I have been adding to my physical media collection for several years, and I typically prioritize finding the best price possible when I can. A lot of times, this means waiting years to pick something up on a deep discount, and that can mean a plethora of things. A big thing that’s missing from a lot of my pickups is a slipcover. In case you don’t know, a slipcover is the cardboard sleeve that goes over your Blu-ray case. Most new releases come with one of these, but once a movie has been in print for a long time, there’s a chance you won’t get one with your purchase if you order online.
Now, I’m not going to sit here and tell you what to value and what not to value, but I’ve never seen the appeal in slipcovers. Yes, I have plenty of them, but it’s not like they make or break my purchase. If a movie I buy doesn’t come with one, I’m not going to hunt one down on eBay, although that appears to be a lucrative business for some. If I get one with my purchase, I get one. If I don’t, I don’t. What I don’t understand is the people who will only buy a copy that comes with a slipcover.
Slipcovers don’t matter this much
They’re important, but not a deal breaker
I’m in the physical media world to make sure I have my favorite movies at home in the best quality I can get them. While the cases are cool, they aren’t what I’m looking for. That’s part of why it’s annoying to see so many special editions being exclusively steelbooks, because not only does that drive up the price, but they feel like they’re easily damaged.
I usually tuck my movies away on a shelf and only get them out when I want to watch them. I don’t do any fancy displays or have my steelbooks front-facing so I can look at the cover. I did grab that IMAX popcorn bucket that AMC was selling for The Odyssey, so I have started to use that as a display — so I have that going for me. For everything else, I just have a bunch of movies on the shelf.
This might horrify some people, but I got rid of a lot of slipcovers when I first started getting physical media. I came across a bunch of flattened slipcovers from the Dragon Ball Z Blu-ray sets when I moved a couple of years ago, and I even shuddered at that. I don’t do that anymore, but I also don’t care if I don’t get one with a purchase. I buy a lot of stuff from GRUV and Amazon, and at this point, I consider it a win if I get a slipcover, even if the releases are recent. Slipcovers aren’t why I got into this hobby in the first place, so I’m not going to mourn not having one. The best I can do is not destroy the ones I get anymore, so that’s some growth, I suppose.
If you like them, you need to pay up
Full price usually
In many ways, it feels like manufacturers have made slipcovers more valuable because they aren’t always in production. From the outside looking in, it feels like it’s just a piece of cardboard, so I don’t get why they aren’t always in print. For whatever reason, they’re not, so that means if you want to get one, you usually have to pre-order or grab a movie soon after it comes out. If it’s a popular movie, it’s essentially a gamble even on new releases.
Maybe some part of me tells myself that I don’t care, so I don’t get disappointed when a new release comes in the mail without a slipcover. Whatever the case is, I’m just not concerned about it, and it saves me quite a bit of money. I don’t have to worry about buying Obsession right at release. I don’t really want to spend over $30 for a 4K release, especially when it’s a simple studio release like this. I don’t buy Criterion movies unless they’re half off, so I’m definitely not going to buy standard releases like this for more.
I thrift a lot of my movies, and I very rarely find a slipcover there. Then again, I don’t expect them to have slipcovers, and I’m happy if the case isn’t covered with stickers that are nearly impossible to get off. At the end of the day, do what’s best for you. If you like the thrill of hunting down slipcovers, don’t let me stop you. It’s obvious that these are sought-after things, and there’s clearly a third-party market for them. I personally wouldn’t buy a slipcover from eBay, but if you can find one for a couple bucks, there’s honestly not much harm done there.
