Signed up for their Laugh-In 'sock it to me' collection and I think they socked it to me.
It's $19.95 per volume and they send 2 volumes every other month. (they actually shipped 2 volumes per month, but nobody's perfect...)
As most TV series released give the consumer more than 2 episodes for $20 (or $10 per episode), I was expecting high quality throughout.
Here is why I am complaining:
These DVDs are cased in the cheapest cases I've ever had the misfortune to examine. SEVERAL discs came to me loose in their containers, which in turn scratched the discs to an extent. This can affect playback, in the form of skips or distorted images on screen.
I called them up to get replacements. They said there would be no charge and that they'd get them out right away. I thought that was great because these cases are horrible. Owning more than 100 DVDs, I've seen every case imaginable. These things are of flimsy, utterly cheap construction.
I got the replacements, with all but one of the discs involved being loose in their cases too. (I still have most of them, left wrapped, jiggling inside the case.) Worse, I later found out they put me on their 'substandard customer' list and cancelled my account!
This is outrageous. They charge a great deal of money for a product, send me the product in an unacceptable container (a single scratch is unacceptable, PERIOD, let alone the type of case they manufactured to ship it in) and then they have the nerve to say I am a bad customer when I RIGHTFULLY complain!
Guthy-Renker is not a good business. Not right now. I am a good customer, but when I spend a lot of money on something, I want it to be worth the money. Getting a bunch of scratched discs is not good, to say the least. I won't tolerate it when I buy a DVD from my local store, but I've never once had a problem when buying discs from local stores... Why? The cases are sturdily built and can handle the bumps and jumps of transport. It's common sense, really... And having seen lots of other products in the stores with crumpled edges and other clear signs of abuse by shipping and handling folk, I doubt they'd treat DVD cases with any more care or consideration. The cases in the stores are well made. The Laugh-In cases are not. Pure and simple.
All I ask is that Guthy-Renker provides reasonable quality casing (they should check out what's known as a "keep case") and take my name off their "substandard" list. For that really burns my bippy.
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