Perhaps, but your reasoning is not really relevant. The stores in my area, after the first few pressings, get "naked" DVDs anyway, so literally any title with a slipcover on the shelves has already got "naked" counterparts. I also, of course, just try to buy the disc with the slipcover in the first place. Also, I don't know what the general DVD buyer does with their covers, what I said was that the store tosses them if they get beat up (and they always do, since the stores pack their shelves so tightly). In general, there are at least two "covered" and "naked" DVDs for every slipcover title on the shelves, whether the store tossed them or the studio sent them uncovered versions.

The store doesn't mind anyway, so neither do I. If the slipcover is relevant, they should do it like The Proposition and just shrinkwrap the slip into the DVD itself.

That's what they're gonna have to start doing if people keep STEALING them, but hey, if they're okay with it, knock yourself out. It just bothers me to think that somebody might actually WANT the slipcover, and they come in and find that the only copy left is one you stole the slipcover off of. Of course studios eventually drop the slipcover, but that takes quite a while. If your store has "naked" copies within the first month of release (or perhaps longer), then it must be other people stealing the slipcovers or store employees throwing them away. I know nothing about Fred Meyer stores, but if the staff is that abusive with their stock, I'll avoid shopping there if I ever come across one.

As someone else said, Barnes & Noble throws them all away immediately as well, but nobody should shop there anyway since their prices are terrible.

Umm... that would have been me.

Yeah, that's one of the big mysteries of DVD retailing. B&N sells everything at list price, because their bedrock customer base would probably be insulted if offered a discount. I'm not saying their customers are rich, just that they're typically too pretentious to go to WAL-MART and pay less when they can buy all their DVDs at B&N and seem affluent and sophisticated. Seems to me though that those same people would be anal enough to want the whole package, yet B&N doesn't seem to see it that way. I assume it's just an attempt to combat theft (like hiding a $69.99 Criterion DVD inside the slipcover of a $9.99 mainstream title), but I think their strategy is outdated, largely due to the barcode opening that has been part of slipcovers for years.

I'd love to hear from a current or former B&N employee who can give any insight into why this is done. Anyone?

I agree, there's something about the material that mkes the black look more better, somehow. (It's kind of hard to explain)

Anyways, do you have trouble taking the slip cover off becuase mine was so tight, that it took me forever to take it off without breaking it. Then, I put it back on and when I tried to take it off, I had no choice but to rip it.

the slipcover is simply cosmetic. it's ironic how people begged for uniform shiny keepcases, and then the studios decide to throw on a nice matte-finish slipcover to distinguish their releases from the rest. they're not going to invest too much time in designing an alternate layout for a slipcover that won't last beyond initial pressings.

Wha? Most slipcovers I've seen are actually shinier than you could get with a traditional cover insert inside a keepcase. They have things like holofoil or even lenticular artwork glued to the front. The one for the new "Grinch" SE (the animated one) actually has GLITTER all over it! Yes, they're only cosmetic, but so is every part of DVD packaging right down to the artwork on the disc!