Probably not. Stores never lowered their prices after covid or the shipping container debacle that lasted for months a year or so back. When a company sees an opportunity to raise a price and hide under an issue (even if it's temporary, like the container issue), they never go back to their usual prices even if they say they will.
Stores that express the tariff as a surcharge might, like Orbit & Diabolik. That's especially true if, as I suggested might happen earlier in this thread, physical media were to fall under an exemption from the new tariffs.
So with the 90 day pause on the tariffs do you feel like retailers are going to hit pause on price increases?
Boutiques are a different animal. They have tighter margins, but also more risk. They can't profit if they outprice their market, so they've got incentive to keep their products affordable, if they want them to sell. And reducing their market with Hollywood's more for less model is not in their best interest either. They know the long term eventually of transitioning the market to digital in that way will put them out of business. Hollywood on the other hand, assumes/expects everyone who can't afford their collectible products will throw their money at digital instead. Kino, Shout, Arrow, Criterion, etc, don't have the same luxury. They depend on collectible media.
Assuming they're honest, retailers only go up if their suppliers do. And it's already been reported that most major Hollywood producers don't plan to go up immediately, that it'll depend on how long the tariffs last. Afterall, the major studios especially (Sony, Disney, Warner, Universal, Lionsgate, etc.) have already effectively gone up more than enough to cover the current tariffs. They've been conditioning the market to expect higher prices for years, less because costs have increased than the fact that with the virtual death of physical rentals, they no longer have the threat of cheap rental surplus flooding the market 1-2 months after release to contend with, so they can charge what they consider their properties should be commanding and play a longer game for the budget collector, if they choose to allocate product for them at all. With UHD especially, some studios have gone beyond mere market settling and have decided that their most premium format should be only accessible for the more elite among us, that all buyers on a budget should settle for less with BD/DVD or pay for a vague, if not completely empty promise with 4K digital.
Last edited by JurassicBD; 04-11-2025 at 07:47 AM.
Probably not. Stores never lowered their prices after covid or the shipping container debacle that lasted for months a year or so back. When a company sees an opportunity to raise a price and hide under an issue (even if it's temporary, like the container issue), they never go back to their usual prices even if they say they will.
The U.S. postal system will still be blaming delays and all their deficiencies on the pandemic a hundred years from now.
The U.S. postal system will still be blaming delays and all their deficiencies on the pandemic a hundred years from now.
That's a bit different.
Not sure if you remember, but the United States Postal Service was forced to dismantle mail sorting machines in fall of 2020, and it had nothing to do with COVID. It was a move to buckle the mail system and make people think that using mail delivery was an unreliable option for certain tasks that were important during that time period.
There are still ongoing attempts to sabotage USPS, which is unfortunate since USPS really makes this hobby (and many others) more affordable / accessible.
There are still ongoing attempts to sabotage USPS, which is unfortunate since USPS really makes this hobby (and many others) more affordable / accessible.
Well, I don't want to sabotage the USPS, but living in Europe as I do and sometimes having to ship stuff here from the US does not automatically make me an ardent supporter either. And regardless, they still do use Covid as an excuse for raising rates, damaged packages and insufficient customer service. They are a shadow of the useful, competent and essential organization they used to be.
Well, I don't want to sabotage the USPS, but living in Europe as I do and sometimes having to ship stuff here from the US does not automatically make me an ardent supporter either. And regardless, they still do use Covid as an excuse for raising rates, damaged packages and insufficient customer service. They are a shadow of the useful, competent and essential organization they used to be.
Believe me, you're not the one sabotaging the USPS.
Putting strain on an organization on a grand scale (like cutting resources, dismantling support) causes the issues you mentioned. But that isn't done by consumers like us. If anything we kind of keep them going with our support (as in paying to ship packages).
Media Mail is a good example for something that is super useful during these boutique sales. I don't splurge on sales like many on here do (as in like 10-20 per haul), but I imagine that selecting Media Mail (or even weight-based Priority Boxes) from movie companies, especially boutiques, is a lot better than using UPS or FedEx rates to get it shipped to me.
