Why are Blu-rays sometimes cheaper than DVDs?
10-16-13, 07:58 PM
#1
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Thread Starter
Why are Blu-rays sometimes cheaper than DVDs?
Not all, and I've only been looking for a little bit, but I am encountering many cases where a BD/DVD is cheaper than the same title's DVD, or the BD is cheaper. Some are sale prices, yes.
Is it loss leader type stuff? To get people into the stores and potentially buy something else? Or is it format loss leader, to get BD disks to be an even larger proportion of the market? If it's not loss leader, then wow we have been overpaying for a long time. Or is it a last grasp to hold on to physical media versus streaming?
Examples: Right now Breaking Bad s1 is 20 on BD and 33 on DVD. Today I bought Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunter on combo disk for 10 bucks, I think the DVD was 10 or 15.
Is it loss leader type stuff? To get people into the stores and potentially buy something else? Or is it format loss leader, to get BD disks to be an even larger proportion of the market? If it's not loss leader, then wow we have been overpaying for a long time. Or is it a last grasp to hold on to physical media versus streaming?
Examples: Right now Breaking Bad s1 is 20 on BD and 33 on DVD. Today I bought Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunter on combo disk for 10 bucks, I think the DVD was 10 or 15.
10-16-13, 08:33 PM
#2
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Why are Blu-rays sometimes cheaper than DVDs?
It's all tied to inventory levels and each version's demand curve. Some movies sell better on one format or the other. Each format is often independently priced to maximize revenue, which leads to weird situations where the Blu-ray is much cheaper than the DVD. You don't tend to see this from the studios with coherent pricing strategies like Warner.
10-16-13, 08:59 PM
#3
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Why are Blu-rays sometimes cheaper than DVDs?
It's interesting, I have noticed this as well.
For instance, "Pain & Gain" is $22.99 for the DVD and $15.99 for the Blu-ray/DVD combo at Best Buy in Canada this week.
In addition, the Blu-ray combo is also part of their Trade and Save program which gives you an extra $5 off when you trade in a DVD.
It's a fairly new release so I'm surprised they are so quick to move this title at a cheap price.
For instance, "Pain & Gain" is $22.99 for the DVD and $15.99 for the Blu-ray/DVD combo at Best Buy in Canada this week.
In addition, the Blu-ray combo is also part of their Trade and Save program which gives you an extra $5 off when you trade in a DVD.
It's a fairly new release so I'm surprised they are so quick to move this title at a cheap price.
10-17-13, 02:15 AM
#4
DVD Talk Reviewer & TOAT Winner
Re: Why are Blu-rays sometimes cheaper than DVDs?
I've seen that happen a few times- one recent movie I bought at Target had the Blu-Ray/DVD set on sale, and the DVD by itself was Target's regular price which was the same as the Blu-Ray's sale price. Seen lots of instances where one movie by itself was about the same price as a multi-film set containing that movie and one or two others also.
