# Re-shrink wrapping a blu-ray disk as a gift - can this be done?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [November 3, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765 "2011-11-03T18:19:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/1 "2011-11-03T18:19:49Z")
We accidentally bought two copies of “Jerry Maguire” on blu-ray, and we’d like to use one as a gift for a Secret Santa exchange. The problem is that we un-wrapped both of them before realizing we had a duplicate. Can I somehow re-shrinkwrap one of them so it looks like what it is, a brand-new, unplayed blu-ray disk?
On a related note, _would_ you do this? I see it as a good solution to a tiny problem, but is it just too cheap-ass?
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### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/2 "2011-11-03T18:48:56Z")
Plastic wrap as tightly and neatly as you can using as few wrap-arounds as possible. Make sure the edges are on the narrow edge where the case opens. Snip top and bottom ends about 1/4" past the edge, fold in, and melt together with a butane lighter. It won’t be perfect, but it should be passable if you’re neat about it.
I would and have done this. I don’t see anything wrong with it.
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/3 "2011-11-03T18:53:53Z")
Thanks, **DCnDC** - I don’t see anything wrong with it, either, as it is a perfectly good, new disk, not some used, scratched up disk, but I’m a very frugal person, and sometimes I err on the side of cheapness.
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### Author:  [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/4 "2011-11-03T19:04:35Z")
Ask at a retail store - if you find a sympathetic employee they can reshrink wrap it for you.
Alternatively you can buy shrink wrap plastic at the dollar store and use a blowdryer to shrink it.
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### Author:  [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/5 "2011-11-03T19:52:43Z")
Did you break the seal?
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### Author:  [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/6 "2011-11-03T20:08:58Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#):
>
> On a related note, _would_ you do this? I see it as a good solution to a tiny problem, but is it just too cheap-ass?
Of course I would do it. It’s not being cheap, it’s being _greeeen_, man!
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### Author:  [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/7 "2011-11-03T20:17:54Z")
Sorry, but it’s very difficult to do it undetectably. Factory shrink wrap is usually not the same as the kind they do in the back room of Gamestop - the former is kind of a more brittle material and it’s folded over on the edges like a present. There’s no way to duplicate that at home.
With that said, most people won’t notice, and if the security sticker is still intact, I guess that’s not too bad.
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/8 "2011-11-03T20:24:23Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#):
>
> Of course I would do it. It’s not being cheap, it’s being _greeeen_, man!
Hey, that’s right, I forgot that - my frugalness is very much in style these days. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/9 "2011-11-03T20:27:03Z")
I’ve noticed lots of new blu-rays (and presumably DVD’s) these days no longer have those annoying security stickers inside the shrink-wrap (on the case itself), and not all actually have those folded-over edges like gift-wrap (some just have a seam on either side). So, if it’s possible to use a home method (with a hair dryer) or get it done in a store, there’s no reason it would necessarily be detectable as a previously-opened item. And no, I don’t see anything wrong with it.
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### Author:  [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/10 "2011-11-03T21:21:20Z")
You’re going to re-wrap an opened movie that came out 15 years ago? I strongly suggest against it. Frugal or not, just go get some candy or something and give that. That’s a terrible gift. Not green, just cheap and blech. Sorry!
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### Author:  [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/11 "2011-11-03T21:25:15Z")
> [@BoBettie](#):
>
> You’re going to re-wrap an opened movie that came out 15 years ago? I strongly suggest against it. Frugal or not, just go get some candy or something and give that. That’s a terrible gift. Not green, just cheap and blech. Sorry!
I have to agree. If someone gave me a re-wrapped copy of Jerry McGuire (and I do love that movie), I’d make fun of that person not only behind their back but also to their face. I’d then also probably start a thread on here about it.
However, if it’s a White Elephant exchange - all bets are off and this is actually perfect. Nothing about that possibility in the OP though, so I don’t think it’s the case.
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### Author:  [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/12 "2011-11-03T21:30:07Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#):
>
> Sorry, but it’s very difficult to do it undetectably. Factory shrink wrap is usually not the same as the kind they do in the back room of Gamestop - the former is kind of a more brittle material and it’s folded over on the edges like a present. There’s no way to duplicate that at home.
