paradicelost

I was at Suncoast the other day and saw Season 1 of C.S.I for 99. I almost bought it but because of this board i waited. I went to a few more stores and saw it for 80, and then i saw it for 60. But it was out of stock. So i went to CC which had it for 80 but the guy was nice enough to pricematch it without a sales ad. So i ended up paying a little over 60 for it. So again thanks to this board i got it for almost 50% less than what i was going to buy it for.
But i'm another one who love DS9 and would love to have the season sets but even online they are pretty steep. So i'll wait for that. I waited 2 years for the Sopranos so i guess i can wait for this.

resinrats

Things I've realized about DVD fans.

I've found that DVD fans are the cheapest people on the planet. They brag about how low they get things and complain if they spend a penny more. They love to look down on people that paid more than they did. Heaven forbid someone bought a DVD at Suncoast or MSRP. Break out the torches and pitchforks. Compared to years ago (on other formats), DVD prices are extreemly cheap.

You would have thought babies and puppies were being crushed by steamrollers with the outcry that arose after online coupons dried up. No longer could people say they used multiple coupons and got Pulp Fiction for $2.14 shipped. Now it is the rush to get the lowest price on Tuedays release days. This includes arguing with store clerks and pricematching ads from all over. People even price match when the cost difference is less than $1.

Not even going to touch the superiority complex fans get over the supposed 'J6P' people.

AXP 103

resinrats- Here Here.

Jackskeleton

There comes a point where the time to price match doesn't amount to the buck you are saving. I agree with a lot of what you say resinrats. Take the price of Laser Disc compared to DVD's. I think we are very lucky to have the prices that we currently have for a single disc. hell the price of the x-files season sets equals just one collectors edition of a LD.

Ranger

First of all. we aren't talking about saving $2 off from a $17.99 DVD - go over to Hot Deals or DVD Bargains to do that.

We're discussing those season box sets in question. Add them up and you would have spent several hundred dollars. Which is why this is a big deal. If your argument is that we're all cheap ungrateful punks stealing from studios and should be ashamed of ourselves for even questioning the pricing studios make for box sets such as those mentioned in this thread - sorry, that point just is not good enough for me.

*bows before holy Paramount shrine*

Jackskeleton

Seems like no explianation is good enough for you on why these cost so much. So my question is.. why ask if all the answers so far are just "not good enough"?

Ranger

The studio is greedy and taking advantage of the rabid fanbase seems to be the argument I agree with so far.

Jackskeleton

Then you must not be listening..


stuff stated:

*Back end pay to the stars and directors. All the royalties the series need to pay off. add that to the production cost and you have a better idea on why they are so expensive.

Your Idea of "greedy" is simple marketing. If something already has an audiance why market it like a loss leader? Besides these two series have something to offer there studios for the last time:

X-files.
Series is over and thus, this is fox's way of getting it's best bang for the buck

ST:TNG
Paramount really only has a few series to bank off of before they have nothing else. TNG is one of them

take it if you want as greed. whatever.

Another factor for the x-files is that it was one of those earlier season box sets and in all due respect the price has really been coming down on each newer season set.

Paramount with TNG on the other hand just seems to flood the market in order to get profit off the series

hulksmash

I think it all starts back when X-files came out. They looked at prices that Paramount was charging for the single disk of ST:OS which was about 20 bucks MSRP for two episodes. That would make an entire season of X-files well over 200 bucks! Fox guessed that they probably couldn't get that much, but wanted the X-files to have a perceived value equivalent to Star Trek so they only lowered it to $150.
Now the pricing for season sets of TV shows seems to have settled, but Fox can't go back and lower their X-files prices without diminishing its perceived value. Same goes for Star Trek Voyager. If they price it lower, that would be like admitting that it is inferior to STSN and Next Gen, which of course they wouldn't do since they want the same people to buy it!

DrMcKittrick

I'm just glad there's only 2 more seasons to buy on the XFiles. Then we'll have the full series.

doc

Michael Corvin

Agreed Dr.

So I finished 24. I did a 9 episode marathon(most I've ever watched). I just didn't want to stop. Then finished it off this morning with a 4 ep. mini-marathon. I'm sold on the second season already and I haven't seen a single episode. Why? The low price of the first season enticed a blind buy. I think all 1st seasons should be priced cheaply, then raise it some for the rest of the series run. Any thoughts on that?

And as far as the post from resinrats, do you not see the difference in paying $100 at Suncoast for CSI vs. $60 elsewhere? Maybe you are loaded and can thow money away but $40 is another whole season on dvd you could be buying. Do I drive across town to save $1. No. But for season sets, getting the best deal is a good thing.

