The search for replacement Super Jewel Boxes...

[BiggerzBetter]

It seems that no one has been able to come across a retailer who sells the Super Jewel Box (it's actual name, though it's sometimes shortened to just SJB for product reference). These are the jewel boxes which have become the "standard" for DVD-A discs. They're the ones that are an inch taller than regular jewel boxes, and they also feature rounded corners and (I feel) a sturdier build than typical jewel boxes.

Or perhaps I should say that I haven't yet found any mention of retailers selling the SJB. Even a trip to the SJB website failed to find any mention of how pitiful little individuals like myself (who are trying to standardize their collection now that several DVD-Audio releases have used alternate packaging.... ) can buy replacement cases.

FYI: I did discover that SJB currently markets their product in three styles (though of course there's nothing "standard" about their usage, as different companies are using them... differently!):

SJB standard - for CDs and SACDs
SJB Plus - for DVD-Audio titles
SJB King - for DVD-Video titles

ANYWAY... long boring story short: I sent an e-mail to the U.S. distributor for SJB asking for information about purchasing SJB Plus cases. Heck, I'd even purchase a package of 10 or 20 if that was the only way to go, but I'm not getting my hopes up. I'm guessing that they're set up to deal with commercial distributors/companies only. I will pass along the info if and when I get it.

 

[JonUrban]

Check with our DVD-A moderator. I think he has found a source..

:-jon

 

[MCunningham]

Unless they've changed their policy, they have a minimum of 100-150 cases at a time. Cost is .87/case. I bought 150 of them last year, sold half at $2.00-$2.25 ea in lots of 5 or 10. After ebay listing fees, commisions, paypal commision and packing costs, I made roughly $0.90 profit per case. That meant that once I sold half of them, the other half that I kept were basically free. My entire collection of dts cds are now in them and I have a few extras left over to replace the occasional broken case that shows up in the mail. The link below is the last auction I ran on ebay a couple of months ago.

SJCase Auction

 

[BiggerzBetter]

I bought 150 of them last year, sold half at $2.00-$2.25 ea in lots of 5 or 10. After ebay listing fees, commisions, paypal commision and packing costs, I made roughly $0.90 profit per case. That meant that once I sold half of them, the other half that I kept were basically free.

M-

Depending on the response you got to your e-Bay sale, I just might consider ordering the minimum (if indeed they're still offering that "deal"). If the response you received from the sale was good, then it makes sense for me to duplicate your effort. Without a strong response though, I figure I'd be left with about 70+ unneeded cases (and that's even accounting for future needs and possible breakage!).

Any advice?

 

[MCunningham]

I only needed about 75-80 for myself so it seemed to be a good idea at the time. The response wasn't that good. I felt lucky to have sold half of them. People would email me offering to buy 50 for $0.35 ea. Of course I laughed at them. They're spoiled by the price of standard cd cases. They never got it through their heads that I was the only source for them. Should you decide to buy, good luck.

 

[AllAroundSurround]

How about if a few of us get together and make an order. Then you wont have to try and sell them on e-bay.
"I'm Game" ! I like them myself and want to get them for all my d.t.s. cds., and for some of the dvda that came in the standard cd case.
Rob

 

[BiggerzBetter]

How about if a few of us get together and make an order.

Because I didn't really want to get involved with e-Bay -- and now, after M's comments, I really don't want to get involved with e-Bay -- I had always considered sticking to the major DVD-A bulletin boards as a possible alternative for splitting up a large minimum order for the SJB cases. I certainly have seen other people asking about them, so I know there's at least some interest.

Of course, all this depends on whether or not it's still possible to buy the discs. I will certainly post the information as soon as I get it.

 

[Cai Campbell]

I wouldn't mind joining in on a lot purchase if you guys decide to go ahead. I buy almost all of my DVD-A discs from dvdplanet.com. They have great service overall, but I receive a fair percentage with broken cases, and it's pretty darn frustrating. I seriously wonder if they rid themselves of the broken cases by sending them to mail-order customers. I don't want to mess with returns, so I've just been keeping them. I need to send them a whiny letter though...

