coreymd

First off, I'm a long time lurker here, but it looks like this may be my first post. In fact I haven't read the forums on a regular basis for quite some time.

But now I have a question on a topic that I know has been beaten to death here. Last time I looked, authentic Salo discs were going for above $400. A search revealed other (recent) posts that suggested they were fetching over $700 on eBay. But a quick look there shows $250-$350 over the last few weeks.

So is the market adjusting itself, or are people just too wary to spend the dough on what might possibly (probably) be a pirated copy? Is there a better avenue to sell this disc that I don't know about?

BTW- I'm not *just* trying to profit on the Salo disc, I'm looking to thin my collection of the discs I know I'll never watch again (most of those are Criterions that I probably should have rented first). But I'd like to maximize my profit while I'm at it.

-Corey

Class316

It could also be because of these reasons:

1) Non-R2 versions can be bought for less than $50

2) It’s a crappy movie

PopcornTreeCt

Well I heard a rumor it might be coming back in print. So yeah I'd sell it now.

coreymd

Ah, this is the first I've heard of that rumor. Thanks. Where did you hear that, BTW?

And Class316, I don't disagree with those reasons either, but they never seemed to damp the prices before.

-Corey

marty888

I think that if it's legit, a seller wouldn't be selling it in that price range. Even if the market is in a slump, anyone who's held on to a legit copy would simply hang on a little longer until the price bounces back up.

Class316

Maybe it just took a bit of time for people to see the light

dvdisoil

welcome coreymd...,

just to add to the rumour i saw a thread on the Criterioncollectionforum which seems to speculate "possible renewed" collobaration between MGM and criterion . this seems to be an offshoot of the Slacker rumour thats going around.

http://pub125.ezboard.com/fcriterion...icID=724.topic

esp with this rumour ..., i doubt if prices will be back up again till some one officialy refutes these claims.

ThatGuamGuy

Two things; one is how would anybody know the market was going up if nobody was selling?

Two is, if demand is going down and prices are dropping, wouldn't a wise seller sell sooner rather than later? I mean, I don't think you can assume that the market for a Criterion Salo DVD is the same as the stock market, where if you just leave the money in long enough, the general rule of thumb is you'll get more back.

coreymd

Thanks for the link dvdisoil. Is that where all the folks at the old criteriondvd.com forums went?

Looks like people are going to take a wait and see attitude then. Can't blame them. I guess I'll keep an eye on both of these forums to see how this plays out. Financing for the HD Tivo may have to come from elsewhere... <d'oh!>

-Corey

dvdisoil

i think its the same forum, but i am not 100% sure.

i myself am relatively new to the criterion craze. but that forum along with DVDTALK feeds by criterion appetite....

ScandalUMD

Criterion prices seem to be down across the board. I expect it has to do with the Tati DVDs and 400 Blows coming back into print.

I think many collectors didn't realize the ramifications of the fact that Criterion DVDs go in and out of print as a function of Criterion's ability to obtain the rights. Of course, Criterion's priority is to make these films available, rather than to preserve their secondary-market values.

msbailey

Maybe everyone who has been willing to pay hundreds of dollars for a copy of SALO has finally gotten one.

new2theplace

1) Lots of bootleg Salos showed up and ebay was flooded with them
2) The economy sucks.

LasVegasMichael

That's what I was thinking. With something like this, demand is most certainly elastic, and at some point, supply was destined to catch up with demand.

ctyankee

I'm not sure what that means but (at this point) supply of Criterion version of Salo is fixed. So supply ain't catching up to anything, it is finite and all in the marketplace.

I agree with the others about concern about re-release. Someone (whether it is Criterion or someone else) will be releasing a better version of this film, down the line. Just like so many other movies have gotten better releases. Therefore, high prices for the Criterion version are temporary. Plain and simple. And yes, if Criterion were to re-release Salo as they have done some other films recently, someone is going to take a bath. That concern the speculators who purchased the film and don't want to get caught holding overpriced goods. And like our O.P. others that have a copy wonder the same thing. The thing they thought was so special, might not stay that way. Good thinking.

