Scream Factory Blu-ray Discussion Thread

[t_rav]

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

Posted earlier today...



I would imagine that this is the result of consistently breaking official street dates. Just an FYI to folks since I know many people that use this forum enjoy purchasing directly from them.

It’s not just Diabolik. Same thing with Bull Moose. I wanted to pre-order Return of the Living Dead II and The Tingler from them and both releases have the same message about not being able to take pre-orders. Sucks, but I get it.

[Tylur]

Originally Posted by critterdvd

Yup. They stated as much on their Facebook page awhile ago. It sounded like they are completely walking away from developing new content until the legal matters are resolved.

Yep. With this probably going to be a long winded court case too, id assume that by the time its settled the developers will have long walked away from the game at that point. What a bummer...

[L.J.]

Most of my Scream orders are done through BB. Preorders from them always have the slip and a good price to. Have on a few occasions ordered from Scream directly.

[RedHarvest]

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

At this time only those two months have been announced so I imagine why it's limited to them. Since July titles already have pre-orders available and sent in to Scream Factory it was likely too late for Scream factory to impose any sanctions on those titles without completely screwing up the orders. Perhaps its a short term punishment and pre-orders will resume for October titles, or perhaps it will be the new standard going forward and once October titles are announced they will be in a similar position. It's hard to say right now, but my hunch is that October titles will have pre-orders early but the days of getting orders early from diabolik are likely over.

This is not good news. I order A LOT through Diabolik, and the major selling point for me is the early shipping. Vestron titles, MVD titles, Kino titles, and many others from them always come at least a week early, and I love that. I order the majority of my Scream Factory releases from Scream Factory; is SF stopping early release, too? If titles stop shipping early, I'll resort totally to Amazon, which I don't want to do, but the extra money I pay makes it worth getting it early to me. No early shipping, no deal.

I hate that they're taking that away from Diabolik; he's stated he's on good terms with them. Wonder why they're cutting him out?

[themp3000]

Originally Posted by BrianJoynt

I hate that they're taking that away from Diabolik; he's stated he's on good terms with them. Wonder why they're cutting him out?

I doubt Scream will stop via their own store, they need to keep incentive to keep paying those ridiculous prices. I, for one, will simply relegate Scream/Shout stuff to “one day I’ll get them eventually” status if they want to prohibit my ability to preorder where I want. Fortunately, they’ve only got two things I want to buy this year (Valley Girl via Select, Scream for Help via Scream) so far so it’s minimal damage. Hopefully it remains a small list because I don’t like the label in general but will buy when no other options in the world are available.

But I don’t like this kind of move. It’s not like they were shipping out two weeks before street like Shout was, usually 1 week or less before street. He mentioned they are friends with people in Shout but we all know there’s a personal relationship and a professional one. We can only speculate this goes higher than those guys.

[TripleHBK]

Originally Posted by BrianJoynt

This is not good news. I order A LOT through Diabolik, and the major selling point for me is the early shipping. Vestron titles, MVD titles, Kino titles, and many others from them always come at least a week early, and I love that. I order the majority of my Scream Factory releases from Scream Factory; is SF stopping early release, too? If titles stop shipping early, I'll resort totally to Amazon, which I don't want to do, but the extra money I pay makes it worth getting it early to me. No early shipping, no deal.

I hate that they're taking that away from Diabolik; he's stated he's on good terms with them. Wonder why they're cutting him out?

I would imagine that because diabolik (and apparently Bullmoose) are consistently sending out their orders early before the official street date for less money than what Scream Factory charges that it has gotten them into some hot water at the moment. The primary incentive Scream Factory themselves promote as to why you should order directly from them is that you can get a film early. If other companies are also providing this same incentive, and for less money, it could directly impact the number of sales Scream Factory see's.

Scream Factory themselves will not be stopping early distribution if you order directly from them. They just don't want anyone else also shipping early.

At this time this is limited to only the Shout Factory titles, though it will be interesting to see if Diabolik changes it's shipping practices across the board as a result of this.

The Pre-order ban is temporary. Eventually future titles will show up well in advance on Diabolik the way they always have. As I stated earlier, the 2 month "no sales until the official release date" policy is likely a punishment passed down from Shout Factory to discourage any future titles from being shipped early.

