Is there a market for a new online store directed at Canadians?

[martydmc12]

I've been seriously contemplating the idea of creating an online store aimed for Canadians, that would sell mainstream studio releases of Blu-ray's and 4K's with American packaging (non-bilingual).

I think as collectors we're all getting pretty exhausted of having to deal with the heavy loss of brick and mortar stores no longer carrying titles, and even when they do, they're not only the terrible non-bilingual packaging, but we have to contend with damaged slipcovers, or very poor selection of titles. Then there's ordering from the U.S. via Amazon.com, and having to deal with damaged discs and packaging due to their poor shipping practices.

I wouldn't want to compete with companies like Unobstructed View carrying boutique labels as much, but then again, if there was a demand, and one could have competitive prices to match UV, it may be worth it.

All in all, is there enough of a population of collectors in Canada to make this worthwhile, a brand new online outline selling to Canadians in Canadian dollars, shipping discs in actual well packed boxes rather than envelopes (cough, Amazon, cough)?

[reynaldo]

Originally Posted by martydmc12

I've been seriously contemplating the idea of creating an online store aimed for Canadians, that would sell mainstream studio releases of Blu-ray's and 4K's with American packaging (non-bilingual).

I think as collectors we're all getting pretty exhausted of having to deal with the heavy loss of brick and mortar stores no longer carrying titles, and even when they do, they're not only the terrible non-bilingual packaging, but we have to contend with damaged slipcovers, or very poor selection of titles. Then there's ordering from the U.S. via Amazon.com, and having to deal with damaged discs and packaging due to their poor shipping practices.

I wouldn't want to compete with companies like Unobstructed View carrying boutique labels as much, but then again, if there was a demand, and one could have competitive prices to match UV, it may be worth it.

All in all, is there enough of a population of collectors in Canada to make this worthwhile, a brand new online outline selling to Canadians in Canadian dollars, shipping discs in actual well packed boxes rather than envelopes (cough, Amazon, cough).

If you could make this happen, I know I'd be a customer! I've never bought a bilingual release in my life and importing has gotten crazy expensive thanks to ridiculous shipping fees, so yeah. Also, feel free to compete with Unobstructed View, boutique releases are the bread and butter of online shops...and besides, there are plenty of people who won't support UV and are looking for a viable alternative.

Sunrise Records pricing has gone out of control, and even great video stores with fair pricing (Bay Street Video and Eyesore Cinema in Toronto) don't have a webstore at all. So there's definitely room for an idea like yours...in my opinion.

[martydmc12]

Originally Posted by reynaldo

So there's definitely room for an idea like yours...in my opinion.

Believe me, it's been an idea rattling around in my head for a while now. Problem is figuring out the logistics of acquiring titles from the U.S., getting them shipped up to Canada, and being able to sell them at a reasonable price + shipping.

Take for example, the recently released Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 4K Steelbook. I'd have to charge anywhere between $35-$50 Canadian + shipping (approx. $10-$12) within Canada. Would anyone pay those kind of prices for something like that kind of title in collectible packaging?

[ajb11]

I would point out that you would need to check on mailing costs. I sent a single Blu Ray to Vancouver from Nova Scotia & it cost almost $25, that is tracked & insured by Canada Post. If you use a cheaper service you stand a chance of buyers "claiming" item was never delivered. On top of that you have packing material costs, tape, boxes & time is not free & on top of that you have Customs clearance to add to the cost for your imports.

Last but know doubt not least you have business fees to take into account so you can claim back Customs & other taxes, then add them when you make a sale. Costs also for book keeping & accounting fees.

Advertising fees, to be honest the list is quite endless of out goings & you are relying on a market that really is quite narrow & honestly Amazon rule, despite their pitfalls as who can compete on their prices.

I owned & ran 3 Video stores for a number of years closed down in 2015 & tried to boost the business by doing something like this & it really did become quite a burden & I had 4 employees to do the work & sufficient capital to ride the ups & downs & it still never truly worked out.

But I truly wish you well & if I see you post here I will certainly look at your offerings.

regards
Andy

[reynaldo]

Originally Posted by martydmc12

Believe me, it's been an idea rattling around in my head for a while now. Problem is figuring out the logistics of acquiring titles from the U.S., getting them shipped up to Canada, and being able to sell them at a reasonable price + shipping.

