I'm about to start designing a web site for a new DVD retailer and have been looking around at various labels/distributors/resellers to see what works, information-wise.

I'm curious what you folks think is the best site, design-wise, out there. By that I don't necessarily mean the prettiest, but which is the most functional? Which gives you the information you most want as succinctly/easily as you want it without having to hunt around?

What would you like to see in a retail site? What do you see on a lot of sites that you think is just plain useless?

And, while I'm at it, who has the best policies--like, what do you like in a loyalty program? Shipping discounts, etc? Who's doing things right?

Any and all feedback appreciated.

Thanks!

For the best "looks" and "ease of use" I would say

www.dvdplanet.com

However, the best site (mainly because if price and free shipping) is the following (which gets 95% of my online business)

www.deepdiscountdvd.com

I disagree about DVD Planet.... their site tends to be rather late gather DVD details and art work. The font size is too small for their detail pages. Hits are in pure alphabetical order with now However, I do appreciate their Stock level icons.

I like the look and feel much better at DVD Empire. The do tend to get the details much sooner than DVD Planet. However, they too have their quirks.... While their result list defaults to Rank order, the user can change the order. However, looking for a title that brings up too many hits makes it difficult to zero in on possible titles. Try a search for "O Lucky Man" (I know it's not out on DVD)... Instead of presenting 492 hits I think a result similar to DVD Planet or DVD Search is better.

As to "loyalty programs".... I sure would like to see one at any of the places I shop. The less cumbersome the better.... basically I would prefer some kick-back (either coupon or free shipping or shipping upgrade) after 1 has purchased a certain threshold of $'s.... Once hit, the threshold would be reset to start again.

Even though the site is slow and kinda clunky looking, I basically shop at Deep Discount DVD due to fact that they almost always have they lowest total price. (I actually find it easier to find titles by search my site first and using the link to pull up exact titles.)

I love the design of Amazon.com. Fairly simple design and easy to get around in

Amazon.com beats them all (in my opinion) for having the information on DVDs which I want to know, good design of DVD web pages, and of course their returns policy is the absolute greatest.

Their shipping is excellent too! I have lots of troubles getting companies to ship from the USA to here in Japan, not Amazon.com though!! And, they don't mess around with the slowest possible international shipping either! Even their slowest option for international shipping gets stuff here in 7 - 8 days!

I also have troubles with many companies due to my credit card billing address being different than my shipping address, even though I have this shipping address listed with my credit card company as an alternate shipping address - somehow Amazon.com always gets it taken care of, while other companies just send a nasty e-mail saying that "we cannot send your order because your shipping address is different than your billing address".

I am very loyal to Amazon.com, and as long as I remain here in Japan, I'll get 100% of my DVDs through them, even if they are a bit higher priced than some others!

Thanks for the feedback, folks. Please keep it coming.

Also, when talking about layout/presentation, please don't restrict yourself to retail sites, only. For instance, what about distributor sites like Criterionco.com, mastersofcinema.org and others? Though the site I'm designing will be a retail site, I'm trying to take inspiration from any place that seems to have thought out its presentation beyond just "here's what's on the back of the box". What about places like greencine and netflix? (I'm in Canada and can't use either site.) Anything to learn there?

Edit: I'm also curious about reviews, especially from folks who shop at Amazon:

-- do the editorial reviews help you make up your mind about whether to get a title?

-- do the reviews from other members help you decide?

-- do you leave reviews yourself?

And, when (if ever) you buy a title you haven't yet seen, what are the deciding factors? Any that come directly from the site?

Thanks again.

The best regarding site layout is:

www.play.com

Easy to navigate with the menu tabs on top, and the search/genres/bargains/top sellers on the sides.

I don't like DvdPlanet either - it looks amateurish.

Besides the obvious Amazon, DvdEmpire.com also looks professional and is easy to navigate.

Digitaleyes.net has a pretty good loyalty program. Dvdempire is better than many others because of real time inventory. the customer reviews at amazon often do help make me want something more than their editorial reviews.

I really like the simplicity of DDD and I also like the layout and functionality of Amazon.com

DVDEmpire's Preorder Manager is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

DVD Empire is the best for DVD information. Amazon is probably the worst. I think they pretty much just stopped listing the extra features on their dvd pages.

Best design layout for DVD info to decide and seach for titles is DVD Empire IMO. For ease of use of shopping, checking out and tracking your order I don't think anyone touches Amazon.

I really like Amazon. My only complaint with them is viewing new releases. You can see the top 5 or 10 for a given date but after that you have to look at them in alphabetical order. I'd rather be able to see the full list by sales rank or something like that.

For me its a tie for layout between DVDEmpire and Amazon.com. DVD Empire seems to get info and artwork up earlier, but not much earlier.

But most of my online sales still go to DeepDiscountDVD for free shipping and lowest overall price.