Zavvi - Retailer chat [Europe]

Jayturner514 · Jul 13, 2013

Am I alone in thinking that Zavvi could be running the steelbook 'hype' into the ground? I know that a lot of people like the fact that more movies are becoming available in/on steelbook, I am still kind of one of them, but it just seems like they're taking the rarity out of it movie by movie. It's almost to the point now that you expect them to put out a steelbook for 'X' release...
It would be different if they limited all their steels to, say, 2000, but they've increased print runs to charge more and make more money. Can't say I fault them for it, but it's a little sad.
I don't know, it's just my opinion.

carpenterfan78 · Jul 13, 2013

Not alone in that im sure.The novelty is wearing off to a degree i think.Just too many releases to keep up with and too high prices.I still enjoy collecting them but it's making me want to become more selective.Some titles just don't deserve the steelbook treatment.

digitalbabe · Jul 13, 2013

I think Zavvi has become one of the only retailers that is still operating as a traditional retailer in the UK, and by default now is seemingly the only retailer releasing exclusive Steelbooks on this scale (vs Play, HMV, etc) With that comes all kinds of growing pains and also a managing of pricing (dictated by studio as well as retailer). They are doing a good job trying to release a mix of titles, but I think perhaps it would help if the release dates could be spaced out a bit more. am personally much more selective than I was years ago. I appreciate what all retailers are doing because it allows more collectors to enjoy some of nice upgraded releases. But, as was the case with Mediamarkt etc, it creates forced selective behavior on the part of consumers when many are released on the same day, week etc( the same was said when Play released 'waves'). I think everyone needs to decide what the 'must haves' are to keep the hobby fun. I really enjoy some of the releases that are more niche like Wicker Man at Zavvi or limited runs like Kimchi, but am also looking forward to some new releases like the HDN cover vote of Olympus Has Fallen at Zavvi.

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frankfish44 · Jul 14, 2013

I really hope that this notion that international customers are to blame for rising Zavvi prices is quashed as there is no proof or validity behind it. Many are so intent on the fact that they ship for £1 but forget this is not true for all nations although it applies to many.

1. As a business, Zavvi have a core market which is the UK. Retailers perform marketing research to see what at price point can they maximize profitability without turning away customers in the core market. As I stated before, IMO, £14.99 was determined as a base price that the UK market would support. This had nothing to do with international buyers. This applies to most retailers around the world even if they offer affordable shipping. Even if BB/FS/Walmart were to open their doors to the international community, their pricing policy would not change because of that. Some Mediamarkt exclusives are quite costly initially ( Lenticulars ), prices are never reduced as it has been proven their is an appetite for these and that the market can support that price point.

2. Despite the fact that shipping is £1 to most locations, there are ways that they have probably worked out to ensure they are not losing money. They do not deduct VAT to shipments out of the EU. Also it has been noted that their tracked shipping is actually not tracked and delivery time is the same as normal shipments. They also have warehouses in different parts of the world thereby are able to bulk ship and have the warehouses handle redistribution. They may actually lose a small portion of their profits in some cases for shipping internationally but this is obviously a better solution than sitting on items you cannot move. Play had this issue of sitting on massive stock piles of items they could not move. Some of those play exclusives are still available at Zavvi and other retailers at play.com. Plays steelbook sales were strong but at the prices they charged (£9.99-£11.99) it is hard to see how they were profitable doing this considering returns for damaged steelbooks. International customers quite honestly limit their loses, maximize profits by allowing them to move more steelbooks than they actually would not be able to otherwise.

Zavvi can go the play route and only ship within Europe. They would end up sitting on massive stock piles of steels they cannot move. GB's are always cost prohibitive due to additional costs and in some cases, the necessity to have tracked shipments. Isn't play still selling some of their exclusives at the play marketplace at some cheap prices just to move them? I can live without Zavvi, but can Zavvi live without its international customer base???

snooloui · Jul 14, 2013

The fact of the matter remains that you can't ship a Steelbook from the UK for £1. You can make up all of these potential scenarios of Zavvi having warehouses all over the World (they are not Amazon, they are a much smaller company), but you have no proof either, it is all just speculation.

