DaBargainHunta

I have no idea which forum to put this in, so I'll throw in a bargain I found just to make it relevant here. :P

Costco has Ten Commandments SE for $12.

With that said, I ordered Identity online from CircuitCity.com and bought Ten Commandments from Costco (I even shook it and it SEEMED fine - but then the lady at the register started flinging everything around like a friggin' frisbee). Both had discs loose in the case.

Here are my questions:

1) Are there any foolproof ways to tell if something's a floater in the store? Sometimes, you can't hear any rattling only to open up and find out that it IS a floater.

2) From your experience with floaters, should they just be automatically exchanged without having to test out the full movie or can most discs withstand the punishment and still work fine?

chemosh6969

I've never had a problem with any player not being able to read them.

The only foolproof way to tell if it is a floater is to bring an x-ray machine and check it.

dvd2001

In more than half the times I've heard the disc rattling aroung inside the case, they've turned out to be fine. This is especially true if it's a newer release, i.e. hasn't had that much time to rattle around, or if it's in an Amaray case, which seem to do the least damage.

On the other hand, if it's an older disc, and maybe been rattling around in that case for a couple of years, it might be pretty messed up when you open it.

For minor blemishes from discs that rattled, I've noticed that some gentle wiping with a super-soft cloth will remove the scuffing that is visible.

I do prefer the name "rattlers" for loose discs. It seems more descriptive, and doesn't bring to mind the more scatalogical interpretations of the other name.

Jah-Wren Ryel

Shakers.

But when I read floater, I thought of a dead body in the lake. Different strokes...

marty888

I've never knowingly bought a floater in a store, bu I've received several over the years in the ail - and fortunately not a one of them had any playback issues.

Mr. Cinema

I'd say about 1 out of every 5 movies I buy have scratches on them, but they aren't floaters. They're on the hub. Seems like the ones I pick out were dropped by some retard at the factory and put back in the case....

Keith123

Sometimes it is easy to tell the DVD is loose because the DVD case will feel bottom heavy and hopefully will make a "clunk" noise when you shake it. If there is more than one of the same DVD on the shelf, I will gently shake 2 or 3 or 4 or more of them to tell what is "normal" for that particular DVD case. I will look at the bottom and tops of the case looking for any signs of blunt trauma. I never buy the first DVD sticking out of any shelf- that one may have had too much handling in the store. Sure, picking one from the middle of the stack could have the worst handling of all but I assume the DVD sticking out front has had some sort of handling activity and so perhaps also mishandling. All this and more detailed selecting process I do to find the perfect case(and so hopefully the perfect DVD inside) stems from my years of collecting comic books I'm sure...

shawagg

There are others like me! Keith I do the same thing all the time...


Flooters? I hardly ever get 'em, cuase I'm careful in the store. When I do get a flooter, if I see even one scratch, I change it. I paid good money and I'm not going to keep it because it works fine today only to find out 30 days later it started to skip.

flashburn

Nothing pisses me off more than someone who leaves a floater after they are done!

steebo777

Can I get a courtesy flush please?

The Void

I think your chances of getting floaters depends on your diet. I don't get many floaters.

darmok

in almost 3 out of 4 floaters i get, they are scratched and i'd have to exchange them. going forward, i don't even bother opening them if something sounds loose. at least with the package still sealed, the CSR won't look at you suspiciously. you can shake the sealed package and voice your concern, and chances are they will understand. on the other hand, if the item's opened, it's hit-or-miss on whether they'll do anything for you, since not all stores (especially smaller chains) can return their stock.

BiMonSciFiCon

I always give it a shake to make sure nothing is loose.

jough

Yeah, I'm one of those geeks you'll see in Best Buy shaking a DVD, checking for a "rattler" (as is the common message board parlance, not "floater").

The irony is that I've bought more rattlers at B&Ms than I have received them through the mail. The discs I get in the mail are almost always fine (except for the really expensive Criterion sets, which always seem to come with the disc popped-out and all scratched up, from DVD Planet).

LasVegasMichael

I purchase most (about 80%) of my DVDs online, and can thing of rattlers coming only twice (once from DDD and once from Overstock.com). Bought one at a B&M once, before I knew to shake them first.

Neither disc was permanently damaged, but I ALWAYS shake before buying at any B&M.

andybrew

I work for one of the major dvd online stores, and I know for a fact that everyone that picks orders in the warehouse shakes every dvd they take off the shelf to make sure they arent loose. If they are, they get turned sideways, and fixed.