The Beyond – The Official Returns Policy

[Sarah@Cult Labs]

I'm just waiting on a response from Arrow on this. I will have all the facts for you ASAP so please hang on.

[Baseball Fury]

Originally Posted by Demdike

Haha. Catch 22 - if No one buys them, then in circulation they will stay.

Exactly! There going to go out of circulation because poor suckers will buy them and have to sort out the problem (if they're even aware of it) themselves. Will retailers return them to Arrow as faulty or just stick it back on the shelf?

[greg_,monster17]

Hence why I ended up with a B&W as no one wants to risk it, which is why they should have been recalled (or still being replaced) I may write a letted at some point no 100% sure atm. you would think they made sure after such a long time all B&W versions had been removed as the majority of people buying these arrow films are fans of the director or of this type of cult cinema if you will. And changing the directors vision clearly is a big deal.

[Sarah@Cult Labs]

I've now heard back from Arrow and everything they are able to tell me is below.

Arrow no longer have any discs left for the replacement program at all so it has, indeed, ended earlier than the original date of 1 September. Arrow can only apologise for this. As I said in the other thread, there was a last minute surge of people when the end of the program was announced and their supply of discs ran out faster than anticipated, even when they made some extra ones available.

The corrected version has been with retailers for months however there are still some rogue b&w copies out there and this is beyond Arrow's control. They can't recall the stock as, unfortunately, there is no way to tell the difference between the b&w stock and the corrected stock. At any rate, product recalls are usually reserved for dangerous products, not films.

If you purchase a copy and discover it is the b&w stock, it is at your chosen retailer's discretion whether they exchange it or not and will be in line with their own returns policy. Again, this is something that is outside of Arrow's control and so it may be worth checking with your retailer before you purchase, what their stance on this is.

Again, Arrow is very sorry they have run out of stock for the replacement program earlier than anticipated but it could not be helped and it's not something they could keep running indefinitely.

[Vampix]

Looks like I'll be sticking with my Grindhouse DVD until some other company releases The Beyond on BD.

[platostotal]

Yeah, I accept that Arrow acted in the way they saw best, and are miles ahead of most other companies... But surely it's great P.R. to tell it's customers that no matter when they buy a product of Arrow and it's not what it should be, they will move mountains and kick arses to get them the right product, even if it means splitting a box open and removing a disc to send to a punter, even if they lose a unit, so come on Arrow there can't be that many B/W copies out there, so step up and get a cheer from your consumers intsead of a bleak silence, it'll do your sales and reputation the world of good, trust me.

[Daemonia]

Originally Posted by Vampix

Looks like I'll be sticking with my Grindhouse DVD until some other company releases The Beyond on BD.

Same here. With so mnay variables at play and no guarantee whatsoever that you'll be able to get a replacement, you could end up buying it again. And what if the second purchase is also a faulty disc? How many time are we expected to buy this before getting a 'proper' release? Sorry, count me out. I can't be doing with all this nonsense.

As product recalls are only for dangerous items, as Sarah says, it shows how unimportant it really is. So Arrow won't mind if we don't buy it, it's not all that important.

[Prince_Vajda]

Originally Posted by Daemonia

Same here. With so mnay variables at play and no guarantee whatsoever that you'll be able to get a replacement, you could end up buying it again. And what if the second purchase is also a faulty disc? How many time are we expected to buy this before getting a 'proper' release? Sorry, count me out. I can't be doing with all this nonsense.

As product recalls are only for dangerous items, as Sarah says, it shows how unimportant it really is. So Arrow won't mind if we don't buy it, it's not all that important.

Did you buy a bucket full of sarcasm today?

But plato is right (and you, too, up to some point) - the premature ending of this replacement programme really might harm Arrow. First an indisputable flaw of the release, then outstanding customer service, and now? Whoom, some people are left holding the baby.

Arrow should keep up the outstanding service: produce some more replacement discs, keep up the replacement programme until 31 December 2011, make all online retailers add a note to their product description ("You can replace the B/W-version until 31 December 2011") and cheat the gallows.

This certainly does cost money - but it will keep old customers and win new supporters for this amiable little company. The current situation is unrewarding and might backfire on Arrow.

Greetings!

[the blob]

I think this will backfire badly. For instance, the first thing Amazon will do if they get too many complaints and returns is withdraw it from sale while under investigation. The very least that should be done is the distributor informing outlets that the B&W ones are faulty and to accept returns because they are faulty in essence.

Being 'at the discretion' of retailers for a mistake by Arrow that should never have really happened is not on really.

[Daemonia]

Yes, I suppose the sarcasm button got pushed a bit too hard there.

I'm not an Arrow hater, beleieve me I'm not. But this situation is frustrating. Was going to order this tomorrow, but now I won't be. Surely Arrow can understand our hesitation and frustration with this situation? It makes buying this title something of a lottery. People are reporting that they're still receiving incorrect copies from the major retailers, so they're obviously still very much in circulation. Sorry, but money's tight - and definitely too tight on a gamble like this.