Is it still worth buying sealed Steelbooks?

[sinanspd]

I am curious about steelbook collectors' thoughts on this. 2020 has been the year that I bought the most steelbooks, a number of them sealed through various stores and eBay, a number of them used through eBay and a few members here.

Unfortunately every single brand new steelbook I purchased this year had some imperfection. Now sure, you can say that it is very easy to reseal steelbooks, even in certain EU countries where there is the PS4 security line. Mind that most of the damaged ones came from major retailers. One particular steelbook I had to purchase 4 times (all brand new through different major retailers) to find it in a passable state. 2 of them was dented and bent, one had major scratches. Another steelbook I purchased through Gamestop had a circular area that wasn't printed at all. One steelbook out of a sealed CE came scratched. Today I have received my order of 16 steelbooks from Gamesonly.au and thanks to their packaging, only 3 was in good condition (even though I have specifically requested that they properly wrap them).

After all this, it seems to me like the quality at Scanavo has gone down significantly and combined with the steelbooks damaged during shipping and careless retailers (*cough cough* Best Buy *cough*), majority of the steelbooks can hardly even be considered "like new", let alone brand new.

In many cases the price of a sealed steelbook is considerably higher than a used one and with the exception of a few very rare steelbooks, the older PS3 steelbooks and a number of GEO ones, you can find them in near perfect condition for less than the original MSPR price. And when I buy a used one, I know almost exactly what I am getting, and can elect to request better packaging by communicating with the seller.

Tl;dr In my experience buying a sealed steelbooks gets you an item that at best in as good of a condition as what we would rate as "like new". So I am at a point where I question buying sealed steelbooks (unless you specifically want to keep them sealed, which I respect)


Maybe I am very unlucky or maybe I look at my steelbooks more detailed than most (Although I have met various members here who are as diligent as me).

What do you think?

[Spect3r]

You are most definitely unlucky, however...

Scanovo production quality has been getting worst (price to pay for making more?), but also Retailers and Publishers have become lazy and extremely incompetent.

Most (99%) of Steelbooks that come in the CE's dont come wrapped, Publishers (or whoever does the CE's for them) just throw them in together with everything else. I can count by the fingers in 1 hand the number of CE's that bring the steelbook protected.

Retailers are even worst, its already bad enough that a lot of times they do not come wrapped from Scanovo (when it was the Anthem steelbooks, i bought a tonne of them so i receive them from the Retailer still inside the boxes Scanovo sent them in, not even 1 was wrapped), but then they go and throw them, slide them, pack heavy stuff on top of them, etc so if they weren't yet damaged, they most likely will be now.

So, to answer your question:
Yes, it is worth... but you need luck

[Twisted]

SCANOVO is indeed getting worse just like Spect3r mentioned..is because of "scaling up" since they are now more mass produced..there are additional outsourced factories and locations that work on a contracted basis for steelbook...10 years ago..steelbook were too "niche" like a boutique type of item.and Steelbook had a smaller footprint so they took "great care" to ensure quality product to attract more consumers and retailers....now it's being "wholesaled" to all major retailers...about 8 or 9 years ago!?..there was a gentleman from EUROPE on this forum..that had access to factory sealed!!! cardboard cases of steelbook's that were really "minty" since they were not handled by anyone but him outside of the manufacturer..i miss him on these forums!..he has'nt posted in several years!! ..he used to handle "group buys" for PAL EUROPE Steelbook video game pre-order bonuses...he had developed an excellent rapport! with a senior manager at a major electronics store chain in FRANCE and that manager would hand him over entire sealed cases of steelbooks . at nominal cost (US $10-$15 each).and in turn he would offer up a group buy on this very same forum at no additional mark up!.great guy!..those were the golden years! LOL of CE.ORG back for me when i first joined in around 2011 . it's still fun! to be on CE.ORG..but i miss those Awesome!! regularily occuring group buys!!..where that forum member had "insider" access like that!

[Dreamcazman]

I tend to get a little anxious when going to pick up a game from my local EB if it comes with a bonus steelbook. They probably think I'm nuts as I go over it to ensure there are no dents or scratches. If there is, I ask them to get another one. Obviously, this is not something you can do easily if it's being sent to you. Any steelbook that's come in a CE has always been perfect.

