When did they start putting those horrible "sticker seals" over the CDs?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Baba Oh Really, Apr 14, 2011.

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  1. Baba Oh Really

    Baba Oh Really Certified "Forum Favorite" Thread Starter

    Location:
    mid west, USA
    You know... the sticker across the top of the CD which holds the CD case closed, and has the title of the artist and album in white. That's a pain in the NECK to get off. That leaves GLUE RESIDUE on the Jewel case.

    It's one of the biggest arguements for buying used CD's (and DVD's, for that matter) instead of new. I hate these things. I've always hated them. Even used CD's I get have sticker and glue residue on them.

    What year did they start using these?
     
  2. blind_melon1

    blind_melon1 An erotic adventurer of the most deranged kind....

    Location:
    Australia
    They only seem to be on discs I import from the USA.

    The first time I saw one was in 1996, but I'm sure they were around before that.
     
  3. Roger Thornhill

    Roger Thornhill Senior Member

    Location:
    Ilford, Essex, UK
    Oh I hate that! They're a real pain to get off - never ever come off in one piece.

    I really don't see the need for them when there's a wrap round the CD already.
     
  4. Bahax

    Bahax New Member

    Location:
    San Francisco
    When? In the previous century.
     
  5. George Blair

    George Blair Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    I seriously suspect this is a factor in the death of CD's. Those stickers are like punishment for buying and not shoplifting. Whoever came up with that can stick it up their ***.
     
  6. Metralla

    Metralla Joined Jan 13, 2002

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    They come off OK. Many know the trick and it's been written about before here on a number of occasions.

    Don't try to pick at it - just release the bottom hinge, open it up, hinging on the tape as it were, and keep opening and sort of twisting it away and it comes off the back. Then remove.
     
  7. guidedbyvoices

    guidedbyvoices Old Dan's Records

    Location:
    Alpine, TX
    Better than those old dogbone stickers you couldn't remove
     
  8. eelkiller

    eelkiller One of the great unwashed

    Location:
    Northern Ontario
    I think it was last Tuesday.
     
  9. dprokopy

    dprokopy Senior Member

    Location:
    Near Seattle, WA
    I don't remember the exact year, but it started after record companies stopped using longboxes. After the labels abandoned longboxes (mostly at the request of retailers, who wanted to be able to stock more product on shelves), they needed some sort of "seal" to indicate to customers that the CD they were purchasing was, in fact, new (and not a shrinkwrapped used CD). So at first they used those little "butterfly bandaid"-shaped holographic sticker that was stuck over the right edge of the case. However, they were almost impossible to remove without leaving ugly grey glue residue on the case, and those were abandoned after a year or so. So labels began using the current white seal across the top.

    I don't recall exactly what year longboxes went away. Probably around 1990 or so? As I said, the holograph sticker only lasted a short time because they were universally despised. So the white labels started in the early-to-mid-90's.
     
  10. pscreed

    pscreed Upstanding Member

    Location:
    Land of the Free
    When the majors changed their return policies to eliminate the return by retailers of open (defective) CD product... These stickers evolved from the original dogbones, but they serve the same purpose... Nothing to do with protecting customers - its about the $$$, and just another step in turning sales by the majors to retail chains into essentially a one way proposition. One more thing - since defects aren't returnable, in the USA anyway, if you find a major label CD in the bins that is shrinkwrapped but doesn't have that stickr, it is a rewrap... Something that was returned open by a customer to the store. The store put new shrink wrap on it and stuck it back in he bins to try to resell as new ( they can't reproduce those stickers). Best Buy is notorious for this.

     
  11. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    As pointed out, many moons ago.

    BTW, its the variability in them that really drives me bananas. Some of them can be removed fairly easily and don't leave a residue. But others fragment, and you end up having a dozen or so little pieces to pull off. I wondered if the age of the cd - sitting in a warehouse for 5 years - might be a cause of that problem, but I've seen it often enough on new releases to think it is just the old quality issue :(
     
  12. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Those stickers called "dogbones", were introduced at the same time the industry abandoned the longbox, i.e. the mid '90s.
     
  13. agaraffa

    agaraffa Senior Member

    As stated by someone earlier, I unhinge the jewel case first. That way they come off much easier. What I hate more are those annoying white rectangle things they stick on the bottom side of the tray. I don't know if they're security things or RFID or what but I can't stand them. Come to think of it, I haven't seen them lately so maybe they did away with those.
     
  14. Muzyck

    Muzyck Pardon my scruffy hospitality

    Location:
    Long Island
    I'm with you on this. Total B S. Sometimes they come off clean. Sometimes not. I use packing tape to get the residue off.

    At this point I also use it as a guide to see if I think a release is worthy. ;) If I feel the need to stop listening to a disc before I've had the chance to get all the glue off the jewel case, it rates a :thumbsdn:
     
  15. Sean Keane

    Sean Keane Pre-Mono record collector In Memoriam

    I used to shop at HMV in Montreal. They had an area where people could sample a CD off the shelf, and if they didn't want it it would be shrinkwrapped and placed back on the shelf. The kids working there would just fling these things around and then sometimes wipe them with a Kleenex before putting them back to be sold as new. A couple of times I bought discs that were pretty scratched. This sticker is a good thing. The chances of a disc really being new are better if it has this intact.
     
  16. Andrew

    Andrew Chairman of the Bored

    I usually use the sticker itself to remove any residue.
     
  17. MikeyH

    MikeyH Stamper King

    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    They contain a permeable (magnetizable) metal film. You can code this as 'secure' or 'unsecure' with the right box. It's for the security devices by the doors, if a store has one.

    If you buy a cd, and the cashier waves it at a box by the counter, and it beeps.. that's deactivating it.

    Very ugly in the clear tray boxes with art inside the back..
     
  18. RubenH

    RubenH Forum Resident

    Location:
    S.E. United States
    Exactly. Well put.
     
  19. I use #2 LiftOff for sticker residue:
    #2 Tape Remover

    Works great for nearly everything sticky - old price tags on most LP sleeves and labels, for example... I've had it discolor a couple matte finish covers that I went overboard on, so follow the directions and test in an inconspicuous area.

    As for plastic jewel cases - works like a charm! Takes a little while to dry, but dries fairly clean. (Oh yeah, it's non-toxic).
     
  20. jsayers

    jsayers Just Drifting....

    Location:
    Horse Shoe, NC
    OMG - I forgot about those! They were the worst. :realmad:
     
  21. TopForty

    TopForty Active Member

    Location:
    USA
    ha ha . . . I love it when they put them on ALL three sides! :help:
     
  22. sirmikael

    sirmikael Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cedar Rapids, Iowa
    Similar seals were also a big problem with DVDs. When Blu-rays hit market, they came up with a MUCH better seal that comes off clean and easy, yet apparently they can't share that design for DVDs/CDs?
     
  23. appledan

    appledan Resident Rockist

    Location:
    Ohio
    Anybody who hates those stickers should really watch this video (NSFW)
     
  24. WilsonTTC

    WilsonTTC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    I think you're right, I think it's only a US practice. Another reason I like import.
     
  25. sirmikael

    sirmikael Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cedar Rapids, Iowa
    Always a pleasure to meet a fellow AVGN fan! :)
     
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