Elephant in the Blu-ray room: The Economy

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by DEMCAD

With this severe economic downturn, is it realistic to think that people will pay 35 dollars for a home video (blu ray).

I own over 550 DVDs, recently purchased a Playstation 3 and several blu ray movies. I don't think that blu ray can go mainstream if stores like Best Buy and Circuit City continue to sell blu rays movies for 30 and 35 dollars.

The third quarter retail numbers were horrible and it looks like people aren't going to be spending much this holiday season, because of the fears of a recession.

Blu ray prices MUST come down.

I'm talking...
DVD $15
Blu ray $20

Let me guess........ fellow Canadian, right?

Canadian prices on Blu-ray in-store at any major retailer are always $30-$35. If we are lucky, the price will drop by $3-$5 after 40 weeks of being available.

That is why Amazon.com was such an awesome resource before they went and decided to not lube up before bending us over their kitchen sink with the new "import fee" nonsense!

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

Canadian prices on Blu-ray in-store at any major retailer are always $30-$35. If we are lucky, the price will drop by $3-$5 after 40 weeks of being available.

That is why Amazon.com was such an awesome resource before they went and decided to not lube up before bending us over their kitchen sink with the new "import fee" nonsense!

Don't forget the Rodney Dangerfield the Canuck Buck has gotten in the last two weeks.

[MAPdead]

Recently I have seen new releases of blu rays on sale cheap during their first week out maybe you should pick them up then. I never pay of 25 bucks for a blu ray unless its a box set.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by dialog_gvf

Don't forget the Rodney Dangerfield the Canuck Buck has gotten in the last two weeks.

Even at $0.84 CAD to the U.S. $1, Amazon.com + shipping always provided me with a $5-$10 per title savings. Now, that import fee makes it about the same price from Amazon.com when taxes come into play.

[Anthony P]

He means its a problem nobody wants to adress

but it is not a problem. if it is a problem then he should prove it. At this point, like a drunk guy, he sees a pink elephant and for some reason he thinks the rest of us don't want to deal with it. Like I said in the post you quoted and like many others have said, every time in history bad times lead to movie booms and not busts. And all the data so far shows the same is happening this year and not only for BD (where it would be hard to show since it is an emerging standard and so will naturally have growth) but for DVD and studios.

[jd213]

He's just parrotting all the bloggers that have been posting chicken little "the economy is going to kill Blu-ray" stories based on wishful speculation. They all conveniently ignore the fact that the entertainment industry does great in recessions.

[RazorFromHRSnet]

Originally Posted by DEMCAD

"The entertainment industry is one of those that are resistant to economic turmoil."

Really, if you believe that, you're delusional.

The problem is that too many mainstream stores are overpricing these blu rays.

Originally Posted by jd213

He's just parrotting all the bloggers that have been posting chicken little "the economy is going to kill Blu-ray" stories based on wishful speculation. They all conveniently ignore the fact that the entertainment industry does great in recessions.

Particularly now with home entertainment. If someone can pick up a $200 Bluray player for the family on Black Friday and start watching movies at home, they will. Especially when where I live, the cheapest way to see a movie is at an AMC when they do "A.M. Cinema" on Friday, Sat and Sunday - they have 1 showing of each movie before noon, and it's $7. So if you need to buy 3 adult tickets and 2 child tickets you're looking at $31... plus snacks and gas - you're looking at a minimum of $50 to take a family of 5 to the movies. (I am assuming that one of the three kids is over 11 and has to pay grown up price).

Compare that to even a full price of $35 for a BluRay and a bag of microwave popcorn?

[vanscottie]

Yup, just takes a little searching of websites and in-store sales. Personally I won't spend more than $23.00 for a Blu, plus I like to wait for "Buy 1 Get 1 Free" deals through Deep Discount and Columbia House. The key is to just wwaaaiiitt, whatever you want will eventually go down in price

[tron3]

Originally Posted by jd213

...They all conveniently ignore the fact that the entertainment industry does great in recessions.

During "The Great Depression" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression) two things remained popular. Movies, and Pinball. Yes, Pinball was developed during the depression and it was 6 balls for a nickle. I recall reading a story how out of work men would spend all day playing and watching Pinball. It was a fascination like no other.

That is not what I call responsible job hunting, but you had to figure any jobs like construction were snapped up early in the morning. Within an hour or so those temp jobs were gone. So, they passed the time for the rest of the day at the Pinball parlors.

It's funny no matter how tight money becomes people will still see that movie, buy that game, get a coffee, etc.

http://www.bmigaming.com/pinballhistory.htm

[4K2K]

I am confused. What has the question got to do with elphants?

[Marine Mike]

Originally Posted by tron3

During "The Great Depression" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression) two things remained popular. Movies, and Pinball. Yes, Pinball was developed during the depression and it was 6 balls for a nickle. I recall reading a story how out of work men would spend all day playing and watching Pinball. It was a fascination like no other.

That is not what I call responsible job hunting, but you had to figure any jobs like construction were snapped up early in the morning. Within an hour or so those temp jobs were gone. So, they passed the time for the rest of the day at the Pinball parlors.

It's funny no matter how tight money becomes people will still see that movie, buy that game, get a coffee, etc.

http://www.bmigaming.com/pinballhistory.htm

I thought it was spent heavily drinking at bars.

[bluskiff]

I hate it when I go into futureshop and the new blu of the week is front racked
with a 34.99 price tag on it. The sale price is really 29.99 but the store was to lazy to put the right price on. All this does is scare away buyers I never pay over 29.99 for a blu. I was at futureshop last week poltergeist was 34.99 I went to walmart it was 22.99 I think futuershop are doing this on purpose.

[sparksj]

I have never had a problem spending even $39.99 for a BR disk. Granted, I would not spend this much for ever. But I understand that new technology costs money. Hell I remember when Blank DVDs cost $20 each. Now I can get a box of 30 for $9.99.

Anyway, it's all how you look at it. I have three kids. When I take them to the local thearter (which only charges $4 per ticket) I spend $16 dollars just to get them in. Then they all "HAVE" to have popcorn and candy. They sell a kids package for $4.95 each. So that's $15 more. Then I might want a coke and Candy ($5 more). So now I'm up to $36.00.

So you see, in my mind, I can just go buy the movie for $25,00 - $29.00 and save about $10. And I still get to watch the movie multiple times.

I guess you could argue that I had to buy a PS3 and a nice TV too, but those are not just used for movies. So in a sense, I would have gotten those anyway.