js2shops

Phantom-I could be wrong, but I think DVD/CD is like books...once it gets "sold" to a retailer/distributor, that already counts as a sale in terms of accounting, at least for royalties. I think when it gets returned (usually on credit for the retailer as unsold) is when it gets the slash. That's how it works for books, as legally they cannot sell it as a "new" product even though it was unsold.

I would LOVE to have an industry lawyer/accountant give me the lowdown on the particulars of that.

laidbacklarkin

But seriously, what's with this intense scrutiny on slashed UPCs ? As long as it's not the disc that's slashed, can't the condition of the cover be overlooked owing to its bargain pricing ? I mean, really who cares about a 1 inch slash on the back of a DVD case, when it in no way affects the viewing experience ?

AaronSch

Yeah, a slashed UPC isn't as much an issue as a beat up insert. You can buy Viva Elite and Vortex cases for around 50¢ via Discmakers and pop that insert in the sleeve and the slash through the insert is a non-issue. I purchased titles from Hamilton books for $5-$6 that are typically priced at $10-$13 via Amazon.

GoldenWheels

We are working on a New Arrivals style email but we're in a weird spot...we need to protect our catalog customer, they built the business. And they're largely saddled with snail mail, both for the catalog out and order in. If I let everybody on the web in on the good stuff day 1, you guys are smart to the market, and you wisely pick off the best bargains/OOPs etc, sometimes before the snail mailers even have the catalog! We're trying to figure out a fair way to serve both groups.

I'm sorry about that g, we don't do a good job on that but if there's no * on a title, you have to assume it could have a remainder mark of some sort. When we came up in the book world, this was a known thing ("bargain books" meant a remainder mark, period) but as we moved into DVD/Blu (and into a modern age!) with newer customers we haven't gotten it across well.

I'm actually not sure myself...I think studios are stuck taking returns and they DON'T count as sales for royalties purposes. But that's above my level! (we do NO returns, vendors love us for it)

Remainder marks/cutouts also are simply to keep a title from being returned for a full credit at a store or vendor that may be selling it for more than the new bargain/overstock price, allowing an unscrupulous guy/company to make a few bucks by buying bargain and returning as new.

GoldenWheels

And thanks for the thread guys, seriously! I am trying to expand blu but the bargain market for it is not great, period, and on big studio stuff it's near impossible for me to beat the 5$ prices you'll find on Amazon.

But with the smaller guys like Kino and Shout etc, I work hard to build up a good relationship and buy up as much of their OS as possible when it is shown to me, and price it right so I can move it fast. There are opportunities there to be had. I should hit up Code Red actually, haven't done that in a while.

laidbacklarkin

Awesome news !! Keep the updates coming...just mailed in a $150 catalog order

GoldenWheels

Thank YOU!

PhantomStranger

Hollywood accounting is an arcane entity unto itself. Each guild in Hollywood (producers, writers, actors, etc) has very strict rules written into the standard contracts negotiated over the decades about the limits of allowed cut-outs and other contractual legalities.

Brian T

Any chance of adjusting your billing/shipping address fields to accommodate people with U.S. shipping addresses but Canadian (or other) billing addresses? Or a Paypal option? You're just about the only online seller of your type that I'd use that doesn't have either option, and it's prevented me from placing many multiple-hundred-dollar orders over the years. I can do a snail mail order but I see no guarantee that it would be accepted because of this, plus it's rather inconvenient when a simple drop down menu option to select "country" (for billing only, not necessarily shipping) would do the trick.

GoldenWheels

We have been working on Paypal for months, and we are getting closer. We switched to them for credit card processing specifically so people could use Paypal. It's going to happen, I just can't say how soon.

Cardsfan111

I placed a mail order just over a week ago. First time I've ordered like that, having placed a couple of online orders previously. My shipment came today, so I wanted to offer another to the folks at Hamilton. Great prices and fast shipping. Very satisfied.

Ky-Fi

I (and my family members) have ordered from Hamilton Books for about 25 years, I think. Fantastic service and quick shipping--and the catalogs are just plain fun to browse.

