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Do alot of people buy dvd's and never open them?

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Do alot of people buy dvd's and never open them?

Old 11-07-05, 10:01 AM
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Do alot of people buy dvd's and never open them?

I have a question for all the dvd fans on here. Do alot of you buy dvd's and never open them? Me...when I buy a new dvd the first thing I do is open it to check the contents. My father owns over 500 dvd's and about half of them have yet to be opened. He mostly buys dvd's of movies he likes, he never buys one he has not seen. Why buy a dvd and never open it? I know some of the out of print and valuable movies (early Disney's, Criterion, etc) are worth more un-opened, but why buy it and not watch it?
Old 11-07-05, 10:03 AM
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my mother buys a lot and has opened just a few of them. She intends to but is just busy. Sometimes when I buy a movie that I've already seen quite a few times on tv or whatnot, I won't open it for a while until I view it. I had movies like Braveheart sitting on the shelf unopened for a few years actually.
Old 11-07-05, 10:05 AM
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Cool, at least I know my father is not the only one who buys them and never opens them. It's like pulling teeth to ask him to borrow a movie that is still sealed, he hates to open them! UGH!
Old 11-07-05, 10:07 AM
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Always at least test them right away. If you wait a year to open them, then find out there was a problem with your copy, it makes it a lot harder to exchange it. No?
Old 11-07-05, 10:08 AM
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I don't see the point in buying a DVD if you're not going to watch it. And that requires opening it.

I open all DVDs I buy as soon as I get them home, if not before, to check the condition of the disc. I've had several instances where brand new discs have been damaged in some way and I've had to return them for an exchange.
Old 11-07-05, 10:08 AM
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I always open my DVDs as soon as I get home to take off all the security stickers and make sure there are no scratches on the disc(s). I might not watch the disc for a while, but at least I know it's not damaged or anything like that.
Old 11-07-05, 10:22 AM
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I open a dvd as soon as I buy it to do the routine "scratch/fingerprint" check. I do this in the parking lot or in the store.

Most recently was Titanic 3-disc and the Friday the 13th Collection. I had to open 3 sets of each in order to put a set together that was scratch free.

Last edited by Mr. Cinema; 11-07-05 at 10:28 AM.
Old 11-07-05, 10:25 AM
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Originally Posted by Snowmaker
Always at least test them right away. If you wait a year to open them, then find out there was a problem with your copy, it makes it a lot harder to exchange it. No?
No, you can exchange pretty much any dvd to any store you want. I have bought one at one store, lost the receipt and returned it to another store to get a replacement. If the store does not have the same disk in stock they give store credit so no big deal. You can ALWAYS return a damaged disk...
Old 11-07-05, 10:26 AM
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Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema
I open a dvd as soon as I buy it to do the routine "scratch/fingerprint" check.

Most recently was Titanic 3-disc and the Friday the 13th Collection. I had to open 3 sets of each in order to put a set together that was scratch free.
The stores let you return a set multiple times like that? Seems a bit too much, are you overly picky or what?
Old 11-07-05, 10:29 AM
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Originally Posted by Billyspunk
No, you can exchange pretty much any dvd to any store you want. I have bought one at one store, lost the receipt and returned it to another store to get a replacement. If the store does not have the same disk in stock they give store credit so no big deal. You can ALWAYS return a damaged disk...

Thats what I've found too. If its damaged, its damaged. I've even returned a disc thats OOP for credit before and not had a hassle.
Old 11-07-05, 10:33 AM
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Originally Posted by Billyspunk
The stores let you return a set multiple times like that? Seems a bit too much, are you overly picky or what?
Circuit City doesn't mind at all. Best Buy always gives me evil looks if I have to do this. I'm picky in a sense that if I'm buying a "new dvd", then it should be in "new" condition, which is scratch free. I often have to make exchanges because of scratched discs.
Old 11-07-05, 10:40 AM
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I've never done that. Even if I"m not going to watch it right way, I open it and aleast make sure the discs look fine. And most of the time put them in to test them so I can take them back if I get a defective one before it's too late to exchange.
Old 11-07-05, 10:45 AM
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Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema
Circuit City doesn't mind at all. Best Buy always gives me evil looks if I have to do this. I'm picky in a sense that if I'm buying a "new dvd", then it should be in "new" condition, which is scratch free. I often have to make exchanges because of scratched discs.
So true with Best Buy. I recently bought the Saw SE with the bloody case, when I opened it I notice it had a crack at the top and that really bothered me. When I returned it the cleck was giving me a hassle asking why return it for a small crack. She did not comprehend that the case was the best part of the dvd! Sometimes I think Best Buy is the EVIL empire...I LOVE bringing in sales flyers so that have to price match, they seem to get under-priced alot lately...
Old 11-07-05, 10:53 AM
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Originally Posted by Billyspunk
No, you can exchange pretty much any dvd to any store you want. I have bought one at one store, lost the receipt and returned it to another store to get a replacement. If the store does not have the same disk in stock they give store credit so no big deal. You can ALWAYS return a damaged disk...
I don't think it's right - morally, if not legally - to return a DVD to a store other than where you bought it.

And by your example, if you're returning a disc that you bought at, say, Circuit City, to Best Buy, and they don't have it and they give you store credit, then that's really, really wrong.

