure be known. And, guess what, I'm somehow the a-hole in the situation because a friend of mine decided he didn't need to properly care of a rare, autographed, $200+ book that he asked me to borrow.

So no more. I will very rarely offer to loan something out, and only to those people I know and trust implicitly. Don't even ask to borrow something like that from me. Number one, it's downright rude to make such an imposition. Number two, you put the owner on the spot and make him look like a jerk if he says no. Number three, the people who will ask to borrow things are generally the ones who won't take proper care of the things they borrow.

 

[Kevin Leonard]

Unless it would be something that would be hard for the borrower to replace easily (OOP items, massive box sets), I really don't have a problem with lending out my DVD's.

As some others have stated, it presents people with an opportunity to watch movies they might not have actively sought out. In addition, the majority of discs I loan out are ones I haven't watched in many months (sometimes over a year); I'd rather have it be seen by somebody than sitting on my shelf collecting dust.

The people whom I loan to I see/talk to almost daily, and they fully understand that if they damage something, it's their responsibility to replace it.

BUT, just to be on the safe side, whenever someone borrows a movie of mine, I have my attack dog sniff a part of their clothing. If I feel the borrower is taking too long with the DVD, the dog is sent out to retrieve the disc. Sometimes the end result isn't very pretty...

 

[Tony-B]

I've lent Goldmember and Spider-Man to someone. I trust this person, and told her "If it is in a worse condition when I get it back, then you must buy me a new copy." Also I told her that I wanted them back either the next day or the day after.

No one really asks me if they may borrow some of my DVDs. So I don't have much experience with it.

 

[MarkHastings]

Eggert, we're not saying you have to agree with us about not lending DVD's out, but to treat us all like we're bad people because we don't trust others with our stuff isn't too nice.

and we're only talking about DVDs here (ask to borrow my car and I'll probably say no)

What's the difference? Because the car costs more? So you should only care about your expensive stuff? I earn every penny I make and every purchase (no matter the price) is taken care of with the utmost of care. I take pride in my stuff and don't like it when others treat it less than I would.

I would expect anyone to treat my $4 DVD the same way I'd expect them to treat my $40,000 car. No excuses for ruining either one.

If you think that they're "Only DVD's", why don't you think "It's only a car"?

 

[Eggert]

to treat us all like we're bad people because we don't trust others with our stuff isn't too nice.

When did I do this? I really don't see how you came to this conclusion (and yes, I did re-read my posts).

As I said before "tight" (and I'm not the only one in this thread to use this word) was not meant as "cheap".

And a $40,000 car is not exactly the same as a $4 DVD. One is very expensive to replace, the other is not (and keep in mind I do agree with you when it comes to rare, out of print, DVDs that are difficult to replace if anything happens).


Best regards,
Eggert

 

[MarkHastings]

And a $40,000 car is not exactly the same as a $4 DVD.

No, but I would expect the same amount of respect for either one. And since you make it clear that a lot of people think "DVD's are only DVD's", then why shouldn't I be fussy about lending them out to anyone? I'd HATE for anyone to be so thoughtless about my stuff.

For you, your DVD's may only be DVD's, but if I were to borrow one, I wouldn't treat it like some old DVD, I'd treat it like it were my first born.

Sorry for the rant, but I do get quite upset when someone tries to diminish my hobby by making it sound less important.

 

[Scott Leopold]

I loan my DVD's to my parents, and my brother & sister if they ask, but nobody else. My mother had a habit of loaning our videotapes out when I was a kid, and a good many of those never came back. Once I got married, my wife decided to let her parents borrow one of our videotapes on two occasions. Both times, they "lost" the videos. One was our VHS copy of Pinnochio, which has never been recovered. Another was, IIRC, our copy of Braveheart. They insisted that they lost it, then they insisted that they never borrowed it. We saw it sitting on top of their TV next to their VCR the next time we went over, and they insisted that it was theirs and not ours (despite the fact that I found the receipt with the last four numbers of my credit card taped inside the box). We simply took that back. Since then, I've not let a video or DVD out of the house, except to my parents and siblings.