Sept. 2 is looking pretty packed(better start stashing some dough):
24: Season 2
Stargate SG-1: Season 4
C.S.I. - Season 2
and PCU

Wolf Husky

Resin, like others have stated, we are talking about saving $50-$70 on these sets, not pennies. Like I posted, I paid about $27 for X-Files Season 6, shipped. I'm there are plenty of people out there that paid $110 + tax at Best Buy the day it came out. I saved about $85 over those people.

If you think $85 is "chump change" then why are you even reading this board? You must be making so much money, that it would be a waste of time for you to even sit on the toilet. How do you get through life if you can value brushing your teeth at $30 each time, making a waffle $50, etc.

Obviously you have no value of money. We are talking about US money, not Fijian dollars where 80,000 Fiji dollars equals $1 US.

I am a painter, and have been painting for years. I make about $22/hr. Believe me, if I can save $85 and work 4 hours less to afford a DVD set, I will.

Ranger

How could you forget Alias?

slop101

Instead of asking why ST or X-files are so expensive,
I think we need to ask why Buffy, or 24 are so cheap.

Kerborus

I think we all know the answer to that slop101...

Wolf Husky

Yup, the answer to that one is in the name "slop101." Hint: It's the first 4 characters.

Michael Corvin

Never seen it. I was thinking about picking it up but with the other releases that day, ER:1 and NYPD: Blue: 2 a couple weeks prior, I think my plate will be quite full for some time.

Maybe if I can find it cheap, I will pick it up as a blind buy.

saberdance42

Oh, please. Yup, just like X-Files Seasons 7, 8,9, and Star Trek: Voyager, Seasons 1-7, Enterprise Seasons 1-?, which will also retail for the same high MSRPs, despite the fact that they suck royally.

X-Files is so high because it was one of the first TV box sets, and FOX didn't know what they were doing back then. It was a trial MSRP. Star Trek, otoh, is so high because it is Paramount's cash cow that they will bleed dry into oblivion. Profit is what counts to them, not quality (as it has been with the Star Trek product for several years).

Buffy & 24 are so low, I think, because FOX wants to make it easy to sell subsequent seasons to you. They're serials, when you get right down to it (and excellent ones). You buy one, you like it, you're automatically gonna consider that next one. The lower MSRP is that extra push. Babylon 5, I think, is Warner Bros. trying to be somewhere in the middle and have the best of both worlds.

Mr. MIKE

das Monkey

Anyone who really believes the "quality dictates price" argument need only read the linked threads for countless examples where this is simply not the case. I'd restate them again here in detail, but some people aren't concerned with reality, so it's not worth it. Those interested can look to the Children of the Corn franchise for a quick example. The first film MSRPs at $15. Each of the 6 sequels goes for $20. If you believe every single one of these sequels was around 1/3 better than the original (and as good as Henry V which also sells for $20), well ... can't help you there.

I'll only note that in no other industry does qualilty dictate price ... market dictates price (assuming production costs are comaprable -- if higher quality means higher production costs, that's obviously something different). It's basic economics ... or, if you prefer, common sense. And if you believe the most popular items represent the highest in quality, I have some swampland I'm looking to unload ... or at the very least, 2 seasons of American Idol to sell on DVD at a $150 MSRP. It's the most popular show on television ... surely, it's the best.

We've been down this road before, and the only "evidence" we've seen offered to support this theory is defiant refusal to accept (or even respond to) evidence to the contrary (say the fact that 20 episodes of Lexx sell for $100, while the ground-breaking first season of NYPD Blue only MSRPs for $60). Denial of its existence, thankfully, doesn't somehow make it disappear. Continue to believe the world is flat if it makes you happy. If there's one thing I've learned from watching the local news, it's that people cling to their ignorance like a blanket. I hope it keeps you warm at night.

das

cdollaz

It's all about what the public is willing to pay. Obviously folks are willing to shell out $100+ for a set or they wouldn't be going for that price. Even though most of us are not willing to pay those prices, apparantly alot of people are.

Just like cars. There is no one in hell I would pay over $20,000 for a car, but obviously many are and that is why they cost that much.

Chew

to das

saberdance42

Seconded. Well said indeed.

Mr. MIKE

Ranger

Ditto!

DarthMaul420

I don't complain much about prices of the TNG sets b/c I simply don't have enough time to watch 7 seasons of Star Trek within a short time span. However, I figure I'll just wait for them to come down in price and buy one at a time. These sets are around 130.00 at my local BB by the way, with all the bonus discs still available. That's a little too steep for me. I'd rather pick up the Twilight Zone sets.

If I had any complaint it would have to do with Paramount giving region 1 fans the shaft with the packaging itself.

Kerborus

As I have said before, when you compare apples to apples, the argument is sound.

Simply put, there are more ST and XF fans than you can shake a stick at and they don't mind paying 3-4 bucks an episode for the greatest science fiction ever produced on TV.

Sorry if you down on your luck, but great material costs a lot of money. Seems like a lot of you are sore losers when it comes to this topic.