So, now that I've returned back to collecting, upgrading my collection, etc. I've been spending time on various forums (sorry to cheat DVDtalk) and keep coming across streams of conversations involving whether or not a bluray has a slipcover. Or outrage when there was one and not anymore.

More so, I am seeing these things selling on ebay for up to $20. For the slipcover!

Did I miss something somewhere?
Why are these things so coveted?

They're just another collectible.

Yup, Neil's right.

If every movie came with a slipcover, hardly anyone would care. If every copy of a given movie came with a slipcover, hardly anyone would care. But since studios/labels have figured out that limiting slipcovers adds a sense of urgency -- if you drag your feet on buying this movie, kiss your slipcover goodbye, so you'd better click the 'Order' button now! -- slips have become collectibles. And there are definitely some forums where people seem to care more about the slipcovers than the movie in the case underneath 'em.

Doesn't seem like something that should be prized, and yet...! I get it to a point. All other things equal, I'd rather have a slipcover than not. When I pre-order a movie and my copy doesn't have a slipcover (yet plenty of other people's do), I can get annoyed, like the UHD release of The Wizard of Oz a couple years back. The collector in me shifts uncomfortably in his seat at the idea of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly being slip-less alongside fully-slipped copies of A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More. But I've never actually let a slipcover make or break a purchase. I wouldn't pay a meaningful premium for a slip. (If it were the difference of a dollar or two on eBay, then maybe...) I've never bought a slipcover on its own. And to think that once upon a time, I thought they were dumb and just threw them away . Now I just think they're silly yet keep them anyway.

I guess, but if the artwork is the same on the disk cover, slips just seem like a waste.
I certainly don't care about them and seems I could be making some $ popping them on ebay but still seems weird how the "does it have a slip" comes up in every thread I read over on other places.

Digital codes I get. I get steelbooks. Slips, not so much.

Ha, knowing that those two flicks are on the way but TGTBTU is slipliss, I may have wiggled a little in my seat reading that...buttttt...not enough to pay $20 for one on ebay :P

I’ve really never cared much about them. Most of the time I don’t keep them unless the artwork is different than the main cover art.

I love selling them.

Yeah, I never got it either. I keep em in a stack until I get a large amount and then sell them.

If you get steelbooks, then you get slip covers.
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Some 4k slips like The Prestige or Groundhog Day can go for as much as $100.

If you get a chance, skewb, get a Vinegar Syndrome slipcover. They're friggin' amazing. I was the same way about covers, till I got a VS disc that had one, then I saw what the fuss was about (at least with their slips). Other companies, I don't give a crap about, but I'll pay the extra 2 bucks for a Vinegar Syndrome release with a slip. I've even bought a handful of the "retro" slips they released (for movies that never had a slipcover on the original release) like Sugar Cookies, Malibu High, Count Dracula's Great Love, and the awful The Bees.

Well damn, looks like I just found $100 in my closet.

Suckers born every minute and around every corner.

I honestly think they look better. They give the words on the spine a better place for the lettering, they look more like books.

If you want to see, get a bunch of titles that have them and put them all together on the shelf, then take all the slipcovers off and put them back the same way. I think you'll find the slipcovers have a much cleaner look on the shelf.

I agree with this, but that doesn't add any value for me. If they come with one great, if not, I don't care. And when there is significant market price for these, I have no problem selling.

IMO, slipcovers are part of the package deal. I'm overjoyed when a DVD/BD has one and it's still in good shape, sad when they don't, unless I can buy the movie for a buck or two (like at a flea market), then it matters way less. Yes, I like slipcovers, it's just part of the package deal, and it makes the movie feel like it's worth more to me. Looks better on the shelf too.

Damn, seriously? I have the 4k of The Prestige with it's slip.

And I have Groundhog Day which I got from Best Buy. Don't need the slip that bad.

The only slips I care about for the most part are lenticular ones. I don't like it if I don't get it, but I'm not going to go and try to buy just the slip.

I think they are only a big deal for Vinegar Syndrome movies. The first movie I ever bought from them was Jack Frost and it's mind boggling what I could sell my copy for on ebay with the slipcover.

I used to care about slips and packaging a lot more about 10 years ago. I think at some point I got sick of the chase for them. Steelbooks too.
The VS ones I’ll pay the $2.00 for if I like the artwork. I think I might have continued giving a shit about them if the slip was different than the cover art.

The real question is does it have an Insert?

A great many of the movies Vinegar Syndrome release do. Several inserts in fact.

Just like collecting baseball cards.

That sure tanked.