Why does anyone buy new release blu-rays?

[Anamnesis]

Originally Posted by rip63

Forgive me if I've missed the point, but any BD I look for on JB's website (providing it's released here, of course) I see listed. Not sure I get what you mean.

I only ever buy new releases at full price if it's something I'm hanging out to see and had missed at cinemas. But even then, I'll only ever do so if I'm cashed up that week, given the utterly absurd prices in this increasingly greedy country.

He is referring to the physical catalouges they release - none of those include Blu-ray titles...

Exhibit A

[shireguy]

Originally Posted by Anamnesis

He is referring to the physical catalogues they release - none of those include Blu-ray titles...

Exhibit A

MANY THANKS - I didn't get time to do a scan this morning.......


and this was the point I was getting at : fewer Blu-ray prices being 'advertised'. We all go to JB stores, we all (I hope) pick up the brochures / catalogues - but they are concentrating their prices solely on DVD.

I have an earlier on here - and THE REVERENT had no Blu price in their brochure. They are heading down the BigW / Target approach in terms of what they advertise.

[shireguy]

the RIO JB catalogue ....

Not much on the Blu front.....

- The Huntsman - $29.98..... still $10 more than the DVD.... when are the distributors going to get over this price difference ??

- some specials - all for a week - for Alligiant (that's it folks... probably wont see the last part on Blu)... and Eddie The Eagle... for a special $25 !!

- Kill Your Friends : doesn't look like getting a Blu local release ????

- Ghostbuster 1&2 for under $20 - compared to the 4K Ghostbusters 1 of $35.... can't see them selling more of the later....

[CptHowdy87]

Originally Posted by Anamnesis

I suppose I will weigh in on this conversation... it has been interesting reading everyone's differing opinions on this (in a good way )

I personally have a core collection of movies - that is - films that I love and want to own in the best possible version. That means, best presentation of the film (transfer, soundtrack, extras etc) as well as nicest packaging. That may require double dipping on some titles or importing for others. It also means that I would happily pay the price to have it straight away.

For anything outside of that core collection I would generally not spend more than $20.

I'm pretty much the same way.

Generally I'd rather not pay more than $15 for any movie. The majority of the blu-ray's I've bought have probably been 2 for $20 at JB or Buy 2 get 1 free ($16 each) at JB. Everything else I've gotten overseas and generally for around the same price.

I can't remember the specific titles off the top of my head but I have paid $20 for maybe half a dozen or more movies from the US that weren't available here and a small number of movies I've paid $25-$30 for like 2 versions of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, one of which was $35 and the other was $30, both of which are really neat special editions.

I refused to pay $30 for the Cable Guy back in 2012 from the US on ebay. Not long after it goes OOP and I'd only seen for north of $80 on ebay for a few years. Just recently a copy from Switzerland showed up on ebay for $30 (region b) so I snapped it up.

Cardboard slipcovers are neat but easily damaged.

Steelbooks are generally WAY to expensive. I'm not paying 3-4 times more for a movie in a tin case. I did however get Halloween 35th Anniversary steelbook from the UK for only $20 which was a......steal.

As for paying $25-$35 for a new release movie that will be half the cost in a few months time? Not a chance. Why would I? or anyone? Just wait a little while longer! Silly duffers!

[deepseababy]

Originally Posted by shireguy

but they are concentrating their prices solely on DVD.

Why the f*ck are things here SO BEHIND?!

[Anamnesis]

Originally Posted by deepseababy

Why the f*ck are things here SO BEHIND?!

I am not sure who you think we are behind?

I just spent a month in the States and let me tell you trying to finding a bricks and mortar store that sold DVD's or Blu-ray's was like finding a pearl in your oyster....

[shireguy]

Originally Posted by Anamnesis

I am not sure who you think we are behind?

I just spent a month in the States and let me tell you trying to finding a bricks and mortar store that sold DVD's or Blu-ray's was like finding a pearl in your oyster....

depends on where you were in the US .....

there's

- Best Buy (massive barns with massive prices - and DVDs/Blu mixed in which each other - and those racks are annoying !!)

- Wallymart - you need to check your soc-economic area before walking into one - poor area - then it's just DVDs....

- Target - they're everywhere - with Blu

- Frys - west coast - IT / Tech barns - with reducing Blu.


But why are we behind ?? we're actually a bit more ahead... but not by much. It's only the JB deals that gives us an advantage... but I can't foresee 4K Blu being a big deal locally.

