Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

RareDVDs.biz

Q: How do I contact you?

A: Feel free to email us at [email protected]. Emails are usually answered within 1-3 to three days.

Q: What credit or Debit cards do you accept?

A: PayPal and all major credit and debit cards are accepted

To pay with your card Securely on line, simply add the item(s) you want to your cart then checkout or click on View Cart at the top right of the page. Then click or tap the large Yellow Checkout button at the lower right part of the page, then select Credit Card to pay with your card.

Checks & Money Orders are also accepted! Just select check or money order as your payment option at checkout and all the mailing and pay to information is provided and then emailed to you as well.

Q: Do you Accept PayPal?

A: Yes! After you add the desired item(s) to your cart simply checkout and PayPal will be one of the payment options.

Q: SHIPPING - How much is shipping? How does shipping work? How long before I get my DVD(s)? Do you ship worldwide?

A: Shipping is USPS First Class, no tracking, and is usually $4.99 flat (for most orders) for shipping and handling to the USA for most single disc titles. Some titles carry additional shipping costs based on additional discs, dual layer discs and artwork upgrade options. We do ship to most countries.

International shipping charges are usually: $9.99 to Canada and $14.99 Worldwide.
Some titles carry additional shipping costs based on additional discs, dual layer or laser artwork options. International shipping can take 3 to 12 weeks or more to arrive to international customers.
Your DVD(s) will usually SHIP in 1-3 business days via USPS 1st Class, from southern California U.S.A. Your order should ARRIVE in 10-14 days in the USA, or sooner, after your order is placed.

If you are paying by check or money order (must be U.S. Dollars), once your payment is RECEIVED, your order usually ships in 1-3 business days.

Q: Is Faster Shipping / Urgent Mail / Rush Delivery Service available?

A: If you need a DVD urgently Priority or Express Mail via USPS is available at additional cost. $50 for USPS Priority Mail and $90 for USPS Express Mail apply to most urgent mail request orders. This also bumps your order to the front of the line.
Please email us for more information.

Q: What if my order is not received after 14 days?

A: Almost always USPS delivery is prompt and reliable (once shipped most orders are received in 7 to 10 days) but in some cases orders do take the full 14 to 21 days to arrive. If you order is not received in 14 days I will usually give it another week, then if it still has not arrived I will reship your order to you.

Q: Will DVD R discs play in my player?

A: Almost always the answer is Yes! Very few older DVD players have trouble playing recordable media, i.e. DVD+/-R discs, but the vast majority of DVD & Blu-Ray disc players play DVD R discs with no trouble. All DVDs are NTSC (North American) format.
Q: What are VHS and Broadcast level transfers to DVD?

A: Most of the titles sold here have a studio DVD source as a backup. Some titles are only available as a VHS to DVD transfer. With newer HDTV sets VHS picture quality and transfers do show all their flaws. But understand that in some cases this is the only transfer available presently for certain titles. Be sure to set your player to Fullscreen / 4x3 / 1.33:1 (usually located in the player's video settings - black bars, known as pillar boxed, should be on the left and right of your picture for widescreen TV sets) for the best quality picture.

Q: Do you do custom orders for DVDs not for sale in your store?
A: Custom orders are possible. If it is necessary to obtain a DVD that I do not have listed on my site. The cost can be $125 or more per title, in addition to the cost of the disc and shipping from the other site plus my shipping. Please email us for more information if you want to discuss a custom order. PAL Format custom conversion to NTSC (North American format) DVDs available for an additional fee.

Q: Do I get an actual DVD or is this a download?

A: You WILL receive a physical DVD R Disc(s), NOT a digital download. You will receive an exact 1:1 backup of the studio DVD (unless VHS or Broadcast is the only available transfer source) created * On Demand * onto a top quality DVD+R disc *, NTSC (North American) format. Your DVD(s) will be shipped in a bubble mailer envelope with no DVD case or artwork. Laser artwork is available as an upgrade.

