islandclaws

Has anyone else noticed that lately you can't find a goddamned thing at b&m stores anymore? Last month I couldn't find a single one of the horror titles that came out on 9/11 in any major retailer. This week I can't seem to find a copy of Dracula: SE, Misery: SE, Caligula or Metalocalypse. Hell, even 1408 isn't at every store in my area. These are just a few examples of the dozens of titles I should be able to purchase with ease, yet can't find. A few years ago I could go anywhere on new release Tuesday and buy a forearm full of discs I wanted. Now I just have to order everything online and wait for it to arrive. It's frustrating when you're an instant-gratification kinda guy like myself.

Anyone else agree?

TGM

I cannot agree with you, as I am the guy that buys the last copy minutes before you enter the store. I can't wait to get you next Tuesday! Toodles!

islandclaws

You sonofabitch. I knew there was a reason for this...

Sonny

I agree with you.

BuckNaked2k

I agree also. Some stores are marginally better than others, but aside from the few BIG new titles that week, a lot of stuff just isn't out on NRT.

I get a lot of confused sales clerks scratching their heads and tapping away on thier inventory systems when I ask about a particular new title.

davey_4964

I know the feeling.
I've been trying to find Night Of The Demons 2, Alligator, Food Of The Gods, Prom Night with no luck.
You would think stores would stock scary movies this time of year.
I finally had to order online the Psycho triple pack after trying wal-mart, k-mart, target and circuit city.

terrycloth

iv been lucking out this past year at my local walmart has been getting all kinds of crazy shit in. from Tartan Extreme releases and all kinds off horror i wouldnt expect them to carry considering they still dont sell uncensored cds.

The Monkees

I didn't see Bram Stoker's Dracula or Misery at my local Best Buy or Target. However, Wal-Mart had Misery, but I didn't see Dracula.

Carcosa

I'm lucky...I live about 40 minutes from Ameoba Music in Hollywood and 70 minutes from DVD Planet so I can get just about anything whenever, BUT....

If I were relying on Best Buy, Circuit City, etc, I would be HOSED completely. I really think buying online is the way to go. I've had mostly positive experiences with online sellers...and driving around at nearly $3 a gallon for gas just ain't worth it.

DarthVong

Unless it's a mainstream new release, I've been having to buy more online also. It really sucks! I used to love going shopping for my dvds on Tuesday.

GroovyNightmare

The older these genre titles are, the likelier you won't find them at B & Ms. There's only so much space, and you know, they gotta fill the wall with 25 copies of the latest horror movie remake 'cause the kids apparently go wild over 'em.

The horror section at Best Buy has gotten absolutely pathetic. Not only that, but Sci Fi and Horror share half an aisle, while Anime gets it's own half aisle all to itself. That's apparently all the rage now, too.

Best Buy couldn't even get that Universl Sci Fi Collection exclusive thing down right. No ads till around a week or so after release. Without the sKU #, it didn't come up on the computer. The employees there was clueless about it even though they were shelved that day.

But anyway, I just accept the days of going in and buying an odd title on a whim are over. Just gotta do it online.

shacmasta

Well today is the first time I had a best buy employee flat out admit too me that a certain title I was looking for was sitting in the truck, and has yet to be unloaded and unpacked. They usually just tell me they sold out. Never mind the damn thing had a release date of October 2nd and probably should have been unloaded/unpacked weeks before and stored in the back, in anticipation for it's eventual release.

WMAangel

I don't know what the Walmarts are like in your area....but I saw all of those releases you mentioned today at mine...though I wasn't there for any of those, but Halloween on Blu-ray, which they did get in and for only $18.96!

Mosskeeto

The only way to have any confidence that you'l be able to find most of these titles is to go to a store that specializes in media and not electronics. The Bestbuy near me moved all their cds and dvds from a prime location to a more remote location. The real estate is too valuable to surrender it to a small profit margin division. Some of that former space is now cell phone sales.

TheMovieman

I haven't had trouble finding anything. I saw Caligula, Dracula, 1408 and Misery at Wal Mart just today.

MTRodaba2468

Well, I went down to Best Buy today, and they had both Metalocalypse and 1408 with the new releases. They didn't have Caligula (which honestly doesn't surprise me too much, it's not like anyone expects it to be #1 on the sales charts) or Dracula: SE. They had the Misery SE, but in the Drama section of all places.

Zbu

I think the days of B&M carrying all the titles are over, but a few still have their moments. Sadly, now it's Walmart and the like that carry the really rarer stuff. They had the Eaten Alive SE in this weekend for $15. They seem to have taken over the old Best Buy role of carrying the weirder stuff now. Strange, but c'est la vie.

Jon2

It's not so much that I can't find stuff, but that DVD prices are definitely on an upswing...and I see it in every B&M store I go to. Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco.

A few years ago, Sam's and Costco were my retailer of choice and new DVD releases were in the $15.99 to 17.99 range, now they're running $19,99 or more. I sledom buy there now.

