Boutique Sales Megathread: Complete List of Current/Upcoming Sales

[blurayisnice]

Indicator removed standard P&P for item close to being OOP (and not communicated this). Why would you do something like this that someone will, without a doubt, notice? It hurts your branding far more than what you'd gain (5 GBP extra, wow, great job). Not cool:

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by blurayisnice

Indicator has increased P&P for items close to being OOP and has not communicated this. Not cool:

[Show spoiler]

Appreciate the discrepancy, but how does this prove your reasoning it's due to going out of print? I just compared shipping to the US for the "very low stock" The National Health [edit: corrected title] vs The People Next Door and the cost was higher for the latter. There must be other causes for this.

[blurayisnice]

Originally Posted by jkoffman

Appreciate the discrepancy, but how does this prove your reasoning it's due to going out of print?

I tested it with multiple other items, including items that have the same number of pages in the booklet.

I can not prove it, but this is definitely weird.

[blurayisnice]

Originally Posted by jkoffman

Appreciate the discrepancy, but how does this prove your reasoning it's due to going out of print? I just compared shipping to the US for the "very low stock" Cisco Pike vs The People Next Door and the cost was higher for the latter. There must be other causes for this.

How were you able to compare shipping for Cisco Pike? Cisco Pike is no longer available.

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by blurayisnice

I tested it with multiple other items, including items that have the same number of pages in the booklet.



I also tested it with "The National Health", which is a limited edition DUAL FORMAT (extra disc) edition. The standard P&P is available for that one as well.


I can not prove it, but I am confident this is intentional. I have caught them doing similar sneaky stuff in the past, but others were quick to defend them and brush it off. Now it happens again. It's not a coincidence.

It does sound suspicious, but with any company like this there have been more instances that were simply errors on the website than nefarious one-off increases in shipping. I'm no more informed than you though.

[blurayisnice]

Originally Posted by jkoffman

I added it to the cart, checked shipping, removed it, and then did the same with the other title. Now I circle back and Cisco is sold out. No idea, but I guess they're selling out quickly?

Cisco Pike sold out three days ago though.


Anyway, I think it's weird and not instilling confidence.

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by blurayisnice

Cisco Pike sold out three days ago though.

Anyway, I think it's weird and not instilling confidence.

I see what I did. I went down the list of 3 very low stock titles and misspoke. You're right, it wasn't Cisco Pike I tested, but The National Health. Sorry for the confusion. Totally my bad.

Shipping for The National Health:
Screen Shot 2022-03-29 at 1.09.40 PM.jpg

Shipping for The People Next Door:
Screen Shot 2022-03-29 at 12.59.05 PM.jpg

[blurayisnice]

Originally Posted by jkoffman

It does sound suspicious, but with any company like this there have been more instances that were simply errors on the website than nefarious one-off increases in shipping. I'm no more informed than you though.

Perhaps. I am also just guessing. However, them not including "Noir Volume 1" in the sale means they have definitely consciously thought about and decided on how to price low-stock items.

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by blurayisnice

Perhaps. I am also just guessing. However, them not including "Noir Volume 1" in the sale means they have definitely consciously thought about and decided on how to price low-stock items.

Other companies do this as well, probably taking a cue from the concert ticket industry of limited supply and demand.

[blurayisnice]

Originally Posted by jkoffman

I see what I did. I went down the list of 3 very low stock titles and misspoke. You're right, it wasn't Cisco Pike I tested, but The National Health. Sorry for the confusion. Totally my bad.

Shipping for The National Health:
Attachment 274311

Shipping for The People Next Door:
Attachment 274310

Noticed that too, but "National Health" has been an extremely poor seller for them, even though theirs is the only available release, released way back in 2017. I believe it was even available for 5 GBP during their last sale.

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by blurayisnice

Noticed that too, but "National Health" has been an extremely poor seller for them, even though theirs is the only available release, released way back in 2017. I believe it was even available for 5 GBP during their last sale.

