Why is there not many 4K BD deals on Amazon lately?

[MrHT]

I don't understand. On iTunes and Vudu, there's been a whole mess of deals lately on 4K movies. But on 4K Blu-ray, it's been slim pickins on Amazon these past few months. I feel like it's been a while since I splurged on a few 4K titles because there just hasn't been much on Amazon lately. I'm checking the deals page on this website religiously everyday and there's just been nothing.

What's going on??

[ronboster]

In for two, I'll scalp the other one on ebay.

[Deadend45]

This belongs in the retail forum. Also iTunes and Vudu streaming are missing the UHD disc detail.

[Cranberry Moonwalk]

This is what happens when Amazon doesn't have any competition from retailers. They're not deal makers, they're deal matchers.

[YogiYahooeys]

No Best Buy to match...

[filmbuffTX]

Amazon had a good “Buy One Get One 50% off” sale just a few weeks ago in February. They had some recent titles included in it like Barbie 4K. I got Needful Things and Cutting Class, both in 4K.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...ht=amazon+b1g1

[Cherokee Jack]

Originally Posted by YogiYahooeys

No Best Buy to match...

Yep, price inflation was a very foreseeable consequence of BBY getting out of physical media. I can see there being a not insignificant ripple effect on studios being pickier with which new releases get BD/UHD as consumers wait longer and longer for decent discounts.

We’ll be hearing the same questions about Criterion prices if the Barnes & Noble sales ever go away. People, please buy from price leaders.

[sonicyogurt]

Originally Posted by filmbuffTX

Amazon had a good “Buy One Get One 50% off” sale just a few weeks ago in February.

Though in keeping with what Cranberry Moonwalk said above, Amazon was matching Target's sale. They're not great about initiating their own sales on BDs/UHD BDs.

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by abuislam

It's frustrating when there's a discrepancy in deals across different platforms, especially when you're eagerly waiting to splurge on some new 4K titles. It seems like there's been a recent surge of deals on digital platforms like iTunes and Vudu, while the selection on Amazon for 4K Blu-rays has been lacking.

There could be various factors at play here, such as differences in licensing agreements, inventory availability, or promotional strategies between retailers. It's certainly disappointing when the deals you're hoping for don't materialize, but hopefully, Amazon will restock soon with some enticing offers. In the meantime, keep an eye out for any updates and maybe consider exploring other platforms for your movie fix.

What's concerning about this is that this could kill physical media. If 4K digital titles are being discounted at $5-10 now while physical media titles are remaining at $25-30 with little to no sales, guess which way the average consumer is going to go? We have a chance to save physical media, but doesn't seem like anyone is trying anymore and has given up.

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by Deadend45

This belongs in the retail forum. Also iTunes and Vudu streaming are missing the UHD disc detail.

lol, I stared through all the sections on this forum to decide where a thread like this should go. And somehow, after all that pondering, I still picked the wrong section.

[filmbuffTX]

Originally Posted by sonicyogurt

Though in keeping with what Cranberry Moonwalk said above, Amazon was matching Target's sale. They're not great about initiating their own sales on BDs/UHD BDs.

Originally Posted by Jiggy707

It's really simple and it's been a concern for a few years now. As others are saying here, Amazon is primarily a price follower, not the leader. Their system automatically price matches their major competitors like Best Buy (removed all movies), Target (slowly limiting their movie selection), Walmart (wild card), etc. When Amazon's competitors don't offer a lower price, Amazon has no reason to lower theirs.



Amazon was matching Target's sale, as usual.

I got my sales mixed up. In January Amazon had a 3/$33 4K sale and another tier that was priced at 3/$40. It was their own sale. They weren’t matching anyone else.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...ostcount=19586

https://www.amazon.com/promotion/psp...f_=as_li_ss_tl

https://www.amazon.com/promotion/psp...source=dp_cxcw

[Deadend45]

Oh no! The thread got moved to the graveyard. haha

[JurassicBD]

BB has long been the biggest retailer pushing aggressive UHD pricing and solely responsible for the majority of amazon's UHD prices. I assume this was intentional, as to not be in quite as direct competition with walmart and target, which are more focused on DVD/BD and bring in far more foot traffic due to the wider variety of products they carry, including groceries.

UHD being the most premium home video format, also supposedly represents the smallest market share. So, if BB did opt to focus on the format of less interest to their competitors, it would explain why they might have shown more of an invested interest in growing the UHD market share via more aggressive sales. Though, one has to question just how precise market share data should be interpreted when DVD dominance has so often been misinterpreted, if not exaggerated by factoring copies sold to rental outlets. Also when we so routinely see UHD/BD combo pricing significantly lower than BD and DVD solo pricing for the same new-release title, you have to wonder, is it because they have more unsold stock, and if so, why do they so routinely over-order UHD. The more logical interpretation is the UHD is a much better seller than some believe. And Disney electing to release such hugely popular titles, like their recent Cameron wave, on UHD/BD combo only, no stand-alone BD, nor even updates to the sorely outdated 4:3 letterboxed DVDs of The Abyss and True Lies is a major head scratcher, IF long held presumptions of market dominance are to be taken with more than a grain of salt.

One also has to question whether or not a key piece of the puzzle as to why BB decided to exit media suddenly might be because they were told to expect UHD to be transitioned to a more premium-priced product or at least denied the same level of pricing that they had been getting for years, and they either didn't feel the format would sustain such market manipulation or didn't want to deal with the consumer blowback, from customers who have long expected better pricing from them, thinking they're to blame for prices that are set and stringently enforced by the studios themselves.

Physical media may not be in its last days quite yet, but budget friendly pricing may be another story, with the more premium product seeing higher prices first, as has long been forecast as part of the phasing out plan. A more limited supply being another key factor. One certainty is that without physical collectible media, home video will lose the consumer-centric edge it's enjoyed from competitive retail for the past 25 years, and studios will no longer be compelled to so aggressively price digital distribution. But, with multiple studios reporting billions in yearly losses sacrificed, it's obvious how committed they are to The Digital-Agenda.

[Deadend45]

BB exiting media is not sudden. Once their Canadian stores abandoned it years ago the usa chain was bound to follow.

[Cherokee Jack]

Originally Posted by MrHT

What's concerning about this is that this could kill physical media. If 4K digital titles are being discounted at $5-10 now while physical media titles are remaining at $25-30 with little to no sales, guess which way the average consumer is going to go? We have a chance to save physical media, but doesn't seem like anyone is trying anymore and has given up.

I think the average consumer is already going for streaming over disc, but this is basically what I was getting at with my last post. I don’t think the market for older films that are for the most part put out by boutique labels will change much, but new releases from the studios themselves are absolutely going to see sales drop if retailers are no longer competing on price point. Maybe some physical media collectors will shift over to streaming for these films in search of bargains but I suspect most will just buy less. I know I will.

[ronboster]

Originally Posted by Deadend45

Oh no! The thread got moved to the graveyard. haha

Or he could have just asked the question in one of the amazon deals threads...no need to start a separate thread in the wrong forum on a (amazon) Retail 101 type discussion.

[Deadend45]

As long as boutique labels keep the classics coming I am not worried.