Cant return opened dvd?

[Vampirrella]

Tonite i finally purchased the Back to the Future dvd set. Come home and open it up and to my surprise, its the FULL screen version instead of widescreen. I looked again on the box trying to find where it says full screen and after looking real real hard, i spot a very small sticker in the upper right hand corner on the backside of the dvd box that indeed says full screen. WAAA!

Im thinking ok, i have the receipt and i just bought it 10 mins ago..... lets return it and get the correct version i want. Couldnt be easier.....

WRONG!

The store manager refuses to even touch this dvd cuz he claims they have some dumba$$ anti piracy policy that says the store doesnt have to refund/exchange any opened dvds. Is this correct?

I HATE fullscreen version dvds and now im totally bummed and have wasted $39 bucks. I even thought well just sell it on ebay. On ebay ill be lucky to see half of what i just spent 10 mins ago on this dvd...

Man im pissed! Is the store correct and i have NO rights to an exchange for the same dvd with widescreen instead of fullscreen crap? If this is a policy, WHY is this policy NOT stated on my reciept?! I was under the impression, to make a valid store policy, it must be written somewhere for all to see? (read: the customer)

I know that i should have really looked hard all over the dvd box to make sure i was buying what i wanted... i made a mistake.. a visual flaw of the eye for a split second, i admit this. But WHY does a store not want to exchange an opened dvd full screen version for the exact SAME product only in widescreen? This so-called policy, I see written no where for any customer to view/read before purchasing dvds. I think thats WRONG!

Opinons?

 

[XMan]

I've never heard of such a thing. Is it a chain store? Maybe you can try another store location.

Or find somebody with a shrink-wrap machine and re-wrap it.

 

[brunswickite]

what store you bought from?

i worked for walmart one summer, and the policy on dvd/vid game returns if opened is replace for the same item only, ie the dvd was damaged so you brought it back for a replacement, but if customers argued enough tehy would get there way

 

[hamburglar]

They probably assumed you could copy it during that time.

 

[KingNothing]

Well, the anti-piracy reason is valid. You might try calling corporate headquarters of wherever you bought this from.

 

[amdskip]

Where did you buy this from? There are strict laws against piracy which is valid. You need to look at the stores position on this. I work at walmart and we will not accept opened computer games, cd, dvds, or any console games.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

If it makes you feel any better, the widescreen versions are messed up. Parts 2 & 3 were formatted wrong, so either way you are getting a cropped image. And they really did mark these boxed sets poorly, I almost tore into the fullscreen version myself before realizing what it was. And as far as the anti-piracy excuse, it's definitely NOT valid here, since you are exchanging for what's basically the same intellectual property.

 

[XMan]

I have also heard, though I can't find the story, that there were some defective batches of BTTF DVD sets shipped out. You might tell them that it's defective, and grab a widescreen version off of the shelf.

The whole widescreen/fullscreen thing really irks me, even Blockbuster has pretty much stopped carrying widescreen DVDs. '

Edit - thanks, Gonad, I KNEW I had heard something about the DVDs being screwed up. They are supposed to have a fixed version coming out in a couple months.

 

[Hubris]

Same thing happened to me with the Spider-Man movie. Got it as a present for Christmas, and didn't notice it was the fullscreen version.

The anti-piracy thing doesn't really hold water, IMO. Why would I pirate the fullscreen version and then return it for the widescreen? Doesn't make any sense.

So I'm stuck with the damn POS fullscreen for this movie.

 

[Nocturnal]

You might want to print out an article on how to rip a DVD and tell them that there is no way possible you could have copied this DVD set within 10 minutes. That's what I would do.

 

[Legendary]

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
You might want to print out an article on how to rip a DVD and tell them that there is no way possible you could have copied this DVD set within 10 minutes. That's what I would do.

Ripping DVDs take forever but you only need the DVD itself for roughly 10 minutes of the process (copying/decrypting the VOBs).

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Just go back and argue your way up the ladder until you find someone reasonable. And I wouldn't even bring up that you know anything about ripping DVD's, just stick to the argument about it being the same intellectual property and your current version being defective because it's missing 30% of the picture. It will be a chore, but bitch and moan (politely) enough and eventually you'll probably get your way.

 

[hdeck]

that is the way most stores are now. comp usa, circuit city, and best buy all have disclaimers on receipts saying they don't exchange opened software, cds, or dvds. you may have a little luck if you fight it to a higher up, but you probably won't get much more than a bigger headache.

 

[cyclistca]

Many people don't realize that the laws when it comes to store returns in most places are very strict. Usually a store is only required to exchange an item if it is defective. In this case the DVD does work so it's not defective. A lot of stores will have a more liberal return policy as a courtesy to their customers.

Having just bought a DVD player. I certainly know were your coming from. It's pretty tricky sometimes to try to figure out whether the version on the shelf is pan & scan or a widescreen version.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Legendary

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
You might want to print out an article on how to rip a DVD and tell them that there is no way possible you could have copied this DVD set within 10 minutes. That's what I would do.

Ripping DVDs take forever but you only need the DVD itself for roughly 10 minutes of the process (copying/decrypting the VOBs).

that 10 minute process is the rip itself.

they have this same policy with software too... which is stupid because technically if you don't agree to the license agreement you're supposed to be able to return it. if its defective you can return it and not get a new one. at least at best buy. which is why you go there and buy up all the copies of the piracy protected "CDs" and then return them as defective since they won't play on all regulation cdroms.

 

[Johnnie]

get yourself a sealer