I have come across a few sealed discs -Rock N Roll High School and Class Of Nuke 'Em High 2: Subhumanoid Meltdown- and am looking for some advice.
I'm not really into the idea of owning a laserdisc I can't watch, but I also feel like a jerk if I opened something that has lasted this long in the world being sealed!
These are two of my favorite movies and I don't really know what the values would be on them when they're sealed- what should I do?? sell them and try to find opened copies or is it not really that outrageous that I open them?


Also if anyone has open copies of either disc that they want to part with, chime in!


Thank you!!

Personally I wouldn't pay more for a sealed disc. Too much of a risk in my opinion. I would just open them. No need to keep them sealed. They were made to be watched and enjoyed, not kept locked away. Take good care of the discs when opened, which isn't hard. Unless they're rotted or have production defects, then toss them in the bin or frame them. I would rather buy a known good disc in nice condition than a sealed disc that could have issues when opened.

Open it
Laserdiscs are only "valuable" for those few like us...
No point in not watching a laserdisc
it's not a Chateau LATOUR you know...
enjoy the movie.
opened up more then one sealed so called rarity in my time never gave it any tought.
I'd like to own The Crimson Rivers on laserdisc. even if I find a sealed one it won't be for long before I cut the foil.

Won't ever be rare.
Unseen WW2 footage is rare IMHO and has "value"

Watch this which may help you decide what to do with that sealed laserdisc - its only sealed once!

Tales of the Unexpected - The Last Bottle in the World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LVDhDW2hdw

Currently watching,

Great memories of this seventies Series.

Point taken about sealed LD's I currently have around 8+ Sealed Laserdiscs that I will hopefully receive by the end of January 2016.

Lets hope these are OK.

Thank you

I buy movies to watch. I have plenty of sealed copies of LDs, DVDs and Blurays(and some other) which I bought during sales. I just haven't go to them yet, eventually they will all be open and watched. I have encountered less than a handful LD collectors in the past 10 years who buys to buy and never watch. Some buy duplicate copies and save the sealed ones. They might be of interest to these kind of guys and they are out there(but not many of them). I don't think sealed copies bring huge premiums so your loss won't be huge if you decide to open.

I've opened every sealed LD I've bought. Keeping them sealed can actually put extra stress on the jacket possibly bendingthe corners.

I also open everything I buy buy then keep in excellent condition. If you can't use it once you buy it why buy it?

The wrap on the jacket thing..... agree 100% particularly if it is the typical "shrink" wrap, remove it.

Also a disc could be cracked or warped but if sealed how would you know?

The only sealed discs I have (& it is only 1 or 2, perhaps 3 at most) are ones I have a duplicates of & they are Japanese releases which are bagged rather than wrapped so no stress on the covers.

Bought plenty that were sealed over the years but they were all opened pretty promptly after I received them.

Thank you everyone!! All the input has been super helpful! I've opened them both and they both are in perfect working condition! I'm glad to know that the plastic shrink wrap isn't good for them- Nuke Em High had some bends that looked like were caused by it still being sealed. Thanks everyone!

I think you did the right thing. Way too much emphasis is placed on sealed laserdiscs, just like that silly bottle of wine in tales of the unexpected. They are for enjoying. A well looked after opened laserdisc is a safer bet any day than a sealed one and should be valued the same if not more.

If not a tight sitting plastic sealing, sealed laserdiscs can have some value to you if you decide to swap the jacket if it's in mint condition.
I only buy sealed laserdiscs cheap, as everyone else says, you never know what you're gonna get. That way the loss won't be that much if it ends up unplayable.

If I'm buying a duplicate of something that I KNOW is pressed by Pioneer from ... oh, say 1990 or later (they typically have added a UPC code to the jacket), I will not open them. Anything that I do not already own, get's opened. Anything pressed prior to 1985 gets opened. Anything that I know was pressed by DADC Terre Haute gets opened immediately. So much of the Pioneer pressed stuff from 1985 and older are prone to have speckles. I don't want to call it rot, because they have always been this way. There's a difference between s****y manufacturing and rot in my mind. I have discs that I've owned since 1982 which had speckles and it's never gotten any worse. And it's only bad on one half of the disc, so the 'speckle field' will scroll down the screen and you get that 'helicopter' noise in the audio.

Just my $.02

Well I've encountered this with 2 LDs I own out of the collection I've pretty much just started. Those were The Mask and the directors cut of Blade Runner. I've opened both. You never know what you'll get from a sealed LD (or vinyl records as well). I have a copy of the Love Bug from the late 60's that I have yet to open but it will be at some point.

A sealed LP is much less likely to be smashed or rotted. Collectards won't care because they just collect useless 12x12 slabs to swap with other collectards but if you watch the stuff, honestly I ask the seller to at least open it even if he can't play test it. Once you've received a broken sealed LD you lose the taste for them.

Here's one that just got away: a sealed copy of the experimental 70s anime film Belladonna of Sadness from Tezuka's studio. A lot of last minute bids at like 3 this morning on eBay, and as it went over $40 I was outbid. These only go for a couple of dollars on Yahoo Japan, but I guess the sealed mania took over, and it's something you don't see on eBay. It just came out on bluray in America too.

Now if only the Animerama Collection would show up on ebay...

Mushi Pro Animerama Collection [PILA-9003]

Yeah, that Animerama box is sweet indeed with a newer remastered transfer. Not sure when that Belladonna LD came out, but I also think rot with old enough Pony Canyon titles and the fact that the box was put out by Pioneer is another plus.

Does anyone know if there were any cuts from the Belladonna LD, and the later box set release, in comparison with the recently released US blu-ray?

Ok, I will play devil's advocate -

We are currently 15 years out from format termination. Why the worry and concern about sealed LaserDiscs ?

I get it, sight unseen purchases have a degree of uncertainty. Yet so does every transaction through the cyber medium.
It is a matter of trust on several counts. Trust in the playback nature, trust in the packaging ability of the dealer, and trust that the item in the "photo" is the actual item one is receiving in the mail.

Despite all these considerations sealed titles are 50 % of my sales compared to opened titles at my lddb shop for the most part.
For the record many of my patrons prefer sealed titles. Only once has someone asked me to open an unopened title before a purchase to inspect it and play it back.
With the many, many transactions of sealed titles under the bridge, not one has been questioned / returned due breakage or returned with rot being an issue.

Yes, they are meant "to be opened". It is a special occasion when the new owner is the one doing the unwrapping in my opinion.

Sealed Japanese Import and U.S. Domestic titles fill several shelves at my home. Shelves of unopened titles, ready for spinning for the first time by potential new owners down the road.

Mentioned in another similar thread that every year on my birthday I treat myself to an unopened select title to be spun up for the first time, a birthday present LaserDisc style.
Been doing this since 2008, not one has ever been found to be damaged, no rot to speak of, even when from the semi unreliable U.S. companies known for their "rotters" .......

The appeal of having a blemish / scratch free platter is key here ....... The only reason for buying a sealed copy in my book.

Bottom line, to each their own.

Agreed firehorse, I don't seek out sealed titles but when I get one there's something kinda cool being the one to open up a 'new' disc so many years later