As for books, I'm usually a little more willing to loan those out, although my in-laws are also off my book-borrowing list. This comes as a result of them "borrowing" a book without asking, or even admitting that they were the ones who took it out of the house. Once they finally admitted they had taken it, they once again claimed it was lost. At this time, the book in question was out of print. They eventually agreed to buy a replacement copy, which cost three times what I paid for the original. Amusingly, a couple weeks later the book went back in print.

 

[Eggert]

You are reading way too much into those statements.

I never said it was ok for anyone to damage anyone's DVDs. The thrust of my argument is that when it comes to my family and friends I will let them have most of my DVDs since they are easily replacable IF something happens (that does not mean that treating them badly is OK, just as with any other perosnal property they should be treated with respect).

I think you are being somewhat overly sensitive here. I am just stating my opinions, and then being accused of saying everyone else are bad people is somewhat drastic.

And I was not diminishing your hobby. I was just saying that a DVD is not that difficult to replace IF something happens. But as I also said in another post, I obviously disagree with most you (not all though) on this matter. No biggee.


E

 

[MarkHastings]

I was just saying that a DVD is not that difficult to replace IF something happens.

And most of us go out of our ways to avoid the IF at all times. I realize that nobody's perfect, but I just don't want to have to go through the process of replacing a DVD because someone wrecked it.

I lent 2 DVD's to my younger cousins and they lost one. I was LIVID! They said they'd replace it, but that still wouldn't have made me feel any better. Finally they found it...my cousin had brought it to a friends house and left it there

Yes, I'll agree that a $15 DVD isn't any reason to get emotional about, but I'm more upset with the fact that they lost it and not with the fact that I had to replace it. I could easily replace a $20 DVD, I can't just as easily replace the loss of trust I now feel toward them.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

I'll lend DVDs or CDs to people I trust. A great thing about those formats is that they don't wear out from proper use and handling. It's pretty easy to learn how to handle them properly.

I hardly ever have let anyone borrow any of my vinyl, because that does wear with normal play.

Who are all these people with DVD or CD players who can't handle the discs without damaging them? I've yet to meet them. Even the used rental discs I buy have been in good condition.

If I felt a need to explain to someone the proper way to handle the discs, I'd take that as a sign not to lend it to them in the first place.

I expect the discs back in undamaged condition in a reasonable (to me) amount of time, or somebody's buying me a new one (and that person is not me).

I also expect the borrower to be as generous in lending me their stuff as I am. Most of you in this thread I'd never let borrow from me, even if you lived next door, since you're not willing to do the same for me. That's fine; it should be a two-way street.

I wouldn't lend out discs that are hard to replace.

 

[Nate Anderson]

Usually, I'll loan them out, but most of the time I ask if I can peruse their collection and see in there's something I haven't seen (usually there is), so it becomes an even trade.

I don't have a problem with loaning stuff out to my friends since I know they'll be careful with it. I do tend to be more protective of the Criterions (especially the expensive ones) and anything else that's O.O.P.

 

[Eggert]

Maybe I am. This hobby is a very personal thing for me and I get up in arms when I hear the slightest thing about DVD's being no big deal.

Mark, I totally respect your opinion on this. But there can be no maybe here. I was not, in any way, saying that those who do not loan out their DVDs are bad people (I don't want any confusion on this part).

Loaning out DVDs is just a point we disagree on (which is fine). DVDs are still a hobby to me, and thus a big deal (even though I say they are easily replacable), and I take very good care of my collection. But I also enjoy sharing my collection with others. And as Chris said, I expect to be shown the same courtesy when it comes to borrowing stuff from people who have borrowed from me.


Best regards,
Eggert

 

[Nick Senger]

Wow, I'm glad I'm not the only one concerned about their DVDs. That's one of the reasons I love this forum. I guess there's really no good answer--I was just hoping someone had discovered some polite but clear ways to let people know how to treat the discs.

I'll just have to settle for less-than-subtle ways

 

[Justin Bauer]

I just had a friend in from out of town want to borrow the first 3 seasons of the Sopranos from me. I asked how I would get it back and he said he would bring it to me, but I highly doubted it would work out that easily. I had a good excuse though because I am moving soon and I said I had to box all my DVDs up and did not want to lend any out. I hate it though when people ask just because I hate to say no, but I do not like lending out my stuff because no ones takes care of anything these days.