I would also like to note that you contradict yourself a few times. You say that Zavvi charge a price that the UK market can support and then say that Zavvi may not be able to live without International customers. You also say that Zavvi don't deduct VAT from EU shipments and then say that Zavvi ship from warehouses in different parts of the World (therefore not incurring any VAT).

My personal opinion is that the rise from £9.99 to £14.99 is due to the abolishing of LVCR (meaning UK customers have to pay VAT on imports from the Channel Islands) and the fact that Zavvi charge only £1 for International shipping. Both of those are clear facts and both are valid reasons for a price increase compared to Play.com's prices.

frankfish44 · Jul 14, 2013

snooloui said:
The fact of the matter remains that you can't ship a Steelbook from the UK for £1. You can make up all of these potential scenarios of Zavvi having warehouses all over the World (they are not Amazon, they are a much smaller company), but you have no proof either, it is all just speculation.

I would also like to note that you contradict yourself a few times. You say that Zavvi charge a price that the UK market can support and then say that Zavvi may not be able to live without International customers. You also say that Zavvi don't deduct VAT from EU shipments and then say that Zavvi ship from warehouses in different parts of the World (therefore not incurring any VAT). Fact also is that you cant ship any steelbook within the UK for £1, therefore that comes from somewhere as well.

My personal opinion is that the rise from £9.99 to £14.99 is due to the abolishing of LVCR (meaning UK customers have to pay VAT on imports from the Channel Islands) and the fact that Zavvi charge only £1 for International shipping. Both of those are clear facts and both are valid reasons for a price increase compared to Play.com's prices.

Zavvi / The Hut group are an online only retailer. Therefore due to the lack of physical stores, they are able to maximize profits. The same formula amazon uses to offer much lower prices by giving up some profits to increase sales. It is also noted that former play.com execs work for Zavvi now and probably learnt from the failures of play. The Hut Group is the fastest growing technology company and is ranked 1 in the UK. Fact

I highly doubt The Hut / Zavvi are losing that much on international shipments. With no proof whatsoever this notion that international shipments were the reason behind so called high prices is accepted widely by members in the UK. Lets not forget, play went out of business for a reason. Whilst some will say its not because of steelbooks, I find it hard to imagine what type of profit they turned selling steelbooks at £9.99 considering investments made in packaging and still ship for free within the UK. Whichever way you wanna put it, Zavvi have a formula that works for them that allows them to ship internationally whilst still making a profit. If play.com were so successful selling steelbooks at £9.99, why were they sitting on huge stock piles of certain titles when they began closing down most of their operations?

Can Zavvi do well without international customers??? We live in an increasingly global world now. Shutting down a source of income can have diverse effects on any business. It is a stream of revenue that will not be gained elsewhere. Successful international retailers understand this. I am quite sure execs at the Hut / Zavvi understand this. More and more people shop online now part of the reason High street stores are suffering worldwide.

If anyone wants to compare with amazon, I will say that I end up paying the same price or slightly above as most in the UK pay for the same item. For example, if you ordered Oblivion from amazon, the total price ends up being cheaper than Zavvi. You also cant buy most new releases for the prices most wanna pay of £9.99

If you still want to carry on this argument, show us the smoking gun. Lets not perpetuate arguments without merit

Steelknight47 · Jul 14, 2013

snooloui · Jul 15, 2013

I find it funny that some members find it acceptable to post baseless allegations of 'tactics' on Zavvi's part yet if I went into a Kimchi thread, Blufans thread etc. I would get shot down. It's pretty obvious that many just don't like Zavvi.

Why not wait for actual details before making judgements?

Jango · Jul 15, 2013

snooloui said:
I find it funny that some members find it acceptable to post baseless allegations of 'tactics' on Zavvi's part yet if I went into a Kimchi thread, Blufans thread etc. I would get shot down. It's pretty obvious that many just don't like Zavvi.

Why not wait for actual details before making judgements?

i gues the lost of trust into zavvi started with the fact that certain people like wreck weren't allowed to pass us informations through like print runs, stock level etc which wasnt the case before, while we got continued updating infos about blufans / kimchi from bluraysteel and Choi Chungkwon. besides that the customer service and answeres from zavvi are a joke.

so if you ask me its just an information problem zavvi got and they created that on there own.

