Open Or Sealed? The Debate

[JLSTF]

How many people open their Steelbooks when they buy them or do you just leave them sealed.

So far i have 13 Steelbooks and have opened 3 i opened Angels and Demons,Inglorious Bastards and District 9.

I fear if i open my pirates and nightmare before christmas ones i will have to modify them to be able to put the discs in and not have them in a sleeve

 

[Covcraig]

1000 plus steelbooks valued at 30 grand isn't that much really though is it?

Rough maths makes each one on average less than £30 each, no doubt you probably have some pricey rarer ones which are worth more but you probably have alot of common ones that are worth alot less. You're always pointing out the value of steels is going down with the occasional one you mention keeping its value so your £30,000 evaluation is probably dropping by the month?
I think if you wanted your money's worth you should probably start shifting these asap.

 

[Flloydo]

The one open and one sealed type collector which a lot are is to buy one to open and keep the other sealed hoping it gains value for trade purposes for a steel they missed out on of similar value, or hope it gains in value and offload it to make a few quid to support the next purchase.

There are the collectors that never open any steel.

There are collectors that just buy every single one and sell to make a few quid and keep the ones they like.

There are others that are more casual collectors that open every single steel.

Everyone's different to a certain degree but we all have one thing in common, we are all collecting, just in different ways.

Lol
I know all this, you don't have to go over the types of collectors they're are but lgans is in a different league. I've never seen anyone bang on about returns and investment of his collection/shop/steelhouse and worry about eBay so much.

Ever since I stared collecting steels 4/5 years ago I've got deals on steels from the bay and at the same time seen some or the same ones go on sale 5x the price. That really hasn't changed. It's like someone listing the new Star Trek for £21.99 (the retail price) and then another listing it and bearing it's still in stock from multiple retailers for £65 (just an example) but it works the other way round and every so often someone will list a highly priced steel at a low buy now price - either they need quick cash, don't know the true Value or don't care, was a gift, or just have no clue

I've seen some revenant go cheap and some not.
I've been lucky to get certain premiums packages £10/£15 less than the going rate on the bay. I have set amounts on stuff I will pay and when I see a product go up for sale on bidding that I want I'll bid on loads (providing a few of that package are up for sale) knowing I'll get outbid on most but then there's that one that slips through the net that not many people bids on or they do but it slips through going cheap.
It happens, proof is by loads of my purchases. Either because so many of that one package have been won that the demand that week or month has gone because people who also wanted it won it at a higher price, or it ends at weird time, or was up 24 hours etc. That's why I always say persistence pays off. That's my secret anyway.

Just realised I've done what you done to me and explained how to use eBay lol

Anyway I'm not getting into all this i was just asking what kind of collector lgans is

 

[Flloydo]

All 1000+ Steels are not for resale lol. As sunnyx said it will take me years to clear out. However I still sell some. If that makes a decent profit then use that to fund the next purchase. If I sell for a loss then take it up.the chin and carry on.

I got loads of sealed and unsealed ones in my collection. I am sure a vast majority of hard core Steelbook collectors are in the same league.

That's cool, that's all I wanted to know because you sound like most of the time all you do is buy to sell. So i wondered

Okay so yeah I have a couple I've kept sealed - does that put me in the hardcore league? That was rhetorical

 

[AlienKing]

To me a collectible is no longer a collectible when it sells for less in the secondary market. So.to me value is important.

Spoken like a true collector. People can collect for many other reasons (including me), but value has to be one of them. If not then you're not really collecting, you're just...buying stuff to use.

 

[paulboland]

Re sale value means nothing to me and I never purchased any release thinking it's going to be an investment

I purchase to have in my collection and I open every release I get to enjoy all the contents inside and outside

I have never sold any of my collection
I keep the majority of them some I give away if another release has better extras or picture quality in terms of the Blu-ray Disc

To me purchasing for resale is not a collector because once you sell it you no longer have it in your collection

 

[Flloydo]

Spoken like a true collector. People can collect for many other reasons (including me), but value has to be one of them. If not then you're not really collecting, you're just...buying stuff to use.