AaronSch

Just my two cents for what it's worth. This Hamilton Books thread should be a sticky albeit with a title change. There are incredibly good deals in addition to the Kino stuff. As soon as my first order arrives, likely Tuesday, I plan on placing a follow-up.

BobO'Link

FWIW there's a Hamilton thread in the DVD area. Goldenwheels regularly gives updates on noteworthy deals/titles he's acquired.

laidbacklarkin

Just received my $150 mail order. Well packed and super fast shipping. Thanks, Goldenwheels

EDIT: Two of the Warner DVD sets had deeply slashed UPCs and one of the BDs had a hole punched into the UPC. No issues but, cos the price is right

MooMooMooMoo

That's common in overstocks. Reason is so a retailer can't return it for regular wholesale credit.

GoldenWheels

Yeah, I am sorry about those marks larkin....book companies just use a marker, and in books that is a well known thing. Most of the DVD guys are pretty sedate with the overstock marks. But some get out a chainsaw it seems. One company drilled front to back on all the cases on one deal on me once...had to return those.

I'd like to explain that better to our customers; the catch 22 of that is if we put out a big explanation, which we've never done it is likely to confuse our older customers as they may think something has changed.

I actually saw a great infographic on remainder marks somewhere, maybe I can put that on the website.

laidbacklarkin

No issues at all, not EBH's anyway. Its such a wonderfully printed and packaged product box. You'd think they'd treat it with a lil more 'respect' than with a slash. I mean, if it were the 'Friday the 13th' series, a slash would be understandable :-)

davidh777

Just got my well-packed order of a number of good titles, including Kino's The Black Pirate, some classic sports movies, and the Samuel Fuller DVD collection mentioned earlier, which I've wanted for a while.

Living Deadpan

Your explanations have been good enough for me! To summarize:
"Publishing status: Current" = Guaranteed not to have any marks
Anything not asterisked or designated Current = No guarantees, but you can figure out the slashing patterns of certain publishers.

I've never, ever ordered a Synapse title from HB that's been slashed, even the DVDs $1.95 or less. This includes the Panik House / CasaNegra DVDs = never received 'em slashed. The Man & The Monster unslashed for $1 is a steal!!

Also, a few recent $1.95 Blu-rays I've bought that weren't slashed:
-The Facility
-Female Convict Scorpion
-Masters of Horror S1 V4

A few labels to expect slashes from: MPI, IFC, Dark Sky

I've had good luck with no Kino DVDs arriving slashed.

Image Entertainment ~ 2/3 unslashed, 1/3 slashed (YMMV)

Of the major studios, I've had the best luck with Sony/Columbia titles being unslashed. As far as Warner goes, I buy their titles prepared for slashing.

laidbacklarkin

A couple of others I'd recommend at those prices (if you don't have them):
http://www.hamiltonbook.com/ronald-r...ial-collection
http://www.hamiltonbook.com/samuel-g...ilm-collection

laidbacklarkin

MPI and Dark Sky are Warner houses anyway, so slashed UPC's are to be expected on overstocks. Both the titles I received with slashed UPCs are Warner titles

GoldenWheels

You guys are the BEST. Thank you for all the support. We're a bookseller but DVDs are my thing and one of the most fun parts of my job is getting a new list and raiding it to find all the good deals for you.

MooMooMooMoo

I'm a net retailer also; though I'm slowly shutting down due to awful business the last 3 years or so.

I had b&m stores in the 80's. I NEVER ran into anyone who minded cutouts until I started selling on the net. The anger at times was quite shocking. And my stores were not in a small town, they were in Seattle. Where truly no one cared.

Personally, I don't see the problem. I'll trade a slash in the upc for a 40-80% savings any day!

Spiderbite

I worked at a music store thru college and our most popular section was the cut-out bin. Granted, we, the employees, got the god stuff first but we sold tons of stuff out of the cut-out bin. That was usually the first thing people went to or asked for when they walked in the store.