ETSC · Jul 15, 2013

Jango said:
i gues the lost of trust into zavvi started with the fact that certain people like wreck weren't allowed to pass us informations through like print runs, stock level etc which wasnt the case before, while we got continued updating infos about blufans / kimchi from bluraysteel and Choi Chungkwon. besides that the customer service and answeres from zavvi are a joke.

so if you ask me its just an information problem zavvi got and they created that on there own.

Not to mention the price increasing. £16.99, £17.99, £22.99, £23.99. Paypal charges. Thor & Capt £15.99.
"Selling out soon" But still there a month later with lots of copies on playtrade.
Then not keeping any Aladdin steelbooks for replacements but selling them on ebay for a lot more.
And I won't go into the personal problems I'm having trying to get a replacement.
Yes it's great someone took up where play left off... but the customer service, higher print run, and the increasing prices with lack of content... it's getting frustrating and I think rightly starting to show on this forum.

And for those worried this is "Sold out" just my personal opinion, it will come back in stock... they took Finding Nemo off their site for a while when it had only sold half it's quantity and I don't think they've sold as much stock as they had for this, and if they did i'm sure they would up the print run.

snooloui · Jul 15, 2013

ETSC said:
Not to mention the price increasing. £16.99, £17.99, £22.99, £23.99. Paypal charges. Thor & Capt £15.99.
"Selling out soon" But still there a month later with lots of copies on playtrade.
Then not keeping any Aladdin steelbooks for replacements but selling them on ebay for a lot more.
And I won't go into the personal problems I'm having trying to get a replacement.
Yes it's great someone took up where play left off... but the customer service, higher print run, and the increasing prices with lack of content... it's getting frustrating and I think rightly starting to show on this forum.

And for those worried this is "Sold out" just my personal opinion, it will come back in stock... they took Finding Nemo off their site for a while when it had only sold half it's quantity and I don't think they've sold as much stock as they had for this, and if they did i'm sure they would up the print run.

What increasing prices? The vast majority of their catalogue titles are £14.99. Many of their new releases are £17.49. The only ones which could be described as being overpriced are the Disney titles.

As for the print runs. Well a lot of those can be explained rationally. One explanation is a stupid stock system that has to be manually updated. If it isn't then a title could appear to have sold out without taking into account cancellations (which happen very regularly judging by the posts on this forum, especially when a new discount code pops up. The other is simply an increase in the print run which is what I personally believe happened with The Jungle Book and The Little Mermaid.

As for Aladdin, well that was poor form, but Play.com did something similar with Iron Man and Iron Man 2 and Amazon do it all the time e.g. The Great Escape, Skyfall, Willow etc.

I think that a lot of this Zavvi hate (and that is exactly what it is) is unjustified. Certainly complaints like the lack of decent customer service are reasonable, but a lot of complaints here are just made up and without good reason other than having a dislike at Zavvi.

ETSC · Jul 15, 2013

snooloui said:
What increasing prices? The vast majority of their catalogue titles are £14.99. Many of their new releases are £17.49. The only ones which could be described as being overpriced are the Disney titles.

As for the print runs. Well a lot of those can be explained rationally. One explanation is a stupid stock system that has to be manually updated. If it isn't then a title could appear to have sold out without taking into account cancellations (which happen very regularly judging by the posts on this forum, especially when a new discount code pops up. The other is simply an increase in the print run which is what I personally believe happened with The Jungle Book and The Little Mermaid.

As for Aladdin, well that was poor form, but Play.com did something similar with Iron Man and Iron Man 2 and Amazon do it all the time e.g. The Great Escape, Skyfall, Willow etc.

I think that a lot of this Zavvi hate (and that is exactly what it is) is unjustified. Certainly complaints like the lack of decent customer service are reasonable, but a lot of complaints here are just made up and without good reason other than having a dislike at Zavvi.

Any more pro Zavvi and you would be that Blu-mark guy.
I've just said why we are frustrated. We get that you are happy to pay Zavvi prices whatever.
I remember when the forum released their HDN steelbook.... you thought the price was too much and people said you were "hating"
Why aren't Disney putting up prices in other countries? Where is your proof Disney are telling Zavvi to keep raising prices and quantity?... you're assuming, like i'm assuming it's Zavvi. (their new film releases are low profile except animated, Iron Man or Fast 6 which are all high.)
What happens if Zavvi go to prices you don't like? Will you bite your tongue?
I think it's good to show frustration on here, because it will help convince some members not to buy, which might make them consider their pricing.

