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- Verified Buyer
I was able to purchase this set 12/13 (a friday) with two day shipping. Once I saw it available, I didn't hesitate to purchase it and i'm glad I didn't. Within 10 minutes of placing the order on amazon, it was sold out again. It arrived the following Tuesday in excellent packaging, which was one thing I was worrying about seeing how a lot of other reviewers have had that problem. Mine was adequately packed with air packs. One side of the box was heavily air packed, the bottom side had quite a bit, the sides and the top also had an excellent amount. I didn't hear any rattling when I picked up the box, which was a good sign. This thing wasn't able to move during shipping, they did a great job with mine. I'm sorry to hear that so many others are having problems with that because this set is phenomenal. I don't think it's fair to rate the set low because of Amazons poor packaging methods that others have experienced, even though I completely understand the frustration from not only buying it for being a fan of the show/set (or giving it as a gift) but also the standard retail price being a good chunk of change (I paid 201 for mine). It's not the sets fault Amazon can't pack properly on those unfortunate orders, don't ding the product itself. Also, if you think you have blank discs, please make sure you know the difference between DVD players and Blu Ray Players, and that you're certain you put these discs in a Blu Ray player. Having worked retail in the past, I can't tell you how many people still don't understand why a BD won't play in a DVD player.Now to the set. I've broken this down into sections, so if you're still reading this, feel free to skim it for the pertinent information you're looking for.The Outer Container:I see what others are talking about in regards to the rubber cement, the outside plastic that contained the barrel had a lid that was sealed with a rubber-cement like adhesive. I tried to be as careful as I could to take mine off, but it was really on there and required some force to get it off, so I fractured/tore the plastic top to it, which is no big deal since it is the outside case after all. Most people seemed to have thrown it away, I saved mine for the purpose of being a dust protector. Plus, it looks pretty nice in that plastic container with the rest of my collector sets.The Barrel:The design is based off the money barrels that appear in 5B, which I think is wholly appropriate. When I first unboxed the barrel, I didn't really know what to expect. I feared that I would have some missing discs, duplicate discs, or other missing parts to the set. I'm happy to report that everything is intact and just as described. The door is held by two hinges and is held shut by a small magnet and friction. Theres a small indention where the door shuts that's plenty big to grip it to open the door. The first thing I checked was the disc sets and the disc numbers, which were all where they should be. The barrel is very well constructed, it has a nice weight to it and feels rather durable. To me, it doesn't feel like cheap plastic because of how solid it feels. It has a nice BrBa logo on the door and I like it because it's pretty subtle, yet matches the theme of the set. I was surprised by the size of the barrel dimensions, as it was larger than I expected and a lot nicer than some other sets I have purchased in the past. It is probably the largest box set any one will own, as I can't think of many off the top of my head that come close to the size and bulk of this thing. This isn't a problem for me, but it could be for some. Though, I wouldn't let this be a deterrent from purchasing this thing if you planned on it anyways.The Discs:This is one of the most ingenious designs I've seen for holding discs and it's such an elegant solution and clever alternative to the flimsy cardboard/paper sleeves some sets have. The discs are stored in between acrylic trays that attach through a Y shape form of small magnets (which haven't been a problem for me as some reported magnets coming off almost instantly). These trays all slide into their corresponding slot inside the barrel, where it's actually vertically marked on the right side above each slot, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and F. The discs are all nestled nice and safely in a tray that has a dip that's just the right size to keep the disc in place. As many have seen already, when discs are removed from these trays, the trays can be stacked to form a design specific to the seasons (I.E. S2 trays form the pink teddy bear). On top of this, the design on the discs compliment the trays, like S2 discs being a background of the swimming pool (pink teddy bear + swimming pool). Each season trays and discs all have their specific themes and I absolutely love it. It was a lot of fun assembling it myself to see how each season trays and discs would look like when the trays are placed on top of the disc. It's the small details like these that truly impressed me with this set. You could tell a lot of love and thought went into it's creation.The Digital Codes and 16 page booklet:I assumed that when it says "Digital copy of the show" that it meant all seasons, but I couldn't find confirmation on that, though I didn't look very hard for it either. I can confirm that the UV codes are indeed for all seasons. There are actually 2 codes on one slip of paper. One code is for seasons 1-3 and the second code is for 4-5B. These are redeemable through the Sony site and the seasons show up wherever you have a UV account linked (Like Vudu). I didn't have any problems accessing the show online, so it's possible that the problems others were having with the codes have been fixed through Sony by now. In front of the UV codes paper, lies the booklet with the letter written by Vince Gilligan to the fans. I must say it was quite an endearing letter, it was humorous, bittersweet, and came across as a truly genuine dedication. Further into the booklet, it includes episode titles for each respective season, cover art/artwork for each respective season, and also lists all the bonus content respective to each season. It serves as a well designed "table of contents" or "index". It's a fitting booklet and compliments the set nicely.The bonus items/content:Once you pop the lid off, which is firmly held in, there's a disc stored by a push button that has the backwards POV coordinates from 5B underneath. This is the two hour documentary. In the barrel itself, you'll see a small money design. This is the Los Pollos Hermanos apron that is vacuum packed with both sides being these cardboard money design inserts. I haven't unwrapped mine yet, so I can't comment on the design or the materials. Underneath this, is the Challenge Coin that Vince talks about in his "unboxing" video, which I think is a really awesome tribute to fans, to include them into something that use to be a cast and crew only thing. Vince can explain it better than I can, so it's worth watching his video. It's made of a heavy material, beautifully painted, and a really neat design. This also has some weight to it and doesn't feel like a cheap token for the sake of having bonus objects to pad this set. I think it's another nice inclusion from Vince to the fans and a worthy item to be placed in this set.TL;DR version- Packed efficiently- Weird rubber cement on outer container lid- Solid feeling and fitting barrel design- Creatively designed discs and season themed disc trays- Magnets- Digital codes for all seasons and awesome booklet- Awesome bonus items: 2 hour documentary, challenge coin, and apronAll in all, this set is worth the MSRP. It's a nice set that pays tribute to the fans who will buy this set and there's plenty of bonus content to keep you occupied. It's a fun set. Shame on all the third party price gaugers for unfarily pricing it though. If you can get your hands on it for it's normal retail price, it's worth every penny.This Breaking Bad box set is a worthy release to house what is one of the best shows of all time to ever grace Television.
