Tracer Bullet

Apologies if this has been asked before; I did a search but couldn't find anything relevant.

I exchanged a DVD player today that would only play discs intermittently, but I left a disc of The X-Files season 1 in the drive. Of course I called the store once I realized this, but they said all returns had already been shipped out to a processing warehouse in another state.

If I call Fox, what are the chances they'll sell me just the disc I'm missing? I don't really want to buy the entire set again if I can avoid it... I think I already know the answer, but it can't hurt to ask.

benjsimpson

No.

Reminds me of the time I was convinced I'd lost a disc after re-arranging my home theatre. After a while a discovered a rattle in my DVD player...I opened it up, and there was my disc floating around the back of the player. Amazingly it still played fine.

Or the time in a drunken haze I put one disc in on top of the one already in there....couldn't get the thing to play...figured it out the next morning though...doh!

My advice is to give yourself a firm telling off, and try to forget it ever happened.

BassDude

Not what you are looking for, but... rental joints often rent one disc at a time. Maybe when they sell it off you can grab one. (Older DVD, so...less chance of this happening.)

Let us know what FOX says. I'd say there would be a market for this, as people damage/lose one disc of a set and such.

Damfino

It'll cost you about $35 and you'll get the rest of the season 1 set for free.

Sabrett

Yeah, Blockbuster sells the disks separate pre-viewed. I've seen all the disks separate in mine for $9.99, I think.

joliom

If the studios were smart they'd make individual discs from box sets available for purchase via their websites. They lose a ton of money from people who would probably pay $15 to replace a lost/damaged disc, but will not pay $40 to rebuy the entire box set. Not to mention rental stores who deal with this problem much more frequently than the average consumer. I work part-time at a large video store. There are lots of sets we'd like to get ahold of, but the owner is extra picky about what box sets he'll order since repurchasing a $125 set just to replace one disc that a stupid customer loses, is not an appealing prospect. So we end up with only the most popular sets, or the ones that are extra cheap. It's a potential source of revenue the studios are missing out on, and a limiting factor to the extended success of expensive box sets. The way things are now, a lot of folks tend to second-guess really expensive box set purchases, and turn to illegal copying/downloading when individual discs do get lost or damaged.

Xbox69

Have you tried searching eBay?

Sex Fiend

Joliom, I like your thinking and agree 100% that the studios SHOULD absolutely being doing this. It would be a complete boon to their customers, and would probably foster a lot more consumer goodwill toward box set purchases. I know that I have a couple of TV box sets with a single damaged disk that I am unable (and hence) unwilling to replace without (apparently) re-purchasing the entire set. I am sure there must be hundreds or thousands of other DVD collectors out there in the same boat. I would gladly pony up $10 or so for a single replacement disk.

I am guessing the catch might be that the studios are afraid that some consumers might forego buying box sets altogether and simply buy single disks with individual shows that they favor. Probably not that big a deal for cheaper box sets because it wouldn't represent much (if any) lost revenue if the individual disks were priced at $10-$15. However, on more expensive sets ($40 on up), I could see studios getting antsy that such a program might result in lost box set sales, as consumers may well be more selective about paying the higher price for a whole set when they could get single disks for much cheaper.

I'm not saying that's a rational response by the studios, mind you - just that I could see them thinking that way. I think your suggestion makes great sense and I really wish some of the studios would have the brains to do it.

kylerayner

Hey TracerBullet,

I'm not sure if this is going to work, but Fox has a trade-in program for their DVDs. Here's the link http://www.foxhome.com/replacement/
I used it once for my season 9 X-files boxset. I loaned it to a friend and got it back all scratched up. The process does take awhile. Between sending my damaged copy and receiving a new one, it took around two months. It only cost $6.99, so I it was totally worth it. Hope this will help.

Snowmaker

My brother just did the exact same thing with one of his Family Guy sets. FOX just had him mail in the one scratched disk. This was a week or two ago. He's still waiting.