Boba Fett

After seeing the awful There Will Be Blood packaging and hearing how everyone's discs are scratched, I'm tempted to go rent a copy from Hollywood (who has the film in a regular keepcase with coverart), and then tell them I lost the disc and pay the replacement cost.


I'd imagine it's $20-$25.

DVD Josh

Shouldn't your thread title read "steal" instead of "lose"?

Boba Fett

How is it stealing if you pay for it?

I know Blockbuster charges people for discs if they keep them out for a certain length of time.

If I rented the thing, and then returned an empty case on purpose and said the disc was in it, then that's stealing.

rfduncan

Wrong forum... and in terms of your question, I find it as morally sketchy as DVD Josh.

hiccup

Pshh..you guys are making something out of nothing. If he pays for the copy, then what has he necessarily done wrong? It's like you rented something, but forgot to return only to find it months later, but you still paid the charge for it.

Boba Fett

Fair enough. I figured it was common; last time I was in Blockbuster with a friend, my friend asked if he could buy a game they had for rent (it was long out of print). The clerk told him "just keep it out for 'x days' and we'll charge you the cost on your account."

GreenVulture

Instead of following through with your half-assed plan, why don't you just wait a month and then pick up Blood from Hollywood Video for like $10 when they put it out on sale along with several other current releases? Everything is in keepcases, like you said.

Kory

If you wait a month or so, you can still find a like-new copy Previously Viewed. You can bring 10 copies up to the register and pick through them for the best discs (I have always been able to find discs that were literally spotless), and then buy that copy. It will probably be $14.99 by itself. I believe on new releases, if you simply do not return them, you are charged the MSRP.

Boba Fett

OK, I'll probably just do this; I wasn't aware you could make them sort through discs to find a good copy. Last time I bought used the guy said "if they're scratched and don't play, just bring them back for another copy." They said they didn't have time to go through multiple copies to find a pristine one.

MikeDeN2K

Wow, the clerks at that Hollywood Video must let out a heavy sigh whenever you walk through the door.

steelpotato

Massive word. I work at a video store in New Zealand and people that do this annoy me no end.

DVD Josh

Let me ask you something:

Let's say your friend has a guitar that you really want but he won't sell it to you. So you decide just to take it, and when he finds out, you just say "well, you can get another for $700, so here's $700".

Do you consider that stealing?

Boba Fett

Yeah, if you just take it from him. Besides, that's a poor comparison of scenarios.

Kory

Haha, I've never done it to anyone (the most I've brought up to a register for someone else to open for me is three), but I'm just saying in theory, you could do that. I worked at a Hollywood Video for one summer recently, and during really slow days, I would do that to look for PVs for myself.

As long as they're not busy though, they'll usually be accommodating.

Mr. Salty

OK, if I let you borrow a DVD and you decide you're not going to give it back, but you give me money for it, that doesn't make it OK. Stealing with compensation is still stealing.

riotinmyskull

if my friend had no personal attachment to the guitar and owned a guitar shop with 20 of the same exact guitar? nope, i wouldn't consider it stealing. oh and i'd be giving him 30% more than what it would cost elsewhere. oh and let's pretend this guitar shop lets people rent their guitars and knows that odds are some will be lost.

nemein

Maybe someone who works at BB can clarify but as I understand it the "keepcases" they put them in are there own, the packaging they get from the distributer is the same everyone else gets. So if it's only available in a special case that is causing the problem, chances are BB received them in the same case, transferred them to their own cases, and disposed of the originals. Just going by what I've seen in the store and the fact WAY back when occasionally I would be able to score some cases from BB that they were getting rid of. I don't think they allow that any more.

WRT the original question, unless there is a limited number of copies available, usually on the rental receipt there is a "keep it" price listed. Whether it's "lost" or not, I'm pretty sure that's the price you'll pay, so why not just do it up front when you rent it?

Boba Fett

A guy in the TWBB topic posted a pic of his rental from BB and it was the same official keepcase cover-art that Hollywood had.

Heat

What is the issue with scratching? From floating? If so, just shake boxes in a store until you find one where you aren't hearing the disk flying around on the inside.

And for what it's worth, I don't see anything morally wrong with what you proposed to do with Hollywood Video. But just keep in mind that you could buy the movie in a store for cheaper than they will charge you, plus you would then have the box.

Mr. Salty

Clearly you've read nothing about the packaging used for "There Will Be Blood."

GreenVulture

Snowmaker

Wow! That sucks worse than the Bender's Big Score case.

I'm assuming Al Gore had something to do with this DVD?

GreenVulture

Funny you mention Bender's Big Score in a Hollywood Video thread; I spotted several copies of that movie in the Previously Viewed stands and they were all in regular keepcases.

JWAR

I bought this yesterday and the disc's are fine. Don't know why anyone should have to worry about scratches.

nateman

I watched "There Will Be Blood" this afternoon, and those discs were in the cardboard nice and snug. The discs are very safe in the case, it's just it might get scratched as you're trying to get them out.

Most DVD players (I'm using a PS3) can play scratched discs. Mine played flawlessly, as it should, and the scratches were only very light.