I had been meaning to get “Aks” DVD for ages but never quite got round to it. It was on offer at IndiaWeekly the other day and I promptly ordered. However the disc is defective, it stops playing around half-way through!

I contacted IndiaWeekly about a replacement and was advised they only refund faulty discs and do not replace them as it is likely that the whole batch is faulty. I found their reasoning to be a little strange, they will not replace with the same title yet they have that same title available for sale! They refund me and then I have to buy that title again! Is it just me or does anyone else find this a little strange, I’d be interested to hear what others think.

Thats been their standard policy ever since! You probably need to read this thread and think hard before you buy an other copy!
viewtopic.php?t=2524&highlight=aks

Hi - thanks for confirming that is their policy. I guess the point I am trying to make is that does anyone else find such a policy absurd or am I the only one who thinks so! They are saying that with faulty discs it is likely that the whole batch is faulty so they will not replace it. But as they still have that same title for sale, if I re-order it will I be sent another DVD from that "same" faulty batch? Or if what they are selling on their site is not coming from that same batch, then what's the problem, they should replace it.

Thanks for alerting me to that thread re Aks DVD. Guess I'd better just wait for the director's cut.

I think this is better so they dont send you re wraped same crap like eros!!

Depends! From a consumers point it does appear to be absurd. I had this problem a few years ago with them on another DVD and was told by Afzal in no uncertain terms that all I will get is a refund for the DVD minus the shipping charges!. I remember being hopping mad and had a drawnout conversation with him, it probably cost more in long distance charges than the actual DVD. I had asked him then if they are aware of a faulty DVD why are they continuing to sell them, to which he replied " Because their prices are so low 1 out of 50 people complain ."

Being up-front about a fucked-up scenario, doesn't make the scenario any less fucked up. I understand the logic behind it: We get to make money by selling shit that we know does not work (Eros, anyone?); we could just pull the whole batch (which we believe is likely problematic), but, well, then we end up not only losing the money we'd make in sales, but that which we spent to acquire the DVDs (it's dubious that the DVD companies would offer the store a refund [they are shit-heads]). Of course, almost no company accepts the responsibility of shipping costs (they tend, at best, to pay for their end of the shipping for a replacement item), so you end up losing the shipping you paid them to ship the original item to you (which is actually a lot more than they actually paid to ship it to you), and the money (cheapest, probably about a dollar) needed to send the shitty item back to them. They choose not to get into this whole back-and-forth mess, as they are adamant that the entire batch of DVDs is probably bad, and don't want to end up shipping out several "replacements," finally settling on a refund (also, they probably won't be getting that extra little "shipping cost," as it's likely that they'll be covering, out of pocket, the "back-to-you" charges). Thus, they cut out the process, and just tell you to shove your pain up your ass, and take back the measly five bucks you spent on the DVD (they might even let you keep the disc, giving you a nice, shiny coaster). Industry SUCKS.

Amen.

JamesBond007, though impractical, I think if each of us were the "50th person," a reform might be inevitable. Eh, I guess I'm just pissed that my Aks DVD doesn't work — .