Boutique Sales Megathread: Complete List of Current/Upcoming Sales

[dvdvhsvcd]

were about to enter a global recession, i think taxed physical media will be the least of our worries

[surfinhank]

Yep, it's kinda weird how all the other retailers didn't post any kind of disclaimer at the exact same time as Orbit. Mighty confusing.....

Maybe they'll just adjust prices and not offer any kind of explanation. But hopefully this will all get settled and it won't be too bad. Sure would hate to go back to the days of Laserdisc pricing.

[Zapp Brannigan]

Originally Posted by surfinhank

Yep, it's kinda weird how all the other retailers didn't post any kind of disclaimer at the exact same time as Orbit. Mighty confusing.....

Maybe they'll just adjust prices and not offer any kind of explanation. But hopefully this will all get settled and it won't be too bad. Sure would hate to go back to the days of Laserdisc pricing.

Atomic sold out of their Nice Guys preorders and put a disclaimer on the listing for those that the price may increase if they get more copies.

NOTE: Our allocation for this product is now sold out. Additional copies might be available at a later date, but we are unsure if our pricing for the product will increase.

[banjo!]

Originally Posted by playsignal76

Sure would be awesome to see some posts about "Current/Upcoming Sales" on this thread.

Originally Posted by playsignal76

There are plenty of other retailers in the US not crying chicken little like Oribt so I'll spend with them instead and when the dust settles over the coming months I still won't be shopping with Orbit.

Funny that the physical media retailers located in any of the 170 countires around the world who impose tariffs on the United States don't feel the need to post these disclaimers on their homepage.

I agree. We need more sales talk. I'm really glad you let me know about the "There are plenty of other retailers in the US not crying chicken little like Oribt so I'll spend with them instead and when the dust settles over the coming months I still won't be shopping with Orbit. Funny that the physical media retailers located in any of the 170 countires around the world who impose tariffs on the United States don't feel the need to post these disclaimers on their homepage" Sale. It's the one sale I look forward to every year.

[charsi]

Massacre Video Slipcase Sale

$22 Each 4/4 - 4-11 with a few exceptions

also

Originally Posted by matt1618

Guys, don't get political, you might get banned for a month.

This happened to me recently. I can't say why because I was advised if I had a second 'violation' i would be permanently banned.

[concolt]

I’m a big supporter of Orbit but it is lame to start charging a fee if they haven’t even been charged one yet and also the fear mongering is lame too.

[dvdvhsvcd]

Originally Posted by concolt

I’m a big supporter of Orbit but it is lame to start charging a fee if they haven’t even been charged one yet and also the fear mongering is lame too.

they are just stating the facts though , US is imposing 10% tax minimum on all imports starting today, and for future stock it will be passed on to the consumer. they are giving last chance if want something now.

[filmlover22]

Originally Posted by dvdvhsvcd

they are just stating the facts though , US is imposing 10% tax minimum on all imports starting today, and for future stock it will be passed on to the consumer. they are giving last chance if want something now.

Agree. How is this lame? I actually think it is great that they are being so upfront and transparent on what is happening.

[concolt]

Originally Posted by dvdvhsvcd

they are just stating the facts though , US is imposing 10% tax minimum on all imports starting today, and for future stock it will be passed on to the consumer. they are giving last chance if want something now.

No they aren’t stating facts. The tariff mark up is already in the price of the item. Charging a percentage on top of that is a scam and not how tariffs work. Either they are taking advantage or they dont know how tariffs work. This isn’t the same thing as custom or VAT fees that other countries have.

[jephdood]

This is really not that hard I don't think. If an importer is suddenly getting hit with a 10% add to their cost from the supplier (from countries we've slapped a 10% import tariff on) the retailer will understandably pass that added cost percentage on to the consumer. They can either settle this new deficit with an added tariff "fee" or they can build it in to the price of the item (aka "jack it up") without saying anything. Some retailers that have really strong margins to begin with might decide to eat the extra costs themselves (and of course let us know this), but I'd say that's probably going to be rare. I'm not sure how a business like Orbit that likely doesn't have huge margins to begin with is scamming us with a notice that they're going to be hit with added costs, so we will too now. Or maybe I'm missing the argument here.