Meanwhile, life goes on ...

Class316

3)the movie sucks

It's been done already. Just not on R1.

pro-bassoonist

These are the kind of posts that bring a lot of credibility to your (and other's) argument(s).

Pro-B

rabbit77

The fact that the supply is fixed doesn't mean it can't catch up to demand here since a single copy can bounce from one owner to the next via eBay and satisfy the demands of multiple collectors. For years I sought after the DVD and when I finally got my hands on one I resold it the same week I got it.

But yeah, I agree that the biggest reason for price drops of OOP criterions across the board would be the fact that a considerable number of these OOP DVDs have gone back in print.

Venom

off topic but that thread was funny!

"Dan Mucha is an independent filmmaker who served as the video archivist for the Austin Film Society from 1996-2002. He is currently involved with the post-production of the forthcoming Criterion DVD release of Slacker, directed by Richard Linklater. "

......

"I was Director of Programming for the Austin Film Society from 1995 to 1999 and I've never heard of Dan Mucha."

.........

"I would like to formally apologize to Dan Mucha for forgetting about him...."


lol

Class316

Lots of people would agree with me (about Salo)

Lemme guess. You got it and when you watched it you wanted to distance yourself from it as quickly as possible.

flix1

I've noticed that the prices have been declining. It started the end of last year.

I had been watching Ebay auctions for legit Sealed copies of Criterion Salo, of which there were not many, because I had one and was looking for the right time to dump it.

In October and November, I saw a couple go for $800 - $900.

I put mine up for auction 2 weeks before Xmas, with a starting price of $799 (and B-I-N for $850). I received lots of emails, and 2 offers slightly lower than my asking price, but no bids.

I ended up selling it to one of the requests over email for $725 (Ebay didn't get a cut that way), still not bad, considering I had paid $15 for it.

The bidder who bought it was a big Criterion seller on ebay, lots of OOP Sealed stuff, and I questioned the authenticity of some of his stuff. In any case, I noticed a month later that he tried to sell a Sealed Criterion Salo. The bids got up to $760, but did not meet his reserve. I have yet to see one get back to those prices again. A side note, the Sealed Salo he was selling was NOT the one I sold him. I compared pictures, and the Black Warning label was in a different position.

pro-bassoonist

....maybe maybe not....but your short verdict- THIS MOVIE SUCKS!!- is the least to say immature. I am not a snob and if you have reasons to believe that Pasolini's work does not appeal to you- fine. I do not intend to begin a SALO discussion (yet again, this subject has been worn out)....though I am going to take a very wild guess and say that probably you have not seen most of Pasolini's films....to determine that his last effort '"sucks" (as many film pundits and researchers have concluded SALO to be the culmination of his career). Anyway......

Cheers,
Pro-B

Joe Molotov

Yes folks, the Salo market is indeed in a slump. After years of steadily rising prices, the bubble finally burst and now Salo investors and asking what to do next. Your first instinct may be to sell off all of your Salos and try to salvage your investment while you still can, but this is a mistake my friends. If Salos continue to flood the market, then the prices will be driven even lower and we'll fall into further depression. The wisest discision would be to hang onto your Salos, because as our Salo market trends indicate, the prices of Salos will hit a low point but then will rise back up, as the low prices draw more into the Salo market. By the 4th Quarter of the this year, we should be seeing strong gains in the Salo market. Now if you'd all look at this chart I've prepared...

Gunshy

I think there is more to this than just lack of demand and the possiblity of a re-release of an older OOP Criterion title...



+



-Gunshy

neiname

Agree with many that:
1) Many OOP coming back and as a result demand has dropped.

Not mentioned:
2) Criterion's collection is getting so vast that many people who wanted to complete the collection may have lost interest and don't care if they have every one, especially a title that costs as much as Salo.