>
> With that said, most people won’t notice, and if the security sticker is still intact, I guess that’s not too bad.
I heard about somebody in high school whose parents had a shrink wrap dispenser and a commercial hot-air blower, who used to return CDs in their jewel boxes sans disc. You’re right – that person did that many times and was never caught, that I know of, but even then the distinction was fairly obvious between the neatly folded commercial shrink-wrap over CDs, DVDs, etc., and the kind that might be used to wrap oddly-shaped objects.
Of course, Tower Records isn’t doing so hot, you know, because of shrinkage, probably.
Agree with above – I’d openly laugh at the person regifting in such a way, if he/she were a good friend, and a good chuckle would be had by all.
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### Author:  [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/13 "2011-11-03T22:06:41Z")
> [@BoBettie](#):
>
> You’re going to re-wrap an opened movie that came out 15 years ago? I strongly suggest against it. Frugal or not, just go get some candy or something and give that. That’s a terrible gift. Not green, just cheap and blech. Sorry!
> [@Bob Ducca](#):
>
> I have to agree. If someone gave me a re-wrapped copy of Jerry McGuire (and I do love that movie), I’d make fun of that person not only behind their back but also to their face. I’d then also probably start a thread on here about it.
>
> However, if it’s a White Elephant exchange - all bets are off and this is actually perfect. Nothing about that possibility in the OP though, so I don’t think it’s the case.
It’s an unused Blu-Ray - the copy itself CAN’T be 15 years old. And it’s for a Secret Santa; how much more sacrosanct is a Secret Santa vs. a White Elephant? And what in the OP says it’s not one of the yankee swap type anyway? You guys are a tough gift crowd.
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### Author:  [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/14 "2011-11-03T22:14:13Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#):
>
> It’s an unused Blu-Ray - the copy itself CAN’T be 15 years old.
True. It can’t be much more than 3 years old.
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### Author:  [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/15 "2011-11-03T22:14:54Z")
If you know the person loves that movie and has a BluRay player go for it. I would be tempted to try the kind of plastic used for weatherproofing windows.
If it’s shrunk really tight and the ends were neat I would never think someone did it themselves. I don’t usually analyze the packaging of gifts I recieve.
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [November 4, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/16 "2011-11-04T00:24:08Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#):
>
> It’s an unused Blu-Ray - the copy itself CAN’T be 15 years old. And it’s for a Secret Santa; how much more sacrosanct is a Secret Santa vs. a White Elephant? And what in the OP says it’s not one of the yankee swap type anyway? You guys are a tough gift crowd.
No kidding - we’ve done the Secret Santa gift exchange thing with this group a handful of times already in the past, and a Jerry Maguire blu-ray would be one of the better items that show up under the tree (we’ve come away with things like Shania Twain perfume and a really cheap little Christmas ornament). This type of gift exchange allows swapping, too - if someone wants the cd, they can take it from someone else.
The fact that the movie is 15 years old doesn’t bother me, either; we are replacing old vhs movies with dvds or blu-rays, which is why we so recently purchased a 15 year old movie, and we certainly can’t be the only people doing this.
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### Author:  [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)
#### Post date: [November 4, 2011, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/17 "2011-11-04T12:27:42Z")
I haven’t seen it.
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [November 4, 2011, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/18 "2011-11-04T15:06:50Z")
Well, it’s a very good movie. Would you like a blu-ray copy? 😃
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### Author:  [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)
#### Post date: [November 4, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/19 "2011-11-04T15:21:02Z")
Oh dear, no thanks! I didn’t get _you_ anything!
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### Author:  [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)
#### Post date: [November 4, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-shrink-wrapping-a-blu-ray-disk-as-a-gift-can-this-be-done/601765/20 "2011-11-04T15:41:45Z")
Why bother shrink wrapping it, **Cat Whisperer**? Not all DVDs come that way. A DYI job might give the whole game away.
The case won’t say to the plastic “You complete me.”
Sorry. Sometimes I like making my own eyes roll.
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