[jephdood]

You'll have to clarify this claim of "baked in to the price of an item" I guess. If their cost was $15 before the tariffs.. and they were selling it at $20.. But now their cost is $17.. why would you still expect them to charge you $20? Someone has to eat those $2. Whether they flat-out tell you they're adding a $2 "tariff fee" or they up their price to consumers to $22.. either is completely understandable. So, you're expecting Orbit to eat the cost of the tariffs?

[dvdvhsvcd]

Originally Posted by concolt

No they aren’t stating facts. The tariff mark up is already in the price of the item. Charging a percentage on top of that is a scam and not how tariffs work. Either they are taking advantage or they dont know how tariffs work. This isn’t the same thing as custom or VAT fees that other countries have.

no it isn't , orbit is importing and being taxed as is you would if did yourself , they are not setting product price , either way i guess most don't know how tariffs works , it be different if they were selling nike or nintendo products meant for us distribution, these products were never priced for US, if they taxed Universal dvds with a tax it would be price gouging, if you think you are being ripped off, order from uk directly and see how it goes

[ukpaul]

Being in the UK, I would pay tariffs levied by the British government, either on an importer or, individually, on imports that I buy myself. The people who collect this money are HMRC (revenue & customs). This would be through a higher price charged by the importing company or (rarely) if they decide to reduce their profit margin (if it is large enough to cope with).

If I am importing personally, the UK has a £135 threshold before customs duties kick in. This means it is can be cheaper to import directly, as long as the shipping costs are low enough*. A lot depends on this threshold, at what point would you be expected to pay customs duties?

It's a big problem for businesses, individual importers much less so. The same will be the case in any other country (unless they are cruel enough to levy customs taxes at a very low or non-existent threshold level).

* The best way of doing this is to use a reshipper, you get an address in the country you are buying from and then accumulate purchases that take you somewhere below the £135 threshold. The cost of shipping is, therefore, much less per item than if you import things bit by bit.

[filmlover22]

Originally Posted by dvdvhsvcd

no it isn't , orbit is importing and being taxed as is you would if did yourself , they are not setting product price , either way i guess most don't know how tariffs works , it be different if they were selling nike or nintendo products meant for us distribution, these products were never priced for US, if they taxed Universal dvds with a tax it would be price gouging, if you think you are being ripped off, order from uk directly and see how it goes

Thank you. That says it all.

My personal feeling is that only the largest companies (ahem, Amazon) could absorb the new tax without increasing the cost of a product. I am not saying they would absorb it, I am just commenting that I think the largest companies could do it- if they wanted to.

If people don't think this will affect small companies like Orbit that have to pay additional money to get an imported product into their inventory, then you have no concept of how business, money, or the economy works.

[Show spoiler]which puts you in the same group as a certain leader of a certain country, not to be named.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by dvdvhsvcd

were about to enter a global recession, i think taxed physical media will be the least of our worries

Add to that possibly the worst tornado and devastating storm season on record and I'm glad I'm not being born into this particular iteration of the world.

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by dvdvhsvcd

they are just stating the facts though , US is imposing 10% tax minimum on all imports starting today, and for future stock it will be passed on to the consumer. they are giving last chance if want something now.

Note: I am a licensed attorney, but not in active practice (especially in international trade). This post is not legal advice, but I have dived enough into the legalese of tariff law to know at least a little bit about it, which MIGHT be dangerous. (And this isn't intended to be a political post either. Tariffs impact all Americans regardless of political persuasion; stepping into the politics behind them is likely to offend others in this forum, so please don't go there.)

