Holes drilled into jewel cases

[DogSpirit]

I bought a box of PS1 games, and several of them have a hole drilled into the top left corner of the jewel case. It's a small clean hole all the way through. What was the purpose of this? Did the store drill the hole or were they drilled in the factory?

Thanks!

[skaar]

They were promo or copies that were reported destroyed.

Then they were sold by bad people.

[jperryss]

They were promo or copies that were reported destroyed.

Then they were sold by bad people.

Are the holes drilled through the barcode on the back insert? If so, I'd definitely agree w/skaar. If not, well.....I'd probably agree anyway.

[The 1 2 P]

I won a contest several years ago that entitled me to free PS2 games and accessories for a year. Each game I received also had a hole punched(not drilled) thru the barcode on the back of the game case. As these games were still factory sealed, the reason they did this was to prevent me(and others) from trying to take these games to a store and trying to get a refund or store credit for them. And thats probably why yours have the same holes in them.

[Dr. Dib]

How big are the holes? I'm going to guess that some person had an odd fetish.

[skaar]

How big are the holes? I'm going to guess that some person had an odd fetish.

Or a very tiny dick.

[bend]

They've been doing this forever. If anyone is into records, they've seen a lot of punched holes usually through the top of the corner. I've seen them on jewel cases also, but it's the first i've heard of them on a game. Sometimes it's not a hole, but a slit like someone took it to the edge of a grinder.

I've seen them used on discounted items, promos, and non-returnable stuff. It usually means for whatever reason, this item shouldn't be traded, returned or whatever.

[SamuraiSmurfette]

They also did this with games that were value bundled.
Remember seeing "value" games clamshell packed with a 3rd party memory card (usually) and sold at bargain stores for $19.99 or whatever? They punched those as well, so that they couldn't be sold by retailers separately from the bundles.

[garagesaleking!!]

They've been doing this forever. If anyone is into records, they've seen a lot of punched holes usually through the top of the corner. I've seen them on jewel cases also, but it's the first i've heard of them on a game. Sometimes it's not a hole, but a slit like someone took it to the edge of a grinder.

I've seen them used on discounted items, promos, and non-returnable stuff. It usually means for whatever reason, this item shouldn't be traded, returned or whatever.

This is more what I have heard. I see it on music cds all the time. It is very common for the barcode to be hole punched, however a little rare for the actual jewel case to be punched. A common reason to do it is all cds with a punch are on sale or clearance.

[Kitsune Sniper]

This is more what I have heard. I see it on music cds all the time. It is very common for the barcode to be hole punched, however a little rare for the actual jewel case to be punched. A common reason to do it is all cds with a punch are on sale or clearance.

I actually have a ton of CD cases with a hole clean through the entire case and artwork.

I've been replacing them bit by bit. I was dumb in my early flea market hunting days. Not that I'm any better now, but. :p

I once bought a sealed Final Fantasy VII black label that had a hole through it... I couldn't sell it for that much. :(

[Steve W]

I've bought music CDs that had the cases sliced with a notch on the end. And some with a little hole drilled through the case and into the barcode. I'd almost have to say it was common.

I've drilled holes into jewel cases myself. Notches, actually. That's how I used to store my Atari Lynx games. I bought heaps of new jewel cases, removed the interior tray that the CD sits in, use a Dremel to cut a notch for the curved lip of the Lynx cartridges, and use a pair of pliers to break off the center hub. I'd then get a thin layer of foam, cut a CD shape out of it with a rectangular hole in the center for the cartridge, and glue it inside. Scan in the box front and back and print out case inserts, and you've got yourself an attractive way to store Lynx games in CD racks without putting wear and tear on the original boxes by storing games inside them.

I haven't done that with Lynx games in a long while. I just keep them all inside my storage bag.

[NayusDante]

I have a few CDs with cutouts, but they don't really bother me. It's usually stuff that I bought used at FYE.

Most recently, the copy of .hack//MUTATION I acquired on eBay had the UPC punched out. It was a circular hole, bigger than a normal hole punch. Again, doesn't really bother me because I'm not interested in reselling it.

The crappy trance mix albums, however, I can't get rid of. I bought a box-set of several DJ mixes when I was young and hadn't found my musical niche. When I opened it up and took the cases out of the box, I noticed that they had holes punched through the UPCs. This was a new, shrinkwrapped boxset. When I tried to trade them to FYE about a year ago, they told me they never should have been sold in the first place. Funny, because I bought them there.

[betamax001]

I have a old copy of Kraftwerk's Autobahn album with the corner cut off. It was from the pre barcode days.

[Arkhan]

Its so smart reseller stores (the exchange and stuff) know that the item you are trading was some freebie bullshit you got, and they usually wont take it.

[Smashed Brother]

The copy of Steel Reign (PS1) that I'm selling here has a hole punched through the top left side. Yeah, I'm a bad mans!

When I worked in the 9th circle of he-- err, EB Games, we'd receive free games from various companies for vaguely retarded reasons and they would always come with the UPC punched out. My manager used to scare us with campfire tales about how the game companies could 'track' these free games that were bestowed upon us and if we were ever caught selling them to some resale shop, we would lose our jobs :p In fact, I still have my free copy of Downhill Domination with the trademark glory hole in it. I would never sell it though; it's actually an awesome game.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I have some PS1 games with a notch cut in them rather than a hole. Don't know if that means anything. By a notch I mean it was cut straight through the back part (manuals and front of jewel case are intact) about a 1/4 inch deep on a table/band saw or something like that.