My EB is pretty good actually, they seem to handle items much better than many of the other shops here in Australia.

OP, you certainly must've been unlucky or just have a really shitty postman as I think maybe 1-2 out of the hundred or so steelbooks I have arrived with a major dent or scratch which I had to get replaced.

I think it's just one of things you have to accept when it comes to steelbooks. You will undoubtedly get light scratches & other cosmetic marks. If you stress too much about it, it'll drive you crazy. Just think, will you even care in 50yrs time?

[sinanspd]

Originally Posted by Twisted

He used to handle "group buys" for PAL EUROPE Steelbook video game pre-order bonuses...he had developed an excellent rapport! with a senior manager at a major electronics store chain in FRANCE and that manager would hand him over entire sealed cases of steelbooks . at nominal cost (US $10-$15 each).and in turn he would offer up a group buy on this very same forum at no additional mark up!.great guy!..those were the golden years! !

Wow that would have been awesome. I think the major problem here is that a lot of the small game stores no longer exist. Even if we had the numbers, we can't go to best buy or gamestop and ask if they would do a similar deal with us. There is just no way. We could have asked FutureShop for something like that maybe but they are no more.

I just saw your post under the Mario steelbook about how they want to become the default packaging. While it is no surprise as that is the ultimate business opportunity, I also think it might end in a disaster. One thing about the plastic cases is their durability. Sure they break but how many broken cases have you ever received? I know people who aren't collectors of any sort, who would instantly return a broken case, even if they are only interested in the disc. Scanavo will really need to step up their game if they are to pull that off

[sinanspd]

Originally Posted by Dreamcazman

I think it's just one of things you have to accept when it comes to steelbooks. You will undoubtedly get light scratches & other cosmetic marks. If you stress too much about it, it'll drive you crazy. Just think, will you even care in 50yrs time?

Well that is the thing. We don't even know if these things will hold up 50 years. Scanavo has been around for 30 years but I don't think they were making steelbooks for the majority of it. They probably started around 2006?

It is possible that even if we were to freeze these things, they will be ruined on their own in 50 years. What is "very good" right now, will likely become "bad" by then and what is "brand new" right now will be "very good" or "acceptable". It is a fact that we all have come to terms with that the perfect steelbook doesn't exist. They all have minor/micro scratches etc. But I don't think or at least used to, that it is not an unreasonable goal to find one that looks great under normal room light. I don't know anymore for some of these. It especially seems like quality of store specific pre order bonuses has been going down more compared to CEs and steelbook editions

[sinanspd]

The bad luck continues. Ordered Final Fantasy Zodiac Age CE and Left Alive Mech Edition from Square Enix Store and both steelbooks came out scratched (Left Alive scratched to an unbelievable condition, not a simple one, two scratches)

[Twisted]

I feel sorry for you because my previous experiences with Square Enix customer service has been nothing short of a hard time including forcing me to pay for return shipping when it was clearly Square Enix fault in the first place.

[sinanspd]

Originally Posted by Twisted

I feel sorry for you because my previous experiences with Square Enix customer service has been nothing short of a hard time including forcing me to pay for return shipping when it was clearly Square Enix fault in the first place.

I took two months but as of Wednesday, I have managed to receive a replacement. They didn't ask me to cover the shipping and they packed it amazingly well. Unfortunately there are small scratches on one side (at least only one side) but I don't think it is fair to expect their merch department to have an eye for small scratches, especially when I have purchased steelbook from fellow collectors who missed such damage. It's an occupational hazard of steelbook collecting.

I am writing this because as much as I had very bad experience with SQE in the past, credit needs to be given where it's due

[Twisted]

I honestly think that Scanavo deliberately uses lower quality standards..they can easily coat the steelbooks i would think!!???...with some type of scratch resistant clear coating!!???..but it appears as if they choose to pinch pennies instead!..also they can very easily up the ante on the metal size..maybe a hair or two thicker like by 1-2 mm which would make it harder to dent..that is what "MetalPak" does...but again, they meaning SCANAVO probably wants to spend as little as possible!!???.. on the manufacturing side in order to "max out" on potential profits.