Dark Force Entertainment Discussion Thread

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

Everyone, the best thing we can all do at this point is just put Ruined on our ignore lists (I'll lead the way). There's no point in engaging with him anymore.

If "engaging" me means attempting to convince me to participate in the nonstop negative feedback loop that some of the regulars in this thread facilitate, I agree.

[Braktastic]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

Everyone, the best thing we can all do at this point is just put Ruined on our ignore lists (I'll lead the way). There's no point in engaging with him anymore.

WAY ahead of you...

[babybreese]

Originally Posted by GetHarryPalmer

Only an idiot would call that comment idiotic, films like Outlaw Josey Wales (graphic violence, nudity and rape) were rated PG. True Grit, (profanity, fingers being chopped off) was rated G. If that's not laid back, I don't know what is. Josey Wales and dozens of other PG rated films from the 70s would receive R ratings today, if they were re-rated. True Grit would at the least receive a PG-13 rating today. Lawman was re-submitted due to it's GP rating, which no longer exists, but it was the equivalent of a PG rating and it would've received a PG rating if it came out a year later.

Harry, Harry Harry...

Originally Posted by GetHarryPalmer

Edit: Also, LAWMAN is the same cut,
stop making sh¡t up.
99 minute cut originally rated GP, now R.

Really.
Try watching it genius.
The level of ignorant arrogance continues to grow.

LAWMAN now has a bed scene with a rather topless Sheree North,
not present in the initial US release.

There are numerous examples of re ratings, like 1968's BIG BOUNCE,
later re rated R with no content change from the original lower rating.

LAWMAN has footage added back in, like CHATO'S LAND.

Some rating changes are due to restored footage,
sometimes, very rarely, due to leniency from the MPAA years later.


The start of the ratings in fall 1968 saw many odd ratings.
Some too soft, some too hard.

[nitin]

If DF lowers their item prices like they say they will, I don’t see the issue. If they don’t well...I am sure that Ruined will find a way to spin it anyway.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Also price likely isn't going to drop $5 per item. It may be something like $2 with the assumption under the old "free shipping" model the $4 (now $5 w/2019 increase) was built into the base price assuming an average order of 2 items. So if someone orders 1 item DF lost a little more profit under free shipping model, while if they ordered 3 items they gained a little more profit under free shipping model. Now, like Hamilton, idea is to see the real base price - total w/ shipping will likely be a bit more expensive for those who order 1 at a time, the same for orders of 2, and a savings for orders of 3+ - same way Hamilton Book isn't always the best deal ordering only 1 item at a time.

Originally Posted by Ruined

Likely base prices will drop ~$2 per titles once things are re-priced and you'll need to order a couple of items at once to get the same overall price via the old "free shipping" model - just the same as how ordering one item from Hamilton Book (or Diabolik) at a time often does not yield the the best price. But, order a couple items it will probably cost the same, or order 3+ and you will likely save some money under the new model.

Where do you come up with these arguments? Dark Force has already basically stated that they have factored in $5 per title for shipping.

Originally Posted by Dark Force

I'm surprised to hear that you feel our prices are outrageous personally. We do free shipping so that automatically takes 5.00 off of each movie which most places charge for shipping. So that makes the average price of a new release on blu-ray about 19.99. The only ones that are obviously higher priced are the rarer Code Red titles which I thought we were doing the fans a favor by getting. The reason those are higher is we have to pay a whole lot more to Code Red to get them otherwise we would gladly have them the same price as the others or lower. But regardless even those are way cheaper than what they charge on Ebay for the same movie. Unfortunately there is only so low we can go to make this work as a business. These movies do not sell huge quantities for anyone any more. When we switched to the new store site we were very tempted to drop the free shipping so people could clearly see the real price without the 4 to 5 dollars that goes to shipping in there. Maybe we shouldn't bother with the "OOP" ones either. We don't get very many and definitely not the brunt of the business obviously.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by gbm82

I wonder why VS packages arrive so fast, they seem to get to me quicker than anything else (except Ronin). I am still waiting on packages from Hamilton Book and Grindhouse Video that shipped days before my last VS order that I arrived Monday. Maybe they actually ship them everyday and the other companies just create the shipping label and have specific days they hit the post office?