Take for example, the recently released Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 4K Steelbook. I'd have to charge anywhere between $35-$50 Canadian + shipping (approx. $10-$12) within Canada. Would anyone pay those kind of prices for something like that kind of title in collectible packaging?

Well, if it was me, I wouldn't even offer something like that, since it's readily available on Amazon and Best Buy's sites. You would never be able to compete with them on a product like that...so don't even bother. If your niche is American imports, stick to titles you know won't get released here - and use this site as a gauge of interest. Like, it's a reasonable assumption that you'd be able to sell more copies of a 4K release of a popular Lionsgate title that won't get released here than an import of "Grease" or whatever.

As I said, other Canadian stores such as Bay Street Video, Eyesore Cinema and TheCnl offer American imports, so there's definitely a way to get them. The first two don't have an online store and the third does, but they can be a little pricey. So there's definitely room for you...as a niche seller in a niche market. If you treat it as a hobby more than a retirement plan you may be surprised.

[Deadend45]

Cheaper for folk to just buy from the uk.

[Animatic33]

Yes. It would be nice to have the equivalent of DiabolikDVD here in Canada. Would save Canadians time and energy tracking down imports. I would definitely buy from a Canadian store if they gave fair prices and shipping was decent (or better yet, accurate).

Yet, lots of variables to contend with, my main concerns after procuring the goods would be customers who have real issues and try to pull fast ones on you. ajb11's post is enlightening.

I also want to point out there are some real financial stresses hitting Canadians right now, and there's always the thought of the impending major recession. Might be worth researching all of that too.

[martydmc12]

Originally Posted by ajb11

I would point out that you would need to check on mailing costs.

I think I may have found a solution for importing titles in from the U.S. at a greatly reduced shipping rate, almost cut in half. Most online retailers in the U.S. seem to offer free shipping within the United States based on how much you purchase. I would be able to have items ship to a U.S. address for free, and there's an import company that then picks up at that U.S. address, delivering directly to me at half the cost of what USPS or a courier would. I have to look into it more, but on that side of things, this might problem might be solved.

Originally Posted by ajb11

I sent a single Blu Ray to Vancouver from Nova Scotia & it cost almost $25, that is tracked & insured by Canada Post. If you use a cheaper service you stand a chance of buyers "claiming" item was never delivered. On top of that you have packing material costs, tape, boxes & time is not free & on top of that you have Customs clearance to add to the cost for your imports.

I've also been buying and selling on eBay since 1997, and I totally understand, shipping can be heavy. I already deal with bulk suppliers like ULINE for shipping supplies, which saves me a lot of money, and everything else I need for supplies I just go to the dollar store.

Originally Posted by ajb11

Last but know doubt not least you have business fees to take into account so you can claim back Customs & other taxes, then add them when you make a sale. Costs also for book keeping & accounting fees.

This is exactly where I start to think, this might not be worth doing. There's the idea of helping out fellow Canadian collectors by being able to supply them with titles, simply based out of own frustration of acquiring titles for my own personal library, then the logistics of setting up a business to actually do this. It's one thing to buy and sell a few disc here and there, but to go out fully and start an online store seems like more of a hassle than it might be worth.

Originally Posted by ajb11

I owned & ran 3 Video stores for a number of years closed down in 2015 & tried to boost the business by doing something like this & it really did become quite a burden & I had 4 employees to do the work & sufficient capital to ride the ups & downs & it still never truly worked out.

Do you think there will ever be a resurgence of the physical brick and mortar video store? I keep seeing record stores pop up in my city, and I keep hoping that maybe the younger "streaming" generation might wake up one day and think owning and/or renting physical media is a trendy thing to do, which could bring things back to a certain degree.

[martydmc12]

Originally Posted by reynaldo

As I said, other Canadian stores such as Bay Street Video, Eyesore Cinema and TheCnl offer American imports, so there's definitely a way to get them. The first two don't have an online store and the third does, but they can be a little pricey.

