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Deadpool 2 (4K+2D Blu-ray SteelBook) (HMV Exclusive) [UK]
- Thread starter Norwichlad
- Start date
I paid £25 for plenty of DVDs back in the early days, also £100+ for a few TV boxsets, and this was back when the minimum wage for teens was about £3.50 and you'd be lucky to get much more than that. I'd like to see prices drop for 4K steels, but adjusting for inflation home media prices are close to the cheapest they've ever been.
Studios really need to just give us a split run so we have a choice.
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DVD started out at £30 to £35 each in 1997
Prices then dropped to around £25 each
After this came 2 for £30 deal with columbia tristar and followed by later with Warner 2 for £25
I launched the Warner 2 for £25 with Tower Records in Rep of Ireland
After the success of the 2 for £25 warner then offered this same deal to other retailers in the UK
The increase of sales gave way to warner launching mid price dvd for the back catalog
Blu-ray was also expensive at launch £30 to £35 each as I paid this
Prices of blu-ray discs dropped 12 months later mostly due to price drop of the Ps3 console creating big increase of blu ray disc purchases from 2007 to 2010
4K disc sales at launch was better take up in comparision to Blu-ray when first launched but
4K Disc unit sales though after 2 years is lot less than Blu-ray in comparision over same period
Film Studios need to drop the prices for 4K releases to get increase of sales as there is not the same demand as there was to upgrade from DVD to Blu-ray
There is an increase of 4K tv's in homes but lot of these consumers are happy enough with Blu-ray and also using streaming services thats built into the 4K tv's
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It is correct I was a Buyer in the business back then and was involved directly in getting the prices dropped for DVD by approacing the distributors to do deals
The warner deal hmv and other UK retailers got in 1999 was me asking Warner and was first launched in Tower records Ireland before any other stores got the deal
Even Tower Records in UK only got the deal after first been launched in Dublin Wicklow Street store
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Also the home format landscape has completely changed with Netflix, amazon and sky all offering different levels of streaming and digital purchases. 4k sales will probably never reach the hight of bluray, doesn't mean to say its going to fail completely.
well what is correct @paulboland was £30-£35 for a DVD was 2 days work part time me back in the school days 
Was that a days salary for you back then? 
I remember VHS were like £15 brand new and thinking that was cheap compared to DVDs 
Was that a days salary for you back then? I remember VHS were like £15 brand new and thinking that was cheap compared to DVDs
You might have been a buyer, I was a young exec at Sony/Columbia Tristar during that time. The agreed price was £22.99. Your deals were nothing more than stores charging more as was expected, and when challenged dropped them to the price actually being asked by the studio's. The distributors weren't actually doing deals, they were just seening how much money they could actually get. With Blu-ray prices fell quickly as they wanted to finish HD-DVD and it worked. With 4K they are trying the same tactics again, unfortunately sales have been rock bottom in numbers, with 4K not even selling UK laserdisc volumes
I got a lot of my DVD and Videos for free back then as distributor reps gave me lot of free stock and I used to swap these for stuff I wantedwell what is correct @paulboland was £30-£35 for a DVD was 2 days work part time me back in the school days
My wages each week back in 1997 was never enough with the amount of work I was doing
The first few DVD releases was actually back catalouge titles and these was £25 each
Prices of DVD for new release films was very expensive in 1997 especialy disney and cost an average of £30 with some smaller retailers charging £35
Prices then for new releases started to drop later in 1997/1998/1999/2000 to £28-£25-£22-20 then eventually £15
Later mid price saw prices be £8 to £12 each
The distributors deals with retailers buy 2 for £30 and 2 for £25 and later 2 for £15 deals is what made DVD a big success back then
Dvd prices dropping was distributor dropping the dealer prices and incressed file discounts based on amount a retailer chain was ordering from them
Distributor RRP means nothing in retail as a retailer will decide price based on the dealer price and will vary with some retailers depending on their overhead costs rents staff etc
The 2 for £ deals or buy one get one free deals happen because the retailer get's offered or the retailer asks for a deal on price with the distributor
All of which was utterly irrelevant at the level I worked. A set price was roughly agreed on new titles, if anyone below that level wanted to charge more that's upto them. I never paid above the set level. You're talking about people that were far far below the operations level I was working in, with a team of 24 under me. Distributors are basically money grabbers, middlemen, nothing more
Well this thread turned boring very quickly!
They always do. If they don't already exist, can somebody please create the following threads?
"My job was more important than your job"
"This is what the price of (insert media type here) was when first released"
"I refuse to pay more than £25 for a steelbook and I will whine about it every time one is released for higher than that price because I know nobody wants to hear about it...ever!"
"The studios have to stop charging this much, the studios have to stop releasing separate 4K and 3D releases even though the studios can do whatever they want BECAUSE IT'S THEIR PRODUCT!!!"
Seriously, stop all of the
whining. They are steelbooks. Buy them. Don't Buy them. It isn't blood. Nobody needs these things. Quit crying. Like it's been said so many times. If you want to debate something, take it to PM.
Not so much boring, as irrelevant.
If we do not have a thread on 'Purchasing Perspectives; The History Of Film Media" maybe Paul could start one?
If we do not have a thread on 'Purchasing Perspectives; The History Of Film Media" maybe Paul could start one?
One thing though. Nobody got to buy them at the price that you're saying was agreed as the distributors were always going to add something on.
Well, maybe you got to buy them at that agreed price along with the 24 under you
A lot of steelbook collectors though would have liked a steelbook without the 4K Disc as it would be cheaper
A lot are not are intrested in 4K UHD and that includes even some who even already have 4K Tv's
Having separate steelbooks solves this issue
If 4K/2D steelbook price was £22.99 or £24.99 it would be more liked and sell better
A lot of us are paying extra for a 4K uhd disc that can't be viewed
well said that man,,common sense, is all these companies need,
The point is some people don't want 4K forced on them. A split run offering both standard Blu Ray and seperate 4K package would be best. Zavvi can do it so why not HMV?
Well, if you're opening your steelbook to watch the blu ray, that means you can sell the 4K disc. I bet you'll make at least £10-£15 on ebay even after shipping selling a brand new release disc only. It's a pain, but I usually do the same with the 3D discs I'll never watch. I should probably start selling the useless blu rays I get in steelbooks too, the 4K discs are the only ones I watch now.
If you're keeping them sealed, I can see how it's more of a problem.
If you're keeping them sealed, I can see how it's more of a problem.
The average customer don't look at releases like that a lot don't sell unwanted items on ebay etc
Most want to spend on a release a price they are used to paying not more than previously been spending
Increase in price leads to deciding not to purchase
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