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UK vendor won't carry S3 due to bad packaging?

UK vendor won\'t carry S3 due to bad packaging?

This was posted on the official Warner Bros. site today. Can anyone here who ordered from dvd.co.uk confirm receiving a similar e-mail?

Dear (Customer's Name),

We have received our copies of “Babylon 5, The Complete Third Season Box Set”, but we believe that the packaging of this product is of such poor quality that there is a high risk of damage to the discs during transit. We have, therefore, chosen not to supply this product and have returned it to the supplier/studio.
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We are currently in discussion with our supplier and Warner and hope to be able to resolve this situation in the near future. We very much regret this situation but feel that we must take this action in our customer’s best interests.
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We have temporarily removed this product from our site and will not be dispatching it to you today, as usual. Should you wish to guarantee a copy of this product for release date, we can only recommend that you purchase the item from another supplier.
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We apologise for the inconvenience caused and will contact you again as soon as we have any more information.
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Kind regards,
.
Customer Services

I can only hope that this kind of response from vendors will encourage Warner Bros. to change case suppliers or lean on whoever is making the cases for them to do a better job. They have to have received a very expensive number of returns on the previous sets, and to have an on-line vendor cancel its entire order and refuse to carry the product should get somebody's attention. I still haven't watched S3 because I'm waiting for replacement discs. 2 of the 6 were very badly scratched and unplayable - another played OK one time, but had visible if light scratches on it, and I finally returned all 3 damaged discs to the retailer. They, in turn, reportted that they had had so many problems with the S1 and S2 sets that they were no longer requiring that entire B5 sets be returned, just the actual damaged discs. They are opening and cannibalizing sets to make sure that their customers have undamaged sets, then settling up with Warner Bros. later.

In the meantime I've found that putting transparent tape over the hubs "builds them up" and helps them hold the discs more securely, thus protecting my existing sets. (Not violently shaking them, as inevitably happens with shipping, also helps. :))

Anyway, my three bad discs are making the long trek back to Canada and I look forward to the arrival of the replacements so I can finally sit down and watch the whole season while I still have all this time on my hands. ;)

Regards,

Joe
 
Re: UK vendor won\'t carry S3 due to bad packaging?

That is unfortunate.

I have seen loose disks (all playable) and reports from others. However, seeing a retailer drop a product from their list... does give the problem a different dimension.

Either something is wrong with their original insertion into the package, or the resistance of the package to whatever happens during transport (shock, vibration, temperature change).

The former appears more likely. After removing/reinserting disks by hand, I cannot shake them loose (although I naturally refrain from a shake/drop test which could damage the carriers of this precious story).
 
Re: UK vendor won\'t carry S3 due to bad packaging?

Joe, see the feedback today on the Warner Bros site.
Seems that Play.com are sending out S3....but there are the same old quality control problems!! :mad:
 
Re: UK vendor won\'t carry S3 due to bad packaging?

If you add all the negative feedback together from this site, the WB site and even the German R2 buyers......is it my imagination, Joe or is this release worse than previous series???? What are WB up to??...disgraceful !!
:mad: :mad:
 
Re: UK vendor won\'t carry S3 due to bad packaging?

If you add all the negative feedback together from this site, the WB site and even the German R2 buyers......is it my imagination, Joe or is this release worse than previous series???? What are WB up to??...disgraceful !!
:mad: :mad:

I think this release (Season 3) is the same as previous seasons, as far as the packaging is concerned in R1 anyway. The quality of the picture is getting better, but the packaging problems are the same. I've had loose discs in every set of the five sets I've bought so far.
 
Re: UK vendor won\'t carry S3 due to bad packaging?

If you add all the negative feedback together from this site, the WB site and even the German R2 buyers......is it my imagination, Joe or is this release worse than previous series???? What are WB up to??...disgraceful !!
:mad: :mad:

And when you add about 200 more from dvdplaza forums from Finland you'll get pretty respectable amount of angry people... :(
 
Re: UK vendor won\'t carry S3 due to bad packaging?

There is a huge thread at the dvd forums about this. I can confirm all dvd.co.uk. Also highstreet retailers have the same problem with many shops trying to put together good sets by canabalising.
 
Re: UK vendor won\'t carry S3 due to bad packaging?

Joe, just read on the WB site that the German Amazon site has stopped selling S3 quoting "production difficulties"!
 
Re: UK vendor won\'t carry S3 due to bad packaging?

I received the set a week ago with discs 2, 3 and 4 damaged. :mad: God, these packaging guys made a mess!

I've sent the set back, so I hope they still serve clients that already bought the set... :(
 
Re: UK vendor won\'t carry S3 due to bad packaging?

Personally mine had 3, 4 and 5 rattling in the package. All nicely scratched.
 
Re: UK vendor won\'t carry S3 due to bad packaging?

I too had three loose and damaged discs (3, 5 & 6).

I returned them to play.com but, when I phoned to talk to them about it, they suggested I didn't have a replacement (as I wanted, of course) but instead take a refund. A lot of their customers have had the same problem.

They advised I call them again sometime (vaguely!) and ask if they'd had a new batch in and don't order again until they do!

Dreadful state of affairs. What's up with WB?! They had some quality problems with the VHS tapes here in the UK. Then, with the DVDs, the 'Sky Full of Stars' problem on S1, a French booklet in my S2 and now this! Can't they get anything right? :mad:
 
Re: UK vendor won\'t carry S3 due to bad packaging?

As I said above, two of mine were loose and rattling in the package (2 and 4) but both appear to play OK.

It is noticeable however, that the S3 set is significantly lighter than S1 (I haven't got S2 yet - go figure) and just feels less robust for it. Probably not relevant but interesting nonetheless.

And to answer your question - no, it appears they can't get anything right!
 
Re: UK vendor won\'t carry S3 due to bad packaging?

It is noticeable however, that the S3 set is significantly lighter than S1 (I haven't got S2 yet - go figure) and just feels less robust for it. Probably not relevant but interesting nonetheless.

Well, I have theory why S3 is lighter than previous sets. Open your S1 and S2 (when it arrives), and look at it. S3 doesn't have those.. hmm.. let's call them pictures between "pages" on which the DVD discs are clipped. They're transparent now. Maybe that paper or whatever they used there is behind this. :rolleyes:
 
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