Altimus Prime

It's only a day after the first season of the original Trek was released on DVD, and I'm already on my third set.

How'd that happen? Read on.

Bought the first at Target. The first disc had some kind of serious gouge - more than a scratch - while the 8th disc had a patch of hairline scratches.

I took it back, but had to take a refund, because they didn't have any more in stock, and another Target also had none.

So I go to Best Buy, Target ad in-hand for price match. I open the set in the store - there's a gouged disc. They try to fix it, using a Game Doctor, and make it incredibly worse.

So I grab a second set at the same Best Buy, and open it. It had two or three discs that were messed up, so I swapped them out with the other set I had just opened.

So it took swapping discs between two sets to get one good one.

And in the back of my mind the whole time is that sticker I saw on the back: Made in Mexico.

MEJHarrison

They try to fix it? There's not a chance in hell I would accept something they tried to "fix". Not even if they did the right thing and gave you a nice discount for taking faulty merchandise.

I want my stuff in new condition before it's opened, not after some putz takes a Game Doctor to it.

Altimus Prime

Well, I really had no idea what the mark on the disc was. And it was just the one disc, and it was a small mark, so I was hoping it would come off and the set would be fine.

I didn't know they'd run it through a Game Doctor.

I didn't want to grab a second set - I mean, really, how many would they let me open? I felt like I was gambling - which one to pick, which one will be OK?

Fortunately they let me use the two sets I opened to assemble one good one. But I really shouldn't have had to do that.

gutwrencher

screw them....as many as it takes. you get the replacement, stand at the counter and open it...then keep doing that until you get an un-damaged copy. I think it's a right you have, no? you do not have to accept a defective/damaged copy.

DVD Josh

I'm with Gut. I went through 8 portable DVD players at Costco until I found one without a line through it. I wasn't leaving without a perfect one.

drjohnson3

If I remember correctly, the sixth season of Deep Space Nine had that same "Made in Mexico" sticker. And while I had no trouble with any of the other seasons (which did not have the same sticker, and were presumably manufactured in a different country with cheap labor), I could never find a set that didn't have a scratched Disc 1. I took it back three times, and each time the Suncoast people opened MULTIPLE sets for me. After going through most of their stock, we still weren't able to find an undamaged Disc 1. So I had to settle for a scratched one.

I wrote Paramount for a replacement, but of course I never heard from them. Whoever's making these discs for them in Mexico sure is doing a crappy job.

ruk

i love the way you guys think, always get your money's worth, believe it or not i have learned quite a bit from all of the posts all over this forum, you guys really know how to get things done, great work

ksgemini

I truly thought I was the only person in the world with these kind of problems ...I have about 400 titles-many are 6/7 disc TV seasons so700-800 actual discs...I have had many TV sets come with a scratched disc and much moreso in the last year when I have purchased far less than previous years...I have even kept scratched discs(that played) because the stores (BB, CC, Suncoast) have refused to give me another unless I prove it skips in front of them..it has been mostly Buffy and Angel sets...a couple X Files...I feel your frustration...I bought the original TOS Volumes and ..honestly...in addition to cost factor...the fact that I have 40 mint discs in strong cases was a deciding factor in just keeping the originals and not "upgrading"...on the other hand I talk to people that have 1000+ discs and claim they never had a scratched new disc...maybe I am just unlucky...I have about 80 ADV discs and maybe 80 A&E discs...not one scratch ever...I think the big companies are getting sloppy

Brak55

I remember someone about a year ago on here talking about taking a set back to BB with a single scratched disk. They opened another and a different disk was scratched. He just wanted to swap disks to make a good set and they said they couldn't do it. So he just kept opening sets until he got one with all good disks.

Who makes up these policies?

Bronkster

My set didn't have the gouges, but one disk was scratched a bit, so I returned it for a new set. Lucked out on the 2nd box!

While the friendly and knowledgable Fry's employee had me scamper off to get the replacement, he snapped the two pieces of the outer shell apart and couldn't get it back together. He claimed it was fine when I returned and said, "Oh, you broke it." I politely took the new replacement set away from him when he pulled out a pocket knife to open the shrink wrap. All in all, another entertaining trip to Fry's!

