I managed to locate a pristine sealed copy of the cult movie Turkey Shoot which was only released on PAL for the princely sum of £1.04



Back of cover!:




Should I keep it sealed or open it?

Same as good wine... Keep it for a special occasion

Thats easy.....
As Julien posted, save for a special occasion or that rainy day when if just feels right.....
Or,
If you have speculation in mind and wish this title to gain value over time, unsealed status is where most value will be found with serious collectors seeking unopened precious jewels......

The flipside question is "How important is this title to me and my collection........"

Best scenario is to find another copy already opened and save this one for the vault !

To open or not to open.....once done it is DONE !

One problem is though, if you sell it sealed and there is an issue. I personally think opened near mint copies of any disc say rated 8 or 9 would be better then a sealed unknown item. If that makes sense. If you are going to eventually trade it to someone who will keep it sealed, well, keep it sealed, lol

If I buy a disc, it's to watch it. Hence, those I have which are still sealed are not going to stay that way. That's how I am.

I am the same way, and the part of me that wants to know if it is in good shape will open the thing. I have very few sealed things that are from collections that I have doubles of. They stay sealed until the sell, lol. I just want to know the disc is ok personally.

I read you guys...
To each his own of course.

I have customers who only buy sealed copies......
There is a niche in the market for this type of condition.
Not one complaint about anomalies thus far in the game and many have been sold

There is an X factor I do agree as far as sight unseen.
Are they broken,rotted,or even a platter missing (unlikely but possible)!?!
Nothing is certain in life, and within the LaserDisc box, gatefold or jacket, is no exception.

I will confess that opening a sealed title is better then opening a bottle of fine wine ! To me at least ! LOL !!!
Sorry for the tangent and hope this helps some !

Thanks for the advice. I mainly collect music LDs but do have some movies that I like to own on laserdisc.
This unusual title is one I always wanted on laserdisc as a collectible.

In the absence of being able to locate a second copy on laserdisc which I think is going to be tough, I'll buy the DVD re-issue to watch
and keep this in its original sealed condition. I doubt I'd ever find a cleaner copy on laserdisc as even the shrinkwrap is pristine condition.

Just my two cents. It seems that when I pickup LaserDiscs there seems to be a trend. Now it may be based on the person that had it or stored it, but this is what I've noticed.

Sealed copies usually have bent or worn corners. I don't know if the shrinkwrap is too tight or what. Some LaserDiscs on the back say not to keep them wrapped. So who knows, but I've noticed that a lot of the sealed discs I've come across were a bit warped. Almost like the plastic was contracting and bending the cover.

You can always buy the DVD of the movie (isn't it called Escape 2000 as well?) And watch that instead of opening the LD.

Of course, I'm an analytical dork, so I'd end up buying the DVD as well and opening the LD and watching it so I can compare the two.

If the person buying the disc sealed wants to keep it sealed for collecting or framing, then if the actual disc has issues might not be an issue to them. A light crack on the disc might be hard to tell sealed, but pieces rattling inside you would know.

I always open all of mine. The reason I buy sealed ones is to try to get one with a good cover. But as another member also said some of the sealed ones I've got had more creases (or split seams) in the jackets then opened ones I've got of the same item.

Yes, I have seen this many times as well limibook86.
As with all anomalies of concern with opened titles, the same applies to sealed titles as well.
As a dealer, I relay in the description or via Photo's / detailed assessments, any issues under the plastic covering:
Ie: not intact covering,taught plastic,corner bending,seam tears, bottom seam wear and/or corners worn from sticking out of covering.
Not every sealed jacket / gatefold is pristine however many are.
It is the dealers responsibility to advise the condition just like the opened ones.
Part of buying sight unseen in cyberspace.
Painting an accurate picture is key, and photo's help to erase doubt or home in on any area of concern.
Glad for this thread and all the input...
Thanks all around !

Definitely a valid point about tight shrink wraps left on covers. In general they do damage a cover over time and I would tend to remove them if I was going to open a disc.

Amazingly as you can see from the photo's the cover looks like new. The actual shrinkwrap even has no signs of wear on the front or back. It was like it was made yesterday.
There are no dings, no splits, no wear and 4 perfect sharp corners which is nothing short of a miracle given the flimsy covers that most PAL LDs came in originally!
In fact it looks like it has been stored in a vault for 28 years completely untouched.

I'm going to leave this one sealed for now but I cannot help but wonder if the disc actually plays!!

I know what you mean about whether to open or not. I have a few sealed discs in my collection that if I really want to watch I will not feel too bad about opening them, as even sealed they aren't anything super rare. However, my rarest disc, my copy of X-Men, is still sealed and I hesitate to open it. If it were shrink sealed I would be worried, but since it is a Japanese title, rather than having a tight shrink seal on it, it has a more cellophane like wrap on it. So for now it will stay sealed.

I agree, Japanese sealed titles have some room within.
Seams to be a heavier grade of plastic that covers the LD's as well.
Struck me as odd when I first encountered one, and now preferred for the reasons already noted.
Seem less likely to be affected by shelf wear compared to U.S.Domestic LD titles as well.
Hope you leave that X-man sealed brother....!!!
Thanks again All.......

Well, none of my sealed copies of anything have stayed sealed for very long!

Specially my recent INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS LD.

I think I would keep any japanese end LD sealed. I can always get a copy of Xmen and watch them.

I am exactly the same way

as long as I dont pay any extra becouse it happen to be sealed I'll open it to watch them as many other seem to do. But it would be hard to open up a 500$+ ld =)

It is my opinion that near mint discs and covers should be worth a comperable amount to a sealed disc. It is something that always makes me cringe when i get them and when I sell sealed discs.