so i won a listing on the bay, it say the conditon was very good.
i'm fine with that as long as i don't pay too much, i want to watch the material not just put it on a shelf.

when i receive it there is shrink wrap on it, it's a good job too.
at first i thought it was sealed and the seller didn't know, but when i looked at the picture
again i can see it was not sealed.

discs were fine but it's an odd thing that i have not seen before on LDs.

I have gotten a few that a seller had re sealed, if they wouldn't have stated up front they had done it I too would have thought that it was factory sealed

I have received a couple in the past from one seller on ebay and will not ever but from him again.
One you could really tell on the backside but another was a box set and when I opened it, the discs
had finger prints and the sleeves had like mud smears...contacted him and he was like unconcerned.

i didn't mind, the discs were clean and you could see in the picture that it was not sealed.
just makes you think about buying "sealed" discs for the price.
but i opened it and am enjoying the cartoons!

I've received lots of laserdiscs that were supposedly sealed and they had just been re-sealed which makes a mockery of the whole sealed status thing.
Like most others I buy the LDs to watch not to store as museum pieces. The funny part was that one 'sealed' disc had really obvious ringwear
on the jacket and the disc was also scratched even though the sealed wrap was like new. You'd think if someone is going to re-seal an item they would
at least pick one that passes as new and looks convincing!

Therefore the higher value placed for a sealed copy isn't worth paying in my opinion.
I'd much prefer an opened, verified near mint copy to that of a sealed one which could be rotted or suffering from glue overspill problems etc.
I'd certainly be very wary of buying high value sealed discs unless you are ok with the knowledge it could be defective.
I know most of the problematic music releases so will always veer on the side of caution if a sealed copy of one of those surfaces unless it is priced accordingly.

Would never try to change your opinion laserdisc_fan, to each their own.
I on the other hand have customers that ONLY purchase factory sealed titles.
In my history of LaserDisc transactions there has not been one problem with sealed title sales.
Total customer satisfaction across the board.

Perhaps you should have known your dealers a little better, I hope you posted proper feedbacks so that others would not be burned as well.
Sealed titles may be of little or no extra value to you, buy a good percentage of my customers would beg to differ.
I will grant you that there is risk involved buying sealed LaserDisc platters sight unseen.
The only guarantee in life is that there are no guarantees.

Still.........
I prefer a flawless platter with no fine hairline scratching what so ever and always nice to have the gatefold or jacket in above average condition as well, and the only way to get that clean a glare field / gatefold / jacket, is to buy an immaculate pristine well kept copy or an unopened one.

Thanks for the thread everyone............

I am 99 percent sure my stuff that is sealed is sealed, lol. One guy I got most of my stuff from worked at a ld place and bought them new and kept them sealed.

Another point worth mentioning is the type of wrap the laserdisc comes sealed in.

Japanese LDs usually come in loose heavy grade wraps that offer excellent long term storage protection and don't warp the LD if left sealed.
The only issue is the little airholes along the opening also render the wraps not waterproof so don't get your LDs wet!

US/European LDs on the other hand usually come in tight shrinkwraps that if left intact can damage the sleeve and the disc.
I've opened at least a dozen US LDs that were sealed for 20+ years and the shrinkwrap had reacted with the original cover and stuck to the cover.
Some sort of chemical reaction had taken place between the two surfaces which is common when plastic is involved.

Other times the sleeve looked creased or curly after the shrink was opened as the wrap had shrunk over a long period of time and compressed the sleeve.

Those tight shrinkwraps can also warp the laserdisc if left intact for too long.

So if you want perfect US sleeves you may need to buy opened copies that have always been stored properly in protective sleeves their whole life.
I would pay a premium for such laserdiscs over sealed or worn copies as I know they will look like new and also play perfectly.
In fact I am so fussy about getting hold of such sleeves I buy US LDs from places like Hong Kong or Japan as imports because they were better cared for in those countries.

WOW

I totally concur with you on that note laserdisc_fan.
Helps if U.S. sealed titles are stored properly to minimize the corner tautness and warping potential issue.
Come across many bad sealed domestic titles for those reasons you mentioned.
Actually threw out a small number of those sealed purchases for obvious fubar defects....
Few and far between though !

The dealer is responsible for making all obvious defects or points of concern known, whether sealed or opened people.

Thanks again everyone.....

the collector is more responsible for asking about those points if they care about them to begin with

Full disclosure is much better for the collector if the dealer is worth his salt.
The less grey area the better is key for good customer service.
Photos along with a detailed history and physical assessment go a long way in my book.
To me its about people being happy with their purchases not the alternative.
Thanks reino-o for this helpful thread..........

yes, but i would rather pay 1/4 to 1/6th of the price and "chance it" than pay full price any day of the week.

if i am going to pay then i want it from a dealer who knows their stuff.
the beatles let it be is an example.

if the seller knows what they are doing they can get more, but most of the people selling that disc don't and it still sells for a high price.
so i had to get that from someone in the know.

but the disc i received in the mail was only 13 bucks, i've seen others on the bay and here ask 30-75 but i will take the chance for something that is 13 bucks, you can agree with that, right?

I definitely agree that more times then not one gets what they pay for............

yep, i got more than i paid for, my disc was in better condition than the others listed
so i guess there are non special sellers that do accidently sell good stuff or better than "offical" sellers

Not sure I know what you mean by non-special and official sellers......

Only thing that matters in my book is that the person I am dealing with is honest about what they are selling.
That and the fact that they should protect what they are shipping adequately......

Another thing I learned long ago is one must pay for quality.
Where quality is concerned, one must be willing to throw down or just settle for less.....

non-special seller--- someone who sells stuff that is not an expert.
official seller--- someone who says they are an expert in what they sell.

it's like the guitar shows i go to here in town.
the dealers will ask 5X bay prices, so you can feel the guitar.
i guess it's better to buy from an official seller. not always.

sometimes the "official seller" is an idiot and Full disclosure from an idiot will give you nothing even if they are an official seller.
the buyer must be the educated person ALWAYS, don't jump into the fire,
don't buy that titan AE for 2G

and if you say you've been in the dealer market for a long time then you already know all of this stuff and it's old hat to you

it's also like i posted in another thread, there was a seller who is an official seller from a country with a red and white flag.
when i asked they said they never saw laser rot on any discs

Hmmm.......
Whether from an idiot or a wise man, full disclosure is still full disclosure.
Would you prefer non-disclosure when looking for on-line items?
If one is going to ask many questions about the purchase beforehand then I guess it would not matter either way.

I don't claim to be much of anything much less an expert in any sales arena so I will gladly accept the mantle of a non-special seller.
Being a frugal buyer myself, I purchase from whomever I find that has cost effective quality items for sale.
This involves trial and error but in the end has made for many long lasting relationships over the years.

Sometimes the "non-special seller" is quite wise and full disclosure from a wise man will give you everything.
Even if they are a "non-special seller".
I agree the buyer must be educated,but that is a work in process for most people.
Nobody knows it all,there is always more to learn....ALWAYS !!
If I had money to burn I would buy that Titan A.E in a nano-second .....LOL

Thanks again for the thread !

yes, but if an idiot or a wiseman dosn't know what they are doing full disclosure is worth nothing