Chew

Better price, but still a "no sale" for only 13 episodes.

sman113

I hate when people throw around this word "scam" like its nothing. SCAM = n. A fraudulent business scheme; a swindle.; v. To defraud; swindle

This is not fraud; its a simple business decision. Best Buy likely had to pay money to get an exclusive release, which means that extra price will be passed on to consumers. What BB is betting on is that it will gain more purchases than they will lose to those who wait b/c charging the few dollars more for those two months of exclusivity.

BTW, I think this price is the exact same as when The Shield first came out. Same type on show, too -- cable series with only 13 episodes in the season.

And about that Quantum Leap issue above, i was also fooled by the no-episode-listing on the box ordeal. I had no idea the first season was only 8 episodes until i had opened the package. But the QL seasons are a rip for more reasons than that, yet i still continue to buy them.

regent

Sept, for me as well, and I wish they would release more information as to if the mini series will be included or not.

I went ahead and bought the mini in march (at full price because CC only had 3 of them and none of the other B&M's even had it in stock) but I still hope they put it in the set.

moocher

As others have mentioned, this is still too high for 13 eps. It really doesn't make any sense. SciFi's other Friday shows (SG1 & SGA) will be selling at least $10 cheaper for 7 more eps each. You would think comparable shows on the same basic cable channel on the same night would sell for a similar price. If street isn't under $30 by Sep I'll wait. I will just have to make do with SG1 and SGA until the DDD Christmas sale .

Mike Lowrey

Yeah, you're right. Hadn't really thought of that. The Stargate sets which until Season 8 have had 22 episodes and have generally been retailing for around $45 give or take a buck or two. So $50 for 13 episodes is still way too much. I can see $40 tops. But hopefully the final retail price is down around $30. If still around $40 or $50, each episode better have commentaries and/or Podcasts.

mifuneral

hmmm, $50 isn't really out of line. Especially if they have it on sale the first week.

Good point. They've been $50-45 until somewhat recently. Personally, I think it's worth it because I love that show, so maybe the same will hold true for me when BG comes out.

rdclark

We'll see. If BB us upfront about the fact that the set will become available nationwide at a significantly lower price in a couple of months, then I'll withdraw the word "scam."

If they actively promote this "exclusive" availability without making it clear that the exclusivity (and the high price) are temporary, then I think I'll just stand by my use of the word "scam," the definition of which I'm quite aware of, thank you very much Mr. Webster.

RichC

mifuneral

And what official word has proven that the "nationwide" (itself a funny term since Best Buy stores ARE available nationwide)......that the *nonexclusive* release will be any cheaper? Furthermore, how is this any different than KITH releasing their season sets online months before the retail release and at a higher price? This is hardly a new practice. And just to reiderate an earlier point, The Shield, which is approximately the same number of episodes, has approximately the same SRP as this upcoming release($49.99).

Mike Lowrey

Well, if the $49.99 price tag is indeed the MSRP then OK, as the actual sale price will be more like $39.99 or so. But if the SRP is the originally stated $69.99, then we got a serious problem, of sorts.

rdclark

1. I said "available nationwide at a significantly lower price." If you're going to take isue with the use of a particular word, please leave it in context.

2. No official word has emerged to support either your position or mine.

3. A small distributor or an independent producer or artist selling an early release puts the proceeds directly into the pocket of the people who made the product.

Best Buy is just a retailer, and has no interest in the product other than profiting from it. They have the right to try to make a profit, but "exclusivity" is of arguable value. I encourage people to pay for real value. And I guess we'll see just how realistically BB represents the nature of the value they are offering.

4. Shield sets sold for $30-40 as new releases. Still too much, IMO. I bought S1 for $15 during one of those Fox promos, and haven't bought any more. There is a lot of value added to those sets, however, and it remains to be seen how much value will be added to the BSG set.

It's also worth remembering that this is (apparently) an R1 port of the UK set. If so, there will be the additional issue of possibly not knowing the specs on the real R1 release in order to make an informed decision about buying or waiting.

RichC

mifuneral

2. Best Buy's website says 49.99. That makes "my position" official. NO website says any other retail price. That makes "your position" unofficial. Try to learn the difference.

3. It was an example of exclusivity used to sell dvds. Motive has nothing to do with it. In fact, your supposition of Best Buy's motives are nothing but speculation based on preconcieved notions of Best Buy. In other words, you clearly don't like Best Buy so you're trying to paint them as the bad guy for releasing a show 2 months early. If "the average consumer" can't figure out that these sets will be available at other stores eventually then imo they deserve to get shafted. No one who buys dvds regularly is that stupid.

