About shrinkwrap, and the horrors that can be inside

Posts: 68 · Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2003 5:43 am

I guess its been so long since I posted before today that I became inactive.

I bought quite a few shrinkwrapped modules from someone, this was probably back in 1996 or so. Perhaps even earlier.

I got a nice stack of modules. I unwrapped a couple and they were in great shape. Yeah I know, I know.

I was just looking at the other ones as I was just going to put them away.

I noticed that the G1,2,3 one seemed to be wavy underneath the shrink.

I noticed that an I2 looked to have some kind of white growth under the shrink on the module cover.

I then realized that some of the modules had been in high humidity and damp/wet at some point. In a flooded basement maybe?

I am hyper paranoid about mold/mildew. I sent those ones back and any that even looked a little wavy from moisture. I always keep my stuff that I buy away from my collection until I've really gone through them.

The person I bought them from, replaced them with other modules.

I sent the problem ones back, normally I'd just trash them.

No I won't say who, but when I read how good this person grades items and what and expert he is, I always smile. He doesn't post here.

Anyone else have an experience like that? With water damaged shrinkwrapped items?

-Byron

Posts: 1756 · Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2003 7:17 am

Shrinkwrap holds no particular excitement for me.

Let me put it like this - I do not see how a shrinkwrapped item can actually be classified as mint, when you cannot see what it is really like? I have bought items new from a shop which are shrinked and found that there were bends/creases once I remove the super-tight shrinkwrap (made it difficult to spot small creases).

With older items from ebay - you can get anything - rusty staples on the inside, mould, wavy moisture damage etc etc...

IMHO shrinkwrap ranks lower than mint in terms of value.

Posts: 4716 · Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2003 10:34 am

What is the point of having shrinked items? You can't really do anything except archive them and gloat. I have a shrinked copy of Vecna Lives, and a NM one I just picked up. Guess which will be traded?

Posts: 68 · Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2003 4:00 pm

The reason I bought them was so that I could fill holes in my collection and I opened those, and the others were favorite modules that I just wanted a nice shrinkwrapped copy to keep.

For me shrinkwrapped boxes are more important than open boxes. If what I'm looking for is mint contents and complete items.

I just look for clean, non-smoke reeking, non-mildewy, non ultra-violet light damaged, non-water damaged, non-marked up, non-torn, NM items.

Finding items new in the store that were mint was near impossible. The way they had the shelves and racks you could buy from TSR just lent them to being bent in the store.

Always nice to have a carefully used copy (just from wear not from mold/water/smoke etc), to read and to use.

But there is nothing like the smell of the ink and paper when you open up a shrinkwrapped module.

Posts: 4716 · Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2003 4:28 pm

I love the smell of ink and paper in the morning. Smells like........ink and paper.

Posts: 68 · Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2003 5:33 pm

Aww, cmon. You have to love that new module smell from back then. Very Happy

Posts: 123 · Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2003 4:34 pm

Quote:

What is the point of having shrinked items? You can't really do anything except archive them and gloat. I have a shrinked copy of Vecna Lives, and a NM one I just picked up. Guess which will be traded?

Wow, talk about shrink bashing. If you flip through your NM Vecna module a couple of times, what condition will it be then, when the backing is creased, and your finger prints have stained the black covers? Doubles are a necessity to really be able to do the kind of stuff you are talking about. A shrink wrapped item is the epitome of collecting. Isn't it a collectors dream to have the best possible collection they can? Or am I missing something?

-Len

Posts: 4716 · Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2003 7:00 pm

Depends on the collector. I would much rather pay $350 for a somewhat worn B3 than $1000 for a shrinked one. That way, I have $700 left over to buy other items. I prefer quantity to quality.

That doesn't mean I like damaged or beat items. I'd just rather pay far less for a used copy than pay a shitload for a shrinked one AND even more for a "double".