[Anamnesis]

Originally Posted by shireguy

depends on where you were in the US .....

there's

- Best Buy (massive barns with massive prices - and DVDs/Blu mixed in which each other - and those racks are annoying !!)

- Wallymart - you need to check your soc-economic area before walking into one - poor area - then it's just DVDs....

- Target - they're everywhere - with Blu

- Frys - west coast - IT / Tech barns - with reducing Blu.


But why are we behind ?? we're actually a bit more ahead... but not by much. It's only the JB deals that gives us an advantage... but I can't foresee 4K Blu being a big deal locally.

Target had about 60 titles MAX at all 3 that I visited... didn't even find a WalMart or Best Buy in my journey down the West Coast... I found a few Fry (FYE?), but they were so damn expensive... Costco has the biggest range I could find and even that was complete rubbish titles or new releases only...

The weirdest thing was that neither Universal Studios or Disneyland had anywhere that you could buy movies. Disneyland had a counterstand of Zootopia and that was it!! These companies basically make their entire fortune out of films, but god forbid you want to buy one!! They had a store for every other item you could possibly ever want to buy!!!

[shireguy]

Originally Posted by Anamnesis

Target had about 60 titles MAX at all 3 that I visited... didn't even find a WalMart or Best Buy in my journey down the West Coast... I found a few Fry (FYE?), but they were so damn expensive... Costco has the biggest range I could find and even that was complete rubbish titles or new releases only...

what !!!! you didn't find any Wallmarts or Best Buys !!??!!! Where did you go ?? It's one of the first things I do on a US trip : find .. where.. the ... stores ...are !!

BB are in major strip malls - Wallymart are a bit rarer in LA, but they are outside LA areas (like Orange Country / San Diego)


And there is Frys http://www.frys.com/ (a few locations around LA) and then there is this FYE http://www.fye.com/ (which is a CD/Movie shop - but expensive, normally has 2nd hand stuff and movie memorabilia crap (find them in a few malls).

[StrayButler91]

I don't normally buy new release Blu-rays, at the very least I normally wait for a 20% off at JB. However, I will bite immediately if there's some sort of limited edition, like a steelbook (Captain America: Civil War), fancy packaging (Hobbit extended with statues) or a JB exclusive with a bonus disc that may disappear pretty quickly (Fury).

Added to this, most new release Disney titles are usually the cheapest they will ever be when they first hit the shelves. So I bought Zootopia very quickly upon release, especially with the 25% off Disney titles at the time. Also worth noting that 3D/2D combo packs of Disney releases disappear pretty quickly. Disney are smart like that.

[Anamnesis]

Originally Posted by shireguy

what !!!! you didn't find any Wallmarts or Best Buys !!??!!! Where did you go ?? It's one of the first things I do on a US trip : find .. where.. the ... stores ...are !!

BB are in major strip malls - Wallymart are a bit rarer in LA, but they are outside LA areas (like Orange Country / San Diego)


And there is Frys http://www.frys.com/ (a few locations around LA) and then there is this FYE http://www.fye.com/ (which is a CD/Movie shop - but expensive, normally has 2nd hand stuff and movie memorabilia crap (find them in a few malls).

I will be honest and say I wasn't actively seeking out any malls or shopping districts...so there were probably heaps....I wasn't there for the Blu-ray's so they weren't really a priority

[Region_unlocked]

I used to think this way in my cheaper days. 'Why would anyone buy anything day 1? It's just a waste of money. You can get it for significantly cheaper if you just wait a month.' And all of that is true if you simply think of it as spending money on a BD, but in reality you're kind of doing more than that.
If I spend $15 on a movie I pretty much know I can get for $12 next week I'm effectively paying $3 to have that BD a week early. Some people can live with this hypothetical "I want it now" fee, some can't. Those who can buy day 1.
I've also personally bought day 1 before simply because I want to support a thing I like as much as I can. Ex: "Dredd", "It Follows", "Mad Max Fury Road".
I also like to get catalog titles pretty early on, if not straight up day 1, as well. It supports the industry by showing the labels we still want catalog stuff and they're generally pretty inexpensive to begin with anyway. Ex: the upcoming WB King titles. They're like $8.99 each, why not pre-order them? Realistically how much am I saving by waiting?
When someone knowingly "overpays" for a BD they're still spending those excess dollars on something. Weather it be just to have the BD earlier or to send a message. Weather those things are worth anything is up to the individual buyer.