Although I hadn't made any association to disks being made in Mexico and problems, I will be be checking a bit closer. I have noticed that in the past few years of collecting, I've had many more "quality control" issues than I did during the early years.

darmok

checked my bestbuy purchase tonight, and sure enough, disc 7 had a hairline scratch, while disc 8 had a wave of scuff marks (as if an abrasive object was rubbed across the entire half of the surface, causing multiple parallel scratches. argh!!!

emhello

2 of the discs in the set I bought were scratched very deeply. Unfortunately the store had sold out when I went back to exchange it. So I just got a refund for now. So much for quality control...

gutwrencher

they don't just have an extra disc around...it's only as part of a set. the entire set needs to be sent back to the distributor...not just the disc. it would still leave a bad set in inventory...even if they did just swap discs. easier for them...even if it's not that great for the consumer.

AGuyNamedMike

Must. wait. for. megaset. this. Christmas!

Romero

My monster Legacy boxset had made in Mexico mark on the back also. Had to return those three times to get a decent set.

I am afraid to even look at my Trek Disks. I don't want to return these multiple times knowing I will have to go through it for the final two seasons.

WhovianZorker

I don't think that's what was meant.

Let's say he opens the first set and disk #1 is bad. Well, that set is defective. It has to go back.

So say he opens the second set and disk #2 is bad. Well, that set is defective. It has to go back.

Time to open a third set....

But wouldn't it make more sense for him to take disk #1 from the second set and the rest of the disks from the first set, and the store would only have to send back one set to the manufacturer with two bad disks?

darmok

my strategy would be to hold onto the first set, go out and buy a second set, and between the two sets come up with a "fair" set of scratch-free discs, and then return a set that has all the bad discs. the main advantage to doing it this way would be that it would allow me to take my sweet time checking the discs for any scratches i may overlook at the store. the problem i can forsee with that is bestbuy would give me a hassle, saying they can only give me an exchange for same item only. sometimes i'm in the mood to do a swap, and sometimes i don't, because i don't like the people rolling their eyes back on something (scratches) they perceive as trivial. on top of that, the bestbuy sets come with the bonus disc, and i don't want to get to the store and there's no more to swap. at this point, i think i'm going to hold onto them and contact paramount later on to see if i can send in my bad disc 7&8.

Altimus Prime

The Best Buy I was at was kind enough to let me swap three discs between two sets to assemble one good one. Guess I was fortuante in that regard.

Also, on the first set I had opened and gave back, the woman at the counter pulled the case completely apart. She had no idea how it worked, or how it was hinged. It just snaps back together at the bottom.

Altimus Prime

Of course, with that scenario, you have to pay up-front for two sets, in this case about $200, and then hope they'll give you a refund for the damaged set you return. If they'll only give you an exchange for the same item only, then you're screwed.

I did the swap thing at WalMart once to, with T2 I think.

Dexter Douglas

Just got mine from Amazon, and lucky me, disk one's got a nice scuff on the outside. I'll be RMA'ing it for another set. I just hope I don't get to play musical disks through the mail, but I have a feeling I will. This should be fun.

Dexter Douglas

Just a quick update. Just got off the phone with Amazon and they're going to 2nd day out another set and let me ship back the crappy disk with the other set. Pretty dang good CS.

emhello

Yeah amazon is usually great at CS.

Altimus Prime

But all that mailing back and forth is a pain in the a@@.

Which is why, especially with things like this, it's better to buy from a brick-and-mortar store you can actually go to, IMO. I would have hated to have had to deal with this via mail.

And if the second set you get has a bad disc or more, then what?

Man, this sucks. There really needs to be something done about quality control with DVDs.

Jon2

I never bought any of the original Trek series DVDs, but I do have two that were gifts. Being a Trek fan since grade school when the original series aired, I was seriously considering the original series box sets. But, from all the posts I've been reading, it's beginning to appear as though scuffs and scratches are a new DVD feature. One I can live without.

As much of a STOS fan as I am, it's just not worth the effort to try get a pristine set.

BTW, for anyone who may be interested, the Trek sets are approximately $82 at Costco and Sams' Clubs. If I was into buying season box sets of any TV series, I'd join just for that reason alone. The price of membership would pay for itself many times over.

emhello

The sad thing is, the people who wait to buy them will probably get re-packaged damaged items from the people who are sending them back. Many stores are just too lazy to send them back to the distributer.