Blu-Ray/4K/DVD PRICES

[albabe]

I’ve recently noticed Blu-ray Prices have gotten pretty high, but the real problem is that they are not really being discounted much at all, at least not at Amazon. I’ve had my eye on a few titles for over a couple months and most of them haven’t dropped below $25. I'm an old retired guy on a fixed income. Pricing is important to me.

Maybe I’m a bit spoiled because I was a member of the Disney Store Club for some years and the prices were really decent if you bought a bunch.

And as much as I hate Amazon, I usually buy through them because of their Return Policy and (unlike some folks here) I very rarely receive a damaged Disc or Box.

As an example, here’s a few of the “Pop” discs I was looking at:

Harum Scarum [Blu-ray] - $24.15
Cat Ballou [Blu-Ray] - $27.95
Boy and the Heron - 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray - $32.96
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes - Blu-ray + Digital - $24.99
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire - BD/DVD Combo + Digital - $23.27
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (Blu-ray + Digital) $24.95
Kung Fu Panda 4 (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital) - 24.95

It's obvious I have weird taste...

I'm curious what you folks think?

[Bradsdadg]

Most of these you listed are new titles. I would guess that most will also be on sale during the holidays. Best bet is to wait until Black Friday and see what you can grab at that point. Also check the deals page on here. Target sometimes has deals like buy 2 get 1 free, etc.

[jtu128]

Two words, Best Buy. Physical media prices are noticeably higher and sales are rare. When there is less options and competition we lose.

[Member-839946]

Buy Amazon Third Party Used if available. I've only had two problems over a couple hundred disks in the last few years (looking at you HPB). No, the slips won't be mint, and the case might be scuffed. The disk might be scratched, but all I care about is whether it plays. And 99% of them have. You can often get titles for less than the $4 shipping they all charge.

After that, Kino's sales and especially Hamilton Book have bulked up my collection nicely. Bargain hunting is the game here, and patience. Set camelcamelcamel watches on the more expensive items you'd like and wait.

[orangerunner]

It's part-and-parcel with the decline of physical media sales and manufacturing.

With DVD in the early 2000s and to a lesser extent with Blu-ray, the sales volumes were so high and the market so competitive that sales and low prices were just a part of the retail landscape.

The new reality is the higher cost of production (lower volume of title runs), transportation, storage and distribution costs are all resulting in fewer price reductions.

[albabe]

Originally Posted by Bradsdadg

Most of these you listed are new titles. I would guess that most will also be on sale during the holidays. Best bet is to wait until Black Friday and see what you can grab at that point. Also check the deals page on here. Target sometimes has deals like buy 2 get 1 free, etc.

Thanx for responding<

That's exactly what my wife figured.

But over the years, I always just put a bunch of Films I wanna buy, mostly new, in my Amazon Cart, and the prices would fluctuate, sometimes all over the place, and sometimes within a few weeks or a month. Most of the Films I mentioned above have not shifter by over a Dollar since they were announced.

[albabe]

Originally Posted by orangerunner

It's part-and-parcel with the decline of physical media sales and manufacturing.

With DVD in the early 2000s and to a lesser extent with Blu-ray, the sales volumes were so high and the market so competitive that sales and low prices were just a part of the retail landscape.

The new reality is the higher cost of production (lower volume of title runs), transportation, storage and distribution costs are all resulting in fewer price reductions.

That's what I was thinking. I've worked in Comic Book most of my life and I've been very privy to the financial parameters of Production and Sales...

But I've been doing what I do in terms of buying habits, for decades and, literally, this seemed to change, virtually over night a few months back.

[benricci]

Those all seem like pretty fair prices for new titles. Either wait for them to go on sale after they’ve been on the market for a long time, buy used, or simply resolve yourself to the fact that this is what things cost.

At least it’s better than $100 laserdisc special editions that we had to suffer through in the early 90s, lol. If anything, it’s the golden age to be a physical media collector. I think you’ll find the most catalog titles are well below the prices that you’ve listed there, which again are seemingly just for new titles. Those will go down in price overtime.

[albabe]

One more thing that I literally just noticed. Amazon's rentals are insane.

And maybe this is a mistake, but "Inside Out 2" is listed for Digitally RENT at Amazon Prime for $24.99, and to Digitally BUY for $29.99. WTF??? Seriously!

[Majin Blu]

Originally Posted by albabe

I’ve recently noticed Blu-ray Prices have gotten pretty high, but the real problem is that they are not really being discounted much at all, at least not at Amazon. I’ve had my eye on a few titles for over a couple months and most of them haven’t dropped below $25. I'm an old retired guy on a fixed income. Pricing is important to me.

Maybe I’m a bit spoiled because I was a member of the Disney Store Club for some years and the prices were really decent if you bought a bunch.

And as much as I hate Amazon, I usually buy through them because of their Return Policy and (unlike some folks here) I very rarely receive a damaged Disc or Box.

As an example, here’s a few of the “Pop” discs I was looking at:

Harum Scarum [Blu-ray] - $24.15
Cat Ballou [Blu-Ray] - $27.95
Boy and the Heron - 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray - $32.96
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes - Blu-ray + Digital - $24.99
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire - BD/DVD Combo + Digital - $23.27
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (Blu-ray + Digital) $24.95
Kung Fu Panda 4 (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital) - 24.95

It's obvious I have weird taste...