[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.
I just found a FAQ on the U.S. Customs & Border Protection website which appears to support my position that virtually all prerecorded optical discs are exempt from all Trump 2.0 tariffs (though not Trump 1.0/Biden tariffs) due to the "informational materials" exemption from the law used to authorize them; indeed it's even broader than I thought. Per https://www.cbp.gov/trade/programs-a...dies/IEEPA-FAQ :
Quote:
What are informational materials described in 9903.01.22, 9903.01.12, and 9903.01.03?
------
Headings 9903.01.22, 9903.01.12, and 9903.01.03 describe informational materials, including but not limited to, publications, films, posters, phonograph records, photographs, microfilms, microfiche, tapes, compact discs, CD ROMs, artworks, and news wire feeds.
Goods properly classified under the following headings and subheadings of the HTSUS may qualify for the exception under 9903.01.22, 9903.01.12, and 9903.01.03: Chapter 49; goods provided for in headings 3704, 3705, 3706, 5807, 8310, and 9701 through 9705, inclusive; goods provided for in subheadings 6307.90.30, 6307.90.85, 8523.80.10, 8523.29, 8523.41, 8523.49, 9405.61, and 9405.69.
This informal interpretation covers not only prerecorded CDs, DVDs, HD DVDs, BDs & 4K's regardless of content (8523.49), but also vinyl records (8523.80.10); cassettes (audio, Beta, VHS, etc.), 8-tracks, reel-to-reel, and other magnetic media except magstripe cards (8523.29); and even blank optical media (8523.41), although by definition it contains no "information" at all (why I didn't include it earlier).
Note that though this interpretation, dated March 31, is limited on its face to exemptions from the 25% Canadian & Mexican tariffs (9903.01.12 & 03) and the 2025 20% Chinese tariff (9903.01.22), and doesn't directly cover the exemption in heading 9903.01.31 (added by the April 2 executive order covering the 10% tariff, the extra 125% Chinese tariff, and the suspended reciprocal tariffs on other countries), the latter exemption has essentially the same text & is based on the same law, so the same interpretation would apply to it as well.
IMO, physical media appears to remain exempt from most U.S. tariffs. The only tariffs I see that are clearly applicable to movie DVDs, BDs & 4K's are the Chinese Trump 1.0/Biden tariffs I mentioned earlier (either 25% or 7.5% depending on category), as well as the "Column 2" (non-"normal trade relations") tariff that now only applies to Belarus, Cuba, North Korea & Russia (80%) plus any sanction-related tariffs on those countries.
I would make sure all sellers currently applying tariff surcharges (Diabolik has joined Orbit on that, but without the reduced rate for pre-orders), price increases, or increased DDP shipping rates from overseas are made aware of this informal interpretation. If they are being charged a tariff now, they need to take appropriate action to apply the "informational materials" exemptions, such as asking their customs brokers to claim them or obtaining a formal ruling from CBP. They should not apply to most individual imports as of yet, since the $800 "de minimis" exemption remains in place until at least May 2 for China & longer for most other countries.
Media Mail is a good example for something that is super useful during these boutique sales. I don't splurge on sales like many on here do (as in like 10-20 per haul), but I imagine that selecting Media Mail (or even weight-based Priority Boxes) from movie companies, especially boutiques, is a lot better than using UPS or FedEx rates to get it shipped to me.
Though foreign buyers generally don't have Media Mail as an option, on short to medium distance domestic shipments (for me, most shippers in the central & southeastern U.S. including Atomic, Grindhouse, Orbit, and even Alliance, Allied Vaughn & Gruv) Media Mail appears to be faster than Ground Advantage right now. It appears to me that while USPS is intentionally delaying Ground Advantage shipments that arrive at their destination P&DC ahead of time so they arrive closer to their delivery standard (perhaps to focus on packages with less leeway), Media Mail has no such equivalent standard, so destination P&DCs forward them to your local post office without that kind of delay.
