Need a bit of advice about the "Hancock" DVD
 

I just got back from Best Buy, and low and behold, I found one copy of the Hancock steelbook. Naturally, I snatched it right up, no questions asked. The fact is, I thought the movie was okay, so I wasn't really interested in bidding high for it on ebay. I got it, sealed, for $25.

Simple enough, right?

The catch is that the plastic all around the case has scratches and creases, and tears, and all wonderful kinds of messiness. Now, when I moved the plastic around a little bit, there were no signs of scratches on the actual case. I know how sometimes the plastic is messed up, but the case is fine.

However, there's no point in saving five or ten bucks on it if the case does, in fact, turn out to be scratched. I'm kind of afraid to open it, because I don't want to keep it if it's all messed up.

Any advice on how to go about this? I was thinking I would just open it, and if it's scratched, I can return it to the store. And since BB isn't going to have any more steelbooks, I would just get a refund, right? Or would they tell me that I have to exchange it for the standard 2-disc? Because that's kind of what I'm afraid of.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

Your situation might turn out different but, some time ago, I purchased an import 2-CD set. Turned out there were 2 of the same disc (labels were different but when you played 'em both were the same disc). So, when I returned it, they would not give me a cash refund due to it being open. But since they didn't have another one, they let me pick up something else... which was fine by me since I can always find something to get there.

Thanks for the help.

I opened it up, and much to my surprise, there were almost no marks at all. It's really weird, because the plastic was so ripped up I was almost convinced that the case would be too, but aside from two or three tink nicks (which are so small they don't even bother this OCD-sufferer), the case is in pristine shape.

I'm very excited, not only that I have it, but that I actually found it in the store, especially for such a major release. It was just sitting in some bin full of $20 PS2 games on the line. I was getting on the line to pay for a $6 wrestling DVD.

Anyway, enough blabbering. I'm psyched, thanks again.

Was the steelbook released at Best Buy's in Canada?

I was really mad because the day it came out I checked 3 local Best Buys and was told that nobody in the state of VA had them that day. The 3rd store I went to said that it was ONLINE ONLY. So, I ordered it online only to see it was backordered. A few days later they canceled my order. So 2 days ago I went into FYE and bought the Lenticular DVD. Opened it, but haven't even removed the discs from the box yet. Went into Best Buy yesterday and saw 7 copies of the Steelbook on the shelf!! I picked one up, but now I won't be able to take back the FYE exclusive because it was opened. Oh well... guess a relative will be getting it for Xmas! :)

Best buy fucked me a bit on this dvd too. I preordered it off their website about a week before release day. I wish they would do preorders at the store like FYE does, but that is another issue. Well, I get an email at 10 PM the day of release, Tuesday that the dvd is backordered. So it is too late to get it at the store that day. Wednesday I cant get up to the Best Buy because I am working. Finally get a chance to go Thrusday, and I luckily find a copy tucked behind some other dvd's. Of course at this point, I had spread the word that I couldnt find it and had several other people looking as well. So I ended up with a couple of copies all because Best Buy can't count how many copies they have and only take that many peorders.

Funny thing... AFTER they billed me for it, then later cancelled my order, they sent me a "customer survey" asking how my purchase went!! You better believe I "let 'em have it" in that survey!! :)

Is the Hancock beanie exclusive form Wal-Mart worth it? I mean, is the beanie cool?

Same here. Lots of 1's on that survey.

Beanies are always cool ... even cooler than bicycle helmets.

i dont see the huge appeal of steelbooks

I don't see the huge appeal of pristine plastic cases or lenticular slipcovers.

Welll, actually I do. I just couldn't resist. What's not to love, it's a cool metal case that has artwork printed on it instead slipped behind some plastic, and some of them, I'd say most of them, have artwork printed inside it as well on the metal. It's just a new way to package up a movie, and if it's a movie I know I want, then a SteelBook with nice artwork makes it look that much better on my shelf.

umm sure i guess

Plus a lot of the time the artwork is nicer than the regular edition. Transformers and Departed come to mind.

Spawn Was Nice also, and having the set all together without flip disc was a nice touch. It has to be my favorite steelbook

The first steelbook I got was Transformers (not counting the first printing of Dune, which was technically not a steelbook). At first, looking at the spine, it looks like any other dvd, but now I'm pseudo-obsessed. They're very clean-looking, much like the way VHSs used to have nice boxes. There's no paper slip that's coming out of the plastic or strangely arranged. Steelbooks look so efficient and sleek, even when the cover art is the same as the regular release. But a lot of the times, the cover art for steelbooks is the way I always wanted steelbooks to be: showing a single definitive image of a movie, much like a teaser poster (Transformers, Beowulf, Cloverfield, I Am Legend, The Clone Wars).