It probably depends on your specific location. GoldenWheels has previously mentioned, with some exceptions, that they fill up pallets and once the pallet is full it goes to the NDC. Some pallets to less traveled locations take longer to fill.

Originally Posted by GoldenWheels

I wouldn't worry just yet if your tracking isn't updated.

We use EVS tracking, which is far less responsive than say, Priority Mail tracking. Priority Mail is scanned (I think) at almost every USPS facility it touches. Our pallets go to the New Jersey NDC for country wide distribution, all loaded into HUGE 4X4 boxes, which then go to YOUR closest NDC, where the 4X4 big boxes are opened, and THEN the individual packages get scanned into the mailstream. So 2-3 days before an update scan is not unusual.

Perfection, you're in Iowa, yours may be even a little slower than most, and I apologize if it is, let me explain why it might be: there are 22 NDCs in the US. We put each package in the proper NDC box, and when the boxes are full they go on the daily truck. Your NDC is in Des Moines, and the Des Moines NDC is one of the only ones where we sometimes run the box out based on how long it has been sitting there, as opposed to being full, because we get so few orders from that area. Springfield, Jersey, San Fran, etc, they fill up every day on their own. Des Moines doesn't.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by delicreep

Vinegar Syndrome uses media mail, at 4 bucks. I've never had any issues ordering from them except the expected longer shipping times, but even that's hardly an issue. My January package took 5 business days to go from Connecticut to California. I have no problem with that.

I've had them use First-Class and Priority mail for that price.

[Ruined]

Re: the base price just speculating as it would make sense to build the shipping price into the items based on the average # of items per order. More average items per order means less shipping cost can be built into each item and vice versa. Figured most people buy at least 2 items at a time, otherwise why would people want flat fee shipping as so many were asking for?

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Per USPS estimation, media mail I believe is 2-9 days and First Class is 2-5 days if I recall.

First-Class mail is 1-3 days and Priority Mail is 1, 2, or 3 days depending on distance.

https://www.usps.com/ship/mail-shipping-services.htm
https://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm100/dmm100.pdf

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Their storefront (ie I'm sure bigcartel did) and payment processor might take a cut or cost money I'm sure.

Both storefronts charge a flat monthly rate based on the services your want, but they don't take a cut based on each sale. PayPal does take a small percentage per sale though for payment processing.

https://www.bigcommerce.com/pricing/
https://www.bigcartel.com/pricing

[Dark Force]

Originally Posted by DMRI2006

No but the increases are substantial enough now using 1st Class mail to the point where many businesses online are going to have to either a) raise their shipping rates or b) raise the product price to compensate for the difference. DF is hardly alone here.

Either way the rates are what they are and DF isn't wrong that it basically costs $5 to use 1st Class to mail a single Blu-Ray. If it's a BD that's 2 discs or has a booklet (or just uses a heavier mailer) it's at least 5 oz. and that's $4.81 from coast to coast. Doesn't even include the cost of that mailer.

People on here are acting like they're making it up and inflating their rates -- they're not at all. Go to USPS and try to ship a 4 or 5 oz. 1st Class package from east to west coast, which is where the biggest increases are, and see what you get.

This doesn't apply to MEDIA, though, which is what Hamilton uses and is the most economical form of shipping and DF may want to implement that...it just takes longer (and leads to complaints from the impatient lol).

This is exactly right. The increase hits us hard on the packages that weigh 5 ounces or more which are a major portion of them. It isn't too bad on the 4 ounce ones for most of the zones. After much consideration we would rather impose a shipping fee and lower the prices of the titles which looks more attractive at first glance and gives people the incentive to buy more than one.

