peanut

If you noticed, we had some great deals with dvd's during the years of reel.com and buy.com and so on. Most of us made great collections off these web sites and other rebates. But that was during a time when dvd's were $19.95 retail and 24.95 retail. If you noticed, as the format took off, dvd's were marked as $32.00 and more depending on the disc and how special they were. Now, stores are having dvd's at extremely cheap prices without us hassling over it and also columbia house has cheaper prices. Not compalining but suspicious. Could it be that the new blue disc format is coming to take over the market and these stores are dumping their inventory on us? Why do you think the discs are cheaper now? I went to best buy and couldn't really find too many discs that were higher than 19.99. Are our dvd's rotting? are theirs? Are our collection part of the graveyard of old formats such as laserdiscs? I remember the many sales laserdiscs places were having right before dvd's started to show it's head. Are we getting ready for another change? Are our collections obsolete now? Did we waste our money and time?What do you think the reason is for these cheap prices?There seemed to be a lot of 9.99 discs at best buy.

EPKJ

Stores such as Best Buy use DVD's as loss leaders in order to attract customers to the store regularly. Statistics show this will lead to the purchase of big ticket items over time. Also, prices naturally lower as a technology becomes widespread. This did not happen with CD's, and the music industry is feeling the pain as a result.

peanut

how about columbia house?why are they lowering their prices?

EPKJ

Read the third and fourth sentences of my previous post.

scarredgod

i see the opposite. the new release/sale prices are getting worse. apart from some 2 for 20 deals, catalog deals, the ads on new releases have been terrible for months.

marty888

For those of us who look beyond the high-profile current blockbuster hits, that is simply not true.

There are literally thousands of catalogue titles that are available for $10 or less. Compare this to the pricing we experienced on VHS, when 5-10 years into sell-through pricing you still couldn't find many titles less than $15.

EPKJ

I agree. Those high prices only apply to current film releases. Catalog titles can be had for very reasonable prices. I just picked up Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde at Best Buy for $14.95. That includes both the 1932 and 1941 versions of the film, an audio commentary on the 1932 version, and a Bugs Bunny cartoon! That is a great deal.

MrE

As with catalog CDs catalog DVDs are pure gravy. The studios have made (or loss) their money, royalties are low and production costs are minimal.

lesterlong

I don't think DVDs have come down in price. Unless you're buying a new release on the week its your released you're still gonna pay $19.99. And to me that is too much.

mr_jbloggs

I'm seeing a lot of titles which are few months old for 9.44 at Wal-Mart. It seems the price drops are coming a lot quicker.

Michael Corvin

MSRP has dropped but sale prices are still about the same. I remember balking at buying catalog titles like Airplane!, Ferris Bueller's Day Off & The Princess Bride because they were all marked at $24.99.

jayson1017

I hope they continue to drop lower.

Numanoid

I don't see how anyone could possibly interpret this as a proactive measure regarding the emergence of blue disc, HD-DVD, or any other future innovation. Keep in mind that even here, there are very few people who have a grasp on these emerging technologies. Joe 6 Pack has absolutely NO IDEA what blue DVD, or HD-DVD is. So why would the manufacturer's be pricing DVDs down as a reaction to the knowledge that DVDs are on their way out? Once J6P figures it out, and a replacement format is actually in place and being sold, it will be a different story. Then it will become necessary to promote the older technology through price cuts, but certainly not now.

majorjoe23

If this was the case, Best Buy wouldn't be ordering a gazillion copies of Lord of the Rings, then reordering more the next week. If they were dumping product, Best Buy wouldn't bother to replace sold out discs.

Brak55

Blue disc at a price point acceptable to the vast majority of users is a number of years away. They wouldn't be dumping stuff now.

Of course, I've said right along that HD-DVD will be a nitch market if not forever, then for many years. Until HDTV is in 60%+ of homes (with the way the US government and manufacturers are moving forward, that should be about 2010 or 2012), the majority of people just aren't going to care about the change in technology. It will be the same as VHS to Laserdisc.

THX7966

At Best Buy, prices seem to be creeping UP! I've noticed titles that used to be $9.99 are now $10.99, $14.99 titles are now $16.99, and some that were $19.99 are now up to $21.99. This may be because of the holiday, but I haven't seen them come down yet.

EPKJ

I have not seen this at the Best Buys in Northern Virginia. Prices are about the same as always.

Richard Malloy

I'm still pining for the days of the unlimited $10-off/$25 coupons from Reel.com... why'd they go out-of-business anyway?

MrE

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/...-success_x.htm

EPKJ

I think that DVD may be cannibalistic. I think it is hurting movie box office and that it will increase the damage done every year.

lizard

You can thank Time Warner for the reasonable prices that DVDs sell for (as compared to other video and audio formats). A few years ago, when MSRP for most DVDs was still pretty high, Warner Brothers priced their discs low to sell as many as they could (irritating some of the other studios, as I recall). This helped induce the other studios to lower their prices to compete.

Add to that the massive and rapid acceptance of the DVD format by consumers and it is not surprising that prices have become pretty reasonable. Even at these relatively low prices DVDs are a major revenue source for movie companies.

DavidH

I have seen an increase. $14.99 seems to be $15.99 more and more. Furthermore, catalog titles such as Alien are going for $19.99 each.

Of course, there is always Columbia House to combat this.

El-Kabong

Well, I guess if you only shop at Suncoast or something. My last couple of purchases have all been in the 10-15 buck range - very reasonable indeed.

Jackskeleton

Just like VHS sales...

It's this simple, the theater runs will always have atleast a 9 week lead on when it comes to dvd. So folks who want to wait... will wait, but those are the same folks who chances are wouldn't have gone to the theater anyways.

dvd sales account for 60% of the take in for the studios I last heard. VHS accounted for 40% of it off the top of my head back in the hay day. I wouldn't say dvd's are hurting theater take ins so much.

now

No, the newer/better looking technology does not always win. Beta was better then VHS yet who won that one and why? Price and run time of a VHS could hold much more then the better looking beta tapes. Minidisc are big in japan yet sells here suck why? because a cd is still something people value.

If Blue disc come out at a higher price the market will rather support and keep supporting the more accepted item.. in this case DVD's. a lot of the times the saying "If it aint broke, don't fix it" applies. DVD's are the fastest growing format, I doubt a new technology will come around and kick it off it's status so easily.

EPKJ

DVD is not VHS. All comparisons between the two are silly. Unlike VHS, DVD is hurting box office receipts and will continue to do so.