I'd be up for 10-20 cases to replace my broken ones and to have a few more on hand as spares.

 

[JonUrban]

I'd be up for some too!

:-jon

 

[BiggerzBetter]

Well, what do you know? I received some GREAT news today from the company behind the Super Jewel Box:

Thank you for coming to us with your needs. Super Jewel Box is a fairly new product line and as such the retailers don't (yet) carry them as replacements. Until that happens, and because we receive many e-mails such as yours, we have been supplying them direct to consumers ourselves. We are currently in discussions with several large U.S. retailers to carry the Super Jewel Boxes and we hope to have them on the shelves later this year.

We sell the Super Jewel Box Plus for $.69 each, minimum quantity is 10. We can bill to a VISA or MasterCard or C.O.D., but the COD charges are quite high (about $6.00 extra through U.P.S.).

Let us know if you want to order any and we'll be happy to take care of you.

Best Regards,

Andrew Schuurs
Super Jewel Box USA, Inc.
1537 W. Collins Avenue
Orange, CA 92867
(714) 288-8960 Phone
(714) 288-8967 Fax
[email protected]
www.superjewelbox.com

Yowza! Things can't get much better than that -- a minimum order of 10 is nothing compared to the notion of having to purchase 100!

I'm set to place my order first thing tomorrow...

 

[MCunningham]

Nice to see that they finally lowered their minimum order. I guess enough people bugged them about it. As I said earlier, my cost per case was a bit cheaper by buying the 150 piece minimum, but should I need another 10 in the future, it's nice to know I won't have to go through the hassle of having to resell all the extras on ebay. Now if one of the major labeling outfits would come up with case inserts for printing, we'd be in great shape.

 

[AllAroundSurround]

So , What is the address or do we want to put in a group order? Lets put something together....!!!!

 

[Cai Campbell]

Well, with a minimum order of only ten units, I'd say we can just order individually. Thanks for detective work, BB!

 

[BiggerzBetter]

I called Andy at Super Jewel Box USA today to place my order, and I must admit that the whole process was a smooth and easy one. Andy was great to talk to and very helpful. Evidently, the company plans to sell their jewel boxes through regular retailers, but that's all being discussed now and probably won't become a reality until a little later. Even so, SJB USA appears to be stepping up to the plate and recognizing that some consumers would appreciate being able to purchase the cases now.

That's not only surprising in this day and age, it's commendable. I placed my order and expect to receive it within a week or two. I'll report back then just to let you know that things went well, but I'm frankly expecting everything to be A-okay.

By the way -- Andrew was interested in receiving notice about any online sites and/or message centers (like this one) so that he can keep in touch with DVD-A consumers (and even SACD consumers). I'd be glad to forward any site suggestions to Andy or you guys can e-mail him directly at the address listed above in one of my earlier messages.

 

[Alan Rutlidge]

I tried e-mailing Andrew at www.superjewelbox.com and got no reply. I figured that because I wasn't a wholesaler or major retailer my message / request didn't qualify for any sort of response from them, so I took my request for replacement cases to www.sendmemovies.com where I got both excellent and prompt service. They answered my e-mail within hours and threw in a few replacements with my next order free gratis. Now that's what I call service!

Cheers,
Alan

 

[BiggerzBetter]

Much to my surprise, I received my order from Super JewelBox USA yesterday for my SJB cases! I say "surprise" because I was becoming concerned that something had gone wrong, given that there hadn't been any charge to my credit card in the last couple of weeks for the order. Most companies seem to apply the charge a.s.a.p. and then take their sweet time filling the order.

Everything arrived just fine. Zero breakage thanks to the extra-packaging (bubble wrapping and styrofoam peanuts)! All around, a great experience.

Now it's just a matter of scanning the old CD-sized covers into Photoshop and coming up with front and back inserts for the new SJB cases!

 

[AllAroundSurround]

If you go to the following link , you can download the templates for DVD-A inserts.
www.discgraphics.com/samp.../index.htm
Rob