It may be too soon for boutique e-tailers like Orbit to figure this out (Diabolik simply stopped taking pre-orders on foreign releases), but there MAY be a loophole in the Trump tariff orders that lets them avoid the additional tariffs. The unusual law Trump is using to impose all of his 2025 tariffs includes a provision prohibiting it from applied to "information or informational materials", including "films", "phonograph records", "tapes", "compact disks" and "CD ROMs". Since these are mere examples and the exemption applies broadly "whether commercial or otherwise, regardless of format or medium of transmission", I would argue that this exemption includes all prerecorded DVDs, BDs, 4K's & similar media. 50 U.S.C. Sec. 1702(b)(3)

This exemption is reflected in the following special categories in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. (HTSUS) that act as exemptions to the various 2025 Trump tariffs: 9903.01.03 (from the 25% Mexican tariff in 9903.01.01, in addition to the "USMCA compliant" exemption in 9903.01.04), 9903.01.12 (from the 25% Canadian tariff in 9903.01.10 & a lesser tariff in 9903.01.13, in addition to the "USMCA compliant" exemption in 9903.01.14), 9903.01.22 (from the first two waves of 2025 Chinese tariffs, originally 10% in 9903.01.20 & now 20% in 9903.01.24), and 9903.01.31 (from all of the latest reciprocal tariffs, both the general 10% rate in 9903.01.25 and the additional country-specific rates in 9903.01.43-76). HTSUS Chapter 99

The current problem with these exemptions is they have NOT been mapped to the specific HTSUS categories that these items are likely to be imported under, including heading 8523 (basically all types of electrical and electronic media, all zero tariffs before any add-ons) and more specifically the 8523.49 series (prerecorded optical media such as CDs, DVDs, BDs & 4K's). HTSUS Chapter 85 Some of the other 2025 tariff exemptions are mapped to specific HTSUS categories, but not the "informational materials" exemptions. Perhaps this is intentional; maybe the administration doesn't want people to know they exist, or they have some other excuse for not applying them.

Also, note that the pre-2025 additional Chinese tariffs were imposed under other legal authority, do NOT have an "informational materials" exemption, and have been specifically mapped to the regular tariff categories for optical media. This includes the following additional Chinese tariffs:

• 9903.88.03 (25%) applies to 8523.49.4000 ("proprietary format recorded discs", originally meaning game discs but can be applied to DVDs, BDs, 4K's & some software due to encryption).
• 9903.88.15 (7.5%) applies to the other categories in the 8523.49 series, including 8523.49.5000 which covers DVDs, BDs & 4K's that aren't classified as "proprietary".

All in all, the brave new world of tariffs has just begun. Exactly what will happen in the near future remains to be seen. If I'm wrong, don't sue me.

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by jephdood

Explain it to us and cite your sources.

https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=how+tariffs+work

More specifically, tariffs are taxes assessed on imports at the "port of entry", where the goods officially enter the country; they are paid by the "importer" who arranged to have the goods shipped here.

If you order goods to be shipped directly to you from overseas, YOU are considered the importer. Unless other arrangements are made, any tariffs -- plus other fees for collecting the tariff -- will be collected by whomever delivers the goods to you. Until now, this was commonly avoided thru the so-called "de minimis" exemption (in the U.S. up to $800 in goods per day, the highest in the industrialized world); but that is going away for Chinese imports in May, and is on life support for other countries. Air express couriers also offer so-called DDP (delivery & duty paid) services, where the estimated cost of the tariff is added to shipping & the carrier then pays the tariff, though legally you are deemed responsible as the importer.

However, if you buy an imported item from a U.S. seller like Orbit, Diabolik, etc. who imports them in bulk & then ships it to you within the U.S., the U.S. seller is considered the importer and is responsible for the tariff. Though you aren't directly responsible for paying it, if you think Orbit, etc. will absorb those tariffs without raising prices to offset them (and possibly then some), I have some oceanfront property in Arizona to sell you that I got from George Strait real cheap.

