I think I'm going to order a copy on laser disc. --Edward

I'm quite sure that whatever their policy is for pre-ordering includes a clause that says that they're not responsible for a studio's decision to recall a DVD. Just because he ordered it after the recall but before the store (or, at least, the clerk) knew about the recall, that doesn't mean they'd be legally required to break the law and sell him the DVD. It just means they owe him his money back.

(I do think he should fight really hard if they refuse to give him his money back, even if they say that he'll be able to have it whenever it finally does come out.)

ThatGuamGuy,

You might be right., however I dont think Suncoast would be breaking the law by selling him the dvd. --Edward

I preordered from a couple of places online, they didn't send it. What's the difference between them and Suncoast? Sure, you paid in advance, but as long as they refund it there is no difference. Don't blame a retailer because BV recalled it.

They wouldn't be breaking the law. They would be subjected to fines from BV though. Considering that the only time any of us would shop there would be this. I don't see as them thinking making $10 on a disc justifies the more than $1,000 fine.

tenaciousdave,

Your right. --Edward

They said I could get my money back anytime. I'll probably go do that on Tue. and check a few other stores in the mall to see if anybody has it.

Disney can't fine a retailer any more than I can. What they *can* do is refuse to offer their product for sale at those stores. The Suncoasts of the world need Disney way more than Disney needs any single retail outlet.

What the hell. I don't get it. I got another email from Lorsay Inc (DVDLegacy) saying my order has been shipped out. Are they really this stupid? (rhetorical) I guess I'll be calling the number.

Son Of Zod,

The lady I spoke to told me that they shipped no copies of Ed Wood. You should call them. --Edward

Just talked to them. Got the same "its been recalled. We're not allowed to send it. You'll get a refund next week." Looks like some negative feedback will be coming there way. Who's with me?

Only good thing is I should still be getting one from ReturnWarehouse. Atleast that is what the guy said yesterday.

Son Of Zod,

Im with you on this. I told the lady that "that is not the way to run a businnes". You should call them back and insist on a refund right away. Thats what I did and got one 15 minutes later. --Edward

I had also placed $5 down last night at the Sam Goody at Bayshore Mall in Milwaukee. But I just got a call saying that right before they closed last night they got word of the cancellation/recall. No word on another date or why the delay. At least I'll get my $5 back!

Just checked my paypal and I've been credited by DvdLegacy.

Good call, I mis-spoke.

Although, isn't it a question of 'Buena Vista owns the copyright, they can do whatever they want with their copyrighted product and the stores aren't allowed to defy their wishes'? Which is kind of a law thing?

The stores themselves seem to think they can be fined. I believe that, technically, what would happen is that Disney would have to issue a complaint about a store breaking street dates on the products, and then they'd be fined by somebody in control of that sort of thing, but, now that you bring it up, I do wonder how that sort of thing works...

There's gotta be more to it than that, because the Disneys still need huge outlet stores like Virgin and Best Buy, so why wouldn't Virgin and Best Buy break street dates knowing that Disney would be severely hurt by not being able to sell their product at big stores like that?

Just to be clear, I'm saying, if there's no law and no fines, why wouldn't a huge corporation like Virgin have a corporate policy to ignore street dates? Disney needs to sell product at Virgin at least as much as Virgin needs to sell Disney product.

Any kind of financial penalty would have to be stipulated in a contract - but the Best Buys aren't going to break street date because they *do* need Disney's products, and Disney doesn't want to lose that large market, so it's a tenuous arrangement to be sure.

FYI, I found a website about Film Piracy which states that "persons convicted of engaging in the unauthorized duplication and/or distribution of video products must also pay a heavy price."

So I assume that the fines are, in general, more something they say to scare people away from breaking street dates, but, yeah, it seems like it *is* against the law to do (or, at least, I'd say it qualifies as "unauthorized distribution of video products", were anybody to want to prosecute).

(Especially, though, when something has been recalled by its legal copyright holders; I believe the reason the 'Little Shop' recall went as easily and near-totally as it did was that Geffen was genuinely ready to sue.)

I'm not sure exactly how the fine system works on movies. I work in the videogame field and I know that there are contracts made between publishers (studio's) and retailers. These contracts can include fines and or penalties for breaking street date. The whole reason behind this is that all retailers want to be able to sell the product on the same day, that way no company has a competitive edge. I know that fines are not always given out, sometimes a retailer is punished by receiving late replenishments or receiving things later than usual to avoid breaking street date.

While FYE got this a week ago, they are just now showing up in Best Buy stores. The street date system is designed to help retailers compete fairly and give studio's a "launch event" so to speak.

I'm not sure if a studio can "fine" a retailer (I tend to think they can't)... but they can certainly withhold product.

Think how annoying (and financially painful) it would be if Disney waited until release date before shipping items to FYE, Suncoast, or some other chain. That's definitely action they could take if a store does not honor street dates and/or recall notices.

Amazon.ca has a new release date listed as 4-4-04. Will it hold?

I went to my local FYE and they didn't have it. Let's hope my Best Buy or Circuit City didn't get the e-mail and they sell it on Tuesday.

I hope so. But then we'll have to put up with threads about how people got screwed by paying $80 for a copy on eBay.

I doubt it, since that's a Sunday.

Rob

Picked up a copy at a local Sam Goody's in Maryland... only two on the shelf at the time. The guy that rang me up must not have cared because he said that "we were supposed to pull these, but since it was still on the shelf I guess I have to sell it to you"... and out the door I went with it and a big grin on my face. I got home and told my girlfriend about how much these are going for on E-Bay and she told me to go right back out and get the other copy. Get to the store, the guy tells me he pulled the last copy but it's mine if I wanted it... needless to say, he searched high and low but he couldn't find it. So now I am kicking myself in the ass for not picking up both copies when I had the chance because I have never seen this movie, but I also want to keep it sealed just in case.

A word to the wise: ALWAYS jump on a deal as soon as you see it.