It's like substantial NRT discounts have disappeared from major B&M retailers. I used to count on Walmart for a good discount (usually around $15.99) on new Disney DVDs, but the Jungle Book release is $19.99.

Typically, from a year or two ago, most new titles are up at least a dollar, some major releases are two dollars, and some 2-disc special editions are over $21 to $22 or more.

Which is really odd, considering that DVD manufacturing costs have actually declined over the past year...and the year before that as well.

advdfreak

I would have to say because of the format war between HD-Dvd and Blu-Ray is part of the reason. Less shelf space for standard dvd to make room for the Hi-Def stuff. I just hope this gets resolved soon!

kintnerboy

The real problem is that there has never been a video format that's been around for this long before. VHS was big for about 10 years, and Laser Disc was big for about 5. Now that we've passed the 10 year point for dvd's, the studios are finally, thankfully, releasing some deep deep catalog titles.

But there's no possible way that any B&M could stock half of what's out there. Stores like Tower used to fill their endcaps with new releases every Tuesday (I can't believe I used to drop $40 each on a new LD there) but they were driven out of business by stores like Best Buy, who were selling their new releases for 1% above cost. Now that the competition is mostly gone, why should Best Buy rush to stock dvds that are essentially loss leaders? (they have the dvds, they just don't put them out on release day anymore).

As soon as TV box sets surpassed movie dvds, stores started devoting 2-3 aisles to tv dvd's. Not by expanding the square footage of their dvd department, but by compressing the space they already had. Then, when HD dvds came along, they compressed it again. But who wants to buy TV seasons anymore, when we know to wait for the complete series box? They've cut their own throats.

The main reason I don't care about HD dvd is that it's going to be 5 to 10 years to get anywhere near the catalog size that already exists (how long until I get my Preston Sturges HD? or my Third Man HD?).

I would rather stick with dvd for another 10 years and get turned on to some stuff I've never heard of before (like Sturges) instead of re-buying Jaws for th 100th time.

I just won't be buying them in stores.

E.D.

Hey, I used to work at Best Buy, and I'd just like to point out that except for the odd big release, the stores often don't get the new releases until the day before the release date (that is, on Monday). They rarely receive DVD titles weeks in advance. The rare exception is usually a big title like a new season of Seinfeld or the Simpsons, which might come a week or so early. Movies like "Scarecrows" and "The Burning" probably didn't arrive until the day before their release. It's not really the employee's fault that they can't get at the product. The problem is often that before the product is allowed to be touched by the media department, the warehouse crew has to accept it, and regardless of how much the media department bitches, they're not allowed to put the stock out. I know it's frustrating. There's been times when stock was sitting in boxes right in the warehouse but we weren't allowed to put it out because the warehouse crew didn't accept the shipment yet. The employee was probably just trying to be honest with you.

nateman

In my area there’s a Wal*Mart, Future Shop & a CD Plus. Most of the time I’ve been able to find the DVDs I want every Tuesday, but more than half, actually most of the time, I will have to go too Future Shop after I go to Wal*Mart because they never seem to have any of the new releases that aren’t the ‘BIG’ new releases like, for example, 1408.

Future Shop usually has every DVD I want that week but sometimes I’ll have to go to CD Plus as my last resort & they usually end up having the DVD that Wal*Mart & Future Shop doesn’t.

If I can’t find a DVD at any of the stores, there’s a place on Henderson Highway in Winnipeg called Planet of Sound that can order pretty much any DVD I please. With titles I know aren’t going to be in the stores in Canada (ex. King of Queens, Midsomer Murders), I just pre-order them.

bookcase3

I was complaining about this very thing yesterday. At two BBs I checkedout, I didn't see copies of several movies that were released (Misery, Dracula, etc.), sale prices were nowhere to be found, and they didn't even have the correct material to take advantage of the $5 Disney rebate (for preordering Ratatouille). It's so frustrating.

mzupeman2

Every FYE in my area but ONE yesterday had Metalocalypse. I'm 20 minutes from where I work. There's an FYE near where I work, and one near where I live... and of course others scattered throughout the area. I always go to the one near where I live because it's more conveniant. And yes, I had to be using FYE because I had a mint in store credit collected from trade-in's. Anywho, I had to go back down to the one near where I worked because they were the only ones who had any left by 3 o'clock.

Thankfully my wife was able to get to a Best Buy when it openned the day 300 came out. Everybody who was waiting in front was there to get the limited edition with the helmet. She was able to get the last one.

There's really such a demand for cool things when they come out on DVD it makes somebody like me who normally works during the day, almost flippin' impossible to get. You can do an 'in store pickup' but the probability of you getting your 'special edition' that they only have a handful of is only as likely as the competance of the associate you were dealing with. So order it online and pay for shipping. Ugh. Such a pain.

Jah-Wren Ryel

Wal-mart always has lots of misery.