Ok, but I thought your issue was with different shipping charges? I tried to pick 2 apples to apples comparisons. I guess you're suggesting they pad the shipping charges a buck or two based on how well it's selling or how close to being OOP? Just seems like a quite a stretch.

[blurayisnice]

Originally Posted by jkoffman

Ok, but I thought your issue was with different shipping charges? I tried to pick 2 apples to apples comparisons. I guess you're suggesting they pad the shipping charges a buck or two based on how well it's selling or how close to being OOP? Just seems like a quite a stretch.

My point is, it is not exactly apples to apples;


National Health has been a poor seller and only now close to being OOP, even though it is the world's only release for that movie and released +/- 5 years ago, while also being available for just 5 GBP on (I think) two occasions.



"Cisco Pike" and "Secret Ceremony" are obviously better sellers since they are both OOP even though they were released years later.


And that Indicator makes distinction is a fact, for another good seller that is close to being OOP, "Columbia Noir #1", is not part of this sale.


It's definitely not a stretch to assume Indicator changes its pricing decisions based on availability and popularity. It's understandable, they are a business after all, but communicate it instead of going about it this way. It's not cool and damages your branding more than you'd gain from it.

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by blurayisnice

And that Indicator makes distinction is a fact, for another good seller that is close to being OOP, "Columbia Noir #1", is not part of this sale.

It's definitely not a stretch to assume Indicator changes its pricing decisions based on availability and popularity. It's understandable, they are a business after all, but communicate it instead of going about it this way. It's not cool and damages your branding more than you'd gain from it.

I'm not totally sure I'm following the need for disclosure, but similarly, Kino has raised prices on titles that are low on stock and going out of print. They've also said that the reason they don't announce some of these low stock titles is because resellers immediately swoop in, buy them all, and immediately price them higher on ebay. So it's kind of a damned if you, damned if you don't for some of these companies.

[jmilo61]

Seems somehow related to their domestic shipping policy.

Domestic Shipping (UK)

• Standard Shipping – Any order weighing up to 309g will be sent out via Royal Mail standard delivery.
• Tracked – Any order weighing 310g or over will be sent via Royal Mail Tracked delivery.
• Free shipping over £50 – Any order with a value of £50 or more

Sure, a single limited edition disc weight shouldn't trigger this, but maybe they just accidentally entered incorrect weight data for Secret Ceremony or something.

Just email them and they'll probably fix it. Doesn't seem worth a fuss. Why everybody always gotta first assume these companies are hatching some elaborate plot to rip everybody off?

[WillieMLF]

Originally Posted by jmilo61

Seems somehow related to their domestic shipping policy.



Sure, a single limited edition disc weight shouldn't trigger this, but maybe they just accidentally entered incorrect weight data for Secret Ceremony or something.

Just email them and they'll probably fix it. Doesn't seem worth a fuss. Why everybody always gotta first assume these companies are hatching some elaborate plot to rip everybody off?

This is too reasonable for the forum...

[blurayisnice]

Originally Posted by jmilo61

Seems somehow related to their domestic shipping policy.
Why everybody always gotta first assume these companies are hatching some elaborate plot to rip everybody off?

Because I have caught them doing similar stuff during past sales and back then people were also quick to come to their defense; same is happening now.

It's not that the shipping was higher for "Secret Ceremony", it's that standard shipping option was turned off.



The 90 grams this weighs is way off from the 310 grams that triggers the tracked delivery. Did they accidentally think specifically this extremely low stock item weighs 3.4x times more? Lol.



I just tested it for 10 other limited editions, and standard shipping is available for all of them.

I am pretty sure they did this intentionally; the movie sold out shortly after they tweeted their "6 copies remaining" tweet.

Probably the people who saw that tweet rushed to the website and ordered it regardless of price. I wanted the order 1 copy for myself because of FOMO but cancelled when I saw they had turned off standard shipping for specifically that item.

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by blurayisnice

Because I have caught them doing similar stuff during past sales and back then people were also quick to come to their defense; same is happening now.