[Dark Force]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

The cost to ship a 4 oz package, which is the weight of a single blu-ray, went from $2.66 to $2.96 (when buying postage online), so shipping went from free to $5 because of a .30 increase. If the price of all titles drop by $5, fine. But it looks like they stayed the same, which if true means you're just using this as an excuse to jack up the prices even further.

Most of our packages are not 4 ounces they are between 7 and 12 ounces and that is where the rate increase is much worse. We don't need an excuse to jack anything up because we will actually be lowering the prices of all the titles with the new flat shipping charge will be work out way better for the customers especially when buying multiple titles.

[gbm82]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

It probably depends on your specific location. GoldenWheels has previously mentioned, with some exceptions, that they fill up pallets and once the pallet is full it goes to the NDC. Some pallets to less traveled locations take longer to fill.

That makes sense. I wonder if Grindhouse Video does something similar. My order from the UK, that I made after I got the shipping notice from Grindhouse, has already arrived. But honestly, I don't really mind it taking longer, I have enough movies to watch and my recent purchases were things I thought might sell out for good or too good of a deal to pass. As long as the stuff shows up in good condition...

[Dark Force]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Per USPS estimation, media mail I believe is 2-9 days and First Class is 2-5 days if I recall. In my own experience generally first class takes 2-4 days and media mail 4-7 days. The biggest downside to media mail I've found is packages seem to get more beat up, so they need beefier packaging if you plan to ship something that could get damaged easily (like a blu w/ slipcover for instance). During holidays when USPS is overwhelmed I've also seen media mail frequently sit at the hubs for days as its the lowest priority while first class generally keeps moving. When I ship an item 100% of the time I go with First Class if the price difference is only a dollar or two more than media mail.

One other side note - USPS reserves right to open and inspect all media mail packages. I once traded in like $400 of DVDs a long time ago to a reputable DVD online store, and sent via media mail. Mysteriously, around half the DVDs were stolen on the way... probably due to an "inspection" as it went directly to the DVD store's warehouse.

Thank you again RUINED. This is exactly our thoughts. Yes, media mail is cheaper but it definitely takes longe and definitely gets more beat up. We already spend extra money on bubble wrap and cardboard to assure the videos arrive perfect which many collector's are concerned about. First Class is definitely worth the additional money and since we are not charging more for additional titles ordered it will greatly benefit reducing the costs of multiple title orders like you wisely pointed out earlier.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Dark Force

This is exactly right. The increase hits us hard on the packages that weigh 5 ounces or more which are a major portion of them. It isn't too bad on the 4 ounce ones for most of the zones. After much consideration we would rather impose a shipping fee and lower the prices of the titles which looks more attractive at first glance and gives people the incentive to buy more than one.

Funny, for comparison sake, the USPS Commercial First-Class Package Services rates for 1-4 oz. in 2018 was $2.66 and rates for the same oz. in 2019 is $2.66. The rates for 5-8 oz. in 2018 were $2.79, $2.92, $3.05, and $3.18 respectively. In 2019, the rates for 5-8 oz. is $3.18. Worst case it's a $0.39 increase per package.

[frakking toaster]

Currently watching Freeway 2 on blu. For being a 4k scan of the OCN this looks pretty bad.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Dark Force

After much consideration we would rather impose a shipping fee and lower the prices of the titles which looks more attractive at first glance and gives people the incentive to buy more than one.

How about increasing the selection of titles as well? We know Bill has many more titles to sell than just what’s been at the DF store recently.

[miribeau]

Originally Posted by Ruined

One other side note - USPS reserves right to open and inspect all media mail packages.

USPS can and does inspect all packages at will. The notation about the right to inspect media mail packages, specifically, is because they inspect them at a higher rate, to ensure that "media" items are what is being shipped. However, they don't inspect media mail as much as they used to, because it costs money to pay people to do that and theft is a huge problem.

