foxdvd

I know they have their own forum, but going through it I read nothing but brown-nosing. I felt it should be posted here to make a point about their policy of opening your dvds, wrapping the dvd in a paper towel, then sealing it back and shipping. Their reasoning and defense behind this is simple and has bases in fact. DVD movies have a tendency to slip out of their cases from time to time. In my history of buying dvds online, for about 600 dvds I have had maybe 10 out of their cases, and 2 scratched bad enough to not play. I find though that in all but one of these 10 slips it was the packaging and shipping methods of the store that caused them to fall out. If the dvd is placed in a tight box with solid packaging, so no slipping can happen, and then surrounded by foam to cut down on crushing, the amount of dvds coming out of their cases will be so minimal that it would be silly to take the time to do the "open then toilet" practice.

This brings me to my suspicion, and the reason I will never buy from them. They have a point when saying that new releases are not used, because there would be no way to get them that way. The problem I have is with older movies. What is to keep them from shipping you a dvd that was used? Simply because they point out that new releases have to be new, does not change the fact that you could get a used DVD if the movie has been out for a while. I have received used dvds before by mistake from buy.com, back when they started to sell dvds, so I know even top stores have access or come across used DVD movies, be it by buying them that way or returns.

What makes my suspicion even stronger is their policy of taking back movies with little hassle. While this is nice for someone who wants to return a movie, it scares me because they are not going to just throw those movies away.

Posted by someone at this forum (I think it was by darktripper..sorry if I am wrong) “They even accepted stuff back so I could buy the cheaper boxset (Monty Python)...who else would do this?”

Ok, so they take stuff back. I buy a dvd, but want something else…”HEY JUST SEND IT BACK” SO what do they do with that movie? I am sure stores deal with returns for many reasons. Many try to stop people from sending movies back, but it has to happen, and it has to cut into profit. So if your policy of shipment would hide used dvds, what keeps them from doing this?

I mean, they violate customs laws by lying on forms, undervaluing their products to save their customers money. Sure that is nice, but it is done because saving customers money makes them want to shop with dv-depot more. This is a NO-COST way of making your product cheaper, even if it violates international agreements to honor a countries custom laws.(and in the end the customer is the one who is held responsible, because they are the ones that live in that country..so if they are caught, no loss to dv-depot) So if they would lie to get more business, what makes you think they are not going to lie to make more money another way, especially when you can hide it behind the cover of helping the customer?

GSyren

foxdvd, I can't tell where you live, but I assume you live in the States.

I can tell you this. The longer way you ship, the higher the risk of a floater. This is a very real problem for us who import DVD's from North America to Europe (or other parts of the world). The wrapping is a service that (most of) their customers want.

I agree that it may not be stated clearly enough that this is the way the ship by default. Their old web used to have a check box that you could check if you wanted the discs unopened. Right now you have to email them to tell them this. As far as I understand this is a temporary solution, but I do think it's an unfortunate oversight. I'll give you that.

As far as shipping used DVDs goes, don't you think customers would get wind of that? I've bought 100+ titles from them and all have been in pristine condition. The whole idea with wrapping the DVDs is just that; to get them to the customer without any marks. Do you really think that they would jeopardise their good standing with their customer base by reshipping the few returns they get?

Your final statement is false. They do not do this at the customers expense. In the few cases where people have been taxed, they have refunded the tax.

If you don't like their service, that's your prerogative. Buy from whoever you feel most comfortable with. But please don't spread rumors that have no basis in fact.

You think there's nothing but brown-nosing on their forum. Gee, could it be because their customers are actually happy with their service and don't mind telling them so?

Jad

A DVD can be in pristine condition and be previously-owned. These things are obviously not mutually exclusive. The thing is, they have a policy of opening discs, and if they really do have a "no hassle" return policy, you can't necessarily tell.



The way I read foxdvd's post, he's asking a very good question, not spreading a rumor. My experience with DV-Depot is limited, so his question only holds water if they really do have a "no hassle" policy. Ultimately, if you're buying new releases, and your disc plays, then you're OK. However if you're buying older releases, it would appear that you run the risk of paying higher prices for used product. Again, this would be contingent on their supposed return policy. In any case, caveat emptor.

[Edited by Jad on 06-03-01 at 09:38 AM]

foxdvd

nothing I said was false....they do lie...and if you read the other thread, someone might have to pay 250 bucks. What did I say that was false? They lie on forms. THAT IS A FACT! Tell me I am wrong,,,,go ahead tell me...