It's not that the shipping was higher for "Secret Ceremony", it's that standard shipping option was turned off.



The 90 grams this weighs is way off from the 310 grams that triggers the tracked delivery. Did they accidentally think specifically this extremely low stock item weighs 3.4x times more? Lol.



I just tested it for 10 other limited editions, and standard shipping is available for all of them.

I am pretty sure they did this intentionally; the movie sold out shortly after they tweeted their "6 copies remaining" tweet.

Probably the people who saw that tweet rushed to the website and ordered it regardless of price. I wanted the order 1 copy for myself because of FOMO but cancelled when I saw they had turned off standard shipping for specifically that item.

So the big conspiracy is that they had only a handful of copies of that title left and for some reason the lowest shipping was £7.96 instead of £2.61? I definitely agree with you that it's not a good look, but I don't believe a company like Indicator is intentionally trying to screw over 10 customers by lying about shipping charges to pocket a whopping £5. If you've noticed a pattern of this, why not just reach out to them and ask? I say this as someone who has seen similar website quirks from just about any company and have no reason to be a fierce defender either.

[blurayisnice]

Originally Posted by jkoffman

So the big conspiracy is that they had only a handful of copies of that title left and for some reason the lowest shipping was £7.96 instead of £2.61? I definitely agree with you that it's not a good look, but I don't believe a company like Indicator is intentionally trying to screw over 10 customers by lying about shipping charges to pocket a whopping £5. If you've noticed a pattern of this, why not just reach out to them and ask? I say this as someone who has seen similar website quirks from just about any company and have no reason to be a fierce defender either.

Maybe it was meant to incentivize customers to order other stuff along with it instead of just the one item they tweeted being low on stock. They essentially sold it for regular price with standard shipping option turned off.


They excluded "Noir 1" from the sale as well. And during the last sale, "Cisco Pike" and "Twentieth Century" weren't available to order for a period of time. Cisco Pike sold out during this sale and from what I remember Twentieth Century is one of their great sellers as well. So yeah, Indicator definitely has a history of adjusting availability of popular/close to OOP releases during sales.



It's not a far stretch or a "conspiracy" to say they turned off cheapest shipping option for a similarly popular/close to OOP title. In fact, it is far more reasonable to assume that over some of the explanations I have seen here, like that they accidentally entered 3.4x+ higher weight for specifically this item.


Whatever the real reason/explanation is, it comes down to this not being a good look for the company. Most people won't give a damn of course.

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by blurayisnice

Maybe it was meant to incentivize customers to order other stuff along with it instead of just the one item they tweeted being low on stock. They essentially sold it for regular price with standard shipping option turned off.


They excluded "Noir 1" from the sale as well. And during the last sale, "Cisco Pike" and "Twentieth Century" weren't available to order for a period of time. Cisco Pike sold out during this sale and from what I remember Twentieth Century is one of their great sellers as well. So yeah, Indicator definitely has a history of adjusting availability of popular/close to OOP releases during sales.



It's not a far stretch or a "conspiracy" to say they turned off cheapest shipping option for a similarly popular/close to OOP title. In fact, it is far more reasonable to assume that over some of the explanations I have seen here, like that they accidentally entered 3.4x+ higher weight for specifically this item.


Whatever the real reason/explanation is, it comes down to this not being a good look for the company.

Listen, I've already agreed with pretty much everything you've witnessed here, so now you're just repeating yourself. If you choose to complain here instead of contacting them, that's on you. If you're still surprised that sale prices fluctuate and titles going OOP cause a frenzy I have a solution for you: Buy the titles you really want while they're in print and not wait for rock bottom prices which are always a gamble.

[CRASHLANDING]

To get us back on track, the Twilight Time Spring Sale is now active at SAE. 20% all TT titles with code TWILIGHT0322, ends April 5.

I have most of the TT titles I wanted, though there are a few I'm still hoping to grab. But wow, March has been a killer month on my wallet after sales from Criterion, KLSC, WAC and now TT!

Added link to the sale thread: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=349894