I love how this thread is going : two pages of Zavvi bashing, then a page of defending it
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I can't believe all this Zavvi hate when you know that they recently chose the art of a few of their upcoming steelbooks (Wicked Man inside art, Olympus Has Fallen back and front cover) based on the votes taking place here, on HDN.
Granted, I've never had the displeasure of getting a damaged steelbook from them thus far, I don't have any reason to be disappointed : free international shipping (given the price they make us pay, it's the least they can do, pity for UK customers though), lots of new steels — say what you want but I'm glad they're producing this many steels, it's not like if they suddenly start producing two a year they'll both be magnificent beyond belief. As a newcomer in the steelbook world, I don't care if it's new editions of some earlier wave, or if it was released in another country.
Zavvi is flooding the market, and I'm loving it, I prefer a flood to a drought - but I'd obviously prefer if other UK suppliers had the means to compete with them, of course.
To be honest, when I started reading many threads around here, the word "sticker" often came up, and how so many people paid a lot of attention to it. At first, I thought "it can't be... they can't spend that much money on a steelbook from God knows where just because of a piece of paper glued to the wrapping", or based their purchases on how few were printed (even though sometimes it looks almost the same as another country's cheaper steelbook). Unless you intend on selling them yourself, I can't understand that. Printed back or not, I don't care. G1-size? That's a shame, but hey, I have already a few G1-sized steelbooks regrouped together, it'll just be one more. Stickerbooks? No racism in my house, they're welcome too. No inside art, printed banner? That sucks too, but if I like the front/cover and above all the film, I won't hesitate to buy.
My point is, I'm not that picky with steelbooks. If zavvi's Monsters University looks good and costs €25 and if BluFan's edition looks amazing and costs me €45, I'll go with good. At the end of the day, it's just a box holding a film, as we've seen from zavvi in the past, their Disney steelbooks are fine.
I'm sure BluFans is amazing, and I'm looking forward to their take on Oz: The Great and Powerful as there is no other country producing it, but when there's a cheaper option, then I go with it unless it's awful (I doubt this one will be), screw the fact that it isn't as rare.
EDIT — Also, slipcovers : I don't get that too. If I buy a steelbook, I want to see metal, not a printed card.