[Arkhan]

I have some PS1 games with a notch cut in them rather than a hole. Don't know if that means anything. By a notch I mean it was cut straight through the back part (manuals and front of jewel case are intact) about a 1/4 inch deep on a table/band saw or something like that.

same thing. different tool. :D

[josekortez]

I won a contest several years ago that entitled me to free PS2 games and accessories for a year. Each game I received also had a hole punched(not drilled) thru the barcode on the back of the game case. As these games were still factory sealed, the reason they did this was to prevent me(and others) from trying to take these games to a store and trying to get a refund or store credit for them. And thats probably why yours have the same holes in them.

Yeah, I used to do video game reviews for a local newspaper years ago, and Sony does this to every game they send out. Others such as THQ and Lucasarts don't bother to hole punch.

[garagesaleking!!]

I hate when they cut the notches into record sleeves, it really destroys a lot of the value and makes them look bad.

[Icarus Moonsight]

same thing. different tool. :D

As expected, just wasn't certain. Carry on!

[Oobgarm]

I hate when they cut the notches into record sleeves, it really destroys a lot of the value and makes them look bad.

Destroying the value is one of the main reasons it's done, in addition to the retail and reseller reasons.

It was given out free, so no one should profit off of it. It's also why places rip covers off books before they're thrown out.

[kupomogli]

I bought Jeanne D' Arc a couple years ago from an FYE when it couldn't be found, but the FYE copy had a hole drilled into the case. A week later Amazon had it back in stock so I ordered it. I returned it to Walmart because I lost the FYE receipt and Walmart was also much closer, who had it listed as $40. I basically made $20 off it but what I really wanted was just the game without the hole in it.

[skaar]

I bought Jeanne D' Arc a couple years ago from an FYE when it couldn't be found, but the FYE copy had a hole drilled into the case. A week later Amazon had it back in stock so I ordered it. I returned it to Walmart because I lost the FYE receipt and Walmart was also much closer, who had it listed as $40. I basically made $20 off it but what I really wanted was just the game without the hole in it.

It ain't stealing if it's Walmart?

I'd have bitched to FYE myself.

[ubikuberalles]

Destroying the value is one of the main reasons it's done, in addition to the retail and reseller reasons.

It was given out free, so no one should profit off of it. It's also why places rip covers off books before they're thrown out.

That's not the whole story when it comes to paperback covers. The covers are torn off and sent to the publisher so that the retailer can get a refund on the books. Sending just the covers saves on shipping (the publisher would just destroy the books anyway). The hardbound books are so expensive that the retailer sends the whole book back (even though they are heavier).

The stripped paperbacks are supposed to be destroyed - as per the retailers agreement with the publisher. However, employees have been known to take the stripped books home and dumpster diving has been known to happen. If you have a stripped paperback, you're basically in possession of stolen goods. If you try to trade in the stripped paperback at a used bookstore, they'll refuse the book (unless they're dishonest - I've actually found a stripped paperback or two at a used book store). If you look inside the first few pages of a paperback - usually where the copyright info is printed - you will (normally) see a little blurb saying that if the book you have in your hands has no cover, then it's stolen.

[Bojay1997]

I bought Jeanne D' Arc a couple years ago from an FYE when it couldn't be found, but the FYE copy had a hole drilled into the case. A week later Amazon had it back in stock so I ordered it. I returned it to Walmart because I lost the FYE receipt and Walmart was also much closer, who had it listed as $40. I basically made $20 off it but what I really wanted was just the game without the hole in it.

That is called return fraud and is a crime. Why would you post something like that here?

[Natty Bumppo]

They are likely what are called "remainder" marks that are used on various products. Remaindered items are left over lots (usually comprised of more than one title) that are sold at a (generally) large discount and when they eventually wend their way to the retailers the savings are passed on to the consumer. The idea is that the item can't be returned by the consumer (and on up the chain) and get a full refund/credit (let's say $40 original retail) on something that may have sold in the $5-$10 (or less) range. It was common with records (either holes, slots or corner cutoffs) and laserdiscs (marked the same as records). It is still used on books - generally a magic marker stripe on the end or side of the book across the pages - sometimes on the barcode. On the bright side the remainder marks generally don't detract much in the way of the value (assuming everything else is the same) if the item becomes relatively collectible down the road. (With records, such items were more generally called "cutouts" - literally reflecting the nature of the damage done to the cover (and sometimes the record itself - the holes would sometimes be punched through the label in addition to the cover)).

[Jorpho]

I bought a couple of discs once from an Asian student that actually had pretty deep cuts into the disc itself. Apparently they are dead serious about destroying foreign music in China. These discs are still useable, except for the last track or two. I am hoping they do not one day explode in the drive.

[brainerdrainer]

yeah I got some PS1 games for $2 each and they are factory sealed. The bottom games have a hole drilled in the top left corner of the casing.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5325/9766131304_f5189a263c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mildred_killdred/9766131304/)
IMG_7025 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mildred_killdred/9766131304/) by Y=MX+B (http://www.flickr.com/people/mildred_killdred/), on Flickr

[CelticJobber]

I remember several years ago when I would buy music CD's from eBay, they would almost always have a hole cut through the top left side.