I'm curious what you folks think?

Well, I'll already bet that Furiosa will be $10-14 during (or before) Black Friday. Like another posted mentioned, with Best Buy gone, there's not that many places to offer competitive prices. I understand you. I'm not retired, but I have a small monthly budget and honestly, I can see myself getting priced out of the hobby; especially since a lot of things I'm interested in are being put out by the independent labels. All you can do is play the waiting game and keep your eye open for the price drops.

[DoctorShazbot]

Originally Posted by jtu128

Two words, Best Buy. Physical media prices are noticeably higher and sales are rare. When there is less options and competition we lose.

This isn't great advice anymore. Most Best Buys are dropping physical media entirely. The four Best Buy stores near me don't sell them anymore.

[thornhill]

Originally Posted by DoctorShazbot

This isn't great advice anymore. Most Best Buys are dropping physical media entirely. The four Best Buy stores near me don't sell them anymore.

I don't think that was a Best Buy recommendation.

I imagine they meant that without Best Buy selling physical media anymore, there's no competition. Amazon no longer has any real incentive to discount discs. They have only been price matching for many years now.

[Guydowood]

Inflation! At least in the U.S.

[An4h0ny]

You don't have weird taste. I know what you mean though.

You might already do this but price trackers can sometimes be a help.

[benricci]

Originally Posted by Guydowood

Inflation! At least in the U.S.

If anything, home video releases by and large have been almost immune to inflation. Looking back over my purchase history, new blu-rays cost about $25 when they were initially released to the market back in 2006.

Today, most new releases still hover around that $20-$25 range when purchased new. Over 25 years ago, DVD releases retailed for the same $20-$25 in the US.

So again, we are lucky in that disc prices haven’t really risen steadily with the increased inflation in the United States, quite the opposite in fact.

[DoctorShazbot]

Originally Posted by thornhill

I don't think that was a Best Buy recommendation.

I imagine they meant that without Best Buy selling physical media anymore, there's no competition. Amazon no longer has any real incentive to discount discs. They have only been price matching for many years now.

True - Seems like I misread.

[orangerunner]

Originally Posted by benricci

If anything, home video releases by and large have been almost immune to inflation. Looking back over my purchase history, new blu-rays cost about $25 when they were initially released to the market back in 2006.

Today, most new releases still hover around that $20-$25 range when purchased new. Over 25 years ago, DVD releases retailed for the same $20-$25 in the US.

So again, we are lucky in that disc prices haven’t really risen steadily with the increased inflation in the United States, quite the opposite in fact.

This is very true! When I first starting collecting VHS tapes a sell-through VHS title such as Top Gun in 1987 was $29.95. The working minimum wage in 1987 was $4.50/hour.

Today a similar new release 4K might be $34.95 and the working minimum wage is $17/hour.

All things being equal when prices are weighed against the purchasing power of minimum wage, the 4K new release in 2024 should be $113.15!

Relatively speaking, we've got it pretty good compared with the past prices.

[Member-839946]

The inflation argument is missing the decreased mastering and manufacturing cost trend that was present until (I'm guessing) very recently.

Every computer I've bought and assembled has been less than $3000. Every time I do it, I'm amazed at what I can get for a fixed price. Some refresh cycles, it's a struggle to even spend it all ("I'd like the rest on a gift certificate, Pat.").

From the manufacturer's point of view, I'm guessing innovations in manufacture have allowed the final price to stay mostly constant while ensuring a given profit margin. But consumers AND manufacturers are being squeezed. Studios have to be seeing input costs rising, and consumers are feeling it in the wallet on everything.

I'm not making a prediction here, just noticing. But something's going to give. Probably higher prices AND lower volumes. At least initially. Be funny if a bad economy finally kills media.

[stonesfan129]

Originally Posted by albabe

I’ve recently noticed Blu-ray Prices have gotten pretty high, but the real problem is that they are not really being discounted much at all, at least not at Amazon. I’ve had my eye on a few titles for over a couple months and most of them haven’t dropped below $25. I'm an old retired guy on a fixed income. Pricing is important to me.

Maybe I’m a bit spoiled because I was a member of the Disney Store Club for some years and the prices were really decent if you bought a bunch.

And as much as I hate Amazon, I usually buy through them because of their Return Policy and (unlike some folks here) I very rarely receive a damaged Disc or Box.

As an example, here’s a few of the “Pop” discs I was looking at:

Harum Scarum [Blu-ray] - $24.15
Cat Ballou [Blu-Ray] - $27.95
Boy and the Heron - 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray - $32.96
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes - Blu-ray + Digital - $24.99
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire - BD/DVD Combo + Digital - $23.27
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (Blu-ray + Digital) $24.95
Kung Fu Panda 4 (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital) - 24.95

It's obvious I have weird taste...

I'm curious what you folks think?

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was just released maybe a little over a week ago. Give it a couple months and you'll likely be able to find this one much cheaper.

[jtu128]

Originally Posted by thornhill

I don't think that was a Best Buy recommendation.

I imagine they meant that without Best Buy selling physical media anymore, there's no competition. Amazon no longer has any real incentive to discount discs. They have only been price matching for many years now.

Thanks, you got it