[LordCrumb]

Originally Posted by Anamnesis

I will be honest and say I wasn't actively seeking out any malls or shopping districts...so there were probably heaps....I wasn't there for the Blu-ray's so they weren't really a priority

whoa whoa whoa... are you seriously saying, you went to the US of A, and Blu-Ray shopping was not the priority?! That ain't right at all!

[Anamnesis]

Originally Posted by LordCrumb

whoa whoa whoa... are you seriously saying, you went to the US of A, and Blu-Ray shopping was not the priority?! That ain't right at all!

[Cremildo]

Originally Posted by Coenskubrick

I mean I guess I know why the average Joe does; because they're clueless and don't think about it and just think "Oh a movie I liked recently, I'll grab that". But the informed users here, why do some of you buy new releases? Why do you pay $30 or more when you can wait 6 months and get it for essentially $10.66 in a JB hi fi "Buy 2 get one free" sale?

Don't you feel like you're wasting money and limiting what you can get for your collection elsewhere? That $20 you save could go towards costly special editions which will have good resell value and/or give you something special for your collection, or it could get you 2 more movies. Regular releases don't become any less special or good 6 months later.

Is it really nothing more than impatience?

Not impatience of the childish sort, just the desire to have it soon. Why wait if I can have it now and don't care about how high the price is? It's not wasted money if it is something I value a lot, irrespective of the price.

I tend to buy new releases only when they are films directed by Spielberg and Ridley Scott, who are my favorite artists.

[Anamnesis]

I kind of liken first day prices to a convenience fee... it is no different really to the price you would pay for a 600ml bottle of Coke on a hot day from a convenience store when you know full well you could buy a 2 litre bottle for half that price from a supermarket... or the Magnum Ice Cream you just blew $4.20 when again you could have bought 4 of them for $6 from a store... it is the price of convenience and wanting something in the moment.

[Alister_M]

All I can say is I'm glad I plonked down for the JB exclusive of Game Of Thrones Season 1. That sucker sold out in a matter of hours, at least it did at the store here. And it has the George W Bush severed head scene, which makes it twice as collectible.

[Coenskubrick]

Originally Posted by Anamnesis

I kind of liken first day prices to a convenience fee... it is no different really to the price you would pay for a 600ml bottle of Coke on a hot day from a convenience store when you know full well you could buy a 2 litre bottle for half that price from a supermarket... or the Magnum Ice Cream you just blew $4.20 when again you could have bought 4 of them for $6 from a store... it is the price of convenience and wanting something in the moment.

For me at least that's not really the same. I buy a drink because I'm hot and thirsty while I'm out. When I am home there won't be the same desire for it. A bottle from the supermarket while I'm out won't be refrigerated and will be too heavy and if I buy 4 ice creams 3 will melt and be wasted.

Food and drink are something that you need all the time, whether you're out or not, especially if the weather creates a greater need. I don't see that with movies. Their releases are arbitrary and the times I can enjoy them are just as flexible. Put simply, food is a consumable, films are a permanent utility that I can use whenever I want an unlimited number of times and don't need at any particular time. Or to put it another way being out creates different needs but my situation will be the same in June as it is in September, and there are other movies I can watch in the meantime. I just have to not worry about being a few months behind.

[Anamnesis]

Originally Posted by Coenskubrick

For me at least that's not really the same. I buy a drink because I'm hot and thirsty while I'm out. When I am home there won't be the same desire for it. A bottle from the supermarket while I'm out won't be refrigerated and will be too heavy and if I buy 4 ice creams 3 will melt and be wasted.

Food and drink are something that you need all the time, whether you're out or not, especially if the weather creates a greater need. I don't see that with movies. Their releases are arbitrary and the times I can enjoy them are just as flexible. Put simply, food is a consumable, films are a permanent utility that I can use whenever I want an unlimited number of times and don't need at any particular time. Or to put it another way being out creates different needs but my situation will be the same in June as it is in September, and there are other movies I can watch in the meantime. I just have to not worry about being a few months behind.

yes, but I was specifically using food and drinks that aren't a necessity...nobody needs coca-cola or ice cream to survive....

[rightformula1]

As someone who has only been buying blu-rays since November last year, I'm annoyed at the fact I've missed out on all the Marvel steelbooks (I've had a blu ray player for probably two years before that, but DVD's had me cause of the cost). Deadpool and Civil War have been the only ones I've got, coincidentally in their first weeks respectively. If I had waited it out for it to become cheaper - I would have missed them. Not every collectable is going to be a GI Joe Retaliation release, where it's sitting around at $15.98 three (I think it's 3?) years later

TL/DR - I buy at release to guarantee I have it.