[jephdood]

Originally Posted by RBBrittain

https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=how+tariffs+work

<snip>

However, if you buy an imported item from a U.S. seller like Orbit, Diabolik, etc. who imports them in bulk & then ships it to you within the U.S., the U.S. seller is considered the importer and is responsible for the tariff. Though you aren't directly responsible for paying it, if you think Orbit, etc. will absorb those tariffs without raising prices to offset them (and possibly then some), I have some oceanfront property in Arizona to sell you that I got from George Strait real cheap.

That is how most of us understand them as well. Thanks.

[sojrner]

Originally Posted by RBBrittain

[Show spoiler]Note: I am a licensed attorney, but not in active practice (especially in international trade). This post is not legal advice, but I have dived enough into the legalese of tariff law to know at least a little bit about it, which MIGHT be dangerous. (And this isn't intended to be a political post either. Tariffs impact all Americans regardless of political persuasion; stepping into the politics behind them is likely to offend others in this forum, so please don't go there.)

It may be too soon for boutique e-tailers like Orbit to figure this out (Diabolik simply stopped taking pre-orders on foreign releases), but there MAY be a loophole in the Trump tariff orders that lets them avoid the additional tariffs. The unusual law Trump is using to impose all of his 2025 tariffs includes a provision prohibiting it from applied to "information or informational materials", including "films", "phonograph records", "tapes", "compact disks" and "CD ROMs". Since these are mere examples and the exemption applies broadly "whether commercial or otherwise, regardless of format or medium of transmission", I would argue that this exemption includes all prerecorded DVDs, BDs, 4K's & similar media. 50 U.S.C. Sec. 1702(b)(3)

This exemption is reflected in the following special categories in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. (HTSUS) that act as exemptions to the various 2025 Trump tariffs: 9903.01.03 (from the 25% Mexican tariff in 9903.01.01, in addition to the "USMCA compliant" exemption in 9903.01.04), 9903.01.12 (from the 25% Canadian tariff in 9903.01.10 & a lesser tariff in 9903.01.13, in addition to the "USMCA compliant" exemption in 9903.01.14), 9903.01.22 (from the first two waves of 2025 Chinese tariffs, originally 10% in 9903.01.20 & now 20% in 9903.01.24), and 9903.01.31 (from all of the latest reciprocal tariffs, both the general 10% rate in 9903.01.25 and the additional country-specific rates in 9903.01.43-76). HTSUS Chapter 99

The current problem with these exemptions is they have NOT been mapped to the specific HTSUS categories that these items are likely to be imported under, including heading 8523 (basically all types of electrical and electronic media, all zero tariffs before any add-ons) and more specifically the 8523.49 series (prerecorded optical media such as CDs, DVDs, BDs & 4K's). HTSUS Chapter 85 Some of the other 2025 tariff exemptions are mapped to specific HTSUS categories, but not the "informational materials" exemptions. Perhaps this is intentional; maybe the administration doesn't want people to know they exist, or they have some other excuse for not applying them.

Also, note that the pre-2025 additional Chinese tariffs were imposed under other legal authority, do NOT have an "informational materials" exemption, and have been specifically mapped to the regular tariff categories for optical media. This includes the following additional Chinese tariffs:

• 9903.88.03 (25%) applies to 8523.49.4000 ("proprietary format recorded discs", originally meaning game discs but can be applied to DVDs, BDs, 4K's & some software due to encryption).
• 9903.88.15 (7.5%) applies to the other categories in the 8523.49 series, including 8523.49.5000 which covers DVDs, BDs & 4K's that aren't classified as "proprietary".

All in all, the brave new world of tariffs has just begun. Exactly what will happen in the near future remains to be seen. If I'm wrong, don't sue me.

Interesting connections there...

[FlamedLiquid]

Fun times ahead