Again, I get that you are fine seeing the prices and quantity go up and think it's Disney.
If i'm not allowed to talk about prices, then please one of the mods let me know and I will delete my posts.

Regarding below (hatredhorror)... Zavvi are selling Jungle book and Mermaid amarays at £16.99... I'm sure Amazon will lower their prices or it will be the first time they've sold a Disney single disc that high. And even if they were that high they are already making a huge profit so a steelbook shouldn't need to be a couple pound more anyway.
And no need for name calling.

jackanape · Jul 15, 2013

hatredhorror said:
It cant be zavvi because amazon and sainsbury have the AMARAYS at 21GBP

thats REALLY not that hard to understand

Difference is, I suspect those companies will lower their prices closer to release date (edit: actually they are already lower than you've stated). Amazon do that all of the time.

Recent example, would be Oblivion. New steelbook release that started on Amazon for about £21.99, but has since been as low as £16.49, and may well dip lower before it is released. Zavvi price has not moved.

Whereas the £23.99 from Zavvi for this film will stay that way, both before and after launch. Only way to get it any cheaper is if the film works with some of their voucher codes.

I think the only thing people are fussed about is getting value for money. This film is only £16.50 on Bluray at Amazon, or £18.50 with the 3D copy. All the Zavvi exclusive Disney films so far have NOT come with 3D for some reason and tend to miss any extra discs/features that other regions get. So in this case you would be paying an extra £7.50 just for a steelbook case (assuming it has no 3D copy).

For some people that is worth it, for some it isn't. But it does seem weird that they are happy to keep certain catalogue releases at £14.99 (except for Thor and CA which have the added 'bonus' of not working with any voucher codes) while the Disney prices seem to increase with each new film.

I suppose the best indication would be the next older Disney title really as, generally, you would expect new releases to cost a bit more. So I'd wait and see what the cost of the next older Disney film is before making a judgement call.

snooloui · Jul 15, 2013

ETSC said:
Any more pro Zavvi and you would be that Blu-mark guy.
I've just said why we are frustrated. We get that you are happy to pay Zavvi prices whatever.
I remember when the forum released their HDN steelbook.... you thought the price was too much and people said you were "hating"
Why aren't Disney putting up prices in other countries? Where is your proof Disney are telling Zavvi to keep raising prices and quantity?... you're assuming, like i'm assuming it's Zavvi.
What happens if Zavvi go to prices you don't like? Will you bite your tongue?
I think it's good to show frustration on here, because it will help convince some members not to buy, which might make them consider their pricing.

Again, I get that you are fine seeing the prices and quantity go up and think it's Disney.
If i'm not allowed to talk about prices, then please one of the mods let me know and I will delete my posts.

Regarding below (hatredhorror)... Zavvi are selling Jungle book and Mermaid amarays at £16.99... I'm sure Amazon will lower their prices or it will be the first time they've sold a Disney single disc that high. And even if they were that high they are already making a huge profit so a steelbook shouldn't need to be a couple pound more anyway.
And no need for name calling

I never said I was happy to pay Zavvi's prices on Disney titles. I personally think they are a tad too expensive, but I appreciate that Disney may have more to do with that than Zavvi. As for Disney's prices in other countries, well they are just as expensive as Zavvi's prices. Why should other members be convinced not to buy? Why can't they make their own decision. In the grand scheme of things, those prices aren't expensive, they are just more than we are used to paying in the UK.

As for the HDN exclusive, yes I made similar complaints to the one's that people are making about Zavvi. The major difference was that instead of gaining mass support and the moderators not taking action on some posts which are borderline defamation (which is what is happening here), I was told to shut up by the majority and even had the word I mentioned previously aimed at me by a moderator. Now there is absolutely no problem in defending your product and your business which is what happened in that instance. Of course Zavvi aren't here to defend themselves and therefore I feel the need to defend them.

The major difference between someone like blumark007 and myself is that I don't go into threads posting absurdly positive comments to get a reaction. I simply defend Zavvi when I feel people are making statements which are untrue and based upon nothing but pure speculation and hatred towards the company.

ac4155 · Jul 15, 2013

It's amazed me how fast Zavvi has gone from hero of the Steelbook industry to zero in the eyes of many on this forum. In just a few months as well.