Yes, you can always return a damaged or defective disc, but you should do it where you bought it.
Old 11-07-05, 10:58 AM
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I like to refer to unopened dvds that people buy as "nicely packaged drink coasters". After ahwile, they are just kind of sitting there collecting dust.
Old 11-07-05, 11:01 AM
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Always open them first to check for scratches and stuff.
Old 11-07-05, 11:01 AM
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Originally Posted by dvd_luver
I like to refer to unopened dvds that people buy as "nicely packaged drink coasters". After ahwile, they are just kind of sitting there collecting dust.
Not much different from opened DVDs that dont get watched because they're in a collection of a few thousand... no?
Old 11-07-05, 11:04 AM
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i envy people too busy earning money to buy dvds that they dont have time to open the dvds they spend all day working to earn money to buy...
Old 11-07-05, 11:05 AM
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Well, I tend to wait to open new DVDs until I watch them. This has paid off for me several times. I have a lot of DVDs and I got a "deal" of some kind on most of them. Sometimes this means I have more movies than I can watch in a month's time (plus we rent from Blockbuster.com, so I tend to give new releases a view before the stuff I've purchased.) So, I still watch about 3 DVDs a week... so, I watch DVDs... but I might buy them faster than I can watch them initially. I'll get to each and every one, though. I'm an independent contractor - some months I am so busy I can't watch a single movie... other months I can watch 2 dozen. It all pans out in the end!

Anyway, several times my waiting to open a DVD has helped me when the studio announced the release of a new version. I either swapped the sealed version for the new release or I eBayed the sealed version and got more $$ because it was sealed. So, for me, I always wait to open a movie until I watch it. And as others have said, if it's defective, most stores will swap it for a good one.

I only buy what I want to own... so, I'll open it when I'm ready... and if they re-release a super-whammy edition in the meantime, then I just don't take the hit on a double-dip.

One time I received LOTR Two Towers initial release as a birthday gift. I kept it sealed and swapped it for the EE when it was released several months later. I didn't have a receipt at all. I just told the customer service folk, "I received this as a gift and I'd rather have the Extended Version. Can I pay you the difference?"

I've since watched the EE several times.

Last edited by freudian-slip; 11-07-05 at 11:18 AM.
Old 11-07-05, 11:07 AM
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I always open my dvds usually the first week when I get them, so I can watch them because isn't that the point? Plus, isn't it good to know if there's a defect, you might have to get a replacement? Most places don't offer anything over a 90 day return policy.
I don't know why people buy dvds and never watch them, it doesn't make any sense to me. My mom and my sister both do this, and it drives me crazy when I go over there and see stacks of unopened dvds there, some I see year after year after year. I just don't get it, you could buy all those dvds now for less than 1/2 the price you paid way back when.
Everyone's different though, and who am I to argue with them about their habits, but I'm glad I'm the way I am. I watch way more film this way!
Old 11-07-05, 11:12 AM
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I hire people to open my DVDs and watch them for me since I really can't be bothered.
Old 11-07-05, 11:14 AM
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I collect films much like others collect spoons...or shot glasses...or Beanie babies.

Many of my over 500 DVDs are unopened. Some I may never watch. But I have XX of AFI's Top 100 films, or XX of the Oscar winner for Best Picture since I was born.

It's a collection. I don't have ta open them or even watch them any more than someone has ta eat off their "50 States" spoons or drink from their shot glasses. The greatest films of all time displayed beautifully in their rack...in whatever order strikes me that year. (Chronological, Alpha, by ranking..or one day.. autobiographical...)
Old 11-07-05, 11:23 AM
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If I opened them then I couldn't see the beautiful shrinkwrap sheen coming from my shelf.
Old 11-07-05, 11:39 AM
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Originally Posted by freudian-slip
Well, I tend to wait to open new DVDs until I watch them. This has paid off for me several times. I have a lot of DVDs and I got a "deal" of some kind on most of them. Sometimes this means I have more movies than I can watch in a month's time (plus we rent from Blockbuster.com, so I tend to give new releases a view before the stuff I've purchased.) So, I still watch about 3 DVDs a week... so, I watch DVDs... but I might buy them faster than I can watch them initially. I'll get to each and every one, though. I'm an independent contractor - some months I am so busy I can't watch a single movie... other months I can watch 2 dozen. It all pans out in the end!

Anyway, several times my waiting to open a DVD has helped me when the studio announced the release of a new version. I either swapped the sealed version for the new release or I eBayed the sealed version and got more $$ because it was sealed. So, for me, I always wait to open a movie until I watch it. And as others have said, if it's defective, most stores will swap it for a good one.

I only buy what I want to own... so, I'll open it when I'm ready... and if they re-release a super-whammy edition in the meantime, then I just don't take the hit on a double-dip.

One time I received LOTR Two Towers initial release as a birthday gift. I kept it sealed and swapped it for the EE when it was released several months later. I didn't have a receipt at all. I just told the customer service folk, "I received this as a gift and I'd rather have the Extended Version. Can I pay you the difference?"

I've since watched the EE several times.

Yep, EXACT same thing for me. You may have no problem sawping out an open disc for the same thing, but you can't exchange it for anything else - at least that's the policy at most stores.

Leaving it unopened holds (or increases) the value of the disc. Once it's opened, wether you've watched it or not, it's considered used. Kind of like buying a brand new car - as soon as you drive it off the lot it depreciates in value immediately.

The only time I've ever encountered scratched discs, is when buying a multiple DVD set, like a TV show. Those FOX flip-fold, and older Warner Brothes cases (like the ones used for Babylon 5) were notorious for having discs come loose in shipping and being scratched. With them, you usually couldn't hear a loose disc sliding around in the case - unlike a single DVD case - so you wouldn't know until you opened it. I got in the habit of opening those right in the store after I bought them - so they would know I wasn't lying about how the discs got scratched, and so I wouldn't have to go too far without exchanging for another copy.
Old 11-07-05, 12:06 PM
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I open al of mine right away (usually). I have maybe 1 or 2 sealed. (I think Cinderella and maybe Son of the Beach set).

I keep my TV box sets sealed until I will watch them. This came in handy since I sold a few as SEALED since I really had no desire to watch them...made a nice profit too.

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