Q: What is Laser artwork?

A: Laser artwork is created using Lightscribe discs; where an image is laser etched directly onto the disc surface. Unlike paper labels that attach to the tops of DVD+/-R discs; increasing the thickness of the discs and cause jamming in some players. Laser artwork does not increase the disc thickness and will not jam in your player. More information on Laser Lightscribe artwork can be found here Lightscribe information.

Q: What is a Dual Layer DVD?

A: A standard DVD holds 4.7 gigs of data. A dual layer DVD holds 8.5 gigs of data by virtue of having a second layer on the disc. This larger disc capacity allows for more space to hold additional content, i.e. Special Features, DTS audio options, commentary tracks, higher quality video transfers, making of featurettes etc... On certain titles, where the original studio DVD is a dual layer disc, an option to upgrade to the full 8.5 gig DVD+R DL Dual Layer disc is available so that you can receive all the additional content on the disc if you choose.

Q: Where are you located?

A: We are located in Riverside (southern), California in the U.S.A.

Q: What is your replacement or refund policy?

Refunds or Returns will NOT be issued for dissatisfaction of picture quality, compatibility issues and NOT reading the item description PRIOR to purchase. The FIRST LINE of the item description states exactly what will be shipped.

A: Refunds will not be issued for quality dissatisfaction. Most titles sold are from a DVD source with excellent picture quality. Some titles are only available with a VHS or Broadcast level transfer, as that is presently all that is available. Please understand that today's Hi Definition TV sets show more the flaws of VHS level transfers than older TV sets. I sell the best available transfers for these movies but some titles are only available with a VHS to DVD transfer. Within 10 days of receipt of disc(s): Any broken or damaged discs will be replaced. The first line of the item description states exactly what will be shipped. Artwork is available as an upgrade. Artwork and Dual Layer upgrade options ship in a clear slim jewel case.

Q: What is your copyright policy?

A: To the best of our research and knowledge the movies we sell are in the public domain. If you are the rights holder to a particular title on this site please notify us and we'll remove that title from this site.

Q: What is Fullscreen vs Letterbox vs Widescreen, 16x9 (1.85:1), 2.35:1, 4x3 (1.33:1), aspect ratio etc...?

A: This all refers to the aspect ration that the film was shot in. Older TV shows were almost all shot in 1.33:1 or 4x3 before widescreen TVs took over the marketplace in the mid 2000s. A similar aspect ratio was used for most films until the mid 50s when widescreen Panavision and Cinemascope started using 16x9 or 2.35:1 aspect ratios to shoot films. These wider shooting formats gave filmmakers a new and wider screen format in which to shoot their movies. Ben Hur was shot using an extremely wide 2.55:1 ratio. This allows much more to appear on film from a left to right vantage versus the squarish 1.37:1 ratio used for most films prior to the development of these widescreen formats.

When you watched a film shot in a widescreen format on TV the image was Pan and Scanned to allow these movies to be shown on the old school fullscreen TV format of 1.33:1 or 4x3. Early DVDs stuck to the fullscreen format for a while, even releasing some early DVDs in a Letterbox format, which maintained the original widescreen aspect ratio of the film that produced bars on the top and bottom of the screen. Most of the home video pubic didn't care for the Bars at the top and bottom of their screen, hence the Pan and Scan or Fullscreen 1.33:1 or 4:3 aspect ratio was used for earlier DVDs. This filled up the fullscreen TVs but inevitably chopped off a good chunk of the movie to accomplish this.

By the mid 2000s most DVDs were coming in Anamorphic widescreen and some still had flip discs that offered a fullscreen version on one side and the original widescreen aspect ratio on the other. By the late 2000s fullscreen DVDs were nearly extinct in favor of the Anamorphic widescreen DVDs and Blu Rays that took advantage of the newer widescreen TVs.

Here is an excellent article that includes visual examples of this topic here: http://www.theprojectorpros.com/learn-s-learn-p-theater_anamorphic_dvd.htm