Lol what? So if I'm buying stuff and not selling it I'm not a collector even though I'm collecting to add to my collection (say that 5 times whilst spinning round!)

Does not make sense

I've always collected stuff and steels and Vinyl are the ones I've stuck with. I collect them, therefore I am a collector

To me purchasing for resale is not a collector because once you sell it you no longer have it in your collection

Exactly

To me if someone's purchasing just to sell then they are a seller. Last time I checked.

 

[Actarus]

I Love limited runs and sought after Steelbooks and Fullslip Packages, but I collect for myself not for resale.
I just love collecting beautiful things.

I used to never open my Steels and slips being so OCD, but someone pushed me to start opening them and I truly enjoy opening them now.
I, of course, am not cured of my OCD so I do most of the time Double Dip

...but on another note more in line with this release. I love this movie very much(Constantine) ...but I don't know why none of the packages really called to me.
Since Menta Lab started nothing they put out really got me excited...I have yet to collect a Manta Lab release...Se7en if done well would be very cool

 

[AlienKing]

@paulboland @Flloydo You misunderstand. You can have a collection and still not be a "collector". I have many that i bought with the intention of using and not for resale. You dont say "i'm collecting clothes" you say "i'm buying clothes". It's the same concept. When you with with the intention of using it then you're not collection. You just have a collection. Like you have a collection of clothes or shoes. i'm not trying to say who's what. I'm just saying that you can have a collection and still not be a collector, and there is nothing wrong with that. You can be one or the other, or be both.

 

[StifflersDad]

@paulboland @Flloydo You misunderstand. You can have a collection and still not be a "collector". I have many that i bought with the intention of using and not for resale. You dont say "i'm collecting clothes" you say "i'm buying clothes". It's the same concept. When you with with the intention of using it then you're not collection. You just have a collection. Like you have a collection of clothes or shoes. i'm not trying to say who's what. I'm just saying that you can have a collection and still not be a collector, and there is nothing wrong with that. You can be one or the other, or be both.

By using your reasoning further

If you open, use and enjoy then you are a USER
AND
If you keep sealed , preserve it's value and eventually sell you are a RESELLER

Its a bit insulting to say only one of the above category is a true collector

To me the person who uses and enjoys and never sells their collection is the true collector .

 

[sunnyx]

Re sale value means nothing to me and I never purchased any release thinking it's going to be an investment

I purchase to have in my collection and I open every release I get to enjoy all the contents inside and outside

I have never sold any of my collection
I keep the majority of them some I give away if another release has better extras or picture quality in terms of the Blu-ray Disc

To me purchasing for resale is not a collector because once you sell it you no longer have it in your collection

Well what I can add is that it be nice to know what you purchase won't be worth peanuts in the short run so you have some or at least a little reassurance that there is some equity in their value. This hobby is by no means cheap due to the influx of releases. 10 premium steels can easily hit £400 - £500. 10 standard steels £200.

Let's not get confused with 'Buy to open and enjoy' vs Retention Value (and don't confuse this with Re-selling for financial third party gain).

You cannot predict the future, and for whatever reason you may want to offload them. Whether you are bored with your collection, you lost interest, financial problems, the movie was crap, or to help fund for the next release, sell to make some profit because you been a victim of a scalper, it can be any reason.

Steelbooks that are cheap, £5-£7 local standard releases then it makes more sense apply the 'Buy to open, enjoy, and don't care about the value etc, etc'. Simply because they are cheap, there is little harm done to your financial budget.

But now the market is much more directed to the Premium releases to give this hobby some life and an optimism to continue to collect, it has become so much more expensive. £40 - £50 now raises a few eye brows where you need to be cautions with your spending. 4 Premiums easily can hit around £200. So I would definitely consider the Retention Value if I am investing that amount of money for movies in a collectible packaging.

