MISS PEACH

Eau thank you so very much for your post, this was exactly what I was hoping to find — someone who had received an identical Cleopatra with the marking. Ah me. Well, it looks like I'll be keeping the one that looked to be in the best condition, and just consider this first experience with DDD to be a learning lesson in what products I feel safe ordering from them and those I don't heh.

Let's see, as for the replacement — as I said I had a very polite CS representative named "Kevin" so I would recommend him if you can get him. Without mincing this any more than is necessary, let us just say that the net result of all this to-and-fro'ing with the Cleopatras was that
a) DDD did "Next Day Air" the product to me (translation, it arrived about a week later, YMMV)
b) They charged for the Next Day Air, and then credited it back
c) They never charged for the second Cleopatra, which I still have in my possession
d) I'm waiting on West Side Story
e) I'm waiting on King Lear
f) I'm waiting on a Postage-Paid Return label

As soon as d), e) and f) arrive I will return the (obviously) previously-opened Cleopatra to DDD.

Really, I'm exhausted just reading this thread! ha ha But thank you again Eau, because now I feel confident that the one of these that otherwise looked new is indeed new: I can open it! woo hoo

MISS PEACH

Laser Movies

I'm not trying to scare anyone but I was curious if the copies of Cleopatra being sold at DDD were the defective versions with the missing exit music? I would highly doubt it since the problem was with the early release of the DVD, and Fox quickly corrected the disc with the missing music. But with this weird UPC situation at DDD who knows what they are selling. Anyway there still could be a few old copies floating around.

eau

MISS PEACH, I would be interested to know how your d) e) & f) situation goes. So, DDD charged you $12.95 for the Next Day shipping and credited it back immediately?! How ridiculous.

LASERMOVIES, you are scaring me now. Is there anyway to tell if the DVD is the uncorrected version? I recall when the DVD first came out in the stores, it had some sticker outside at the front. The one I received from DDD does not.

Laser Movies

As far as I can remember there was no way to tell unless you actually played the DVD and the music was missing. Fox was replacing the disc in question for free if you had one. All you had to do to get a replacement was call and ask. They didn't want the old disc, so you got to keep it.

davidvp

FWIW ..... My copy of Cleopatra (Five Star 3-Discer) that I received from DDD in November 2002 does NOT have the "Exit Music".

It has UPC Code 24543-01483, and looks exactly like this .......



... (except for that unknown round thingie that's centered directly over the barcode on this picture....Any idea what that is??).

Anyway, my copy has no exit music after "The End" comes on screen (which is Chapter 52). The booklet/insert does not show a "Chapter 53: Exit Music". Is there, in fact, a "Chapter 53" on the "corrected" discs that DO include the Exit Music? (Or is the Music supposed to just be an extention of Ch. 52?)

Mine has the "Overture" on it, however. (Chapter 1.)

Can someone inform me as to how long the missing "Exit" music lasts?

Thanks.

davidvp

DDD has apparently just this week added an "FAQ" section under the "Help" tab on its website. (Hadn't noticed its being there until today.)

They specifically state in this FAQ that they sell ONLY NEW PRODUCTS. ........

Q: Does DeepDiscountDVD.com sell any used merchandise?
A: DeepDiscountDVD.com sells only new merchandise.

Also -- NOWHERE on the DDD site does it say that THEY will pay for ANY Shipping charges (even in the case of it being their fault, or because of defective product).

But you CAN definitely e-mail them and ask for a Pre-Paid Merchandise Return Label to return defective items....and they'll send a label to you via snail-mail. (Takes quite a few days to get it; but at least it can be done this way.)

You'd think (esp. due to the fact that DDD has an "FAQ" area which addresses this commonly-asked question regarding return policy) that DDD would say (somewhere on there) that customers CAN e-mail and request these Pre-Paid labels for returns. But, instead, it says nothing about this. And, in fact, specifically tells you that the only way to handle returns of defective items is to .........

Q: How do I return an incorrect order or damaged/defective merchandise?
A: To return an order that you received in error or where the product was damaged or defective, please use the return label found on the back of your invoice slip and ship items.....

The above "method" means, of course, that YOU (the consumer) will have to pay for the return S&H. (Perhaps, after some additional e-mail "tag" back & forth you can get them to reimburse the S&H, but I'm not positive about that. They SHOULD, in the "Returns Policy" and in their new "FAQ" section, tell people of the "other" (free) option of returning items.)

http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/help_faq.cfm#1

strife

MISS PEACH-- At this point will just agree to disagree. Since no matter what I or anyone else says you believe it is used merchandise and that they as you continue to imply are not telling you the truth.

davidvp--They have had that for some time.

cynthia

That's a hole punch. It serves the same purpose as the black markers/scratches over the UPC. Most individual DVDs in box sets have holes punched through the barcodes.

talemyn

I believe it is a hole punched through the UPC rather than something on top of it. The more I've thought about this topic, the more I have remembered that, previously,I have seen items (not just DVD's) in boxed sets, etc. that have had their UPC's punched, altered, etc. and it is done to discourage/prevent resale as a seperate item (like the "Not Intended For Individual Sale" messages that you may have seen printed on cansy, etc.). My guess is that that is the purpose of the marked out UPC's on PEACH's and Doc's Cleopatra DVD's as well, but that is only IMO.

Laser Movies

I have the corrected disc and there are only 52 chapters. The music lasts for about 2 minutes and 45 seconds after the screen fades to black. However you are not losing any of the movie but only the music is missing. I don't know if Fox still has any extra discs for replacement but you can try calling the following number to find out.


1-888-223-2369

davidvp

Thanks for the info, LASER.

MISS PEACH

Strife I just give up with you honey, I'm sorry. If you need to draw a value judgment out of this post, be my guest.