Last edited by RBBrittain; 04-12-2025 at 09:17 PM.
Reason: Expand & fix typo
I know it's after the fact, but what was the Oldies sale?
It was from an email...don't recall any earlier email about it, but I usually don't bother with some sales. This one said:
WAREHOUSE CLEARANCE SALE
ENDS TODAY - APRIL 7, 2025
So I took a browse and found a handful of great deals. The CD listings were so exhaustive that I bailed out after a while, too much rubbish, too little time. I emailed a friend in L.A. (we were both looking for a Cliff Wade CD that was on sale), so we placed our orders close to the same time -- but from each U.S. coast, yet both of us got our goods in two days!
Shout Factory will be having a Member Day sale on April 18th
Quote:
The countdown is on! In just four days, on April 18, our first-ever Physical Club Forever Member Day debuts with deals crafted exclusively for you. Prepare to enjoy red carpet savings on Boxed Sets, Steelbooks, Bundles & Exclusives, and more.
Mark your calendar and stay tuned for more details.
🗓️ Sale Date: 4/18/25 at 1:00 AM PST – 11:59 PM PST
🎟️ Discount: This offer applies only to Member Day Sale collections. Save up to 50% on select Steelbooks and Box Sets, 60% on select Kits & Exclusives, 80% on select Going Out Of Print titles, and 70% on select DVDs.
Instructions with a link to the sale will be sent at 1:00 AM PST on April 18 exclusively to Physical Forever Club members who joined before 11:00 PM PST on April 17.
Hopefully that Shout sale is actually good. Their prices tend to remain high, even during sales. I'll check it out though.
In other news, my giant 11 movie order from Powerhouse just cleared customs and is expected to arrive on Wednesday. Can't wait to open up that glorious box.
Hopefully that Shout sale is actually good. Their prices tend to remain high, even during sales. I'll check it out though.
Agreed, always have to check out Shout sales for FOMO but more often than not I end up passing. With that said, I do have all 6 of their Shaw Brothers sets which are amazing for fans of those films so definitely something to keep an eye on for those who might be interested.
Agreed, always have to check out Shout sales for FOMO but more often than not I end up passing. With that said, I do have all 6 of their Shaw Brothers sets which are amazing for fans of those films so definitely something to keep an eye on for those who might be interested.
Same here. Often, though, I will find a handful of titles priced reasonably enough to make a small order. I ended up making a wishlist on their site of everything I need from the label; if the day comes that I fully exhaust that list, I'll no longer have use for them, since they are a mere 4k reissue label at this point.
My big order from Indicator arrived from overseas and all I can say is... THANK YOU Indicator for packing this thing as well as you did. The box arrived looking like it was used as a soccer ball, but everything is in mint condition because of the padding.
My big order from Indicator arrived from overseas and all I can say is... THANK YOU Indicator for packing this thing as well as you did. The box arrived looking like it was used as a soccer ball, but everything is in mint condition because of the padding.
That's just another reason to love the company. They have always been very conscious of shipping. My FedEx packages have always arrived as if PH has foreseen potential shipping calamity and they package accordingly.
THANK YOU Indicator for packing this thing as well as you did. The box arrived looking like it was used as a soccer ball, but everything is in mint condition because of the padding.
This was my first order from them and the box also arrived in mint condition, but I 100% agree on the care of the internal packaging.
The only oddity for me was that the FedEx tracking went directly from sitting at their Heathrow warehouse to 'on the truck for delivery' with absolutely no updates in between -- but that seems to be a FedEx thing.
Not sure why I bothered checking when I instinctively knew it was a waste of time. All the included 4K and blu-ray titles are old releases that are likely to already be owned; the rest are whatever DVDs. It's more like a clearance sale. But I suppose if you've been holding off on getting some of their older releases, then this sale has some deals.
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