Ever wait years before buying a DVD, & then that DVD gets cheap soon after purchase?
 

Has anyone ever waited years putting off buying a certain DVD in hopes it would get cheaper. Once you realize it won't get that much cheaper, you finally buy the DVD. And then a couple days or weeks after, that same particular dvd gets real cheap or you find that particular DVD used for pennies? I hate when that happens. I don't mind spending a lot on a DVD on the day of release because I want that DVD right away, but I get more upset with a situation like this in which I hold off for ages buying a certain dvd that I don't have to have, buy it for regular price, and then find out it got cheaper days or weeks right after the day of my purchase...

Here are my DVDs in which that happened:

- waited years before buying Three Colors Trilogy DVDs. I rounded up enough Borders coupons ($5 credit and 40% off boxsets), bought the boxset for 20 dollars, and now a week later, I find the Three Colors Trilogy DVD boxset marked down to a total of 12 dollars!

- waited years before buying Excalibur, Dreams, Into the Blue, Living In Oblivion for the full price of over $20 each and then a couple days later, I find them selling as used DVDs for $3 each!

- searched ages for the Anamorphic/DTS version of Babe, ordered one of Amazon for $30, then a couple weeks later found them easily available for sale at Blockbuster Video for $10.

- waited years before buying the anamorphic UK PAL DVD of Brazil, and soon after purchase, I learned that Criterion was going to release Brazil again as anamorphic.

- I shudder seeing Criterion's Chasing Amy sold for around 7 bucks now, when I know I spent 35 bucks on it.

- I waited years before buying Firefly DVD boxset, and now it's super-cheap at Borders.

- I waited years before buying any James Bond DVDs, bought a few (Goldeneye and Goldenfinger at regular price $20 each), and then now shudder seeing them for at least $10 each with free Quantom of Solace tickets

- waited years before buying the UK PAL anamorphic versions of Jean de Florette/Manon of the Spring for a total of $40...soon after, they were released on Region 1 DVD as anamorphic and selling for around $15.

- although I wanted these dvds right away, I still shudder seeing the Lord of the Rings Extended boxset DVDs selling for 10 bucks each, knowing that I spend $40 on them each.

- the final kicker for me, I had so many VHS versions of Terminator 2 that I decided to control myself for the DVD release of this film. I waited many years before buying the steel cover Terminator 2 dvd for around $35, and then the better video quality EXTREME DVD came out. But at least I held off from buying that one until it reached $8. I'm still annoyed that I just didn't wait til the cheap-priced Extreme version.

Chasing Amy Criterion certainly comes to mind for me.

Firefly on DVD.

Leon The Professional SUPERBIT...I was holding off from buying it at BB for $19.99 for so long...2 weeks later they took it down in price AND the new edition of it came out with those new features and whatnot...I was so pissed.

Box set, Sopranoes

I'm sure some X-Files fans have had unhappy sticker shock.

Soon after finally breaking down & buying the Criterion Life of Brian Sony announced their release that is supposedly better & definitely cheaper.

Nope I buy the dvds when I want them even though the price reduction is inevitable I'm okay because I enjoy it when I get them.

This.

TV Shows are the major example. Yes, sometimes I feel like a fool for buying every season on release date when a couple months down the line Best Buy will have a blowout sale of every season released of that show, but that's the price you pay for getting it first.

If the movie's something I really love, I buy it immediately.

When the "OOP" wind started blowing around about the M*A*S*H Martinis and Medicine set and the inventories began disappearing at the B&Ms, I grabbed one while I could ..and the best price ..$180.

What's the last price I recall seeing on the set you ask ..something around $70 IIRC.

I waited throughout 2007 for Casino Royale to get cheap, then I finally found it for $8.99. Just a few months later, then announced the 3-disc set. Not quite the same thing, but still annoying enough. I only paid $14.99 for the 3-disc, but I should really have seen that double-dip coming.

I end up buying titles when they hit real low prices. It comes as no surprise that a release hits bottom right before the studio announces a new release of it. Although, lately, it is like they are watching my purchasing habits, and like a wrestling ref slapping the mat and calling out, "He's buckled! Release a new version!"

-beebs

Keep an eye glued to the Bargains thread. Thanks to dealcatchers there I bought LOTR EE boxes on release at about $15@. The Ang Lee Hulk movie was free. Too many more examples to list. Plus I make it a rule that if I'm going to wait for a price drop, it's going to be major. So if I buy it for $4 and it drops to $3, I'm not going to be really disappointed.

I've almost stopped buying any DVD at "full price." If you wait for a bargain when it first comes out or wait 3-6 months, you'll find anything either reissued, used or repriced. It's frustrating to have to wait sometimes, but worth it.

For instance, for months after Juno came out it couldn't hardly be found for under $15, even used. Then all the used copies hit the market. I ended up with one off ebay for under $5 shipped.

There aren't many titles I insist on having upon release. When one comes along, though, I scour this forum's bargains section to find the best deal on it. Otherwise, I have no problem waiting for a price reduction or buying used. As a general rule, I only buy titles I want at prices I'm comfortable paying, so it generally doesn't irk me too much when something turns up cheaper after I've bought it. What does rankle me, though, is buying a title--especially a new release--and THEN finding out a better edition is right around the corner. I suspect there are quite a few "Sex and the City" fans who are pissed about "the Wedding Collection" edition of that movie, and I'm just grateful my wife isn't one of them.