On a side note... I mentioned this before, but there is a reason why these titles have street dates and companies are typically quite serious about their enforcement of them. Everything from toys, to music, to movies, to video games have sell dates in most cases. The bigger the property the more stringent the enforcement of the policy usually. I remember 10 years ago or so there were folks on Xbox live that were getting suspensions for attempting to play a game before the release date and as I mentioned previously, retailers used to face harsh penalty's for breaking street date... including in some instances, a distributor pulling all their future product from that particular store.

[The Great Owl]

I typically order Scream Factory/Shout Factory titles directly from their website, although I'd usually save a few dollars by ordering them elsewhere. It's a hassle-free process, though, and I love supporting the company directly.

I do a lot of business with DiabolikDVD, though. All of my Arrow Blu-rays are typically pre-ordered from them.

[RedHarvest]

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

I would imagine that because diabolik (and apparently Bullmoose) are consistently sending out their orders early before the official street date for less money than what Scream Factory charges that it has gotten them into some hot water at the moment. The primary incentive Scream Factory themselves promote as to why you should order directly from them is that you can get a film early. If other companies are also providing this same incentive, and for less money, it could directly impact the number of sales Scream Factory see's.

Scream Factory themselves will not be stopping early distribution if you order directly from them. They just don't want anyone else also shipping early.

At this time this is limited to only the Shout Factory titles, though it will be interesting to see if Diabolik changes it's shipping practices across the board as a result of this.

The Pre-order ban is temporary. Eventually future titles will show up well in advance on Diabolik the way they always have. As I stated earlier, the 2 month "no sales until the official release date" policy is likely a punishment passed down from Shout Factory to discourage any future titles from being shipped early.

On a side note... I mentioned this before, but there is a reason why these titles have street dates and companies are typically quite serious about their enforcement of them. Everything from toys, to music, to movies, to video games have sell dates in most cases. The bigger the property the more stringent the enforcement of the policy usually. I remember 10 years ago or so there were folks on Xbox live that were getting suspensions for attempting to play a game before the release date and as I mentioned previously, retailers used to face harsh penalty's for breaking street date... including in some instances, a distributor pulling all their future product from that particular store.

Thanks or the info; I'm understanding now. I didn't realize Diabolik was shipping titles for less than what SF was charging. I thought it was about the same. I can see why they would be penalized for that, if that is indeed the case.

If Diabolik intends to change things across the board regarding early shipping, they're going to lose a lot of business. I like that Diabolik is an independent seller of rare and cult Blu-rays, but in today's age, and in today's market, you have to do more--give more--if you want the consumer's business. I like to support Diabolik, but at the end of the day I'm just a working man, like everyone else, and if you can't give me something for that extra payment, you're going to lose my business altogether. In today's market, I don't even think anyone should be charging for shipping. That should be a cost for which the seller should take responsibility, especially when every other market is doing it.

If money was of no concern, I'd support independent businesses without an extra thought. So if you want my business, you're going to have to make it worth it for me, make me want to spend that extra buck. Early shipping is a feature I like, and don't mind paying for. Half the time I may not even watch it before it streets. But that's besides the point. As a collector and a completest, I want it as soon as possible.

[GasmaskAvenger]

I think it's an order from Warner Bros. and Sony, not Shout.

[critterdvd]

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

On a side note... I mentioned this before, but there is a reason why these titles have street dates and companies are typically quite serious about their enforcement of them. Everything from toys, to music, to movies, to video games have sell dates in most cases. The bigger the property the more stringent the enforcement of the policy usually. I remember 10 years ago or so there were folks on Xbox live that were getting suspensions for attempting to play a game before the release date and as I mentioned previously, retailers used to face harsh penalty's for breaking street date... including in some instances, a distributor pulling all their future product from that particular store.

This is basically a slap on the hand in comparison to what Shout! could do for them breaking street date, which is a legally binding date. This is why larger companies like Best Buy and WalMart actually have their system setup to not allow sales of anything for street date. The repercussions can potentially be quiet expensive... Personally I'm glad that Shout! essentially just gave them a warning, and did pursue things further at the moment.