Personally, I don't like the high prices and don't think they are worth it. Plus Disney UK are terrible and always shaft us on extras. But I still think they offer some good Steelbooks at decent prices.

It's just a shame the Disney steelbook mix of high prices and poor extras make some of their best Steelbooks unreasonable to me.

PoisonClan · Jul 15, 2013

hell zavvi were terrible before steelbooks nothing changed go do some research!
i will only buy from zavvi if the steelbook is exclusive lol

wayne71 · Jul 15, 2013

PoisonClan said:
hell zavvi were terrible before steelbooks nothing changed go do some research!
i will only buy from zavvi if the steelbook is exclusive lol

So like the majority of us then you buy mostly from zavvi too :hilarious:

BluSteel2012 · Jul 15, 2013

snooloui said:
Of course Zavvi aren't here to defend themselves and therefore I feel the need to defend them.

I simply defend Zavvi when I feel people are making statements which are untrue and based upon nothing but pure speculation and hatred towards the company.

But members are clearly not happy with Zavvi for many reasons. It's clearly NOT speculation. People have a right to feel hard done by. Look at all the reasons highlighted in the previous four or five posts alone.

Why are you the only one that can never see that? You're repeating the same weak argument in every post now Snolooui.

I'm not trying to cause a confrontation or anything, but to be honest you're making yourself look like bit of a bell-end with the endless defending of Zavvi.

Just let it go. People will have their own opinions.

Now, back on topic.....

ETSC · Jul 15, 2013

snooloui said:
I never said I was happy to pay Zavvi's prices on Disney titles. I personally think they are a tad too expensive, but I appreciate that Disney may have more to do with that than Zavvi. As for Disney's prices in other countries, well they are just as expensive as Zavvi's prices. Why should other members be convinced not to buy? Why can't they make their own decision. In the grand scheme of things, those prices aren't expensive, they are just more than we are used to paying in the UK.

As for the HDN exclusive, yes I made similar complaints to the one's that people are making about Zavvi. The major difference was that instead of gaining mass support and the moderators not taking action on some posts which are borderline defamation (which is what is happening here), I was told to shut up by the majority and even had the word I mentioned previously aimed at me by a moderator. Now there is absolutely no problem in defending your product and your business which is what happened in that instance. Of course Zavvi aren't here to defend themselves and therefore I feel the need to defend them.

The major difference between someone like blumark007 and myself is that I don't go into threads posting absurdly positive comments to get a reaction. I simply defend Zavvi when I feel people are making statements which are untrue and based upon nothing but pure speculation and hatred towards the company.

There's no point in keep taking up this thread.
What have I said that's so bad?... I've said their prices have gone up and it's too high... that's my personal opinion... Even if it was Disney, it's still too high, for me (and I don't pay it), and Zavvi could take a stand, I don't think Disney would say "we won't make a steelbook then" Do you think Disney told Zavvi to sell the rest of Aladdin at that high price on ebay? Do you think Disney tell Zavvi to sell their trade-wide releases i.e Taken 2, Xmen 2 at a higher price?
I think they don't sell their old titles for more because they are old and they have 4,000 to sell themselves so not worth the risk.
I'm not forcing anyone to make a decision... just point, evidence, comment... instead of "this will sell out straight away" and everyone panic buying.
I don't know why you feel the need to stick up for them for a personal opinion about their prices... look on HotUKDeals and see what average customers think of their pricing.

lgans316 · Jul 15, 2013

I think this will keep the price of Steels less at Zavvi.

Don't post overseas or charge correct amount for shipping overseas like what Amazon.com does. This means the pricing structure will become similar to Play.com and us in the UK will pay the price we should be paying and not share the burden of subsidizing shipping cost.

You can't ask Zavvi to deduct VAT as they don't legally operate within mainland UK.

Zavvi - Retailer chat [Europe]

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Jayturner514

carpenterfan78

digitalbabe

frankfish44

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The 'Negative' Ninja

Jango

ETSC

snooloui

The 'Negative' Ninja

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jackanape

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ac4155

PoisonClan

wayne71

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