Originally Posted by gbm82

I wonder why VS packages arrive so fast, they seem to get to me quicker than anything else (except Ronin).

VS packages vary. They ship so much, so often, but, at monthly shipping time it is a huge amount day after day. As a result, packages arriving at nearly the same destination in CA can be separated by days and days even when they were scanned in at approximately the same time. With media mail, the time frame can be two weeks at the outside, all because of USPS delays after VS has already dropped the packages off.

Originally Posted by indravayu

I sold a bunch of blurays recently (in December) and shipped each one from Los Angeles to various parts of the USA via First Class.

I have some of my receipts right here...the postage was $3.75 and the single blu-ray sized padded envelopes were $1.79 each.

So, $5.54 was my total (maybe it's less if someone has a USPS account and buys envelopes in bulk?).

Never thought I'd say it. Agreed. For the one person I know who sells old DVDs on ebay, it is really about 5, one of the many reasons I won't bother with it. So, if DF lowers the prices by 3.50 or so per title, they will be able to save money on shipping overall and still be lowering according to what they were spending before, removing that charge from the item price. If they lowered it by all 5, they'd be eliminating the part they spend on packaging and their own time. Maybe 4 off the price would work, but only if they have really cheap materials or a sudden decrease in cost for materials.

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

Generally speaking people/companies aren't paying for an envelope one at a time. Buying in bulk is an overhead cost that would only add pennies on the price of each product offered/sold when spread across all titles offered.

This only works if the company does a huge volume, like Hamilton. For DF, the expenditure for thousands of mailers at once would be too great. Maybe later, if they start selling the entire CR catalogue. For example, if they were selling that many films, then there would be potential for bulk orders. As it stands, they have a small enough selection that most orders will be for one or two items at a time. Who is going to wait a year to order SoaWN just to have three or four items in a shipment?

Originally Posted by Dark Force

Thank you again RUINED. This is exactly our thoughts. Yes, media mail is cheaper but it definitely takes longe and definitely gets more beat up. We already spend extra money on bubble wrap and cardboard to assure the videos arrive perfect which many collector's are concerned about. First Class is definitely worth the additional money and since we are not charging more for additional titles ordered it will greatly benefit reducing the costs of multiple title orders like you wisely pointed out earlier.

Are you going to be phasing in a larger portion of the CR catalogue, hopefully most of it, taking over distribution for Bill, or is he still deciding how he feels about the temporary distribution arrangement you've had during his illness?

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by miribeau

This only works if the company does a huge volume, like Hamilton. For DF, the expenditure for thousands of mailers at once would be too great. Maybe later, if they start selling the entire CR catalogue. For example, if they were selling that many films, then there would be potential for bulk orders. As it stands, they have a small enough selection that most orders will be for one or two items at a time. Who is going to wait a year to order SoaWN just to have three or four items in a shipment?

What are your smoking miribeau, you don't have to ship in large quantities to take advantage of buying bubble mailers in small quantities as TripleHBK has stated. They can even purchase direct from Uline, which most companies do, and pay as little as $0.152 per mailer.

https://www.uline.com/BL_2357/Uline-...Bubble-Mailers

[miribeau]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

What are your smoking miribeau, you don't have to ship in large quantities to take advantage of buying bubble mailers in small quantities as TripleHBK has stated. They can even purchase direct from Uline, which most companies do, and pay as little as $0.152 per mailer.

https://www.uline.com/BL_2357/Uline-...Bubble-Mailers

I love that you posted a link to Uline Econo-mailers, described as, "Featherlight with tough 1/8" bubble for greater postal savings". If DF shipped in cheap mailers, DD would get a personal message from me asking why he's decided he hates me.

Also, in case it needs to be said, DD, please don't switch to cheapo, thin, easily damaged mailers, over at DF, because most of us like receiving undamaged films.

My Shatner slip was perfect precisely because DF ships in a thick mailer and adds cardboard.