4. The Shield sets started at 45-50. I know because I got them when they first came out. I didn't wait for some promotion so I could get them for spare change. But it was just an example. Do you want another one? How about X-Files? How about Star Trek(any of the Trek shows)? It took YEARS before X-Files went down by so much as $20. Only recently has X-Files been reduced to a reasonable price. But Star Trek is still $100 per season. So, it took years before even X-Files changed, and you think what, a few internet squabblers will pull the price of this set down in a mere 2 months? lol!

You clearly have no realistic idea of tv on dvd. Nor do you understand the concept of being a fan of something. A film like Seventh Seal comes out on dvd, Criterion puts a 49.99 SRP on it and people don't bat an eye. And that's 49.99 for just 96 minutes of content and very few extras! Why? Because there isn't any other dvd of it. Because it's a great film. Because it's Criterion, and some people collect Criterions. Everyone has their own reason. In the end it's just people being fans of the film, or of the label, and that's why they pay the extra price.

Then again you probably know all this. I suspect your rant is more about hating Best Buy than anything truly logical.

rdclark

whatever

nodeerforamonth

What about inserts? Any inserts in this?

no insert = no sale!

Mike Lowrey

But I think mifuneral and rdclark need to get together for a and have a because all this goin' on is like or at the very least .

Dr. DVD

A little off topic, but when does the new season start?

rdclark

July 15.

http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/

mifuneral

Given s2's start date, I don't understand why the actual release date is in September. Wouldn't it make more sense to cross market it with the dvds by synchronizing the releases? Oh well.

Mike Lowrey

Well, you'd think, but Sci-Fi Channel has had a weird release record lately with their series sets. For example, their latest Stargate sets have come out well after the next season starts. IIRC, Season 7 of Stargate SG-1 came out well after Season 8 started. Same thing is gonna happen with Season 8, and Atlantis Season 1. Both are scheduled to come out in October, about the time the mid-season break starts.

chanster

Wow! I just read this and laughed my ass off:

Yes! Because overpaying for TV sets is the true mark of a fan. Good grief. Furthermore, I would say that most fans of BSG have TIVO'd, downloaded BSG already.

No, it doesn't. Try again. The $49.99 price is merely what Best Buy is charging for this set.

How do you call releasing this "early"? Once its released, its released. THey are releasing it to Best Buy and witholding it to other retailers. That isn't about making a show available "early." in fact it is witholding it from others

chanster

Wednesday July 6 Sci FI is doing a Season One Marathon. TIVO'em and skip this exclusive Best Buy Garbage.

mifuneral

Aha, every BSG fan has TIVO and a broadband connection. Good to know. But for the record my comment was in regard to buying tv shows when they come out (ie- release week) as opposed to waiting for a promo or DDD sale. It's quite possible to buy something release week without overpaying.



Oh, so you're saying the SRP is actually higher than 49.99? In that case, Best Buy has a very good price, wouldn't you say? 49.99 is the only official figure for this set, so it's the only figure that can be used in context of the price point discussion. My point is that any other figure is pure speculation whereas this is an actual, official price.

What other scenareo other than releasing it one place 2 months before any other place would relegate it to the "early release" category, in your definition? I don't understand that criticism.

chanster

Universal controls the dates of release. They make an agreement to allow Best Buy to sell it on July, and the other retailers get it in September. The release date, defined as when the show is available for purchase by the public is July. Allowing only Best Buy to sell it in July is not giving them an early release date, because Universal could have released it in July to everyone. It is not an "early release" It is an exclusive release.

As mentioned above, $50 is the only figure available because Universal is dicking consumers around by giving it an exclusive release to Best Buy. We have no idea what the actual MSRP or SRP is. I can't really tell you if it is a good price or not, because of this exclusive set. Based on the pricing of other TV sets, I would say it is high.

mifuneral

ok, a small semantic difference.

chanster

Small semantic difference? You write like Best Buy and Universal are doing consumers a favor for releasing the set early. In fact, they are not. It is released in July with an exclusive window until September

mifuneral

*shrugs* I was under the impression that the original release date was September. Since it's now coming out earlier than September, I consider that an "early release." Whatever other term you might have for it is no more and no less valid, that's just what I happened to call it in my post. Now, if my assumption about its original release date being September is incorrect, then I am totally wrong, and I have no problem admitting that.