If this hobby is cheap then most would not really care much about the value. I've got like 500 Blu-rays that I paid £5 - £10 and now worth peanuts, average of £2. It does not bother me because I expect these aamrays to depreciate value and eventually be worth nothing. They are not limited, and therefore not a collectible item.

We get confused here thinking that steelbooks should not be treated as an investment.
100 steelbooks averaged at £20 = £2,000.
200 steelbooks = £4,000
300 steelbooks = £6,000

That's a lot of money to not have a consideration for it's value. You can buy a sideshow statue for £500 and for whatever reason you needed to offload them it's nice to know the equity still exists in them and they don't go for peanuts. How is this any different with steelbooks? They are cheaper but more quantity. Statues more expensive but much less quantity. However you look at it, it all comes directly from our bank account that funds them. I don't see any difference.

So I would say for certain and mostly premium steelbooks retention value is important to me. The cheap local discounted releases are different.

 

[paulboland]

@paulboland @Flloydo You misunderstand. You can have a collection and still not be a "collector". I have many that i bought with the intention of using and not for resale. You dont say "i'm collecting clothes" you say "i'm buying clothes". It's the same concept. When you with with the intention of using it then you're not collection. You just have a collection. Like you have a collection of clothes or shoes. i'm not trying to say who's what. I'm just saying that you can have a collection and still not be a collector, and there is nothing wrong with that. You can be one or the other, or be both.

A collector is someone who purchases a release and keeps in their collection
If it's not in your collection you no longer are a collector of that release it's that simple

A true collector purchase a release to open and enjoy the contents and keeps that release in their collection
Why would a distributor bother putting any effort into the contents of a limited edition if they not going to be opened and used

I have never sold anything from my collection I have given away 4 items and these where standard Blu-ray Amaray which was replaced by a limited edition box set or a steelbook
All my limited edition releases and steelbooks are still in my collection not one of them have been sold or given away

If you purchase any release for purpose of resale or trade you are not a collector of that release as you don't intend on keeping it you are only a reseller


How many of the steelbooks you purchased in the past 7 years do you still have in your collection

 

[Flloydo]

Oh my days! There's actually a thread for it!

My only guess is apollon moved my posts as he loves to edit, move my posts oh and spoiler the odd photo i forget to (when so many others get away with posting 10 pics without one lol)

 

[IRON MAN]

Oh my days! There's actually a thread for it!

My only guess is apollon moved my posts as he loves to edit, move my posts oh and spoiler the odd photo i forget to (when so many others get away with posting 10 pics without one lol)

I did post that I moved multiple posts

https://www.hidefninja.com/communit...ive-no-3-hong-kong.78724/page-37#post-1830614

As for editing your posts and adding spoiler tags, it could be me, it could be other mods, I don't differentiate between members personally nor do other mods. If you see some post(s) that need a mod's attention, as mentioned several times in the past, use the report button, thanks.

 

[Dark Tranquility]

After coming to the realization that these things will become worthless in a few years, especially since I'm having trouble selling a few rare sealed ones at cost, I decided to go through my opened collection and take all of their protective sleeves off, unless it's a film and steel I really like. I even went through about 150 of them and threw over 1/3rd of the subpar ones (to my standards) in a box (they actually went into the garbage but then I decided to go dig them out and keep them, for whatever reason). I actually enjoy my collection more now. I'm not worried about keeping them mint and actually like taking them off the shelf and looking at them... feeling their texture, etc. Whereas before, despite opening them, I treated them in such a way that I might as well just have kept them sealed. I've also noticed that those protective sleeves (the shells, not the bags) seem to be more damage than you think, especially to glossier steels. At the end of the day, these things never really are mint (there are way too many variables at play here, not just chips and dents), and they're just pieces of shiny metal on my shelf.

