Geoff here's a good/stupid idea to raise money for the site............
06-15-01 | 01:47 AM
#1
Thread Starter
DVD Talk God
Ok, either this is really stupid or really good. I don't know, so I'm just going to throw it out there. Since the dot com stuff is spiraling downwards, I was just brainstorming on a few ideas how to generate some cash.
My main question, Geoff, is do you get alot of DVDs that companies send out to review? I was thinking, why not sell those DVDs on the forum here. Or like auction them off. If you have an abundance of them, why not sell/auction them off. I mean, the only problem that I can see is that the companies who send them may get mad. I don't know. This was totally random and off the wall. Take it for what it's worth, I guess.
My main question, Geoff, is do you get alot of DVDs that companies send out to review? I was thinking, why not sell those DVDs on the forum here. Or like auction them off. If you have an abundance of them, why not sell/auction them off. I mean, the only problem that I can see is that the companies who send them may get mad. I don't know. This was totally random and off the wall. Take it for what it's worth, I guess.
I would like to buy a autographed copy of Snatch please.
06-15-01 | 07:06 AM
#3
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Selling DVD screeners isn't a good idea. First of all, I believe the screeners are not technically Geoff's to sell, if DVD screeners are like review copies in any other part of the entertainment industry. Though review copies and the like are <i>often</i> sold off by radio stations and video stores, for legal purposes, the studios reserve the right to have these discs returned upon demand. An individual radio station dumping screeners more than likely won't register a blip on the radar, but a prominent link on a very highly visible site frequented by studio folks is a much different situation. The only way to really grab people's attention and let them know this would be supporting DVD Talk would be a big announcement of some sort. Selling screeners would seriously jeopardize DVD Talk's relationships with numerous companies, large and small.
Another problem -- Geoff doesn't have most of them. Though Geoff does some reviewing and the screeners do come to him directly, the majority of the screeners are sent out to a bunch of individual reviewers -- around fifteen, I'd guess. Geoff might have a hard time holding onto reviewers, considering the time it takes to write a decent review. There's watching the movie, watching the movie with commentary, sorting through supplements, and at least for me, writing the actual review generally takes as long to do as watching the movie itself. If, after being sent a disc, reviewers had to immediately send it right back, the number of reviewers would probably drop off significantly, particularly if they had to pay to get the discs back to Geoff. <i>Someone</i> would have to pay for return postage. If Geoff paid for return postage, that'd be $3.50 to get it to the reviewer, and $3.50 to get it back. He'd be up to $7 in expenses per set, and I believe most reviewers are sent four discs at a time. $7 spread over four discs isn't a <i>lot</i>, and it's low enough that he'd probably pull a modest profit, but it would effectively kill off the reviews section and cause so much ill will with the studios that I don't think it'd be worth it.
SnoopDogg: As for the autographed discs, the studios send those to Geoff to promote <i>their</i> product. Geoff <i>might</i> be able to get away with selling screeners, but there's no way those sorts of promotions would continue if the studios caught wind of Geoff selling them.
Another problem -- Geoff doesn't have most of them. Though Geoff does some reviewing and the screeners do come to him directly, the majority of the screeners are sent out to a bunch of individual reviewers -- around fifteen, I'd guess. Geoff might have a hard time holding onto reviewers, considering the time it takes to write a decent review. There's watching the movie, watching the movie with commentary, sorting through supplements, and at least for me, writing the actual review generally takes as long to do as watching the movie itself. If, after being sent a disc, reviewers had to immediately send it right back, the number of reviewers would probably drop off significantly, particularly if they had to pay to get the discs back to Geoff. <i>Someone</i> would have to pay for return postage. If Geoff paid for return postage, that'd be $3.50 to get it to the reviewer, and $3.50 to get it back. He'd be up to $7 in expenses per set, and I believe most reviewers are sent four discs at a time. $7 spread over four discs isn't a <i>lot</i>, and it's low enough that he'd probably pull a modest profit, but it would effectively kill off the reviews section and cause so much ill will with the studios that I don't think it'd be worth it.
SnoopDogg: As for the autographed discs, the studios send those to Geoff to promote <i>their</i> product. Geoff <i>might</i> be able to get away with selling screeners, but there's no way those sorts of promotions would continue if the studios caught wind of Geoff selling them.
