The Corner Penthouse

Here in New York, there is a budget media (DVD, Blu-ray, audio CD) distributor called Dynamic Disc. I believe they were formerly known as Dynamic Disc Company or Dynamic Disc Distributors. I used to find their products stocked in Pathmark and Waldbaums supermarkets all across Long Island (Nassau County, specifically). Since those chains went out of business, I still find Dynamic-distributed product in Rite Aid and, most recently, National Wholesale Liquidators. Normally, I like Dynamic Disc as they distribute product that I like for prices that I love. However, a recent purchase has soured me on the company, and I felt the need to share the experience with all of you as a way to give you a heads-up.

Dynamic usually distributes brand new product, though occasionally it's former kiosk rentals sealed-up and sold as "new". They're not the only ones to do that. Another budget distributor, Movies U Buy (MUB), does it too. (National Media Rack [NMR] and Ingram Entertainment, the other budget distributors that come to mind, only sell new product, as far as I've seen.) However, MUB will state on their price labels that the product has been "previously viewed". That way you know that, before you buy it, there will be labels on the center of the disc and it may be scuffed or scratched. If you don't like something in that condition, you don't have to buy it. Yeah, it sucks that you can't inspect the discs because the product is sealed, but that's understandable because it's being sold through a standard retail outlet and not some place like GameStop.

Dynamic doesn't tell their customers that what they're buying may be a former rental. Normally, you can tell what's a former rental due to a few obvious "tells". If the movie came out on home video within the past year, then it'll be a former rental because it's too recent to be a "new" product on the budget market. If it's a recent Disney/Marvel film, then it's going to be a former rental. Sometimes if the product has been sealed in an "unusual" way, that's a sign of a former rental, too. You see, when a major company seals a DVD or Blu-ray, they use seals that are tight and folded at the corners. If it's loose, or if it's a ragged seam down the side, then it's obviously a "re-sealed" product. That's not necessary a sign of a former rental. In my experience, I have found that these budget distributors will take new product, open it up, and then immediately reseal it. I'm not sure why they do this, but I'm guessing it's a loophole of some sort (or a legal thing). The point is, I can usually tell if it's a former rental before I buy it. That was not the case recently.


On August 3, 2018, I purchased the 10 Cloverfield Lane Blu-ray/DVD combo pack for $7.99 at National Wholesale Liquidators in Rosedale, NY. The item not only had a tight folded seal, but it also included the original slipsleeve over the plastic wrap. It looked exactly like a new product, and the combo pack came out two years ago on June 14, 2016 (by Paramount, not Disney), so I had no reason to believe it was anything other than a new product. As previously stated, there was no mention of "previously viewed" on the packaging. In the image above, the top two yellow labels are all that Dynamic put on the product. There was no white "name sticker seal" on the top, but that's nothing to go by. I've purchased many new DVDs and Blu-rays at Best Buy, Target, and Walmart that didn't have those extra "seals" on them. The slipsleeve even had a sticker proclaiming a digital copy code for the original Cloverfield inside, which made it seem even more like a new product.


My heart sank when I opened it up and saw THIS:


Yeah, it should come as no surprise to you, dear reader, but I was totally floored to see two former rental discs inside! They have those horrible stickers on the face of the disc at the center. I hate that crap! While I have no problem buying used discs, I do like for them to look as good as possible. This does not look good. Thankfully, with some very careful consideration (so as not to scratch the discs), I was able to easily remove these stickers from both discs. I might not have been so lucky, which is why I tend to avoid former kiosk rental discs.


The Blu-ray disc was in pretty good shape with little to no scuffing on the bottom. The DVD disc was worse, with heavy scuffing on the surface. Thankfully, again, I gave it a quick test and it seemed to play without a problem. Hopefully, it plays fine all the way through from start to finish.


If all of that wasn't bad enough, the digital copies advertised on the outside were missing, too. If you advertise something on the outside, and give no indication that it's a former rental - which is likely not to include working digital copy codes - then that's false advertising on Dynamic's part.

I would like to contact Dynamic Disc about this, but over the years, I have NEVER been able to find them online. The other budget distributors (Movies U Buy and Ingram) have websites with contact links, but there's NOTHING online about Dynamic Disc whatsoever! (National Media Rack has long since been out of business.) All searches for "Dynamic Disc" bring up an unrelated disc golf company, though I did find some generic listings for their products in the Shop Rite supermarket's database. I may have found their contact info on Buzzfile:

Dynamic Distributors, Inc.
294 20th St
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Contact: Jim Sutton
TITLE: President
Phone: (718) 369-6800
Website: www.dynamicdiscs.com (not their site)

However, the website link is wrong (it's for the disc golf company), and the address is a small multi-family dwelling. It certainly doesn't look like the headquarters of a large media distributor. The stores that buy from Dynamic obviously have a way to get in touch with them, so there should be something out there...but there isn't.

I want to make it clear that I'm not telling you to avoid buying Dynamic-distributed movies and music. I'm just giving you a detailed heads-up on what you may find out there. If anyone from Dynamic reads this, I seriously hope you consider labeling your former rental product appropriately. Also, get a web presence...STAT!