The rest of us are simply trying to obtain information.

PEACH

MISS PEACH

Alright guys, here's the update as of (early morning, before mail delivery CA PST) January 12, 2004:

1) I received my Postage Paid Return Label from DDD.

2) I received my flawless, absolutely perfect, gorgeous Collector's Edition of West Side Story! No marks. No resealing. No dents, punches, partial opens, nuthin'. Relief.

3) I'm still waiting on my King Lear.

4) I received a personal reply from Mr. Rick Mejorado, as follows:

— — — — — — — — — — — —
January 5, 2004

XXXX X XXXXXXXXXX (MISS PEACH?),

I have not had time to visit DVDTalk in the last week and I just saw your message. I would like to look into this bizzare situation. I hope you have not sent the bad DVD's to us so you may send them directly to my attention. I do not believe that our warehouse would send out items that are obviously damaged or stained purposely. If we have individuals doing this, then we need to take action. Please let me know where the return stands as I do not show that it has been received in our returns department.

I do show that the item is currently available in our warehouse. When I get into work in the morning I will run back there to see what is on the shelf. I hope we can find a resolution to this problem.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,


Rick Mejorado
Manager, Customer Service
DeepDiscountDVD.com
— — — — — — — — — — — —

I responded to his email immediately, and have not heard back yet. This was just my update post; I'll reply to everyone's follow-ups next . . .

PEACH

MISS PEACH

Yes, LASER you're scaring me too!

Eau, I agree it's ridiculous but in fairness to DDD most of the online stores I shop from do this as a standard policy (including Barnes & Noble, much to my great annoyance because they almost always "forget" to credit it back tsk).

OMG! Missing music??????? Missing music???????

If that is the case, Fox should have pulled every single one of these Cleopatra sets from their respective distributions. I'm going to call FOX and ask if they didn't, why they didn't. I will report back.

PEACH

MISS PEACH

LASER . . . okay, I fast-forwarded to the ending on my DISC 2. Now, I have "THE END" showing with some music for about 30 seconds, then fade to black, no sound, and then some Digital Compression stuff.

I tried pausing it to write it down but it cut out and returned me to the menu. The (almost) 3 minutes of music at the ending . . . does that include a scrolling list of the actors? What exactly appears during this segment?

This is just infuriating.

PEACH

Laser Movies

I hate to say it Miss Peach but from your description it sounds like that is the defective disc. However you are not losing any credits, only the music is missing. The music should be playing after the screen fades to black for the approximent 3 minute duration. There is no further video information displayed on the disc during this portion. Try calling the phone number I posted to see if Fox is still replacing the discs. If they still are replacing the disc it shouldn't cost anything or even require returning the defective disc.

drmoze

I don't think this is any kind of test at all. DDD apparently sells "new" items sealed by the factory. Some UPC labels are apparently altered by the distributor. TGhe CS reps at both DDD and B&N are in very different locations from their shipping warehouses. Sowhat makes you so ready to believe that the B&N rep actually checks out the UPC codes? And that none of them are blacked out, etc.? If that's how they ship from the distributor, then that's how each company will sell them--"new and sealed" as far as they know.

Methinks you're just PO'd at DDD here, and are viewing things with quite a bias.

ANd I really don't think having a blacked-out or stickered UPC code qualifies as "mutilation"!

davidvp

This is just like my Cleopatra (purchased from DDD in 11/2002). No "exit" music is included AFTER "The End" shows on screen.

eau

Damn! I wonder if Fox ever released new pressing of Cleopatra with the corrected disc to the retailers. Sounds like all the DVDs in the market so far are without the exit music.

MISS PEACH

Hi guys, okay another happy update:

I received my KING LEAR and it was in perfect condition.

I came down with bronchitis last week and lost my voice two days ago, thus I haven't called FOX yet; but I absolutely plan to — as well as getting the marked up 2nd Cleopatra back to DDD.

And yes, I call an ugly, thick black magic marker stripe mutilation; but if the person who disagreed with me will settle for that, you're welcome to all of them friend. Just don't send them to me.

LASER, I can't thank you enough for sharing this tiny piece of information with David, myself and others. I don't (won't) pay for defective merchandise advertised as new. I'll never know what DDD knew in advance about this batch of Cleopatras but I will obtain a replacement from FOX. And I think it is shameful that FOX didn't recall their entire inventory and do the right thing by the unsuspecting public.

I'll report back when I've called FOX.

PEACH

Laser Movies

I'm not saying I disagree with your statement but don't expect any of the studios to recall their entire inventory because of the costs involved. There have been many other DVDs released with various problems and I don't remember a single studio that pulled their inventory. However the studios usually correct most of the problems in later pressings, but leave it up to the consumer to discover and seek a replacement. Unfortunately that means there are probably a lot of bad disc pressings still in circulation because the purchaser is unaware a defect exists.

But at least DVD forums like this one help make the public aware which DVD releases were botched. I know if it wasn't for this forum, and others like it that I would have a few more bad discs in my collection because I didn't notice anything wrong.

In fact several years ago there was a thread dedicated to listing all the problem discs but it appears to be no longer around. It was a very informative thread since it listed all known defective DVDs, if there was a corrected disc, and provided any information needed for getting a replacement.

talemyn

Probably has a lot to do with the fact that, outside of our little group here, most people don't care about some of the imperfections that these DVD's have.

D-Ball

Here's the thread: http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=179535

I still reference that thread every so often. It also lists contact information for the studios.

Laser Movies

I'm sure some don't care. But how many of them are even aware they own a faulty disc, or realize a corrected version was made available, and know how to go about getting a replacement. I think most are not informed.

Laser Movies

Thanks for the link. That thread should be a sticky.