In the old VHS days, a lot of titles were available primarily for video store rental at $50 to $100 for about a year, then would be reduced to sub $20 prices.

It's not as bad with DVDs since there are no true rental priced only titles, but standard editions of current releases for the most part will come down in price from the $20 range to the $10-15 range after a few months after demand goes down. Like everything, the more demand for a title, the higher the price will stay. Special editions don't usually go down as much, but there are plenty of specials available from time to time (and, needless to say, used copies of everything become available within a few months as early purchasers and Blockbuster unload their inventory).

Sometimes, however, retailers will know that a title is going down on price and will try to maximize their profits by putting it on "sale" shortly before the price drop date. A $20 street price title is due to go down to $10 street price so the retailer runs a "sale" at $15.


Retailers, online or otherwise, make the most money off people who "have" to buy something immediately. If you are patient and observant, you can almost always get a better deal.

For me personally, there are no titles I have to buy. For example, I saw The Dark Knight in the theater, and I have no burning need to see it again right away. I've got lots of other good movies to keep me company. I will wait for a deluxe edition and buy it at a good price, even if it takes me a year or so.

Ah, now you're taking me back! I still recall my mom's efforts to find me Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country when it was released. She finally wound up buying a video store used copy for my birthday, because it was $100 at Suncoast and not available at all at Walmart. I, of course, was just grateful to have the movie so I didn't care that it was an ex-rental. That one VHS probably had a lot to do with my willingness to buy used movies to this day.

This is largely true, though I would point out that often a new title will be discounted upon release. Lately, it seems many retailers actually have a better price the following week.

You bring up an interesting point. Not so very long ago, the scheduling went as follows: First-run theatrical release, second-run theatrical release, VHS rental, VHS to own. Then, Pay-per-view came along and could stretch it out even longer. Now, we can buy a DVD just three months after many titles hit theaters. I know part of the reasoning for this is that studios know many people are staying home and they want to get current titles in their hands quickly, but I also wonder how many people who see movies in the theater aren't drawn to buy DVD's upon release because they're so fresh on their minds.

Studios have shortened the window because it greatly increases the sales of DVDs (BRs, downloads, rentals, and pay per view) without nuking movie ticket sales (so far).

It's about marketing, really. Marketing is expensive and mass marketing is about saturation and repetition -- something even more expensive. The theater run of a movie is both publicity for the film and for the DVD these days. The theatrical release comes with a big marketing push with trailers and commercials and stars hitting the talk shows, crossovers, toys in happy meals, hit songs, banner and print ads, billboards and kiosks. If the DVD of the movie comes out in three months along with short "reminder" commercials and some new content all that expensive theatrical marketing is fresh in the minds of consumers.

People who've seen the movie should be able to decide if it's something they need to own or not. Those that love the film buy it, those on the edge may get pushed over by one or two added features (ala "Unrated", extended cuts, alternate endings, etc).

-beebs

They were available for $4 each at big lots a week or 2 ago.

But dude really you just need to do your research, the deals are there.

I feel your pain. I had a similar experience with this one. I made up for it by buying extra copies at three bucks each at Big Lots to give as Christmas gifts this year.

This can be said about any commodity with a release date though. Prices fluctuate and the general trend over time is for the price to go down. If I want to buy a dvd, and the price right now is what I think is reasonable, I will buy it. Many times I will see the same item priced for less some time later, and my thought is, "I have been enjoying that movie for x months now, and to me that extra $10 spent was worth it". Aside from that, I mostly buy stuff I want close to release day, as that is when the price seems to be the lowest. Until the price changes.

I read a rumor about a Braveheart SE years ago on Digital Bits so I dumped my copy to get maximum dollar for it. It finally came out 3 years later... after I had already tasted the HD & BD kool-aid. So after all that waiting I didn't buy, and now I'm waiting again on a hi-def version. :lol:

Bye Bye Birdie.
With a list price of $30 I really did wait for years and the best I could find it for was $17.50 with a coupon. A few weeks later it was under $10 at DD. Also the two Blu-ray Bond sets that I got as a deal of the day on Amazon for the cheap price of $65 together was destroyed a few weeks later during their recent holiday Blu sale.

TV shows do suck in this area. I thought I was doing fantastic when I got the X-Files for around $22 a season at a DD buy one get one sale. (I can only imagine how folks who bought those sets at $100 a pop must feel.) I don't even want to talk about Buffy and Angel.

Lately, I've noticed that even some of the amazing deals I've gotten on titles are being beat by recent online sales. It's getting to the point where they'll start paying us to take them. ;)

I bought the X-files sets as they were released and never paid more than $30 for each, except for season 9. I paid around $90 for that one. Remember these came out when there were crazy deals on the net. In fact my greatest coup was getting season one for under $5 shipped when SRP was $150. The crazy deals dried up around the release of season 8 & 9.

At any rate, I consider X-files fans the ones laying the groundwork for every other show getting released.