I recently just took all the slips off my Kimchi, Blufans, Plain Archive, and Nova releases. Those things actually scratched steels more than just leaving them bare on a shelf, believe it or not. And despite having those extras, I only really cared for the steel inside anyways! I've never once looked at an included booklet for longer than a few seconds... which is why I'm just going to go for the quarter slips from now on.

 

[stevo]

Downer

If 3 editions I was really hoping on 2 lentis and a FS. Shame

FS is much better than a boring 1/4 slip

1/4 slip is for the true fan of steelbooks. anything that covers the steelbook in it's entirety is for people who collected DVD's and other kinds of collectible packaging. They like all the little gimmicks that all these FS's and Lenti's include. 1/4 will be the most collectible in the future, because its almost always the rarest. This artwork for the steelbook, if indeed it is the final artwork is absolutely perfect IMO. To cover it up is a shame.

 

[Andycadle84]

1/4 slip is for the true fan of steelbooks. anything that covers the steelbook in it's entirety is for people who collected DVD's and other kinds of collectible packaging. They like all the little gimmicks that all these FS's and Lenti's include. 1/4 will be the most collectible in the future, because its almost always the rarest. This artwork for the steelbook, if indeed it is the final artwork is absolutely perfect IMO. To cover it up is a shame.

Completely disagree. In my opinion, leaving a premium steelbook sealed is the biggest shame. You’re not getting to experience the back, or interior artwork. Paying £60+ for something you’re never going to open is something I could never do.

To suggest those who prefer lenticular versions or full slips aren’t ‘true fans of steelbooks’ is frankly ignorant.

 

[stevo]

Completely disagree. In my opinion, leaving a premium steelbook sealed is the biggest shame. You’re not getting to experience the back, or interior artwork. Paying £60+ for something you’re never going to open is something I could never do.

To suggest those who prefer lenticular versions or full slips aren’t ‘true fans of steelbooks’ is frankly ignorant.

You're not dissing all the sealed collectors out their are you? Howabout you collect the way you want, and let the other guy collect the way they want? The 1/4 is the best thing available in todays day and age for people who collect sealed products, and fans of the steelbook itself. When I started, there were no 1/4's, lenti's, full slips. If it were up to me, I'd get rid of all these slips together, and focus on the steelbook itself.

 

[StifflersDad]

You're not dissing all the sealed collectors out their are you? Howabout you collect the way you want, and let the other guy collect the way they want? The 1/4 is the best thing available in todays day and age for people who collect sealed products, and fans of the steelbook itself. When I started, there were no 1/4's, lenti's, full slips. If it were up to me, I'd get rid of all these slips together, and focus on the steelbook itself.

You can focus on the steelbook itself when you UNSEAL the slip!!

 

[Andycadle84]

You're not dissing all the sealed collectors out their are you? Howabout you collect the way you want, and let the other guy collect the way they want? The 1/4 is the best thing available in todays day and age for people who collect sealed products, and fans of the steelbook itself. When I started, there were no 1/4's, lenti's, full slips. If it were up to me, I'd get rid of all these slips together, and focus on the steelbook itself.

Just as well it’s not up to you then, isn’t it? Completely ignorant to have an elitist attitude, presuming 1/4 slips are for ‘true fans of steelbooks’ and added extras given by companies like Blufans are gimmicky.

 

[pi2loc]

1/4 slip is for the true fan of steelbooks. anything that covers the steelbook in it's entirety is for people who collected DVD's and other kinds of collectible packaging. They like all the little gimmicks that all these FS's and Lenti's include. 1/4 will be the most collectible in the future, because its almost always the rarest. This artwork for the steelbook, if indeed it is the final artwork is absolutely perfect IMO. To cover it up is a shame.

I didn't know that someone - don't know who - gave you the authority to dictate what applies to a "true," "genuine" steelbook collector.

Flash news: In collectibles, there are no rules. You collect what and how you want. What you find interesting, amazing and incredible, I can find stupid and worthless. I could also say that the 1/4 slip version is for poor people who can't afford other versions, but that would be stupid and ignorant, right? Whoops.