As you said, stores like Bay Street Video and Eyesore Cinema don't have online stores, and are aimed at the Toronto/Ontario market. For the rest of us in Canada that exist, which people in Toronto usually tend forget about, especially for us out here in the Prairie provinces, we've got absolutely no choices here other than Walmart, Best Buy and London Drugs.

I never heard of TheCnl until you just mentioned it now. I looked them up, and yes, very, very expensive. The Back to the Future 4K Trilogy, $85.00! That's insanity and way overprices. Granted they seem like a large company with employees, which I get, they gotta eat too, whereas I'm just a potential one-man operation.

Originally Posted by reynaldo

So there's definitely room for you...as a niche seller in a niche market. If you treat it as a hobby more than a retirement plan you may be surprised.

That's more in the line of what I'm thinking, a small hobby store, rather than an actual big online retailer. Just a couple of titles here and there, and I could do special orders for customers if they so wanted. The idea of setting up a brand new business, then having to deal with taxes and all the other things that go into owning and maintaining a business just seems like too much work for the size and scope of what the marketplace truly is.

We'll see, I'm still toying with doing something, but just not sure what yet.

[martydmc12]

Originally Posted by Animatic33

Yes. It would be nice to have the equivalent of DiabolikDVD here in Canada. Would save Canadians time and energy tracking down imports. I would definitely buy from a Canadian store if they gave fair prices and shipping was decent (or better yet, accurate).

I've been buying and selling on eBay (toys and movie collectibles) for 25 years, and I've always charged, or as close to actual Canada Post rates with insurance and tracking. When I've overcharged on shipping, I've refunded my buyers any overages they have paid. It's difficult, because even when you weight and measure an item ahead of time, and get a rate off of the Canada Post website, it's not always the same when you actually go to the post office. Now with inflation and other factors, shipping has gotten to be insane. Americans still have no idea how terrible our postal system is compared to theirs.

[ajb11]

Originally Posted by martydmc12

Do you think there will ever be a resurgence of the physical brick and mortar video store? I keep seeing record stores pop up in my city, and I keep hoping that maybe the younger "streaming" generation might wake up one day and think owning and/or renting physical media is a trendy thing to do, which could bring things back to a certain degree.

No, I think the market place has shifted to a non physical media format & it will only get more prolific. There will always be a place for actual discs, but mass market? doubtful.

Naturally you will proceed however you wish, but I would certainly do a lot of re-search before taking a large plunge into this.

I was buying bulk, pallet of films (approximately 250 titles up to 15,000 units / film), at a time from the USA, yes the price was very good but Customs is very hefty to add to the bottom line, no matter what systems are in place for transport etc. The Government will always want their fees.

Another factor to account for is the never ending stream of re-issues, say you buy the Indiana Jones set (mentioned above) next year there is a new film & that will put a new box set out, yours if unsold becomes almost worthless. Your purchases would need to turned over at quite a pace & you will constantly fighting Amazon price drops or even massive clear out sales at places like Deep Discount etc.

A suggestion, the next time you find a title you think is worth a risk, buy an extra & see how fast it sells & at what percentage of profit, gives you an idea.

Example in my stores I bought for myself all the Disney Exclusives from the club, the films I did not like I sold off in the stores, but to this day I have about 14 that no one ever bought! money just sitting about going nowhere.

Niche markets are all well & good, but do they make a profit?

I do truly wish you well in whatever direction you go.

regards
Andy

[barsalou]

Great idea!! I like your main idea about non-bilingual mainstream releases, but would also love to have a place to purchase boutique labels in Canada... I do not buy from UV anymore and almost all my purchases are either directly from the label or Diabolik... I also get what I can from amazon.ca (or wowhd.ca) as they usually have the best prices and pretty fast shipping, but would definitely support an indy if they offered something similar...

[jstxanothrxstory]

Originally Posted by martydmc12

I think I may have found a solution for importing titles in from the U.S. at a greatly reduced shipping rate, almost cut in half. Most online retailers in the U.S. seem to offer free shipping within the United States based on how much you purchase. I would be able to have items ship to a U.S. address for free, and there's an import company that then picks up at that U.S. address, delivering directly to me at half the cost of what USPS or a courier would. I have to look into it more, but on that side of things, this might problem might be solved.

