What is the pricing structure of Blu-ray discs?

[PoorSignal]

I have my HT built around blu-ray player and I am excited to start buying some titles.

If I buy a movie today for $20..
Are some $20 BD titles going to a bin at walmart for $x.99 in a couple of years? I think the answer is yes.. But what determines that a movie price would drop to $10 or less? Of course at some point the next great format will come along, but for now how to shop wisely for the life of Blu Ray format?

There are some movies I want to own on BD but it could wait if it is something I do not need to (re)watch right away. I also look closely at the deals on Amazon, BB etc.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by PoorSignal

I have my HT built around blu-ray player and I am excited to start buying some titles.

If I buy a movie today for $20..
Are some $20 BD titles going to a bin at walmart for $x.99 in a couple of years? I think the answer is yes.. But what determines that a movie price would drop to $10 or less? Of course at some point the next great format will come along, but for now how to shop wisely for the life of Blu Ray format?

There are some movies I want to own on BD but it could wait if it is something I do not need to (re)watch right away. I also look closely at the deals on Amazon, BB etc.

Here is a great tool. https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=3207

Prices fall faster for catalog titles than New releases. It helps to get familiar with studios too. I think slowmovers drop a little quicker as well.

[MosHighDef]

the pricing structure is a joke. Almost all titles are overpriced for mediocre movies

[koontz1973]

Everything will go down in price, even to a .99$ bin at walmart. Buy the ones you want or by the time you do, the next format will be here and you will only have one or two titles.

Me, I never buy day one as the prices almost always go down within a month.

[Another_Dude]

Originally Posted by PoorSignal

I have my HT built around blu-ray player and I am excited to start buying some titles.

If I buy a movie today for $20..
Are some $20 BD titles going to a bin at walmart for $x.99 in a couple of years? I think the answer is yes.. But what determines that a movie price would drop to $10 or less? Of course at some point the next great format will come along, but for now how to shop wisely for the life of Blu Ray format?

There are some movies I want to own on BD but it could wait if it is something I do not need to (re)watch right away. I also look closely at the deals on Amazon, BB etc.

I'll go ahead and take this topic off track a little ways.

Remember that there are other options when buying Blu than walking into Walmart or Best Buy and pulling a new title off the shelf. With the durability of the discs buying used can be a great option to save a few dollars here and there. A lot of people blind buy titles on release date and have them up for sale a week later, either on the forums here or on Amazon.

Many towns also have stores that will buy and resell used media and some deals can be found there. A store in my town will run a "buy 2 get 1 free" deal on used Blus and I've added a lot to my collection that way.

Generally, if a title is $27.xx on launch day you can wait 3-4 weeks for a better price if you don't want it on day one. Not all studios do this, but you'll get a feel for it if you start watching prices and trends.

Two years ago I watched this stuff on stock prices. Losing my tail really hurt on that, so now I do the same thing with $20 movies and have a lot more fun.

[steve_dave]

Originally Posted by MosHighDef

the pricing structure is a joke. Almost all titles are overpriced for mediocre movies

Betamax tapes minimum pricing was $34.99 US.

VHS tapes had a minimum price of $29.99 for major Hollywood films while independent and public domain stuff sold for around $14.99 to $19.99. Rental only copies of tapes were anywhere from $79.99 to $109.99.

Laserdiscs were priced anywhere from $39.99 to $149.99 depending on the title and this was at the end of Laserdisc's life.

VideoCDs were priced at a minimum of $24.99 and didn't dip below that until years after the format's death in the US.

Anime DVDs minimum pricing was $39.99 at the beginning of the format and still hovers at a minimum $14.99. Manga Video, Tokyo Shock, and Bandai promised "value-line" titles but these were the $40 titles repriced to $15 four years after their initial release.

Hell, Fox priced trailer-only non-anamorphic DVDs at $39.99 US when they frist started releasing them. It took almost two years before they fully embraced a $29.99 price point.

So yeah, you can complain about Blu-ray Disc pricing but really, just like any other object you buy, you have to do the research of total cost of ownership. Its like a car...a Kia will cost you around $10k but the overall cost of ownership is going to push that to nearly $20,000. I mean we gladly take big discounts on equipment for cable and satellite sevice but the overal monthly fee is the doozy. If you knew going into this, the pricing of the "add-ons," in this case BDs, then you really need to decide if a title is something you gotta have now or can you wait a few years, maybe more for it to finally hit the "bargain bin."

On the other side of this spectrum, I can see the argument about Disney raising prices. Sure some people are going to say Paramount does it toos but c'mon...Paramount put a lot of effort into the catalog titles that retail for $40 including new extras. Disney's The Waterboy is $40 with no extras whtsoever.

[YodasFootPowder]

Every media's price seems like a joke when the format is new and when a new movie comes out. Look at video games. $59.99 for most titles. And usually with 3-4 weeks they're on sale or permanently dropped to like, $39.99, sometimes less.

Plain and simple with anything, if you want it right away, you pay more.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by YodasFootPowder

Plain and simple with anything, if you want it right away, you pay more.

Absolutely.... no Crystal Ball is going to tell you that "Benjamin Button" is going to drop to $15, and Ghostbusters could be had for $8

Some movies just get cheap fast.... others are sitting in many peoples' wish-lists, just waiting for the day to drop below $20

[syncguy]

In case of movies, mainly you pay for the content rather than the technology - of course technology adds to the cost and there is some technology factor in the price.

Blu-ray movies cannot be any different to DVDs. I would expect in about few years blu-ray movies would have similar pricing to current DVDs.

[Sith]

All I know is the only 2 titles coming up I'm willing to drop $27 bucks on is
Snow White and Star Trek...

But something tells me Star Trek if you wait till day after Thanksgiving will
be available somewhere like frys for $20-22...

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Sith

All I know is the only 2 titles coming up I'm willing to drop $27 bucks on is
Snow White and Star Trek...

But something tells me Star Trek if you wait till day after Thanksgiving will
be available somewhere like frys for $20-22...

Star Trek was my favorite movie this year, and I still won't drop $27 on it. However, for $20 I'd jump all over it.

[Sith]

Originally Posted by fireman325

Star Trek was my favorite movie this year, and I still won't drop $27 on it. However, for $20 I'd jump all over it.

I'm only gonna do it cause I know I'll watch it with the whole family
up at my in-laws house on Thanksgiving and that is worth the extra $7.00
to me...but normally I'd totally agree with you..

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Sith

I'm only gonna do it cause I know I'll watch it with the whole family
up at my in-laws house on Thanksgiving and that is worth the extra $7.00
to me...but normally I'd totally agree with you..

I can't blame you for that. I would probably do the same under such circumstances.

[Propellarhead9]

Something tells me it will probably only be around 20 on release day seeing as Watchmen was.

ebay is a good place to find some decent dealing to, I have bought most of mine there and haven't spent more than 10 bucks on anything I bought there. Granted a lot of them have been older titles.

[koontz1973]

Originally Posted by fireman325

Star Trek was my favorite movie this year, and I still won't drop $27 on it. However, for $20 I'd jump all over it.

Now that is a good price to buy at. Set a limit and stick to it.

I know BD discs and strong but if you jump all over it, do you not feel you might damage it.