[RedHarvest]

On that note, I'd like to see Diabolik become more of a label that releases films. RoninFlix is releasing their own version of Hardware. I wonder if Diabolik has interest in these things? I've asked RoninFlix what is going to be title number two for them, and they said there will not be a title two; they said they had the opportunity to release the film, and that it's a one-time deal. Still, you'd think Jesse at Diabolik would have some connections regarding rare films and the filmmakers who own them. But I'm sure it's not as simple as that...

[DenOfEarth]

Good thing i ordered Return of the Living Dead 2 and In The Mouth of Madness from Shout and Someone is Watching Me with Memoirs on amazon.

[bb8977]

Originally Posted by GasmaskAvenger

I think it's an order from Warner Bros. and Sony, not Shout.

Why would they order this ?

[TripleHBK]

Originally Posted by GasmaskAvenger

I think it's an order from Warner Bros. and Sony, not Shout.

Initially this was my thought as well, however I would think that once they've signed off on the license to Shout Factory in regards to what properties can be sold (and in some cases, which artwork can be used) that they no longer have authority as far as when a release occurs. Perhaps I'm wrong in this, but it would seem strange to me that the owner would make an agreement which allows for a company to put work into a product but would then dictate when they can or cannot release the product throughout the year. That decision seems beneath a major studio since they've already received their payment for the property.

[GasmaskAvenger]

Originally Posted by bb8977

Why would they order this ?

Probably as per the licensing agreements.

[TripleHBK]

Originally Posted by BrianJoynt

If Diabolik intends to change things across the board regarding early shipping, they're going to lose a lot of business. I like that Diabolik is an independent seller of rare and cult Blu-rays, but in today's age, and in today's market, you have to do more--give more--if you want the consumer's business. I like to support Diabolik, but at the end of the day I'm just a working man, like everyone else, and if you can't give me something for that extra payment, you're going to lose my business altogether. In today's market, I don't even think anyone should be charging for shipping. That should be a cost for which the seller should take responsibility, especially when every other market is doing it.

I'd argue the extra value that Diabolik provides is first and foremost access to a wide range of cult films from all over the world that are otherwise difficult to obtain. That aside, for domestic releases they clearly understand the collectors mentality as it pertains to packaging so a big part of the value of ordering from them is that they will ship your item in a box, securely.

On yet another sad note however.... the supreme court just ruled that states CAN enforce sales tax on online retailers. I'd expect that anyone/everyone online that is currently not charging tax will begin to do so in the next few months.

[critterdvd]

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

On yet another sad note however.... the supreme court just ruled that states CAN enforce sales tax on online retailers. I'd expect that anyone/everyone online that is currently not charging tax will begin to do so in the next few months.

Well it was nice while it lasted...

[Member-222782]

The only movies I order to get early are Arrow titles. Diabolik ships early but in my experience it's typically only one or two business days before the official street date. Street date compliance in 2018 is silly and pointless. This is a VHS era holdover rule that doesn't (or shouldn't) apply today. At least not for product from independent companies.

[Jay Mammoth]

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

On yet another sad note however.... the supreme court just ruled that states CAN enforce sales tax on online retailers. I'd expect that anyone/everyone online that is currently not charging tax will begin to do so in the next few months.

Damn glad i ordered my new OLED when I did.

[RedHarvest]

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

I'd argue the extra value that Diabolik provides is first and foremost access to a wide range of cult films from all over the world that are otherwise difficult to obtain. That aside, for domestic releases they clearly understand the collectors mentality as it pertains to packaging so a big part of the value of ordering from them is that they will ship your item in a box, securely.

On yet another sad note however.... the supreme court just ruled that states CAN enforce sales tax on online retailers. I'd expect that anyone/everyone online that is currently not charging tax will begin to do so in the next few months.

This is true, but every title they sell can be purchased elsewhere, and for cheaper. The average collector will most likely not be ordering a German mediabook from AmazonDE, but as an average collector becomes more of a savvy one, the options will eventually be explored. And most of those German mediabooks are cheaper ordered through a foreign Amazon. But like I said, I do like supporting Jesse and Diabolik, and I hope I can continue to do so. They ship well, and I know I don't have to worry about not receiving a slipcover if the item is newly released, or any of the other tricks retailers sometimes inadvertently pull. It's just that, when it comes down to it, if you can get the item the same time from anywhere you purchase it, people will most likely buy it where it's cheapest.