I'm not sure if it'd help or not since it'd add another step, but I have a PO box in Watertown since it's only about an hour drive from me.

[reynaldo]

Update: I think if your niche is English-only packaging and titles unavailable in Canada, you'd do well enough. I think you could do very well on titles like Shout's upcoming Halloween 4K boxset, which won't be available here...and if you could figure out a way to order exclusive U.S.-only Best Buy steelbooks...you'd do even better!

[barsalou]

Originally Posted by reynaldo

Update: I think if your niche is English-only packaging and titles unavailable in Canada, you'd do well enough. I think you could do very well on titles like Shout's upcoming Halloween 4K boxset, which won't be available here...and if you could figure out a way to order exclusive U.S.-only Best Buy steelbooks...you'd do even better!

Is that confirmed for the Halloween 4K collection? Still not on amazon.ca, but figured it was just a matter of time...

[reynaldo]

Originally Posted by barsalou

Is that confirmed for the Halloween 4K collection? Still not on amazon.ca, but figured it was just a matter of time...

Yes, I read on here that Shout confirmed it on Twitter. If you go to Shout's site, you'll see it's only listed as a U.S. release.

Some online and physical stores will probably carry this in Canada, (eg. Bay Street Video, The CNL, Eyesore Cinema) but only CNL has an online sales presence.

[PinkoB]

Originally Posted by martydmc12

As you said, stores like Bay Street Video and Eyesore Cinema don't have online stores, and are aimed at the Toronto/Ontario market. For the rest of us in Canada that exist, which people in Toronto usually tend forget about, especially for us out here in the Prairie provinces, we've got absolutely no choices here other than Walmart, Best Buy and London Drugs.

I never heard of TheCnl until you just mentioned it now. I looked them up, and yes, very, very expensive. The Back to the Future 4K Trilogy, $85.00! That's insanity and way overprices. Granted they seem like a large company with employees, which I get, they gotta eat too, whereas I'm just a potential one-man operation.



That's more in the line of what I'm thinking, a small hobby store, rather than an actual big online retailer. Just a couple of titles here and there, and I could do special orders for customers if they so wanted. The idea of setting up a brand new business, then having to deal with taxes and all the other things that go into owning and maintaining a business just seems like too much work for the size and scope of what the marketplace truly is.

We'll see, I'm still toying with doing something, but just not sure what yet.

Eyesore Cinema actually does do mail order, and the prices are good too, but you have to get in touch with them via Facebook. If you follow them on there they’re constantly posting new arrivals and accept requests as well. Very fair to deal with!

As far as your idea OP, I’d love to see it!

[MrGarmonbozia]

Originally Posted by barsalou

Great idea!! I like your main idea about non-bilingual mainstream releases, but would also love to have a place to purchase boutique labels in Canada... I do not buy from UV anymore and almost all my purchases are either directly from the label or Diabolik... I also get what I can from amazon.ca (or wowhd.ca) as they usually have the best prices and pretty fast shipping, but would definitely support an indy if they offered something similar...

This post is what had me discovering WOWHD. Do you pay duty/customs on your orders from them?

I saw FREE SHIPPING and bought about $120 CDN order but never thought about duty/customs/etc.

[kanderson]

Originally Posted by MrGarmonbozia

This post is what had me discovering WOWHD. Do you pay duty/customs on your orders from them?

I saw FREE SHIPPING and bought about $120 CDN order but never thought about duty/customs/etc.

Maybe. Depends on how they ship them. Ones they send by USPS I have never paid custom fees. On larger orders (by size) they use a courier and duty is charged. So, when using them, I only order at most 3 discs at a time.

[MrGarmonbozia]

Originally Posted by kanderson

Maybe. Depends on how they ship them. Ones they send by USPS I have never paid custom fees. On larger orders (by size) they use a courier and duty is charged. So, when using them, I only order at most 3 discs at a time.

My first order was for two blus and that In the Line of Duty box set. Came to about 129 CDN. They shipped them separately as ITLOD is released in a few weeks.

I was debating preordering that Shaw Classics set from them but I gather they'll be duty/customs on a 11 bluray box set? :P