GSyren

When foxdvd says "SO what do they do with that movie" he is certainly implying that they ship it out again.

Yes. And it can be unopened and scratched if it's a floater. Which would you rather have; a pristine disc that you're not 100% sure is new, or a damaged one that you know is new? Anyway, after buying from DV-Depot for a long time I have no doubts what so ever.

Besides protecting the disc, the wrapping service avoids two other problems; wrong disc or no disc. Admittedly these are rare problems, but they do happen. This way the vendor catches the problem and can rectify it.

But hey, if you chose to see something sinister in this service, I guess there's nothing I can say to convince you otherwise.

Jad

I've been collecting DVDs for 3 years now, and out of about 400 titles, I've had maybe a dozen floaters from buying online. That's about 3%, which I'd personally consider rare occurences. Even then, I've had no problems exchanging any of them, at the retailer's expense both ways.

So, given that 97% success rate at not getting floaters I don't even consider it a risk to prefer my DVDs delivered unopened; especially if there's a chance I'm paying full price for something that could be used.

Well, if the policy foxdvd mentions is indeed in place, I have to at least wonder... I'd definitely think twice about ordering an older release from this outfit... that is, unless you can request to have them ship your orders unopened? Hmm...

GSyren

foxdvd:
I can only repeat the same thing that you just quoted. You state that this is a no-cost deal to them. This is not true. They have reimbursed customers that have been stuck with taxes.

As regards "Mike Myers" fine, I am still waiting to hear what DV-Depot has to say about it. If I got stung like that, the very first thing I would do would be to take it up with the vendor.

So they misrepresent the cost of their merchandize on the customs declaration. So do a whole slew of other vendors, both US and Canadian. I have yet to find any indication what so ever that they have ever been less than 100% truthful with their customers. And that's what counts for me.

I guess you never tried to dodge taxes or withheld anything from the IRS? Most of us have done that in some form or other, so I don't get that morally upset about it.

Jad:
Like I said before, the problem with floaters increase with the distance. I've received lots of floaters before I switched to DV-Depot. I have also received several DVD cases with broken hubs. You may not find that this is a problem, but a lot of other people do.

foxdvd

and I am saying that the odds of it getting caught are small, but when they do get caught, and as word gets to customs that shipments from them are undervalued, you will see more and more cases like the one at this forum with the 250 dollar charge. As that starts to happen, lets see how many times dv-depot covers the cost.

That is what I tried to tell the cop that pulled me over. Everyone else was speeding, so it was ok for me. Of course I just made that up, but the point is just because other stores do it does not make it right. Would that alone make me not shop from a store? No. What it does do is show you that the store will do things outside what is morally right just to increase sales, so it makes my fear of them selling used products some of the times go up.

No I have NEVER dodged taxes of any kind, but I have done things that are wrong. Maybe stolen a pencil or two. Picked on kids when I was in school. Laughed at those less fortunate then me. Of course, I am not trying to sell you anything, and you have no reason to believe I might be trying to force off used items mixed in with new ones. Me being human has nothing to do with the fact that I feel there is a good possibility that some people are getting used products.

Listen, I do not think there are millions of used dvds being sold as new from dv-depot, and if the dvd is scratched up bad they will probably not even try. I do feel that there is a GREAT chance that some people have unknowingly received used products that they paid full price for. All indications point in that direction, and nothing you say is going to change that, just like nothing I say is going to change your mind. I just hope someone reads this and thinks twice about ordering from them.

When and if they get the option to not have your dvds opened, things will be much better for the customer.

Mike Myers

I got a call from a DHL representative yesterday (I wrote them a letter refusing payment of their invoice). He told me that all the charges will now be billed to the shipper's DHL account (as the other representative already told me last week). I said that was okay; now let's see how DV-Depot will react.

The other, more important thing: today I received an official letter from U.S. Customs. They ask me to send them the commercial invoice I got with my shipment, a copy of the DHL airway bill (where the contents and value of a shipment are also stated), a print-out of my order receipt from DV-Depot and a copy of my credit card statement with DV-Depot's charge (as proof of the real value). They also told me they had filed a cooperation request with Canadian customs. I'm going to comply, since I don't want any more trouble.
Apparently they are starting an investigation to end this scam!